Vibration control of an energy regenerative seat suspension with variable external resistance

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Donghong; Sun, Shuaishuai; Du, Haiping; Li, Weihua; Zhang, Nong

2018-06-01

In this paper, an energy regenerative seat suspension with a variable external resistance is proposed and built, and a semi-active controller for its vibration control is also designed and validated. The energy regenerative seat suspension is built with a three-phase generator and a gear reducer, which are installed in the scissors structure centre of the seat suspension, and the vibration energy is directly harvested from the rotary movement of suspension's scissors structure. The electromagnetic torque of the semi-active seat suspension actuator is controlled by an external variable resistor. An integrated model including the seat suspension's kinematics and the generator is built and proven to match the test result very well. A simplified experimental phenomenon model is also built based on the test results for the controller design. A state feedback H∞ controller is proposed for the regenerative seat suspension's semi-active vibration control. The proposed regenerative seat suspension and its controller are validated with both simulations and experiments. A well-tuned passive seat suspension is applied to evaluate the regenerative seat's performance. Based on ISO 2631-1, the frequency-weighted root mean square (FW-RMS) acceleration of the proposed seat suspension has a 22.84% reduction when compared with the passive one, which indicates the improvement of ride comfort. At the same time, the generated RMS power is 1.21 W. The proposed regenerative seat suspension can greatly improve the driver's ride comfort and has the potential to be developed to a self-powered semi-active system.

IMPROVEMENT OF BUS OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS WHILE USING INTEGRATED CONTROL OF SUSPENSION AND TRANSMISSION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V. Mikhailau

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Semi-natural tests for active pneumatic suspension of a 18-tonne tourist bus with the system of automatic body stabilization of the mobile machine and feed-back coupling according to kinematics parameter. The test have been executed in the cases when the bus is stocked with an automatic hydro-mechanical transmission in the process of speed picking up, gear-changing or road braking which is assigned by accidental road humps. A computer simulation of dynamic structures in combination with virtual devices and real objects (HIL – Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation has been carried in the paper. Personal computers, software, programmed logic controller, frequency generator, solenoid-operated valve have been used for the investigation process. The paper proposes an unconventional method for improvement operational characteristics which is based on integrated control of a suspension and automatic hydro-mechanical transmission. A mathematical model includes systems of automatic transmission, suspension and module for generation of accidental road humps. The model has been considered as a basis for semi-natural laboratory bench with industrially-manufactured controller, other components of automatic systems and standard control organs. The most efficient method for body stabilization is control of the suspension according to the parameter of angular rate during vertical turn of an automobile’s center line with a turning point in the center of mass. The developed algorithm and stabilization system according to angular rate of body’s center line turning have made it possible to improve dynamics of the bus while making gear-changing and to reduce fuel consumption during starting-up and speed picking-up processes. During the braking process such system simultaneously decreases oscillation amplitude of some parameters more than two-fold.

Adaptive tracking control for active suspension systems with non-ideal actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Huihui; Sun, Weichao; Jing, Xingjian; Gao, Huijun; Yao, Jianyong

2017-07-01

As a critical component of transportation vehicles, active suspension systems are instrumental in the improvement of ride comfort and maneuverability. However, practical active suspensions commonly suffer from parameter uncertainties (e.g., the variations of payload mass and suspension component parameters), external disturbances and especially the unknown non-ideal actuators (i.e., dead-zone and hysteresis nonlinearities), which always significantly deteriorate the control performance in practice. To overcome these issues, this paper synthesizes an adaptive tracking control strategy for vehicle suspension systems to achieve suspension performance improvements. The proposed control algorithm is formulated by developing a unified framework of non-ideal actuators rather than a separate way, which is a simple yet effective approach to remove the unexpected nonlinear effects. From the perspective of practical implementation, the advantages of the presented controller for active suspensions include that the assumptions on the measurable actuator outputs, the prior knowledge of nonlinear actuator parameters and the uncertain parameters within a known compact set are not required. Furthermore, the stability of the closed-loop suspension system is theoretically guaranteed by rigorous mathematical analysis. Finally, the effectiveness of the presented adaptive control scheme is confirmed using comparative numerical simulation validations.

Surface micromachined fabrication of piezoelectric ain unimorph suspension devices for rf resonator applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Saravanan, S.; Saravanan, S.; Berenschot, Johan W.; Krijnen, Gijsbertus J.M.; Elwenspoek, Michael Curt

We report a surface micromachining process for aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films to fabricate piezoelectric unimorph suspension devices for actuator applications. Polysilicon is used as a structural layer. Highly c-axis oriented AlN thin films 1 /spl mu/m thick are deposited by rf reactive

Development of the Nissan hydraulic active suspension. Nissan yuatsu active suspension no kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kawarasaki, y.; Fukunaga, Y.; Hasegawa, S.; Okuyama, Y.; Omura, I.; Takahashi, K.; Abe, S.; Tsuruta, E. (Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan))

1989-12-25

A hydraulic active suspension system, Nissan original product, was developed and mass produced for the first time in the world. The system incorporates a sufficient power source, a high accuracy sensor and a high response device for continuous and intended vehicle control and at the same time delivers high levels of ride comfort and driving performance. The suspension system has four innovative features: skyhook damping, active roll and pitching control, a frequency-dependent damping mechanism, and active steering characteristics control. Under all road and operating conditions, the system actively suppresses vehicle attitude changes and unnecessary movement, and also gently absorbs inputs from the road. This epoch-making system provides a dramatic improvement in vehicle performance, and has been adopted in the Infiniti Q45 luxury sedan. 2 refs., 20 figs., 4 tabs.

Fuzzy logic control of vehicle suspensions with dry friction nonlinearity

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

We design and investigate the performance of fuzzy logic-controlled (FLC) active suspensions on a nonlinear vehicle model with four degrees of freedom, without causing any degeneration in suspension working limits. Force actuators were mounted parallel to the suspensions. In this new approach, linear combinations of ...

The Active Fractional Order Control for Maglev Suspension System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peichang Yu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Maglev suspension system is the core part of maglev train. In the practical application, the load uncertainties, inherent nonlinearity, and misalignment between sensors and actuators are the main issues that should be solved carefully. In order to design a suitable controller, the attention is paid to the fractional order controller. Firstly, the mathematical model of a single electromagnetic suspension unit is derived. Then, considering the limitation of the traditional PD controller adaptation, the fractional order controller is developed to obtain more excellent suspension specifications and robust performance. In reality, the nonlinearity affects the structure and the precision of the model after linearization, which will degrade the dynamic performance. So, a fractional order controller is addressed to eliminate the disturbance by adjusting the parameters which are added by the fractional order controller. Furthermore, the controller based on LQR is employed to compare with the fractional order controller. Finally, the performance of them is discussed by simulation. The results illustrated the validity of the fractional order controller.

Disturbance observer based Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy control for an active seat suspension

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Donghong; Sun, Shuaishuai; Zhang, Fei; Du, Haiping; Li, Weihua; Zhang, Bangji

2017-09-01

In this paper, a disturbance observer based Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy controller is proposed for an active seat suspension; both simulations and experiments have been performed verifying the performance enhancement and stability of the proposed controller. The controller incorporates closed-loop feedback control using the measured acceleration of the seat and deflection of the suspension; these two variables can be easily measured in practical applications, thus allowing the proposed controller to be robust and adaptable. A disturbance observer that can estimate the disturbance caused by friction, model simplification, and controller output error has also been used to compensate a H∞ state feedback controller. The TS fuzzy control method is applied to enhance the controller's performance by considering the variation of driver's weight during operation. The vibration of a heavy duty vehicle seat is largest in the frequency range between 2 Hz and 4 Hz, in the vertical direction; therefore, it is reasonable to focus on controlling low frequency vibration amplitudes and maintain the seat suspensions passivity at high frequency. Moreover, both the simulation and experimental results show that the active seat suspension with the proposed controller can effectively isolate unwanted vibration amplitudes below 4.5 Hz, when compared with a well-tuned passive seat suspension. The active controller has been further validated under bump and random road tests with both a 55 kg and a 70 kg loads. The bump road test demonstrated the controller has good transient response capabilities. The random road test result has been presented both in the time domain and the frequency domain. When with the above two loads, the controlled seat suspensions root-mean-square (RMS) accelerations were reduced by 45.5% and 49.5%, respectively, compared with a well-tuned passive seat suspension. The proposed active seat suspension controller has great potential and is very practical for application

Two-Dimensional Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control of a Field-Sensed Magnetic Suspension System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jen-Hsing Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the two-dimensional fuzzy sliding mode control of a field-sensed magnetic suspension system. The fuzzy rules include both the sliding manifold and its derivative. The fuzzy sliding mode control has advantages of the sliding mode control and the fuzzy control rules are minimized. Magnetic suspension systems are nonlinear and inherently unstable systems. The two-dimensional fuzzy sliding mode control can stabilize the nonlinear systems globally and attenuate chatter effectively. It is adequate to be applied to magnetic suspension systems. New design circuits of magnetic suspension systems are proposed in this paper. ARM Cortex-M3 microcontroller is utilized as a digital controller. The implemented driver, sensor, and control circuits are simpler, more inexpensive, and effective. This apparatus is satisfactory for engineering education. In the hands-on experiments, the proposed control scheme markedly improves performances of the field-sensed magnetic suspension system.

Fuzzy-Skyhook Control for Active Suspension Systems Applied to a Full Vehicle Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aref M.A. Soliman

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, most modern vehicles are equipped with controlled suspension systems for improving the vehicle ride comfort. Therefore, this paper is concerned with a theoretical study for the ride comfort performance of the vehicle. The theoretical investigation includes a suggestion of an active suspension system controller using fuzzy-skyhook control theory, which offers new opportunities for the improvement of vehicle ride performance. The ride comfort of the active suspension system has been evaluated using a 7 degree of freedom full vehicle mathematical model. The simulation results are presented in the time and frequency domain, also in terms of RMS values, and it’s shown that the proposed active suspension system with fuzzy-skyhook control improved the vehicle ride quality in terms of body acceleration, suspension working space and dynamic tyre load in comparison with the passive and skyhook suspension systems.

Design of LQG Controller for Active Suspension without Considering Road Input Signals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Pang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available As the road conditions are completely unknown in the design of a suspension controller, an improved linear quadratic and Gaussian distributed (LQG controller is proposed for active suspension system without considering road input signals. The main purpose is to optimize the vehicle body acceleration, pitching angular acceleration, displacement of suspension system, and tire dynamic deflection comprehensively. Meanwhile, it will extend the applicability of the LQG controller. Firstly, the half-vehicle and road input mathematical models of an active suspension system are established, with the weight coefficients of each evaluating indicator optimized by using genetic algorithm (GA. Then, a simulation model is built in Matlab/Simulink environment. Finally, a comparison of simulation is conducted to illustrate that the proposed LQG controller can obtain the better comprehensive performance of vehicle suspension system and improve riding comfort and handling safety compared to the conventional one.

Simulation Research on Vehicle Active Suspension Controller Based on G1 Method

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Gen; Li, Hang; Zhang, Shuaiyang; Luo, Qiuhui

2017-09-01

Based on the order relation analysis method (G1 method), the optimal linear controller of vehicle active suspension is designed. The system of the main and passive suspension of the single wheel vehicle is modeled and the system input signal model is determined. Secondly, the system motion state space equation is established by the kinetic knowledge and the optimal linear controller design is completed with the optimal control theory. The weighting coefficient of the performance index coefficients of the main passive suspension is determined by the relational analysis method. Finally, the model is simulated in Simulink. The simulation results show that: the optimal weight value is determined by using the sequence relation analysis method under the condition of given road conditions, and the vehicle acceleration, suspension stroke and tire motion displacement are optimized to improve the comprehensive performance of the vehicle, and the active control is controlled within the requirements.

Functional Based Adaptive and Fuzzy Sliding Controller for Non-Autonomous Active Suspension System

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Shiuh-Jer; Chen, Hung-Yi

In this paper, an adaptive sliding controller is developed for controlling a vehicle active suspension system. The functional approximation technique is employed to substitute the unknown non-autonomous functions of the suspension system and release the model-based requirement of sliding mode control algorithm. In order to improve the control performance and reduce the implementation problem, a fuzzy strategy with online learning ability is added to compensate the functional approximation error. The update laws of the functional approximation coefficients and the fuzzy tuning parameters are derived from the Lyapunov theorem to guarantee the system stability. The proposed controller is implemented on a quarter-car hydraulic actuating active suspension system test-rig. The experimental results show that the proposed controller suppresses the oscillation amplitude of the suspension system effectively.

T-S Fuzzy Model Based Control Strategy for the Networked Suspension Control System of Maglev Train

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guang He

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The control problem for the networked suspension control system of maglev train with random induced time delay and packet dropouts is investigated. First, Takagi-Sugeno (T-S fuzzy models are utilized to represent the discrete-time nonlinear networked suspension control system, and the parameters uncertainties of the nonlinear model have also been taken into account. The controllers take the form of parallel distributed compensation. Then, a sufficient condition for the stability of the networked suspension control system is derived. Based on the criteria, the state feedback fuzzy controllers are obtained, and the controller gains can be computed by using MATLAB LMI Toolbox directly. Finally, both the numerical simulations and physical experiments on the full-scale single bogie of CMS-04 maglev train have been accomplished to demonstrate the effectiveness of this proposed method.

State observer-based sliding mode control for semi-active hydro-pneumatic suspension

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Hongbin; Chen, Sizhong; Zhao, Yuzhuang; Liu, Gang; Yang, Lin

2016-02-01

This paper proposes an improved virtual reference model for semi-active suspension to coordinate the vehicle ride comfort and handling stability. The reference model combines the virtues of sky-hook with ground-hook control logic, and the hybrid coefficient is tuned according to the longitudinal and lateral acceleration so as to improve the vehicle stability especially in high-speed condition. Suspension state observer based on unscented Kalman filter is designed. A sliding mode controller (SMC) is developed to track the states of the reference model. The stability of the SMC strategy is proven by means of Lyapunov function taking into account the nonlinear damper characteristics and sprung mass variation of the vehicle. Finally, the performance of the controller is demonstrated under three typical working conditions: the random road excitation, speed bump road and sharp acceleration and braking. The simulation results indicated that, compared with the traditional passive suspension, the proposed control algorithm can offer a better coordination between vehicle ride comfort and handling stability. This approach provides a viable alternative to costlier active suspension control systems for commercial vehicles.

Discrete-time sliding mode control for MR vehicle suspension system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sohn, J W; Choi, S B [Smart Structures and Systems Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 402-751 (Korea, Republic of); Wereley, N M [Smart Structures Laboratory, Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)], E-mail: seungbok@inha.ac.kr

2009-02-01

This paper presents control performance of a full-vehicle suspension system featuring magnetorheological (MR) dampers via a discrete-time sliding mode control algorithm (DSMC). A cylindrical MR damper is designed by incorporating Bingham model of the MR fluid and the field-dependent damping characteristics of the MR damper are evaluated. A full-vehicle suspension model installed with independent four MR dampers is constructed and the governing equations which include vertical, pitch and roll motion are derived. A discrete-time control model is established with considering system uncertainties and a discrete-time sliding mode controller which has inherent robustness to model uncertainty and external disturbance is formulated. Vibration control performances under bump excitation are evaluated and presented.

Discrete-time sliding mode control for MR vehicle suspension system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sohn, J W; Choi, S B; Wereley, N M

2009-01-01

This paper presents control performance of a full-vehicle suspension system featuring magnetorheological (MR) dampers via a discrete-time sliding mode control algorithm (DSMC). A cylindrical MR damper is designed by incorporating Bingham model of the MR fluid and the field-dependent damping characteristics of the MR damper are evaluated. A full-vehicle suspension model installed with independent four MR dampers is constructed and the governing equations which include vertical, pitch and roll motion are derived. A discrete-time control model is established with considering system uncertainties and a discrete-time sliding mode controller which has inherent robustness to model uncertainty and external disturbance is formulated. Vibration control performances under bump excitation are evaluated and presented.

Magnetic suspension motorized spindle-cutting system dynamics analysis and vibration control review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoli QIAO

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The performance of high-speed spindle directly determines the development of high-end machine tools. The cutting system's dynamic characteristics and vibration control effect are inseparable with the performance of the spindle,which influence each other, synergistic effect together the cutting efficiency, the surface quality of the workpiece and tool life in machining process. So, the review status on magnetic suspension motorized spindle, magnetic suspension bearing-flexible rotor system dynamics modeling theory and status of active control technology of flexible magnetic suspension motorized spindle rotor vibration are studied, and the problems which present in the magnetic suspension flexible motorized spindle rotor systems are refined, and the development trend of magnetic levitation motorized spindle and the application prospect is forecasted.

Suspension Bridge Flutter for Girder with Separate Control Flaps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huynh, T.; Thoft-Christensen, Palle

Active vibration control of long span suspension bridge flutter using separated control flaps (SFSC) has shown to increase effectively the critical wind speed of bridges. In this paper, an SFSC calculation based on modal equations of the vertical and torsional motions of the bridge girder including...... the flaps is presented. The length of the flaps attached to the girder, the flap configuration and the flap rotational angles are parameters used to increase the critical wind speed of the bridge. To illustrate the theory a numerical example is shown for a suspension bridge of 1000m+2500m+1000m span based...... on the Great Belt Bridge streamlined girder....

Preparation of conjugated polymer suspensions by using ultrasonic atomizer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tada, Kazuya, E-mail: tada@eng.u-hyogo.ac.jp; Onoda, Mitsuyoshi

2010-11-30

The electrophoretic deposition is a method useful to prepare conjugated polymer films for electronic devices. This method provides high material recovery rate on the substrate from the suspension, in contrast to the conventional spin-coating in which most of the material placed on the substrate is blown away. Although manual reprecipitation technique successfully yields suspensions of various conjugated polymers including polyfluorene derivatives, it is favorable to control the preparation process of suspensions. In this context, this paper reports preliminary results on the preparation of suspension of conjugated polymer by using an ultrasonic atomizer. While the resultant films do not show particular difference due to the preparation methods of the suspension, the electric current profiles during the electrophoretic deposition suggests that the ultrasonic atomization of polymer solution prior to be mixed with poor solvent results in smaller and less uniform colloidal particles than the conventional manual pouring method.

Controlling active cabin suspensions in commercial vehicles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evers, W.J.E.; Besselink, I.J.M.; Teerhuis, A.P.; Knaap, van der A.C.M.; Nijmeijer, H.

2009-01-01

The field of automotive suspensions is changing. Semi-active and active suspensions are starting to become viable options for vehicle designers. Suspension design for commercial vehicles is especially interesting given its potential. An active cabin suspension for a heavy-duty truck is considered,

Vibration control of an MR vehicle suspension system considering both hysteretic behavior and parameter variation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Seung-Bok; Seong, Min-Sang; Ha, Sung-Hoon

2009-01-01

This paper presents vibration control responses of a controllable magnetorheological (MR) suspension system considering the two most important characteristics of the system; the field-dependent hysteretic behavior of the MR damper and the parameter variation of the suspension. In order to achieve this goal, a cylindrical MR damper which is applicable to a middle-sized passenger car is designed and manufactured. After verifying the damping force controllability, the field-dependent hysteretic behavior of the MR damper is identified using the Preisach hysteresis model. The full-vehicle suspension model is then derived by considering vertical, pitch and roll motions. An H ∞ controller is designed by treating the sprung mass of the vehicle as a parameter variation and integrating it with the hysteretic compensator which produces additional control input. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control system, the hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS) methodology is adopted by integrating the suspension model with the proposed MR damper. Vibration control responses of the vehicle suspension system such as vertical acceleration are evaluated under both bump and random road conditions

Robust finite-time tracking control for nonlinear suspension systems via disturbance compensation

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Huihui; Jing, Xingjian; Sun, Weichao

2017-05-01

This paper focuses on the finite-time tracking control with external disturbance for active suspension systems. In order to compensate unknown disturbance efficiently, a disturbance compensator with finite-time convergence property is studied. By analyzing the discontinuous phenomenon of classical disturbance compensation techniques, this study presents a simple approach to construct a continuous compensator satisfying the finite-time disturbance rejection performance. According to the finite-time separation principle, the design procedures of the nominal controller for the suspension system without disturbance and the disturbance compensator can be implemented in a completely independent manner. Therefore, the overall control law for the closed-loop system is continuous, which offers some distinct advantages over the existing discontinuous ones. From the perspective of practical implementation, the continuous controller can avoid effectively the unexpected chattering in active suspension control. Comparative experimental results are presented and discussed to illustrate the advantage and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Professor Jesse W. Beams and the first practical magnetic suspension

Science.gov (United States)

Allaire, P. E.; Humphris, R. R.; Lewis, D. W.

1992-01-01

Dr. Jesse W. Beams developed the first practical magnetic suspension for high speed rotating devices. The devices included high speed rotating mirrors, ultracentrifuges, and high speed centrifugal field rotors. A brief biography of Dr. Beams is presented, and the following topics are discussed: (1) early axial magnetic suspension for ultracentrifuges; and (2) magnetic suspension for high centrifugal fields.

Energy Conservation Analysis and Control of Hybrid Active Semiactive Suspension with Three Regulating Damping Levels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Long Chen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Active suspension has not been popularized for high energy consumption. To address this issue, this paper introduces the concept of a new kind of suspension. The linear motor is considered to be integrated into an adjustable shock absorber to form the hybrid active semiactive suspension (HASAS. To realize the superiority of HASAS, its energy consumption and regeneration mechanisms are revealed. And the system controller which is composed of linear quadratic regulator (LQR controller, mode decision and switch controller, and the sliding mode control based thrust controller is developed. LQR controller is designed to maintain the suspension control objectives, while mode decision and switch controller decides the optimal damping level to tune motor thrust. The thrust controller ensures motor thrust tracking. An adjustable shock absorber with three regulating levels to be used in HASAS is trial produced and tested to obtain its working characteristics. Finally, simulation analysis is made with the experimental three damping characteristics. The impacts of adjustable damping on the motor force and energy consumption are investigated. Simulation results demonstrate the advantages of HASAS in energy conservation with various suspension control objectives. Even self-powered active control and energy regenerated to the power source can be realized.

Semi-active variable stiffness vibration control of vehicle seat suspension using an MR elastomer isolator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du, Haiping; Li, Weihua; Zhang, Nong

2011-01-01

This paper presents a study on continuously variable stiffness control of vehicle seat suspension using a magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) isolator. A concept design for an MRE isolator is proposed in the paper and its behavior is experimentally evaluated. An integrated seat suspension model, which includes a quarter-car suspension and a seat suspension with a driver body model, is used to design a sub-optimal H ∞ controller for an active isolator. The desired control force generated by this active isolator is then emulated by the MRE isolator through its continuously variable stiffness property when the actuating condition is met. The vibration control effect of the MRE isolator is evaluated in terms of driver body acceleration responses under both bump and random road conditions. The results show that the proposed control strategy achieves better vibration reduction performance than conventional on–off control

A semi-active control suspension system for railway vehicles with magnetorheological fluid dampers

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Xiukun; Zhu, Ming; Jia, Limin

2016-07-01

The high-speed train has achieved great progress in the last decades. It is one of the most important modes of transportation between cities. With the rapid development of the high-speed train, its safety issue is paid much more attention than ever before. To improve the stability of the vehicle with high speed, extra dampers (i.e. anti-hunting damper) are used in the traditional bogies with passive suspension system. However, the curving performance of the vehicle is undermined due to the extra lateral force generated by the dampers. The active suspension systems proposed in the last decades attempt to solve the vehicle steering issue. However, the active suspension systems need extra actuators driven by electrical power or hydraulic power. There are some implementation and even safety issues which are not easy to be overcome. In this paper, an innovative semi-active controlled lateral suspension system for railway vehicles is proposed. Four magnetorheological fluid dampers are fixed to the primary suspension system of each bogie. They are controlled by online controllers for enhancing the running stability on the straight track line on the one hand and further improving the curving performance by controlling the damper force on the other hand. Two control strategies are proposed in the light of the pure rolling concept. The effectiveness of the proposed strategies is demonstrated by SIMPACK and Matlab co-simulation for a full railway vehicle with two conventional bogies.

Process control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, Toshifumi; Kobayashi, Hiroshi.

1994-01-01

A process control device comprises a memory device for memorizing a plant operation target, a plant state or a state of equipments related with each other as control data, a read-only memory device for storing programs, a plant instrumentation control device or other process control devices, an input/output device for performing input/output with an operator, and a processing device which conducts processing in accordance with the program and sends a control demand or a display demand to the input/output device. The program reads out control data relative to a predetermined operation target, compares and verify them with actual values to read out control data to be a practice premise condition which is further to be a practice premise condition if necessary, thereby automatically controlling the plant or requiring or displaying input. Practice presuming conditions for the operation target can be examined succesively in accordance with the program without constituting complicated logical figures and AND/OR graphs. (N.H.)

Online Adaptive Optimal Control of Vehicle Active Suspension Systems Using Single-Network Approximate Dynamic Programming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhi-Jun Fu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In view of the performance requirements (e.g., ride comfort, road holding, and suspension space limitation for vehicle suspension systems, this paper proposes an adaptive optimal control method for quarter-car active suspension system by using the approximate dynamic programming approach (ADP. Online optimal control law is obtained by using a single adaptive critic NN to approximate the solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB equation. Stability of the closed-loop system is proved by Lyapunov theory. Compared with the classic linear quadratic regulator (LQR approach, the proposed ADP-based adaptive optimal control method demonstrates improved performance in the presence of parametric uncertainties (e.g., sprung mass and unknown road displacement. Numerical simulation results of a sedan suspension system are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Semi-active H∞ control of high-speed railway vehicle suspension with magnetorheological dampers

Science.gov (United States)

Zong, Lu-Hang; Gong, Xing-Long; Xuan, Shou-Hu; Guo, Chao-Yang

2013-05-01

In this paper, semi-active H∞ control with magnetorheological (MR) dampers for railway vehicle suspension systems to improve the lateral ride quality is investigated. The proposed semi-active controller is composed of a H∞ controller as the system controller and an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) inverse MR damper model as the damper controller. First, a 17-degree-of-freedom model for a full-scale railway vehicle is developed and the random track irregularities are modelled. Then a modified Bouc-Wen model is built to characterise the forward dynamic characteristics of the MR damper and an inverse MR damper model is built with the ANFIS technique. Furthermore, a H∞ controller composed of a yaw motion controller and a rolling pendulum motion (lateral motion+roll motion) controller is established. By integrating the H∞ controller with the ANFIS inverse model, a semi-active H∞ controller for the railway vehicle is finally proposed. Simulation results indicate that the proposed semi-active suspension system possesses better attenuation ability for the vibrations of the car body than the passive suspension system.

Sky-Hook Control and Kalman Filtering in Nonlinear Model of Tracked Vehicle Suspension System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jurkiewicz Andrzej

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The essence of the undertaken topic is application of the continuous sky-hook control strategy and the Extended Kalman Filter as the state observer in the 2S1 tracked vehicle suspension system. The half-car model of this suspension system consists of seven logarithmic spiral springs and two magnetorheological dampers which has been described by the Bingham model. The applied continuous sky-hook control strategy considers nonlinear stiffness characteristic of the logarithmic spiral springs. The control is determined on estimates generated by the Extended Kalman Filter. Improve of ride comfort is verified by comparing simulation results, under the same driving conditions, of controlled and passive vehicle suspension systems.

Remote control manipulator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sugawara, T

1970-02-28

A prior-art remote control manipulator comprises a horizontal suspension section, a master arm and a slave arm which are coupled to ends of the suspension section in a manner to pivotally move relative to the suspension section, and a connecting device which includes a tape and which joins both the arms. When the connecting device malfunctions, the slave arm can neither be extended nor contracted. Means to keep the tension of the tape is required which restricts the extension length of the slave arm. Further, the slave arm can be moved only in the axial direction. The invention described provides an improved remote control manipulator of the specified type. A moving device which moves the slave arm relative to the master arm without the intervention of the connecting device is mounted on a movable part of the slave arm, while pulleys which maintain the joining relationship of the connecting device are mounted on the movable part and fixed part of the slave arm. Owing to this construction, movement of the slave arm is assured despite troubles which may arise in the connecting device. In addition, no slack arises in the tape. By applying a similar construction to the horizontal suspension section, the suspension section can be stretched, and hence, the slave arm can be moved in a direction orthogonal to its axis.

Aqueous clay suspensions stabilized by alginate fluid gels for coal spontaneous combustion prevention and control.

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Botao; Ma, Dong; Li, Fanglei; Li, Yong

2017-11-01

We have developed aqueous clay suspensions stabilized by alginate fluid gels (AFG) for coal spontaneous combustion prevention and control. Specially, this study aimed to characterize the effect of AFG on the microstructure, static and dynamic stability, and coal fire inhibition performances of the prepared AFG-stabilized clay suspensions. Compared with aqueous clay suspensions, the AFG-stabilized clay suspensions manifest high static and dynamic stability, which can be ascribed to the formation of a robust three-dimensional gel network by AFG. The coal acceleration oxidation experimental results show that the prepared AFG-stabilized clay suspensions can improve the coal thermal stability and effectively inhibit the coal spontaneous oxidation process by increasing crossing point temperature (CPT) and reducing CO emission. The prepared low-cost and nontoxic AFG-stabilized clay suspensions, exhibiting excellent coal fire extinguishing performances, indicate great application potentials in coal spontaneous combustion prevention and control.

Reliable fuzzy H∞ control for active suspension of in-wheel motor driven electric vehicles with dynamic damping

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Xinxin; Naghdy, Fazel; Du, Haiping

2017-03-01

A fault-tolerant fuzzy H∞ control design approach for active suspension of in-wheel motor driven electric vehicles in the presence of sprung mass variation, actuator faults and control input constraints is proposed. The controller is designed based on the quarter-car active suspension model with a dynamic-damping-in-wheel-motor-driven-system, in which the suspended motor is operated as a dynamic absorber. The Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model is used to model this suspension with possible sprung mass variation. The parallel-distributed compensation (PDC) scheme is deployed to derive a fault-tolerant fuzzy controller for the T-S fuzzy suspension model. In order to reduce the motor wear caused by the dynamic force transmitted to the in-wheel motor, the dynamic force is taken as an additional controlled output besides the traditional optimization objectives such as sprung mass acceleration, suspension deflection and actuator saturation. The H∞ performance of the proposed controller is derived as linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) comprising three equality constraints which are solved efficiently by means of MATLAB LMI Toolbox. The proposed controller is applied to an electric vehicle suspension and its effectiveness is demonstrated through computer simulation.

Nonlinear reset integrator control design: Application to the active suspension control of vehicles

OpenAIRE

Acho Zuppa, Leonardo

2014-01-01

We present an unexampled reset integrator control design based on the Clegg integrator system. Using an appropriate mathematical model of our Clegg integrator controller, stability proof of the closed-loop system applied to the vibration control problem of a second-order system is shown without invoking hybrid system theory. Furthermore, we illustrate the pplicability of our controller, from the numerical experiment point of view, to the suspension vibration control of vehicles.

Simulation of disturbance rejection control of half-car active suspension system using active disturbance rejection control with decoupling transformation

Science.gov (United States)

Hasbullah, Faried; Faris, Waleed F.

2017-12-01

In recent years, Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC) has become a popular control alternative due to its easy applicability and robustness to varying processes. In this article, ADRC with input decoupling transformation (ADRC-IDT) is proposed to improve ride comfort of a vehicle with an active suspension system using half-car model. The ride performance of the ADRC-IDT is evaluated and compared with decentralized ADRC control as well as the passive system. Simulation results show that both ADRC and ADRC-IDT manage to appreciably reduce body accelerations and able to cope well with varying conditions typically encountered in an active suspension system. Also, it is sufficient to control only the body motions with both active controllers to improve ride comfort while maintaining good road holding and small suspension working space.

Predistortion control device and method, assembly including a predistortion control device

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kokkeler, Andre B.J.

2003-01-01

A predistortion control device (1). The device has a first predistortion control input connectable to a power amplifier output (21); a second predistortion control input (11) connectable to a signal contact of a predistortion device; and a predistortion control output (12) connectable to a control

An Active Seat Controller with Vehicle Suspension Feedforward and Feedback States: An Experimental Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdulaziz Alfadhli

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Active seat suspensions can be used to reduce the harmful vertical vibration of a vehicle’s seat by applying an external force using a closed loop controller. Many of the controllers found in the literature are difficult to implement practically, because they are based on using unavailable or difficult and costly measurements. This paper presents both simulation and experimental studies of five novel, simple, and cost-effective control strategies to be used for an active seat suspension in order to improve ride comfort at low frequencies below 20 Hz. These strategies use available and measurable feedforward (preview information states from the vehicle secondary suspension, as well as feedback states from the seat suspension, together with gains optimised to minimise the occupant vibration. The gains were optimised using a genetic algorithm (GA, with a fitness function based on the seat effective amplitude transmissibility (SEAT factor. Constraints on the control force and the seat suspension stroke were also included in the optimisation algorithm. Simulation and laboratory experimental tests were carried out to assess the performance of the proposed controllers according to the ISO 2631-1 standard, in both the frequency and time domains with a range of different road profiles. The experimental tests were performed using a multi-axis simulation table (MAST and a physical active seat suspension configured as a hardware-in-loop (HIL simulation with a virtual linear quarter vehicle model (QvM. The results demonstrate that the proposed controllers substantially attenuate the vertical vibration at the driver’s seat compared with both a passive and a proportional-integral-derivative (PID active seat suspension and thus improve ride comfort together with reducing vibration-linked health risks. Moreover, experimental results show that employing both feedforward information and feedback vehicle body and seat acceleration signals in the controller

Control rod position control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ubukata, Shinji.

1997-01-01

The present invention provides a control rod position control device which stores data such as of position signals and driving control rod instruction before and after occurrence of abnormality in control for the control rod position for controlling reactor power and utilized the data effectively for investigating the cause of abnormality. Namely, a plurality of individual control devices have an operation mismatching detection circuit for outputting signals when difference is caused between a driving instruction given to the control rod position control device and the control rod driving means and signals from a detection means for detecting an actual moving amount. A general control device collectively controls the individual control devices. In addition, there is also disposed a position storing circuit for storing position signals at least before and after the occurrence of the control rod operation mismatching. With such procedures, the cause of the abnormality can be determined based on the position signals before and after the occurrence of control rod mismatching operation stored in the position storing circuit. Accordingly, the abnormality cause can be determined to conduct restoration in an early stage. (I.S.)

Hierarchical Control Strategy for Active Hydropneumatic Suspension Vehicles Based on Genetic Algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinzhi Feng

2015-02-01

Full Text Available A new hierarchical control strategy for active hydropneumatic suspension systems is proposed. This strategy considers the dynamic characteristics of the actuator. The top hierarchy controller uses a combined control scheme: a genetic algorithm- (GA- based self-tuning proportional-integral-derivative controller and a fuzzy logic controller. For practical implementations of the proposed control scheme, a GA-based self-learning process is initiated only when the defined performance index of vehicle dynamics exceeds a certain debounce time threshold. The designed control algorithm is implemented on a virtual prototype and cosimulations are performed with different road disturbance inputs. Cosimulation results show that the active hydropneumatic suspension system designed in this study significantly improves riding comfort characteristics of vehicles. The robustness and adaptability of the proposed controller are also examined when the control system is subjected to extremely rough road conditions.

Controllable damping of high-Q violin modes in fused silica suspension fibers

Science.gov (United States)

Dmitriev, A. V.; Mescheriakov, S. D.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Mitrofanov, V. P.

2010-01-01

Fused silica fiber suspension of the test masses will be used in the interferometric gravitational wave detectors of the next generation. This allows a significant reduction of losses in the suspension and thermal noise associated with the suspension. Unfortunately, unwanted violin modes may be accidentally excited in the suspension fibers. The Q-factor of the violin modes also exceeds 108. They have a ring-down time that is too long and may complicate the stable control of the interferometer. Results of the investigation of a violin mode active damping system are described. An original sensor and actuator were especially developed to realize the effective coupling of a thin, optically transparent, non-conducting fused silica fiber with an electric circuit. The damping system allowed the changing of the violin mode's damping rate over a wide range.

Digital control of wind tunnel magnetic suspension and balance systems

Science.gov (United States)

Britcher, Colin P.; Goodyer, Michael J.; Eskins, Jonathan; Parker, David; Halford, Robert J.

1987-01-01

Digital controllers are being developed for wind tunnel magnetic suspension and balance systems, which in turn permit wind tunnel testing of aircraft models free from support interference. Hardware and software features of two existing digital control systems are reviewed. Some aspects of model position sensing and system calibration are also discussed.

A semi-active suspension control algorithm for vehicle comprehensive vertical dynamics performance

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Shida; Zhuang, Ye; Liu, Weiping; Chen, Fan

2017-08-01

Comprehensive performance of the vehicle, including ride qualities and road-holding, is essentially of great value in practice. Many up-to-date semi-active control algorithms improve vehicle dynamics performance effectively. However, it is hard to improve comprehensive performance for the conflict between ride qualities and road-holding around the second-order resonance. Hence, a new control algorithm is proposed to achieve a good trade-off between ride qualities and road-holding. In this paper, the properties of the invariant points are analysed, which gives an insight into the performance conflicting around the second-order resonance. Based on it, a new control algorithm is proposed. The algorithm employs a novel frequency selector to balance suspension ride and handling performance by adopting a medium damping around the second-order resonance. The results of this study show that the proposed control algorithm could improve the performance of ride qualities and suspension working space up to 18.3% and 8.2%, respectively, with little loss of road-holding compared to the passive suspension. Consequently, the comprehensive performance can be improved by 6.6%. Hence, the proposed algorithm is of great potential to be implemented in practice.

Ride performance of a high speed rail vehicle using controlled semi active suspension system

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Sunil Kumar; Kumar, Anil

2017-05-01

The rail-wheel interaction in a rail vehicle running at high speed results in large amplitude vibration of carbody that deteriorates the ride comfort of travellers. The role of suspension system is crucial to provide an acceptable level of ride performance. In this context, an existing rail vehicle is modelled in vertical, pitch and roll motions of carbody and bogies. Additionally, nonlinear stiffness and damping parameters of passive suspension system are defined based on experimental data. In the secondary vertical suspension system, a magneto-rheological (MR) damper is included to improve the ride quality and comfort. The parameters of MR damper depend on the current, amplitude and frequency of excitations. At different running speeds, three semi-active suspension strategies with MR damper are analysed for periodic track irregularity and the resulting performance indices are juxtaposed with the nonlinear passive suspension system. The disturbance rejection and force tracking damper controller algorithms are applied to control the desired force of MR damper. This study reveals that the vertical vibrations of a vehicle can be reduced significantly by using the proposed semi-active suspension strategies. Moreover, it naturally results in improved ride quality and passenger’s comfort in comparison to the existing passive system.

Qualitative analysis of controlled release ciprofloxacin/carbopol 934 mucoadhesive suspension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Subhashree Sahoo

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Mucoadhesive polymeric (carbopol 934 suspension of ciprofloxacin was prepared by ultrasonication and optimized with the aim of developing an oral controlled release gastro-retentive dosage form. The qualitative analysis of the formulation was performed by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM analyses. FTIR (400 cm-1 to 4000 cm-1 region and Raman (140 to 2400 cm-1 region Spectroscopic studies were carried out and the spectra were used for interpretation. XRD data of pure drug, polymer and the formulation were obtained using a powder diffractometer scanned from a Bragg′s angle (2q of 10° to 70°. The dispersion of the particle was observed using SEM techniques. The particle size distribution and aspect ratio of particles in the polymeric suspension were obtained from SEM image analysis. The results from FTIR and Raman spectroscopic analyses suggested that, in formulation, the carboxylic groups of ciprofloxacin and hydroxyl groups of C934 undergo a chemical interaction leading to esterification and hydrogen bonding. The XRD data suggested that the retention of crystalline nature of ciprofloxacin in the formulation would lead to increase in stability and drug loading; decrease in solubility; and delay in release of the drug from polymeric suspension with better bioavailability and penetration capacity. The SEM image analysis indicated that, in the formulation maximum particles were having aspect ratio from 2 to 4 and standard deviation was very less which provided supporting evidences for homogeneous, uniformly dispersed, stable controlled release ciprofloxacin suspension which would be pharmaceutically acceptable.

Controllable damping of high-Q violin modes in fused silica suspension fibers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dmitriev, A V; Mescheriakov, S D; Mitrofanov, V P [Faculty of Physics, Moscow State University, Moscow 119991 (Russian Federation); Tokmakov, K V, E-mail: dmitriev@hbar.phys.msu.r, E-mail: mitr@hbar.phys.msu.r [Present address: Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG (United Kingdom)

2010-01-21

Fused silica fiber suspension of the test masses will be used in the interferometric gravitational wave detectors of the next generation. This allows a significant reduction of losses in the suspension and thermal noise associated with the suspension. Unfortunately, unwanted violin modes may be accidentally excited in the suspension fibers. The Q-factor of the violin modes also exceeds 10{sup 8}. They have a ring-down time that is too long and may complicate the stable control of the interferometer. Results of the investigation of a violin mode active damping system are described. An original sensor and actuator were especially developed to realize the effective coupling of a thin, optically transparent, non-conducting fused silica fiber with an electric circuit. The damping system allowed the changing of the violin mode's damping rate over a wide range.

Controllable damping of high-Q violin modes in fused silica suspension fibers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dmitriev, A V; Mescheriakov, S D; Mitrofanov, V P; Tokmakov, K V

2010-01-01

Fused silica fiber suspension of the test masses will be used in the interferometric gravitational wave detectors of the next generation. This allows a significant reduction of losses in the suspension and thermal noise associated with the suspension. Unfortunately, unwanted violin modes may be accidentally excited in the suspension fibers. The Q-factor of the violin modes also exceeds 10 8 . They have a ring-down time that is too long and may complicate the stable control of the interferometer. Results of the investigation of a violin mode active damping system are described. An original sensor and actuator were especially developed to realize the effective coupling of a thin, optically transparent, non-conducting fused silica fiber with an electric circuit. The damping system allowed the changing of the violin mode's damping rate over a wide range.

Electromyographical Comparison of a Traditional, Suspension Device, and Towel Pull-Up

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Snarr Ronald L.

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Strengthening muscles of the back may have various implications for improving functions of daily living, aiding in the transfer of power in throwing, and assist in injury prevention of the shoulder complex. While several versions of the pull-up exist, there is currently no literature comparing their differences. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the electromyographical activity of the latissimus dorsi, posterior deltoid, middle trapezius, and biceps brachii while performing three variations of the pull-up. Resistance-trained men and women (n =15, age = 24.87 ± 6.52 years participated in this study by performing traditional pull-ups, suspension device pull-ups, and towel pull-ups in a randomized fashion. Each pull-up was performed for three repetitions with a 1.5 bi-acromial grip-width for each participant. Normalized (%MVC electromyographical values were recorded for each muscle group during each pull-up variation. No significant differences existed within the latissimus dorsi, biceps brachii or posterior deltoid between any of the exercises. For the middle trapezius, towel pull-ups provided significantly lower muscle activity than the traditional pull-up, while no differences between suspension pull-ups and the other variations occurred. In conclusion, only one muscular difference existed between the exercise variations and all versions examined provided electromyographical values, determined by current literature, to invoke a sufficient stimulus to promote increases in muscle strength and hypertrophy. Although further research is needed, practitioners can be confident when programming any of the movement variations examined when attempting to elicit adaptations of muscular strength and hypertrophy.

The Design and Simulation of the Modular Vehicle Air Suspension Height Control System Based on ECAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Peigang

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Based on ECAS, this paper intended to develop a modular air suspension height control system with WABCO4728800010 two-position three way solenoid valves and Free scale MC9S12D64 microprocessor as its core components. And a simulation test was conducted in MATLAB/Simulink environment. The air suspension height control strategy of this system was divided into four modules: start control module, dynamic adjustment module, manual adjustment module and errors adjustment module, which were controlled by module select switch. Simulation tests indicated that the air suspension height control strategy is featured by its logical control accuracy and debug convenience, and the modular design greatly reduced the system complexity and software development cycle and costs as well.

Inertia Wheel on Low-Noise Active Magnetic Suspension

Science.gov (United States)

Carabelli, S.; Genta, G.; Silvagni, M.; Tonoli, A.

2002-01-01

precision in force measuring or vibration isolation which are required. Note that the stiffness of a magnetic suspension usually increases when it must compensate for a large static force and the increase of stiffness changes drastically the vibration isolation characteristics. It is also possible to support the rotor using a separate controlled electromagnet, but the latter will introduce disturbances which make impossible to evaluate the performances of the magnetic levitation system. Moreover, the sensitivity of the device to the operating conditions makes testing in conditions so different from the actual ones of very little significance. This is particularly true when accurate force measuring or vibration isolation is required or when low power consumption is one of the design specifications. Finally, if an external electromagnetic device is used for compensating for weight, its presence changes the stiffness of the system, to the point of altering drastically its stability characteristics. Parabolic flight is not a solution for this problem: the duration of low gravity conditions during parabolic flights is too short to perform significant experiments on magnetic suspension systems, particularly if the natural frequency of the suspension is very low as is typical of devices aimed at the isolation from low frequency vibrations. The environment in which parabolic flight testing is performed is also too rough for accurate testing. The availability of the space station changes deeply this situation: magnetic levitation systems built for space application can be tested in conditions which are very close to the operating ones. Although the space station environment is not vibrationally so clean as it would be necessary for some application, it is nevertheless far better than any simulated environment on the ground. The present paper deals with the design and construction of an engineering model of an inertia wheel on AMB. The aim of the project is to test the performance of

21 CFR 1404.635 - May the Office of National Drug Control Policy settle a debarment or suspension action?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false May the Office of National Drug Control Policy settle a debarment or suspension action? 1404.635 Section 1404.635 Food and Drugs OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) General Principles Relating to Suspension and Debarment Actions § 1404.635...

Compounding rifampin suspensions with improved injectability for nasogastric enteral feeding tube administration.

Science.gov (United States)

de Villiers, Melgardt M; Vogel, Laura; Bogenschutz, Monica C; Fingerhut, Bonnie J; D'Silva, Joseph B; Moore, Anne

2010-01-01

Often medications that have to be administered to patients via a nasogastric enteral feeding tubes are only available as tablets and capsules with no suitable commercial liquid alternatives. In such situations, pharmacists and nurses have to compound the tablets and capsule contents into liquid suspension formulations for dosing. The risk of occlusion of the enteral tubes during administration is reduced by employing liquid suspensions that are composed of small and uniform particles, not subject to rapid rates of settling, resistant to caking, and easily and uniformly re-suspended upon agitation. Present techniques often employ a manual process, such as a mortar and pestle, to accomplish the particle size reduction and subsequent incorporation into a suitable liquid diluent. A new compounding device has been invented that employs an automated wet-milling process in a single-use disposable plastic container to compound the suspensions. The two processes were compared using Rifampin capsules and various liquid diluents. A prototype version of the new device was employed in the experiments. The physical characteristics of the compounded suspensions were evaluated by determining sedimentation rate, sedimentation volume, and particle size and shape using laser light scattering, optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The use characteristic of the compounded suspensions was evaluated using a nasogastric tube inject ability test. The results indicated that suspensions prepared using the new device were more resistant to sedimentation and caking and were easier to re-disperse into a uniform mixture by gentle shaking. The results were a consequence of the particles generated by the new device which were found to be smaller and more uniform in shape and size. The suspensions prepared using the new device did not cause blockage of the enteral feeding tubes in comparison to those prepared using a mortar and pastle. In conclusion, the results indicate

DeviceNet-based device-level control in SSRF

CERN Document Server

Leng Yong Bin; Lu Cheng Meng; Miao Hai Feng; Liu Song Qiang; Shen Guo Bao

2002-01-01

The control system of Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility is an EPICS-based distributed system. One of the key techniques to construct the system is the device-level control. The author describes the design and implementation of the DeviceNet-based device controller. A prototype of the device controller was tested in the experiments of magnet power supply and the result showed a precision of 3 x 10 sup - sup 5

Nonlinear Robust Observer-Based Fault Detection for Networked Suspension Control System of Maglev Train

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun Li

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A fault detection approach based on nonlinear robust observer is designed for the networked suspension control system of Maglev train with random induced time delay. First, considering random bounded time-delay and external disturbance, the nonlinear model of the networked suspension control system is established. Then, a nonlinear robust observer is designed using the input of the suspension gap. And the estimate error is proved to be bounded with arbitrary precision by adopting an appropriate parameter. When sensor faults happen, the residual between the real states and the observer outputs indicates which kind of sensor failures occurs. Finally, simulation results using the actual parameters of CMS-04 maglev train indicate that the proposed method is effective for maglev train.

A multiobjective ? control strategy for energy harvesting in regenerative vehicle suspension systems

Science.gov (United States)

Casavola, Alessandro; Di Iorio, Fabio; Tedesco, Francesco

2018-04-01

A significant amount of energy induced by road unevenness and vehicle roll and pitch motions is usually dissipated by conventional shock-absorbers. In this paper, a novel active multiobjective ? control design methodology is proposed which explicitly includes, besides the usual control objectives on ride comfort, road handling and suspension stroke, the amount of energy to be harvested as an additional, though conflicting, control objective and allows the designer to directly trade-off among them depending on the application. An electromechanical regenerative suspension system is considered where the viscous damper is replaced by a linear electrical motor which is actively governed. It is shown that the proposed control law is able to achieve remarkable improvements on the amount of the harvested energy with respect to passive or semi-active control strategies while maintaining the other objectives at acceptable levels. Simulative studies undertaken via CarSim are also reported that confirm the potentiality and flexibility of the proposed control design strategy.

21 CFR 1404.610 - What procedures does the Office of National Drug Control Policy use in suspension and debarment...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What procedures does the Office of National Drug Control Policy use in suspension and debarment actions? 1404.610 Section 1404.610 Food and Drugs OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) General Principles Relating to Suspension and Debarment...

Integrated control rod monitoring device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, Katsuhiro

1997-01-01

The present invention provides a device in which an entire control rod driving time measuring device and a control rod position support device in a reactor building and a central control chamber are integrated systematically to save hardwares such as a signal input/output device and signal cables between boards. Namely, (1) functions of the entire control rod driving time measuring device for monitoring control rods which control the reactor power and a control rod position indication device are integrated into one identical system. Then, the entire devices can be made compact by the integration of the functions. (2) The functions of the entire control rod driving time measuring device and the control rod position indication device are integrated in a central operation board and a board in the site. Then, the place for the installation of them can be used in common in any of the cases. (3) The functions of the entire control rod driving time measuring device and the control rod position indication device are integrated to one identical system to save hardware to be used. Then, signal input/output devices and drift branching panel boards in the site and the central operation board can be saved, and cables for connecting both of the boards is no more necessary. (I.S.)

An Ultra-low Frequency Modal Testing Suspension System for High Precision Air Pressure Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiaoling YUAN

2014-05-01

Full Text Available As a resolution for air pressure control challenges in ultra-low frequency modal testing suspension systems, an incremental PID control algorithm with dead band is applied to achieve high-precision pressure control. We also develop a set of independent hardware and software systems for high-precision pressure control solutions. Taking control system versatility, scalability, reliability, and other aspects into considerations, a two-level communication employing Ethernet and CAN bus, is adopted to complete such tasks as data exchange between the IPC, the main board and the control board ,and the pressure control. Furthermore, we build a single set of ultra-low frequency modal testing suspension system and complete pressure control experiments, which achieve the desired results and thus confirm that the high-precision pressure control subsystem is reasonable and reliable.

Solvothermal Synthesis of One-Dimensional Transition Metal Doped ZnO Nanocrystals and Their Applications in Smart Window Devices

OpenAIRE

Šutka, A; Timusk, M; Kisand, V; Saal, K; Joost, U; Lõhmus, R

2015-01-01

Oxide semiconductor nanowire (NW) suspension based devices have been attracted growing interest in smart window applications due to their great controllability of light transmittance, simplicity and long term stability. Recently, we demonstrated smart window device using the suspension of electrospun TiO2 or solvothermally synthesized ZnO NWs in viscous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. The operating principle of the oxide semiconductor NW and PDMS device is based on the alterable orientati...

3D modeling design and engineering analysis of automotive suspension beam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ju Zhi Lan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Automotive suspension is an important device for transmission and torque. The main parameters and dimensions of 40 tons of heavy duty truck spring suspension system are designed in the paper. According to the data, the 3D modeling and virtual assembly of the leaf spring suspension are carried out by using parametric design. Structural stress of spring suspension is analyzed which can provide a guide and basis for the design of the leaf spring suspension.

Preview based control of suspension systems for commercial vehicles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Muijderman, J.H.E.A.; Kok, J.J.; Huisman, R.G.M.; Veldpaus, F.E.; van Heck, J.G.A.M.

1999-01-01

An active suspension with preview is developed for the rear axle of a commercial vehicle. The obtained improvements are promising and justify further investigation of the more feasible semi-active suspensions with preview. The inherent non-linearity of semi-active suspensions with switching shock

DESIGN AN INTELLIGENT CONTROLLER FOR FULL VEHICLE NONLINEAR ACTIVE SUSPENSION SYSTEMS

OpenAIRE

Aldair, A. A.; Wang, W. J.

2011-01-01

The main objective of designed the controller for a vehicle suspension system is to reduce the discomfort sensed by passengers which arises from road roughness and to increase the ride handling associated with the pitching and rolling movements. This necessitates a very fast and accurate controller to meet as much control objectives, as possible. Therefore, this paper deals with an artificial intelligence Neuro-Fuzzy (NF) technique to design a robust controller to meet the control objectives....

Strand Tension Control in Anchor Span for Suspension Bridge Using Dynamic Balance Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Da Wang

Full Text Available Abstract Strand tension control is essential in suspension bridge safety. However, few quantitative studies have examined the bending rigidity and boundary condition behavior of strands in the anchor span of suspension bridges because of their special structure and complex configuration. In this paper, a new calculation method for strand tension is explored by using dynamic balance theory to determine the effect of bending rigidity and boundary conditions. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method are tested and confirmed with verification examples and application on Nanxi Yangtze Suspension Bridge in China. The results indicated that only low-order frequency calculation could be used to calculate the strand tension without considering the effect of bending rigidity to ensure control accuracy. The influence of bending rigidity on the control precision is related to the tension and the length of the strands, which is significantly determined by the specific value between the stress rigidity and the bending rigidity. The uncertain boundary conditions of the anchor span cable, which are fixed between consolidated and hinged, also have a major effect on the control accuracy. To improve the accuracy of strand tension control, the least squares method is proposed during the tension construction control of the anchor span. This approach can significantly improve the accuracy of the tension control of the main cable strand. Some recommendations for future bridge analysis are provided based on the results of this study.

A Noise-Insensitive Semi-Active Air Suspension for Heavy-Duty Vehicles with an Integrated Fuzzy-Wheelbase Preview Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhengchao Xie

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Semi-active air suspension is increasingly used on heavy-duty vehicles due to its capabilities of consuming less power and low cost and providing better ride quality. In this study, a new low cost but effective approach, fuzzy-wheelbase preview controller with wavelet denoising filter (FPW, is developed for semi-active air suspension system. A semi-active suspension system with a rolling lobe air spring is firstly modeled and a novel front axle vertical acceleration-based road prediction model is constructed. By adopting a sensor on the front axle, the road prediction model can predict more reliable road information for the rear wheel. After filtering useless signal noise, the proposed FPW can generate a noise-insensitive control damping force. Simulation results show that the ride quality, the road holding, the handling capability, the road friendliness, and the comprehensive performance of the semi-active air suspension with FPW outperform those with the traditional active suspension with PID-wheelbase preview controller (APP. It can also be seen that, with the addition of the wavelet filter, the impact of sensor noise on the suspension performance can be minimized.

Micro-Organ Device

Science.gov (United States)

Gonda, Steve R. (Inventor); Chang, Robert C. (Inventor); Starly, Binil (Inventor); Culbertson, Christopher (Inventor); Holtorf, Heidi L. (Inventor); Sun, Wei (Inventor); Leslie, Julia (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A method for fabricating a micro-organ device comprises providing a microscale support having one or more microfluidic channels and one or more micro-chambers for housing a micro-organ and printing a micro-organ on the microscale support using a cell suspension in a syringe controlled by a computer-aided tissue engineering system, wherein the cell suspension comprises cells suspended in a solution containing a material that functions as a three-dimensional scaffold. The printing is performed with the computer-aided tissue engineering system according to a particular pattern. The micro-organ device comprises at least one micro-chamber each housing a micro-organ; and at least one microfluidic channel connected to the micro-chamber, wherein the micro-organ comprises cells arranged in a configuration that includes microscale spacing between portions of the cells to facilitate diffusion exchange between the cells and a medium supplied from the at least one microfluidic channel.

Levels of vibration transmitted to the operator of the tractor equipped with front axle suspension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele Pochi

2013-09-01

Full Text Available In recent years the comfort and the preservation of the health of the operators became central issues in the evolution of agricultural machinery and led to the introduction of devices aimed at improving working conditions. Thereby, for instance, the presence of air conditioner, soundproof cab and driver seat suspension became normal on agricultural tractors. The vibrations are one of the most complex issues to deal with, being determined by the characteristics and interaction of elements such as tyres, axles, mainframe, cab and seat suspension. In this respect, manufacturers are trying to improve their products, even integrating these elements with new devices such as the suspension on the front axle of the tractor, aimed at reducing the level of vibrations during the transfers at high speed. One of these underwent tests at CRA-ING. Since its purpose is to reduce the level of vibration transmitted to the driver, their measurements in different points of the tractor and in different operating conditions, were compared in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the device, expressed as time of exposure. The suspension system of the front axle is designed to absorb the oscillations (especially pitching determined by irregularities in the road surface, allowing an increased control of the vehicle at high speed, as demonstrated by the test results and confirmed by the driving impressions outlined by the operator. The action of the device under these conditions results in an increase of the exposure time, important fact because of the relevance of the road transfer operations of tractors with mounted implements or trailers to tow and of the tendency to increase the speed limit for the road tractors (in Germany were brought to 50 km h–1 for several years. The action just described is less evident with increasing irregularity of the road surface and with the decrease of the travel speed. Nevertheless, in such conditions, the device appears to

Model predictive control of an air suspension system with damping multi-mode switching damper based on hybrid model

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Xiaoqiang; Yuan, Chaochun; Cai, Yingfeng; Wang, Shaohua; Chen, Long

2017-09-01

This paper presents the hybrid modeling and the model predictive control of an air suspension system with damping multi-mode switching damper. Unlike traditional damper with continuously adjustable damping, in this study, a new damper with four discrete damping modes is applied to vehicle semi-active air suspension. The new damper can achieve different damping modes by just controlling the on-off statuses of two solenoid valves, which makes its damping adjustment more efficient and more reliable. However, since the damping mode switching induces different modes of operation, the air suspension system with the new damper poses challenging hybrid control problem. To model both the continuous/discrete dynamics and the switching between different damping modes, the framework of mixed logical dynamical (MLD) systems is used to establish the system hybrid model. Based on the resulting hybrid dynamical model, the system control problem is recast as a model predictive control (MPC) problem, which allows us to optimize the switching sequences of the damping modes by taking into account the suspension performance requirements. Numerical simulations results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed control method finally.

A Semiactive and Adaptive Hybrid Control System for a Tracked Vehicle Hydropneumatic Suspension Based on Disturbance Identification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shousong Han

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The riding conditions for a high-speed tracked vehicle are quite complex. To enhance the adaptability of suspension systems to different riding conditions, a semiactive and self-adaptive hybrid control strategy based on disturbance velocity and frequency identification was proposed. A mathematical model of the semiactive, self-adaptive hybrid suspension control system, along with a performance evaluation function, was established. Based on a two-degree-of-freedom (DOF suspension system, the kinematic relations and frequency zero-crossing detection method were defined, and expressions for the disturbance velocity and disturbance frequency of the road were obtained. Optimal scheduling of the semiactive hybrid damping control gain (csky, cground, chybrid and self-adaptive control gain (cv under different disturbances were realized by exploiting the particle swarm multiobjective optimization algorithm. An experimental study using a carefully designed test rig was performed under a number of typical riding conditions of tracked vehicles, and the results showed that the proposed control strategy is capable of accurately recognizing different disturbances, shifting between control modes (semiactive/self-adaptive, and scheduling the damping control gain according to the disturbance identification outcomes; hence, the proposed strategy could achieve a good trade-off between ride comfort and ride safety and efficiently increase the overall performance of the suspension under various riding conditions.

Advanced Suspension and Control Algorithm for U.S. Army Ground Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-01

magnetorheological fluid damper . This report provides a record of the research findings from this research project on advanced suspension and control...nonlinear control algorithm that can effectively work with semi-active dampers , such as the magnetorheological (MR) fluid damper . This research...rheological fluid effects). This is because the viscous damping force for high shaft speed becomes excessive and will transmit the terrain-induced

Hydropneumatic suspension systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bauer, Wolfgang

2011-07-01

Hydropneumatic suspensions systems combine the excellent properties of gas springs with the favourable damping properties of hydraulic fluids. The advantages of these systems are particularly appropriate for automotive applications, such as passenger cars, trucks and agricultural equipment. In this book, Dr. Bauer provides an extensive overview of hydropneumatic suspension systems. Starting with a comparison of different types of suspension systems, the author subsequently describes the theoretical background associated with spring and damping characteristics of hydropneumatic systems and furthermore explains the design of the most important system components. Additionally he gives an overview of level control systems and various special functions. Finally the technology is illustrated by design examples and the outlook for future hydropneumatic suspensions is discussed. (orig.)

Robust non-fragile finite-frequency H∞ static output-feedback control for active suspension systems

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Gang; Chen, Changzheng; Yu, Shenbo

2017-07-01

This paper deals with the problem of non-fragile H∞ static output-feedback control of vehicle active suspension systems with finite-frequency constraint. The control objective is to improve ride comfort within the given frequency range and ensure the hard constraints in the time-domain. Moreover, in order to enhance the robustness of the controller, the control gain perturbation is also considered in controller synthesis. Firstly, a new non-fragile H∞ finite-frequency control condition is established by using generalized Kalman-Yakubovich-Popov (GKYP) lemma. Secondly, the static output-feedback control gain is directly derived by using a non-iteration algorithm. Different from the existing iteration LMI results, the static output-feedback design is simple and less conservative. Finally, the proposed control algorithm is applied to a quarter-car active suspension model with actuator dynamics, numerical results are made to show the effectiveness and merits of the proposed method.

Adaptive Neural-Sliding Mode Control of Active Suspension System for Camera Stabilization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Zhao

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The camera always suffers from image instability on the moving vehicle due to the unintentional vibrations caused by road roughness. This paper presents a novel adaptive neural network based on sliding mode control strategy to stabilize the image captured area of the camera. The purpose is to suppress vertical displacement of sprung mass with the application of active suspension system. Since the active suspension system has nonlinear and time varying characteristics, adaptive neural network (ANN is proposed to make the controller robustness against systematic uncertainties, which release the model-based requirement of the sliding model control, and the weighting matrix is adjusted online according to Lyapunov function. The control system consists of two loops. The outer loop is a position controller designed with sliding mode strategy, while the PID controller in the inner loop is to track the desired force. The closed loop stability and asymptotic convergence performance can be guaranteed on the basis of the Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, the simulation results show that the employed controller effectively suppresses the vibration of the camera and enhances the stabilization of the entire camera, where different excitations are considered to validate the system performance.

Adaptive neural networks control for camera stabilization with active suspension system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Zhao

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The camera always suffers from image instability on the moving vehicle due to unintentional vibrations caused by road roughness. This article presents an adaptive neural network approach mixed with linear quadratic regulator control for a quarter-car active suspension system to stabilize the image captured area of the camera. An active suspension system provides extra force through the actuator which allows it to suppress vertical vibration of sprung mass. First, to deal with the road disturbance and the system uncertainties, radial basis function neural network is proposed to construct the map between the state error and the compensation component, which can correct the optimal state-feedback control law. The weights matrix of radial basis function neural network is adaptively tuned online. Then, the closed-loop stability and asymptotic convergence performance is guaranteed by Lyapunov analysis. Finally, the simulation results demonstrate that the proposed controller effectively suppresses the vibration of the camera and enhances the stabilization of the entire camera, where different excitations are considered to validate the system performance.

Reactor control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukami, Haruo; Morimoto, Yoshinori.

1981-01-01

Purpose: To operate a reactor always with safety operation while eliminating the danger of tripping. Constitution: In a reactor control device adapted to detect the process variants of a reactor, control a control rod drive controlling system based on the detected signal to thereby control the driving the control rods, control the reactor power and control the electric power generated from an electric generator by the output from the reactor, detection means is provided for the detection of the electric power from said electric generator, and a compensation device is provided for outputting control rod driving compensation signals to the control rod driving controlling system in accordance with the amount of variation in the detected value. (Seki, T.)

Optimization of Casting Design Parameters on Fabrication of Reliable Semi-Solid Aluminum Suspension Control Arm

Science.gov (United States)

Ragab, Kh. A.; Bouaicha, A.; Bouazara, M.

2017-09-01

The semi-solid casting process has the advantage of providing reliable mechanical aluminum parts that work continuously in dynamic as control arm of the suspension system in automotive vehicles. The quality performance of dynamic control arm is related to casting mold and gating system designs that affect the fluidity of semi-solid metal during filling the mold. Therefore, this study focuses on improvement in mechanical performance, depending on material characterization, and casting design optimization, of suspension control arms made of A357 aluminum semi-solid alloys. Mechanical and design analyses, applied on the suspension arm, showed the occurrence of mechanical failures at unexpected weak points. Metallurgical analysis showed that the main reason lies in the difficult flow of semi-solid paste through the thin thicknesses of a complex geometry. A design modification procedure is applied to the geometry of the suspension arm to avoid this problem and to improve its quality performance. The design modification of parts was carried out by using SolidWorks design software, evaluation of constraints with ABAQUS, and simulation of flow with ProCast software. The proposed designs showed that the modified suspension arm, without ribs and with a central canvas designed as Z, is considered as a perfect casting design showing an increase in the structural strength of the component. In this case, maximum von Mises stress is 199 MPa that is below the yield strength of the material. The modified casting mold design shows a high uniformity and minim turbulence of molten metal flow during semi-solid casting process.

Development of a Fabrication Process Using Suspension Plasma Spray for Titanium Oxide Photovoltaic Device

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hsian Sagr Hadi A

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In order to reduce the high costs of conventional materials, and to reduce the power necessary for the deposition of titanium dioxide, titanium tetrabutoxide has been developed in the form of a suspension of TiO2 using water instead of expensive ethanol. To avoid sedimentation of hydroxide particles in the suspension, mechanical milling of the suspension was conducted in order to create diffusion in colloidal suspension before using it as feedstock. Consequently, through the creation of a colloidal suspension, coating deposition was able to be conducted without sedimentation of the hydroxide particles in the suspension during the deposition process. Though an amorphous as-deposited coating was able to be deposited, through post heat treatment at 630 °C for 60 min, the chemical structure became anatase rich. In addition, it was confirmed that the post heat treated anatase rich coating had enough photo-catalytic activity to decolor methylene-blue droplets. From these results, this technique was found to have high potential in the low cost photo-catalytic titanium coating production process.

21 CFR 1404.615 - How does the Office of National Drug Control Policy notify a person of a suspension or debarment...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How does the Office of National Drug Control Policy notify a person of a suspension or debarment action? 1404.615 Section 1404.615 Food and Drugs OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) General Principles Relating to Suspension and Debarment...

Generic device controller for accelerator control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mariotti, R.; Buxton, W.; Frankel, R.; Hoff, L.

1987-01-01

A new distributed intelligence control system has become operational at the AGS for transport, injection, and acceleration of heavy ions. A brief description of the functionality of the physical devices making up the system is given. An attempt has been made to integrate the devices for accelerator specific interfacing into a standard microprocessor system, namely, the Universal Device Controller (UDC). The main goals for such a generic device controller are to provide: local computing power; flexibility to configure; and real time event handling. The UDC assemblies and software are described

5 MJ flywheel based on bulk HTS magnetic suspension

Science.gov (United States)

Poltavets, V.; Kovalev, K.; Ilyasov, R.; Glazunov, A.; Maevsky, V.; Verzbitsky, L.; Akhmadyshev, V.; Shikov, A.

2014-05-01

Nowadays the flywheel energy storage systems (FES) are developed intensively as uninterruptible power supply (UPS) devices for on-land and transport (especially airborne) applications worldwide. This work is devoted to the FES with magnetic suspension on the base of bulk HTS YBCO elements and permanent magnets. The developed FES is intended to be used as UPS in Russian atomic industry in case of an emergency. For the successful design of the FES the following questions should be solved: design of the motor/generator, design of the rotor (flywheel), design of the bearing system, design of the control system and system of power load matching, design of the cooling system. The developed small-scale FES with the stored energy 0.5 MJ was used to solve these basic questions. The elaborated FES consists of the synchronous electric machine with permanent magnets, the solid flywheel with axial magnetic suspension on the base of YBCO bulks and permanent magnets, the system of control and power load matching, and the system of liquid nitrogen cooling. The results of theoretical modeling of different schematics of magnetic suspension and experimental investigations of the constructed FES are presented. The design of the future full-scale FES with the stored energy ~5 MJ and output power up to 100 kW is described. The test results of the flywheel rotor and HTS magnetic suspension of 5 MJ FES are presented. This work is done under support of Rosatom within the frames of Russian Project "Superconducting Industry"

LMI-Based H¥ Anti-Rollover Control Algorithm of Vehicle Active Suspension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LIAO Cong

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In order to improve the anti-rollover ability for vehicles, a 4 DOF vehicle rollover dynamics model is established, base on which we have designed an active suspension anti-rollover controller and proposed the H¥ control strategy. Simulations were carried out using Matlab/Simulink, and results show that the proposed control scheme can not only reduce the roll angle and roll angular velocity, but also improve the rollover stability of the vehicle and reduce the probability of vehicle rollover accidents.

Control rod selecting and driving device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isobe, Hideo.

1981-01-01

Purpose: To simultaneously drive a predetermined number of control rods in a predetermined mode by the control of addresses for predetermined number of control rods and read or write of driving codified data to and from the memory by way of a memory controller. Constitution: The system comprises a control rod information selection device for selecting predetermined control rods from a plurality of control rods disposed in a reactor and outputting information for driving them in a predetermined mode, a control rod information output device for codifying the information outputted from the above device and outputting the addresses to the predetermined control rods and driving mode coded data, and a driving device for driving said predetermined control rods in a predetermined mode in accordance with the codified data outputted from the above device, said control rod infromation output device comprising a memory device capable of storing a predetermined number of the codified data and a memory control device for storing the predetermined number of data into the above memory device at a predetermined timing while successively outputting the thus stored predetermined number of data at a predetermined timing. (Seki, T.)

Control rod drive hydraulic device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takekawa, Toru.

1994-01-01

The device of the present invention can reliably prevent a possible erroneous withdrawal of control rod driving mechanism when the pressure of a coolant line is increased by isolation operation of hydraulic control units upon periodical inspection for a BWR type reactor. That is, a coolant line is connected to the downstream of a hydraulic supply device. The coolant line is connected to a hydraulic control unit. A coolant hydraulic detection device and a pressure setting device are disposed to the coolant line. A closing signal line and a returning signal line are disposed, which connect the hydraulic supply device and a flow rate control valve for the hydraulic setting device. In the device of the present invention, even if pressure of supplied coolants is elevated due to isolation of hydraulic control units, the elevation of the hydraulic pressure can be prevented. Accordingly, reliability upon periodical reactor inspection can be improved. Further, the facility is simplified and the installation to an existent facility is easy. (I.S.)

Development of A New Automotive Active Suspension System

Science.gov (United States)

Yousef Abdulhammed, Eng.; Eng. Hisham Elsherif, Dr, Prof.

2017-12-01

The main objective was to develop a smart new vehicle suspension system that minimizes the road irregularities impact on the driver, also to increase performance and stability of the vehicle at high speeds. The central idea is based on modifying the normal passive suspension system into a computer controller hydraulic actuated active suspension system simply by adding a new component such as a hydraulic cylinder on a normal passive system. The new suspension system is economical to be wildly used in consumer’s cars with low prices. The new added components was analytically tested and modeled according to different parameters. A new test rig was implemented to simulate a real quarter suspension system. The new suspension model was controlled by feedback controller according to the road conditions; the controller output controls the cylinder actuator to compensate the road oscillations and increases the vehicle stability for the passenger. Finally, to maximize the aerodynamics coefficients of the vehicle during high speeds by controlling the vehicle clearance level from the ground to achieve full stability, steering and fuel economy.

A universal suspension test rig for electrohydraulic active and passive automotive suspension system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahmoud Omar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A fully active electro-hydraulic and passive automotive quarter car suspensions with their experimental test-rigs are designed and implemented. Investigation of the active performance compared against the passive is performed experimentally and numerically utilizing SIMULINK's Simscape library. Both systems are modeled as single-degree-of-freedom in order to simplify the validation process. Economic considerations were considered during the rig's implementation. The rig consists of two identical platforms fixed side by side allowing testing two independent suspensions simultaneously. Position sensors for sprung and unsprung masses on both platforms are installed. The road input is introduced by a cam and a roller follower mechanism driven by 1.12 kW single phase induction motor with speed reduction assembly. The active hydraulic cylinder was the most viable choice due to its high power-to-weight ratio. The active control is of the proportional-integral-differential (PID type. Though this technique is quite simple and not new, yet the emphasis of this paper is the engineering, design and implementation of the experimental setup and controller. A successful validation process is performed. Ride comfort significantly improved with active suspension, as shown by the results; 24.8% sprung mass vibration attenuation is achieved. The details of the developed system with the analytical and experimental results are presented. Keywords: Active suspension, Passive suspension, Servo, Hydraulic, Control, PID

Research on magnetorheological damper suspension with permanent magnet and magnetic valve based on developed FOA-optimal control algorithm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao, Ping; Gao, Hong [Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu (China); Niu, Limin [Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan (China)

2017-07-15

Due to the fail safe problem, it was difficult for the existing Magnetorheological damper (MD) to be widely applied in automotive suspensions. Therefore, permanent magnets and magnetic valves were introduced to existing MDs so that fail safe problem could be solved by the magnets and damping force could be adjusted easily by the magnetic valve. Thus, a new Magnetorheological damper with permanent magnet and magnetic valve (MDPMMV) was developed and MDPMMV suspension was studied. First of all, mechanical structure of existing magnetorheological damper applied in automobile suspensions was redesigned, comprising a permanent magnet and a magnetic valve. In addition, prediction model of damping force was built based on electromagnetics theory and Bingham model. Experimental research was onducted on the newly designed damper and goodness of fit between experiment results and simulated ones by models was high. On this basis, a quarter suspension model was built. Then, fruit Fly optimization algorithm (FOA)-optimal control algorithm suitable for automobile suspension was designed based on developing normal FOA. Finally, simulation experiments and bench tests with input surface of pulse road and B road were carried out and the results indicated that working erformance of MDPMMV suspension based on FOA-optimal control algorithm was good.

Control rod control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seiji, Takehiko; Obara, Kohei; Yanagihashi, Kazumi

1998-01-01

The present invention provides a device suitable for switching of electric motors for driving each of control rods in a nuclear reactor. Namely, in a control rod controlling device, a plurality of previously allotted electric motors connected in parallel as groups, and electric motors of any selected group are driven. In this case, a voltage of not driving predetermined selected electric motors is at first applied. In this state an electric current supplied to the circuit of predetermined electric motors is detected. Whether integration or failure of a power source and the circuit of the predetermined electric motors are normal or not is judged by the detected electric current supplied. After they are judged normal, the electric motors are driven by a regular voltage. With such procedures, whether the selected circuit is normal or not can be accurately confirmed previously. Since the electric motors are not driven just at the selected time, the control rods are not operated erroneously. (I.S.)

Preview control of vehicle suspension system featuring MR shock absorber

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seong, M S; Choi, S B [Smart Structures and Systems Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 402-751 (Korea, Republic of); Cho, M W [Precision Manufacturing and Inspection Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 402-751 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, H G [Department of Automotive Engineering, Daeduk College, Daejeon, 305-715 (Korea, Republic of)], E-mail: seungbok@inha.ac.kr

2009-02-01

This paper presents control performance evaluation of optimal preview control algorithm for vehicle suspension featuring MR shock absorber. The optimal preview control algorithm has several advantages such as high control performance over that which is best for a non-preview system. In order to achieve this goal, a commercial MR shock absorber, Delphi MganerideTM, which is applicable to high class passenger vehicle, is adopted and its field-dependent damping force and dynamic responses are experimentally evaluated. Then the governing equation of motion for the full-vehicle model is established and integrated with the MR shock absorber. Subsequently, optimal controller with preview control algorithm is formulated and implemented for vibration suppression of the car body. Control performance of the preview controller is evaluated for the full-vehicle model under random road condition. In addition, the control performances depending on preview distances are evaluated.

Preview control of vehicle suspension system featuring MR shock absorber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seong, M S; Choi, S B; Cho, M W; Lee, H G

2009-01-01

This paper presents control performance evaluation of optimal preview control algorithm for vehicle suspension featuring MR shock absorber. The optimal preview control algorithm has several advantages such as high control performance over that which is best for a non-preview system. In order to achieve this goal, a commercial MR shock absorber, Delphi MganerideTM, which is applicable to high class passenger vehicle, is adopted and its field-dependent damping force and dynamic responses are experimentally evaluated. Then the governing equation of motion for the full-vehicle model is established and integrated with the MR shock absorber. Subsequently, optimal controller with preview control algorithm is formulated and implemented for vibration suppression of the car body. Control performance of the preview controller is evaluated for the full-vehicle model under random road condition. In addition, the control performances depending on preview distances are evaluated.

Adaptive suspension strategy for a double wishbone suspension through camber and toe optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Kavitha

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A suspension system is responsible for the safety of vehicle during its manoeuvre. It serves the dual purpose of providing stability to the vehicle while providing a comfortable ride quality to the occupants. Recent trends in suspension system have focused on improving comfort and handling of vehicles while keeping the cost, space and feasibility of manufacturing in the constraint. This paper proposes a method for improving handling characteristics of a vehicle by controlling camber and toe angle using variable length arms in an adaptive manner. In order to study the effect of dynamic characteristics of the suspension system, a simulation study has been done in this work. A quarter car physical model with double wishbone suspension geometry is modelled in SolidWorks. It is then imported and simulated using SimMechanics platform in MATLAB. The output characteristics of the passive system (without variable length arms were validated on MSC ADAMS software. The adaptive system intends to improve vehicle handling characteristics by controlling the camber and toe angles. This is accomplished by two telescopic arms with an actuator which changes the camber and toe angle of the wheel dynamically to deliver best possible traction and manoeuvrability. Two PID controllers are employed to trigger the actuators based on the camber and toe angle from the sensors for reducing the error existing between the actual and desired value. The arms are driven by actuators in a closed loop feedback manner with help of a separate control system. Comparison between active and passive systems is carried out by analysing graphs of various parameters obtained from MATLAB simulation. From the results, it is observed that there is a reduction of 58% in the camber and 96% in toe gain. Hence, the system provides the scope of considerable adaptive strategy in controlling dynamic characteristics of the suspension system.

Analysis of an industrial production suspension of Bacillus lentus subtilisin crystals by powder diffraction: a powerful quality-control tool

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frankær, Christian Grundahl; Moroz, Olga V.; Turkenburg, Johan P.

2014-01-01

. A controlled crystallization experiment with a highly purified Savinase sample allowed the growth of single crystals of the form identified by XRPD; their structure was solved and refined to a resolution of 1.17 Å with an R of 9.2% and an Rfree of 11.8%. Thus, there are at least three polymorphs present...... in the production suspension, albeit with the 1ndq -like microcrystals predominating. It is shown how the two techniques can provide invaluable and complementary information for such a production suspension and it is proposed that XRPD provides an excellent quality-control tool for such suspensions....

Progress of magnetic-suspension systems and magnetic bearings in the USSR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuzin, A.V.

1992-01-01

This paper traces the development and progress of magnetic suspension systems and magnetic bearings in the USSR. The paper describes magnetic bearings for turbomachines, magnetic suspension systems for vibration isolation, some special measuring devices, wind tunnels, and other applications. The design, principles of operation, and dynamic characteristics of the system are presented

Comparative analysis of the operation efficiency of the continuous and relay control systems of a multi-axle wheeled vehicle suspension

Science.gov (United States)

Zhileykin, M. M.; Kotiev, G. O.; Nagatsev, M. V.

2018-02-01

In order to improve the efficiency of the multi-axle wheeled vehicles (MWV) automotive engineers are increasing their cruising speed. One of the promising ways to improve ride comfort of the MWV is the development of the dynamic active suspension systems and control laws for such systems. Here, by the dynamic control systems we mean the systems operating in real time mode and using current (instantaneous) values of the state variables. The aim of the work is to develop the MWV suspension optimal control laws that would reduce vibrations on the driver’s seat at kinematic excitation. The authors have developed the optimal control laws for damping the oscillations of the MWV body. The developed laws allow reduction of the vibrations on the driver’s seat and increase in the maximum speed of the vehicle. The laws are characterized in that they allow generating the control inputs in real time mode. The authors have demonstrated the efficiency of the proposed control laws by means of mathematical simulation of the MWV driving over unpaved road with kinematic excitation. The proposed optimal control laws can be used in the MWV suspension control systems with magnetorheological shock absorbers or controlled hydropneumatic springs. Further evolution of the research line can be the development of the energy-efficient MWV suspension control systems with continuous control input on the vehicle body.

Reducing braking distance by control of semi-active suspension

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niemz, T.

2007-07-01

This thesis presents a control algorithm for semi-active suspensions to reduce the braking distance of passenger cars. Active shock absorbers are controlled and used to influence the vertical dynamics during ABS-controlled full braking. The core of the approach presented in this paper is based on a switching control logic. The control algorithm is implemented in a compact class passenger car. Test drives on a real road, using a braking machine for reproducibility reasons, have been executed. It could be shown that it is possible to reduce the braking distance by affecting on the vertical dynamics of a passenger car in general. This is the first experimental result of this kind published ever. The amount of reduction depends on the height profile of the testing track chosen and on the initial velocity. On a road with an unevenness comparable to the one on a typical German Autobahn an average reduction of 1-2%, compared to the best passive damping, was achieved. (orig.)

Self-powered suspension criterion and energy regeneration implementation scheme of motor-driven active suspension

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Shuai; Sun, Weichao

2017-09-01

Active suspension systems have advantages on mitigating the effects of vehicle vibration caused by road roughness, which are one of the most important component parts in influencing the performances of vehicles. However, high amount of energy consumption restricts the application of active suspension systems. From the point of energy saving, this paper presents a self-powered criterion of the active suspension system to judge whether a motor-driven suspension can be self-powered or not, and then a motor parameter condition is developed as a reference to design a self-powered suspension. An energy regeneration implementation scheme is subsequently proposed to make the active suspension which has the potential to be self-powered achieve energy-saving target in the real application. In this implementation scheme, operating electric circuits are designed based on different working status of the actuator and power source and it is realizable to accumulate energy from road vibration and supply energy to the actuator by switching corresponding electric circuits. To apply the self-powered suspension criterion and energy regeneration implementation scheme, an active suspension system is designed with a constrained H∞ controller and calculation results indicate that it has the capability to be self-powered. Simulation results show that the performances of the self-powered active suspension are nearly the same as those of the active suspension with an external energy source and can achieve energy regeneration at the same time.

molecular weight control of a batch suspension polymerization reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahrokhi, M.; Fanaei, M. A.

2002-01-01

This paper concerns molecular weight control of a batch polymerization reactor where suspension polymerization of methyl methylacrylate (MMA) takes place. For this purpose, a cascade control structure with two control loops has been selected. The slave loop is used for temperature control using on-line temperature measurements, and the master loop controls the average molecular weights based on its estimated values. Two different control algorithms namely proportional-integral (PI) controller and globally linearizing controller (GLC) have been used for temperature control. An estimator, which has the structure of an extended Kalman filter(EKF), is used for estimating monomer conversion and average molecular weights of polymer using reactor temperature measurements. The performance of proposed control algorithm is evaluated through simulation and experimental studies. The results indicate that a constant average molecular weight cannot be achieved in case of strong gel effect. However, the polydispersity of product will be lower in comparison to isothermal operation. It is also shown that in case of mo dek mismatch, the performance of cascade control is superior compared to the case where only reactor temperature is controlled based on desired temperature trajectory obtained through cascade strategy

Muscle Activation during Push-Ups with Different Suspension Training Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joaquin Calatayud, Sebastien Borreani, Juan C. Colado, Fernando F Martín, Michael E. Rogers

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to analyze upper extremity and core muscle activation when performing push-ups with different suspension devices. Young fit male university students (n = 29 performed 3 push-ups each with 4 different suspension systems. Push-up speed was controlled using a metronome and testing order was randomized. Average amplitude of the electromyographic root mean square of Triceps Brachii, Upper Trapezius, Anterior Deltoid, Clavicular Pectoralis, Rectus Abdominis, Rectus Femoris, and Lumbar Erector Spinae was recorded. Electromyographic signals were normalized to the maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC. Electromyographic data were analyzed with repeated-measures analysis of variance with a Bonferroni post hoc. Based upon global arithmetic mean of all muscles analyzed, the suspended push-up with a pulley system provided the greatest activity (37.76% of MVIC; p < 0.001. Individually, the suspended push-up with a pulley system also provided the greatest triceps brachii, upper trapezius, rectus femoris and erector lumbar spinae muscle activation. In contrast, more stable conditions seem more appropriate for pectoralis major and anterior deltoid muscles. Independent of the type of design, all suspension systems were especially effective training tools for reaching high levels of rectus abdominis activation.

A walker with a device of partial suspension for patients with gait disturbance: body weight supported walker.

Science.gov (United States)

Ochi, Mitsuhiro; Makino, Kenichiro; Wada, Futoshi; Saeki, Satoru; Hachisuka, Kenji

2009-09-01

We developed a walker, the Body Weight Supported (BWS) Walker, with a device of partial suspension for patients with gait disturbance. It consists of a light frame with casters, a harness, and a winch system. One therapist alone can perform gait training safely with the BWS Walker without any additional physical load, even if a patient has severe gait disturbance, and the therapist can concentrate on evaluating and improving the patient' s standing balance and gait pattern. Because the BWS Walker is less expensive, simpler, and easier to operate than other BWS systems, we believe the BWS Walker can be widely applicable in training for patients with severe and moderate gait disturbance.

On the Benefits of Semi-Active Suspensions with Inerters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin-Jie Zhang

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Inerters have become a hot topic in recent years especially in vehicle, train, building suspension systems, etc. Eight different layouts of suspensions were analyzed with a quarter-car model in this paper. Dimensionless root mean square (RMS responses of the sprung mass vertical acceleration, the suspension travel, and the tire deflection are derived which were used to evaluate the performance of the quarter-car model. The behaviour of semi-active suspensions with inerters using Groundhook, Skyhook, and Hybrid control has been evaluated and compared to the performance of passive suspensions with inerters. Sensitivity analysis was applied to the development of a high performance semi-active suspension with an inerter. Numerical simulations indicate that a semi-active suspension with an inerter has much better performance than the passive suspension with an inerter, especially with the Hybrid control method, which has the best compromise between comfort and road holding quality.

Motion control of a large gap magnetic suspension system for microrobotic manipulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Craig, David; Khamesee, Mir Behrad [Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1 (Canada)

2007-06-07

Magnetic suspension systems have shown a great deal of promise in the field of microrobotics. This paper discusses the performance of a new large gap magnetic suspension system developed by the researchers. The magnetic drive unit consists of six electromagnets attached to a soft iron pole piece and yoke. Levitation of an 11.19 g microrobot prototype is demonstrated for step, ramp and periodic input trajectories using PID control. The working envelope of the microrobot is 30 x 22 x 20 mm{sup 3}, with an RMS error on the order of 18 {mu}m in the vertical direction and 8 {mu}m in the horizontal direction. It is demonstrated that the levitated microrobot is able to track the desired trajectory precisely and that the system has potential application for micromanipulation.

Motion control of a large gap magnetic suspension system for microrobotic manipulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Craig, David; Khamesee, Mir Behrad

2007-01-01

Magnetic suspension systems have shown a great deal of promise in the field of microrobotics. This paper discusses the performance of a new large gap magnetic suspension system developed by the researchers. The magnetic drive unit consists of six electromagnets attached to a soft iron pole piece and yoke. Levitation of an 11.19 g microrobot prototype is demonstrated for step, ramp and periodic input trajectories using PID control. The working envelope of the microrobot is 30 x 22 x 20 mm 3 , with an RMS error on the order of 18 μm in the vertical direction and 8 μm in the horizontal direction. It is demonstrated that the levitated microrobot is able to track the desired trajectory precisely and that the system has potential application for micromanipulation

Compact vibration isolation and suspension for Australian International Gravitational Observatory: Local control system

Science.gov (United States)

Dumas, Jean-Charles; Barriga, Pablo; Zhao, Chunnong; Ju, Li; Blair, David G.

2009-11-01

High performance vibration isolators are required for ground based gravitational wave detectors. To attain very high performance at low frequencies we have developed multistage isolators for the proposed Australian International Gravitational Observatory detector in Australia. New concepts in vibration isolation including self-damping, Euler springs, LaCoste springs, Roberts linkages, and double preisolation require novel sensors and actuators. Double preisolation enables internal feedback to be used to suppress low frequency seismic noise. Multidegree of freedom control systems are required to attain high performance. Here we describe the control components and control systems used to control all degrees of freedom. Feedback forces are injected at the preisolation stages and at the penultimate suspension stage. There is no direct actuation on test masses. A digital local control system hosted on a digital signal processor maintains alignment and position, corrects drifts, and damps the low frequency linear and torsional modes without exciting the very high Q-factor test mass suspension. The control system maintains an optical cavity locked to a laser with a high duty cycle even in the absence of an autoalignment system. An accompanying paper presents the mechanics of the system, and the optical cavity used to determine isolation performance. A feedback method is presented, which is expected to improve the residual motion at 1 Hz by more than one order of magnitude.

Compact vibration isolation and suspension for Australian International Gravitational Observatory: local control system.

Science.gov (United States)

Dumas, Jean-Charles; Barriga, Pablo; Zhao, Chunnong; Ju, Li; Blair, David G

2009-11-01

High performance vibration isolators are required for ground based gravitational wave detectors. To attain very high performance at low frequencies we have developed multistage isolators for the proposed Australian International Gravitational Observatory detector in Australia. New concepts in vibration isolation including self-damping, Euler springs, LaCoste springs, Roberts linkages, and double preisolation require novel sensors and actuators. Double preisolation enables internal feedback to be used to suppress low frequency seismic noise. Multidegree of freedom control systems are required to attain high performance. Here we describe the control components and control systems used to control all degrees of freedom. Feedback forces are injected at the preisolation stages and at the penultimate suspension stage. There is no direct actuation on test masses. A digital local control system hosted on a digital signal processor maintains alignment and position, corrects drifts, and damps the low frequency linear and torsional modes without exciting the very high Q-factor test mass suspension. The control system maintains an optical cavity locked to a laser with a high duty cycle even in the absence of an autoalignment system. An accompanying paper presents the mechanics of the system, and the optical cavity used to determine isolation performance. A feedback method is presented, which is expected to improve the residual motion at 1 Hz by more than one order of magnitude.

Electromagnetically controlled measuring device for measuring injection quantities in a diesel injection pump volumetrically. Elektromagnetisch gesteuerte Messvorrichtung zur volumetrischen Messung von Einspritzmengen einer Dieseleinspritzpumpe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoffmann, K H; Mueller, M; Decker, R; Huber, G

1990-11-22

The invention concerns a measuring device for volumetric measurements of injection quantities of a diesel injection pump which injects its contents into a volumetric chamber controlled electromagnetically by a discharge valve and enclosed by a non-impact gas pressure loaded volumetric vessel and effects a retreating movement of the latter. The device is provided with an inductive path controller fitted with a differential pair of coils containing an axially movable ferromagnetic core. The path controller forms a part of a lifter rod connected to the volumetric vessel. It gives an opening signal to the discharge valve after each retreat of the volumetric vessel and a closing signal as soon as a defined height of suspension corresponding to the original position of the volumetric vessel after its return is reached.

Control system of fuel transporting device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokota, Minoru.

1981-01-01

Purpose: To effectively avoid an obstacle in a fuel transporting device by reading the outputs of absolute position detectors mounted on movable trucks, controlling the movements of the trucks, and thereby smoothly and accurately positioning the fuel transporting device at predetermined position and providing a contact detector thereat. Method: The outputs from absolute position detectors which are mounted on a longitudinally movable truck and a laterally movable truck are input to an input/output control circuit. The input/output control circuit serves to compare, the position a fuel transporting device is to be moved to, with the present position on the basis of said input detection signal and a command signal from an operator console, to calculate the amount of movement to be driven, to produce an operation signal therefor to a control panel, and to drive and control the drive motors which are respectively mounted on the trucks for the fuel transfer device. On the other hand, in case that the transfer device comes into contact with an obstacle, the contact detector will immediately operate to produce a stop command through the control panel to the transporting device, and avoid a collision with the obstacle. (Yoshino, Y.)

Fluid circulation control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benard, Henri; Henocque, Jean.

1982-01-01

Horizontal fluid circulation control device, of the type having a pivoting flap. This device is intended for being fitted in the pipes of hydraulic installation, particularly in a bleed and venting system of a nuclear power station shifting radioactive or contaminated liquids. The characteristic of this device is the cut-out at the top of the flap to allow the air contained in the pipes to flow freely [fr

Absorption Spectra of Gold Nanoparticle Suspensions

Science.gov (United States)

Anan'eva, M. V.; Nurmukhametov, D. R.; Zverev, A. S.; Nelyubina, N. V.; Zvekov, A. A.; Russakov, D. M.; Kalenskii, A. V.; Eremenko, A. N.

2018-02-01

Three gold nanoparticle suspensions are obtained, and mean radii in distributions - (6.1 ± 0.2), (11.9 ± 0.3), and (17.3 ± 0.7) nm - are determined by the transmission electron microscopy method. The optical absorption spectra of suspensions are obtained and studied. Calculation of spectral dependences of the absorption index of suspensions at values of the gold complex refractive index taken from the literature showed a significant deviation of experimental and calculated data in the region of 450-800 nm. Spectral dependences of the absorption of suspensions are simulated within the framework of the Mie-Drude theory taking into account the interband absorption in the form of an additional term in the imaginary part of the dielectric permittivity of the Gaussian type. It is shown that to quantify the spectral dependences in the region of the plasmon absorption band of nanoparticles, correction of the parameters of the interband absorption is necessary in addition to the increase of the relaxation parameter of the Drude theory. Spectral dependences of the dielectric permittivity of gold in nanodimensional state are refined from the solution of the inverse problem. The results of the present work are important for predicting the special features of operation of photonic devices and optical detonators based on gold nanoparticles.

A new fuzzy-disturbance observer-enhanced sliding controller for vibration control of a train-car suspension with magneto-rheological dampers

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Sy Dzung; Choi, Seung-Bok; Nguyen, Quoc Hung

2018-05-01

Semi-active train-car suspensions are always impacted negatively by uncertainty and disturbance (UAD). In order to deal with this, we propose a novel optimal fuzzy disturbance observer-enhanced sliding mode controller (FDO-SMC) for magneto-rheological damper (MRD)-based semi-active train-car suspensions subjected to UAD whose variability rate may be high but bounded. The two main parts of the FDO-SMC are an adaptive sliding mode controller (ad-SMC) and an optimal fuzzy disturbance observer (op-FDO). As the first step, the initial structures of the sliding mode controller (SMC) and disturbance observer (DO) are built. Adaptive update laws for the SMC and DO are then set up synchronously via Lyapunov stability analysis. Subsequently, an optimal fuzzy system (op-FS) is designed to fully implement a parameter constraint mechanism so as to guarantee the system stability converging to the desired state even if the UAD variability rate increases in a given range. As a result, both the ad-SMC and op-FDO are formulated. It is shown from the comparative work with existing controllers that the proposed method provides the best vibration control capability with relatively low consumed power.

A device for the hydraulic control of nuclear reactor control rods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frisch, Erling; Frisch, D.R.; Andrews, H.N.

1974-01-01

A device for driving and locking the control rods of a nuclear reactor. This device comprises a hydraulic driving piston mounted in a cylinder provided with a construction for absorbing shocks. The piston is provided, at is extremity, with a locking device adapted to engage a stationary lock, it being possible to control the latter for freeing said piston locking device; with such an arrangement, the control rod is normally maintained in position, and it can be freed only by a positive signal. Moreover, the control rod movements are slowed down, so as to prevent the gripping device from being damaged. This device can be used in the nuclear industry [fr

Monitoring device for withdrawing control rods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Higashigawa, Yuichi.

1985-01-01

Purpose: To improve the sensitivity and the responsivity to an equivalent extent to those in the case where local power range monitors are densely arranged near each of the control rods, with no actual but pseudo increase of the number of local power range monitors. Constitution: The monitor arrangement is patterned by utilizing the symmetricity of the reactor core and stored in a monitor designating device. The symmetricity of control rods to be selected and withdrawn by an operator is judged by a control rod symmetry monitoring device, while the symmetricity of the withdrawn control rods is judged by a control rod withdrawal state monitoring device. Then, only when both of the devices judge the symmetricity, the control rods are subjected to gang driving by the control rod drive mechanisms. In this way, monitoring at a high sensitivity and responsivity is enabled with no increase for the number of monitors. (Yoshino, Y.)

Assessment of drug salt release from solutions, suspensions and in situ suspensions using a rotating dialysis cell

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Parshad, Henrik; Frydenvang, Karla; Liljefors, Tommy

2003-01-01

buffer is used as release media. Generally, the initial release of the drug salt from in situ suspensions occurred faster as compared to conventional suspensions, probably due to incomplete precipitation of the drug salt, and hence formation of supersaturated solutions where the rate of release......A rotating dialysis cell consisting of a small (10 ml) and a large compartment (1000 ml) was used to study the release of drug salt (bupivacaine 9-anthracene carboxylate) from (i). solutions, (ii). suspensions and (iii). in situ formed suspensions. Initial release experiments from suspensions...... indicated that the release of drug salt in deionized water was predominantly limited by the diffusion across the membrane whereas it is essentially dissolution rate controlled in 0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.40). Thus, the in vitro model appears to have a potential in formulation screening when phosphate...

Vehicle lateral dynamics stabilization using active suspension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Drobný V.

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the investigation of active nonlinear suspension control in order to stabilize the lateral vehicle motion in similar way as systems like ESP do. The lateral stabilization of vehicle based on braking forces can be alternatively provided by the different setting of suspension forces. The basis of this control is the nonlinear property of the tyres. The vehicle has at least four wheels and it gives one or more redundant vertical forces that can be used for the different distribution of vertical suspension forces in such a way that resulting lateral and/or longitudinal forces create the required correction moment for lateral dynamic vehicle stabilization.

27 CFR 70.225 - Suspension of running of period of limitation; assets of taxpayer in control or custody of court.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Suspension of running of period of limitation; assets of taxpayer in control or custody of court. 70.225 Section 70.225 Alcohol... (Occupational) Tax Limitations § 70.225 Suspension of running of period of limitation; assets of taxpayer in...

Effective modelling of acoustofluidic devices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ley, Mikkel Wennemoes Hvitfeld

, and 3) acoustic streaming patterns in the devices considered in model 2). 1) We derive an effective model for numerical studies of hydrodynamic particle-particle interactions in microfluidic high-concentration suspensions. A suspension of microparticles placed in a microfluidic channel and influenced......, and of the momentum transfer between the particles and the suspension. 2) We derive a full 3D numerical model for the coupled acoustic fields in mm-sized water-filled glass capillaries, calculating pressure field in the liquid coupled to the displacement field of the glass channel, taking into account mixed standing...... for the acoustic field in glass capillary devices derived in 2), we make an effective model for calculating the acoustic streaming velocity in 3D. To do this, we use recent analytical results that allows calculation of the acoustic streaming field resulting from channel-wall oscillations in any direction...

Control method for prosthetic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

A control system and method for prosthetic devices is provided. The control system comprises a transducer for receiving movement from a body part for generating a sensing signal associated with that movement. The sensing signal is processed by a linearizer for linearizing the sensing signal to be a linear function of the magnitude of the distance moved by the body part. The linearized sensing signal is normalized to be a function of the entire range of body part movement from the no-shrug position of the moveable body part. The normalized signal is divided into a plurality of discrete command signals. The discrete command signals are used by typical converter devices which are in operational association with the prosthetic device. The converter device uses the discrete command signals for driving the moveable portions of the prosthetic device and its sub-prosthesis. The method for controlling a prosthetic device associated with the present invention comprises the steps of receiving the movement from the body part, generating a sensing signal in association with the movement of the body part, linearizing the sensing signal to be a linear function of the magnitude of the distance moved by the body part, normalizing the linear signal to be a function of the entire range of the body part movement, dividing the normalized signal into a plurality of discrete command signals, and implementing the plurality of discrete command signals for driving the respective moveable prosthesis device and its sub-prosthesis.

Remote controlled transport device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakahira, Masataka; Oka, Kiyoshi; Ito, Akira; Tada, Eisuke; Sato, Masaki

1998-01-01

The present invention provides a device for transporting equipments for maintenance and parts between a maintenance port and a facility for maintenance by remote control in a radioactive material handling facility such as a nuclear power plant. Namely, a power supply bus bar is disposed along a transferring path in order to supply power to a transporting means, and is divided into every region having a predetermined length. Each of the power supply bus bar regions is controlled for the power supply by a control device. Accordingly, the transporting means can be moved and driven successively being independent on every power supply bus bar region. Accordingly, a plurality of transporting means can be operated independently in a transferring path without laying around power cables and control signal cables. (I.S.)

Administrative license suspension: Does length of suspension matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Fell, James C; Scherer, Michael

2017-08-18

Administrative license revocation (ALR) laws, which provide that the license of a driver with a blood alcohol concentration at or over the illegal limit is subject to an immediate suspension by the state department of motor vehicles, are an example of a traffic law in which the sanction rapidly follows the offense. The power of ALR laws has been attributed to how swiftly the sanction is applied, but does the length of suspension matter? Our objectives were to (a) determine the relationship of the ALR suspension length to the prevalence of drinking drivers relative to sober drivers in fatal crashes and (b) estimate the extent to which the relationship is associated to the general deterrent effect compared to the specific deterrent effect of the law. Data comparing the impact of ALR law implementation and ALR law suspension periods were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques on the ratio of drinking drivers to nondrinking drivers in fatal crashes from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). States with an ALR law with a short suspension period (1-30 days) had a significantly lower drinking driver ratio than states with no ALR law. States with a suspension period of 91-180 days had significantly lower ratios than states with shorter suspension periods, while the three states with suspension lengths of 181 days or longer had significantly lower ratios than states with shorter suspension periods. The implementation of any ALR law was associated with a 13.1% decrease in the drinking/nondrinking driver fatal crash ratio but only a 1.8% decrease in the intoxicated/nonintoxicated fatal crash ratio. The ALR laws and suspension lengths had a significant general deterrent effect, but no specific deterrent effect. States might want to keep (or adopt) ALR laws for their general deterrent effects and pursue alternatives for specific deterrent effects. States with short ALR suspension periods should consider lengthening them to 91 days or longer.

Operation control device under radiation exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, Kiichi; Murakami, Toichi.

1994-01-01

The device of the present invention performs smooth progress of operation by remote control for a plurality of operations in periodical inspections in controlled areas of a nuclear power plant, thereby reducing the operator's exposure dose. Namely, the device monitors the progressing state of the operation by displaying the progress of operation on a CRT of a centralized control device present in a low dose area remote from an operation field through an ITV camera disposed in the vicinity of the operation field. Further, operation sequence and operation instruction procedures previously inputted in the device are indicated to the operation field through an operation instruction outputting device (field CRT) in accordance with the progress of the operation steps. On the other hand, the operation progress can be aided by inputting information from the operation field such as start or completion of the operation steps. Further, the device of the present invention can monitor the change of operation circumstances and exposure dose of operators based on the information from a radiation dose measuring device disposed in the operation circumstance and to individual operators. (I.S.)

Neural network compensation of semi-active control for magneto-rheological suspension with time delay uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong Xiaomin; Yu Miao; Liao Changrong; Chen Weimin; Li Zushu

2009-01-01

This study presents a new intelligent control method, human-simulated intelligent control (HSIC) based on the sensory motor intelligent schema (SMIS), for a magneto-rheological (MR) suspension system considering the time delay uncertainty of MR dampers. After formulating the full car dynamic model featuring four MR dampers, the HSIC based on eight SMIS is derived. A neural network model is proposed to compensate for the uncertain time delay of the MR dampers. The HSIC based on SMIS is then experimentally realized for the manufactured full vehicle MR suspension system on the basis of the dSPACE platform. Its performance is evaluated and compared under various road conditions and presented in both time and frequency domains. The results show that significant gains are made in the improvement of vehicle performance. Results include a reduction of over 35% in the acceleration peak-to-peak value of a sprung mass over a bumpy road and a reduction of over 24% in the root-mean-square (RMS) sprung mass acceleration over a random road as compared to passive suspension with typical original equipment (OE) shock absorbers. In addition, the semi-active full vehicle system via HSIC based on SMIS provides better isolation than that via the original HSIC, which can avoid the effect of the time delay uncertainty of the MR dampers

Control System for Prosthetic Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Bozeman, Richard J. (Inventor)

1996-01-01

A control system and method for prosthetic devices is provided. The control system comprises a transducer for receiving movement from a body part for generating a sensing signal associated with that of movement. The sensing signal is processed by a linearizer for linearizing the sensing signal to be a linear function of the magnitude of the distance moved by the body part. The linearized sensing signal is normalized to be a function of the entire range of body part movement from the no-shrug position of the moveable body part through the full-shrg position of the moveable body part. The normalized signal is divided into a plurality of discrete command signals. The discrete command signals are used by typical converter devices which are in operational association with the prosthetic device. The converter device uses the discrete command signals for driving the moveable portions of the prosthetic device and its sub-prosthesis. The method for controlling a prosthetic device associated with the present invention comprises the steps of receiving the movement from the body part, generating a sensing signal in association with the movement of the body part, linearizing the sensing signal to be a linear function of the magnitude of the distance moved by the body part, normalizing the linear signal to be a function of the entire range of the body part movement, dividing the normalized signal into a plurality of discrete command signals, and implementing the plurality of discrete command signals for driving the respective moveable prosthesis device and its sub-prosthesis.

Design of Immune-Algorithm-Based Adaptive Fuzzy Controllers for Active Suspension Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming-Yuan Shieh

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to integrate the artificial immune systems and adaptive fuzzy control for the automobile suspension system, which is regarded as a multiobjective optimization problem. Moreover, the fuzzy control rules and membership controls are then introduced for identification and memorization. It leads fast convergence in the search process. Afterwards, by using the diversity of the antibody group, trapping into local optimum can be avoided, and the system possesses a global search capacity and a faster local search for finding a global optimal solution. Experimental results show that the artificial immune system with the recognition and memory functions allows the system to rapidly converge and search for the global optimal approximate solutions.

Operation control device for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suto, Osamu.

1982-01-01

Purpose: To render the controlling functions of a central control console more centralized by constituting the operation controls for a nuclear power plant with computer systems having substantially independent functions such as those of plant monitor controls, reactor monitor management and CRT display and decreasing interactions between each of the systems. Constitution: An input/output device for the input of process data for a nuclear power plant and indication data for a plant control console is connected to a plant supervisory and control computer system and a display computer system, the plant supervisory control computer system and a reactor and management computer system are connected with a CRT display control device, a printer and a CRT display input/output device, and the display computer system is connected with the CRT display control device and the CRT display unit on the central control console, whereby process input can be processed and displayed at high speed. (Yoshino, Y.)

Adaptive magnetorheological seat suspension for shock mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Harinder Jit

This research focuses on theoretical and experimental analysis of an adaptive seat suspension employing magnetorheological energy absorber with the objective of minimizing injury potential to seated occupant of different weights subjected to broader crash intensities. The research was segmented into three tasks: (1) development of magnetorheological energy absorber, (2) biodynamic modeling of a seated occupant, and (3) control schemes for shock mitigation. A linear stroking semi-active magnetorheological energy absorber (MREA) was designed, fabricated and tested for intense impact conditions with piston velocities up to 8 m/s. MREA design was optimized on the basis of Bingham-plastic model (BPM model) in order to maximize the energy absorption capabilities at high impact velocities. Computational fluid dynamics and magnetic FE analysis were conducted to validate MREA performance. Subsequently, low-speed cyclic testing (0-2 Hz subjected to 0-5.5 A) and high-speed drop testing (0-4.5 m/s at 0 A) were conducted for quantitative comparison with the numerical simulations. Later, a nonlinear four degrees-of-freedom biodynamic model representing a seated 50th percentile male occupant was developed on the basis of experiments conducted on Hybrid II 50th percentile male anthropomorphic test device. The response of proposed biodynamic model was compared quantitatively against two different biodynamic models from the literature that are heavily implemented for obtaining biodynamic response under impact conditions. The proposed biodynamic model accurately predicts peak magnitude, overall shape and the duration of the biodynamic transient response, with minimal phase shift. The biodynamic model was further validated against 16 impact tests conducted on horizontal accelerator facility at NAVAIR for two different shock intensities. Compliance effects of human body were also investigated on the performance of adaptive seat suspension by comparing the proposed biodynamic model

Investigation of Equivalent Unsprung Mass and Nonlinear Features of Electromagnetic Actuated Active Suspension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Yin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Electromagnetic actuated active suspension benefits active control and energy harvesting from vibration at the same time. However, the rotary type electromagnetic actuated active suspension introduces a significant extra mass on the unsprung mass due to the inertia of the rotating components of the actuator. The magnitude of the introduced unsprung mass is studied based on a gearbox type actuator and a ball screw type actuator. The geometry of the suspension and the actuator also influence the equivalent unsprung mass significantly. The suspension performance simulation or control logic derived should take this equivalent unsprung mass into account. Besides, an extra force should be compensated due to the nonlinear features of the suspension structure and it is studied. The active force of the actuator should compensate this extra force. The discovery of this paper provides a fundamental for evaluating the rotary type electromagnetic actuated active suspension performance and control strategy derived as well as controlling the electromagnetic actuated active suspension more precisely.

A controller for controlling a group of lighting devices and a method thereof

OpenAIRE

2017-01-01

A controller (100) for controlling a group (110) of lighting devices (112, 114) is disclosed. The group (110) comprises a first lighting device (112) and a second lighting device (114). The controller (100) comprises a communication unit (102) for communicating with the first and second lighting devices (112, 114), and for receiving a first current light setting of the first lighting device (112) and a second current light setting of the second lighting device (114). The controller (100) furt...

Mesoscopic Length Scale Controls the Rheology of Dense Suspensions

Science.gov (United States)

Bonnoit, Claire; Lanuza, Jose; Lindner, Anke; Clement, Eric

2010-09-01

From the flow properties of dense granular suspensions on an inclined plane, we identify a mesoscopic length scale strongly increasing with volume fraction. When the flowing layer height is larger than this length scale, a diverging Newtonian viscosity is determined. However, when the flowing layer height drops below this scale, we evidence a nonlocal effective viscosity, decreasing as a power law of the flow height. We establish a scaling relation between this mesoscopic length scale and the suspension viscosity. These results support recent theoretical and numerical results implying collective and clustered granular motion when the jamming point is approached from below.

FORGING DEFECTS ANALYSIS IN SUSPENSION ARMAND FLASH CONTROL

OpenAIRE

Mr Jadhav Vijay B. , Prof. Mundhe V.L. , Dr. Narve N.G.

2018-01-01

The suspension arms in the process of fogging are made by different material and in that processes get various problems are found. In that paper list out that problem and solving flash wastage problem.

Testing device for control rod drives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayakawa, Toshifumi.

1992-01-01

A testing device for control rod drives comprises a logic measuring means for measuring an output signal from a control rod drive logic generation circuit, a control means for judging the operation state of a control rod and a man machine interface means for outputting the result of the judgement. A driving instruction outputted from the control rod operation device is always monitored by the control means, and if the operation instruction is stopped, a testing signal is outputted to the control rod control device to simulate a control rod operation. In this case, the output signal of the control rod drive logic generation circuit is held in a control rod drive memory means and intaken into a logic analysis means for measurement and an abnormality is judged by the control means. The stopping of the control rod drive instruction is monitored and the operation abnormality of the control rod is judged, to mitigate the burden of an operator. Further, the operation of the control rod drive logic generation circuit can be confirmed even during a nuclear plant operation by holding the control rod drive instruction thereby enabling to improve maintenance efficiency. (N.H.)

Reactor core control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sano, Hiroki

1998-01-01

The present invention provides a reactor core control device, in which switching from a manual operation to an automatic operation, and the control for the parameter of an automatic operation device are facilitated. Namely, the hysteresis of the control for the operation parameter by an manual operation input means is stored. The hysteresis of the control for the operation parameter is collected. The state of the reactor core simulated by an operation control to which the collected operation parameters are manually inputted is determined as an input of the reactor core state to the automatic input means. The record of operation upon manual operation is stored as a hysteresis of control for the operation parameter, but the hysteresis information is not only the result of manual operation of the operation parameter. This is results of operation conducted by a skilled operator who judge the state of the reactor core to be optimum. Accordingly, it involves information relevant to the reactor core state. Then, it is considered that the optimum automatic operation is not deviated greatly from the manual operation. (I.S.)

Control Strategies for Arrays of Wave Energy Devices

OpenAIRE

Westphalen, J; Bacelli, G; Balitsky, P; Ringwood, John

2011-01-01

In this paper, we investigate the differences between two control strategies for a two-device linear array of wave energy converters (WEC) for device spacings of 4 to 80 times the device diameter. The WECs operate in heave only and are controlled in real time. The control strategies, called the independent device and global array control, estimate the excitation forces and calculate the optimum vertical velocity trajectory and reactive power take off force to achieve the ...

Plasma position and shape control device for thermonuclear device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeuchi, Kazuhiro; Abe, Mitsushi; Kinoshita, Shigemi.

1993-01-01

A plasma position and shape control system is constituted with a measuring device, a quenching probability calculation section and a control calculation section. A quenching probability is calculated in the quenching probability calculation section by using a measuring data on temperature, electric current and magnetic field of superconductive coils, based on a margin upto a limit value. The control calculation section selects a control method which decreases applied voltage or current instruction value as the quenching probability of the coils is higher. Since the quenching probability of the superconductive coils can be forecast and a state of low quenching danger can be selected, the safety of the device is improved. When the quenching danger is allowed to a predetermined value, a wide operation region can be provided. (N.H.)

Magnetic Suspension Technology Workshop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keckler, C.R.; Groom, N.J.; Britcher, C.P.

1993-01-01

In order to identify the state of magnetic suspension technology in such areas as rotating systems, pointing of experiments or subsystems, payload isolation, and superconducting materials, a workshop on Magnetic Suspension Technology was held at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, on 2-4 Feb. 1988. The workshop included five technical sessions in which a total of 24 papers were presented. The technical sessions covered the areas of pointing, isolation, and measurement, rotating systems, modeling and control, and superconductors. A list of attendees is provided. Separate abstracts have been prepared for articles from this report

Hybrid superconducting magnetic suspensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tixador, P.; Hiebel, P.; Brunet, Y.; Chaud, X.; Gautier-Picard, P.

1996-01-01

Superconductors, especially high T c ones, are the most attractive materials to design stable and fully passive magnetic suspensions which have to control five degrees of freedom. The hybrid superconducting magnetic suspensions present high performances and a simple cooling mode. They consist of a permanent magnet bearing, stabilized by a suitable magnet-superconductor structure. Several designs are given and compared in terms of forces and stiffnesses. The design of the magnet bearing plays an important part. The superconducting magnetic bearing participates less in levitation but must provide a high stabilizing stiffness. This is achieved by the magnet configuration, a good material in term of critical current density and field cooling. A hybrid superconducting suspension for a flywheel is presented. This system consists of a magnet thrust bearing stabilized by superconductors interacting with an alternating polarity magnet structure. First tests and results are reported. Superconducting materials are magnetically melt-textured YBaCuO

FACTS device control strategy using PMU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohd Tauseef Khan

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The laying and commissioning of new transmission line is very difficult due to socio-economic problems, like environmental clearances, right of way, etc. Therefore, there is an emphasis on better utilization of available transmission infrastructure. FACTS devices can provide reactive power compensation, transmission capability enhancement, and voltage and stability improvement. FACTS devices operate under the command of system operator who analyses its demand by the data acquired through traditional SCADA system, state estimation algorithms and PMUs. SCADA together with PMU give accurate information about the operational state of power system. This paper proposes a scheme to automate the FACTS devices in collaboration with PMUs in a more efficient way. Highly precised data from PMUs can be fed to intelligent controllers for effective analyzing and automating the FACTS device through control command. Thus, this combination can provide real time control of reactive power, together with enhancement of power handling capability and stability improvement.

Fractional Order PID Control of Rotor Suspension by Active Magnetic Bearings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parinya Anantachaisilp

2017-01-01

Full Text Available One of the key issues in control design for Active Magnetic Bearing (AMB systems is the tradeoff between the simplicity of the controller structure and the performance of the closed-loop system. To achieve this tradeoff, this paper proposes the design of a fractional order Proportional-Integral-Derivative (FOPID controller. The FOPID controller consists of only two additional parameters in comparison with a conventional PID controller. The feasibility of FOPID for AMB systems is investigated for rotor suspension in both the radial and axial directions. Tuning methods are developed based on the evolutionary algorithms for searching the optimal values of the controller parameters. The resulting FOPID controllers are then tested and compared with a conventional PID controller, as well as with some advanced controllers such as Linear Quadratic Gausian (LQG and H ∞ controllers. The comparison is made in terms of various stability and robustness specifications, as well as the dimensions of the controllers as implemented. Lastly, to validate the proposed method, experimental testing is carried out on a single-stage centrifugal compressor test rig equipped with magnetic bearings. The results show that, with a proper selection of gains and fractional orders, the performance of the resulting FOPID is similar to those of the advanced controllers.

26 CFR 301.6503(b)-1 - Suspension of running of period of limitation; assets of taxpayer in control or custody of court.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 18 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Suspension of running of period of limitation; assets of taxpayer in control or custody of court. 301.6503(b)-1 Section 301.6503(b)-1 Internal Revenue... ADMINISTRATION Limitations Limitations on Assessment and Collection § 301.6503(b)-1 Suspension of running of...

DEVICE FOR CONTROL OF OXYGEN PARTIAL PRESSURE

Science.gov (United States)

Bradner, H.; Gordon, H.S.

1957-12-24

A device is described that can sense changes in oxygen partial pressure and cause a corresponding mechanical displacement sufficient to actuate meters, valves and similar devices. A piston and cylinder arrangement contains a charge of crystalline metal chelate pellets which have the peculiar property of responding to variations in the oxygen content of the ambient atmosphere by undergoing a change in dimension. A lever system amplifies the relative displacement of the piston in the cylinder, and actuates the controlled valving device. This partial pressure oxygen sensing device is useful in controlled chemical reactions or in respiratory devices such as the oxygen demand meters for high altitude aircraft.

Suspension-like hardening behavior of HDPE and time-hardening superposition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roozemond, P.C.; Janssens, V.; Puyvelde, van P.C.J.; Peters, G.W.M.

2012-01-01

The rheology of solidifying high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is investigated. Experiments on an HDPE were performed with a novel RheoDSC device. Results agree quantitatively with simulations for a suspension of elastic spheres in a viscoelastic matrix except for very low values of space filling

Effect of suspension kinematic on 14 DOF vehicle model

Science.gov (United States)

Wongpattananukul, T.; Chantharasenawong, C.

2017-12-01

Computer simulations play a major role in shaping modern science and engineering. They reduce time and resource consumption in new studies and designs. Vehicle simulations have been studied extensively to achieve a vehicle model used in minimum lap time solution. Simulation result accuracy depends on the abilities of these models to represent real phenomenon. Vehicles models with 7 degrees of freedom (DOF), 10 DOF and 14 DOF are normally used in optimal control to solve for minimum lap time. However, suspension kinematics are always neglected on these models. Suspension kinematics are defined as wheel movements with respect to the vehicle body. Tire forces are expressed as a function of wheel slip and wheel position. Therefore, the suspension kinematic relation is appended to the 14 DOF vehicle model to investigate its effects on the accuracy of simulate trajectory. Classical 14 DOF vehicle model is chosen as baseline model. Experiment data is collected from formula student style car test runs as baseline data for simulation and comparison between baseline model and model with suspension kinematic. Results show that in a single long turn there is an accumulated trajectory error in baseline model compared to model with suspension kinematic. While in short alternate turns, the trajectory error is much smaller. These results show that suspension kinematic had an effect on the trajectory simulation of vehicle. Which optimal control that use baseline model will result in inaccuracy control scheme.

Brain-controlled body movement assistance devices and methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leuthardt, Eric C.; Love, Lonnie J.; Coker, Rob; Moran, Daniel W.

2017-01-10

Methods, devices, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for brain-controlled body movement assistance devices. In one aspect, a device includes a brain-controlled body movement assistance device with a brain-computer interface (BCI) component adapted to be mounted to a user, a body movement assistance component operably connected to the BCI component and adapted to be worn by the user, and a feedback mechanism provided in connection with at least one of the BCI component and the body movement assistance component, the feedback mechanism being configured to output information relating to a usage session of the brain-controlled body movement assistance device.

Inhaled corticosteroid metered-dose inhalers: how do variations in technique for solutions versus suspensions affect drug distribution?

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Christie A; Tsourounis, Candy

2013-03-01

To assess the literature that evaluates how variations in metered-dose inhaler (MDI) technique affect lung distribution for inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) formulated as MDI suspensions and solutions. PubMed (up to November 2012) and Cochrane Library (up to November 2012) were searched using the terms metered-dose inhalers, HFA 134a, Asthma/*drug therapy, and inhaled corticosteroids. In addition, reference citations from publications identified were reviewed. All articles in English from the data sources that assessed MDI technique comparing total lung distribution (TLD) of MDI solutions or suspensions formulated with ICSs were included in the review. Five relevant studies were identified. Five controlled studies compared how variations in MDI technique affect TLD for ICS MDI solutions with suspensions. MDI solutions resulted in greater TLD compared with larger particle MDI suspensions. Delayed or early inspiration upon device actuation of MDI solutions resulted in less TLD than coordinated actuation, but with a 3- to 4-times greater TLD than MDI suspensions inhaled using a standard technique. A sixth study evaluated inspiratory flow rates (IFR) for small, medium, and large particles. Rapid and slow IFRs resulted in similar TLD for small particles, while far fewer particles reached the airways with medium and large particles at rapid, rather than slow, IFRs. Based on the literature evaluated, standard MDI technique should be used for ICS suspensions. ICS MDI solutions can provide a higher average TLD than larger-particle ICS suspensions using standard technique, discoordinated inspiration and medication actuation timing, or rapid and slow IFRs. ICS MDI solutions allow for a more forgiving technique, which makes them uniquely suitable options for patients with asthma who have difficultly with MDI technique.

Analysis of an industrial production suspension of Bacillus lentus subtilisin crystals by powder diffraction: a powerful quality-control tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Frankaer, Christian G; Moroz, Olga V; Turkenburg, Johan P; Aspmo, Stein I; Thymark, Majbritt; Friis, Esben P; Stahl, Kenny; Nielsen, Jens E; Wilson, Keith S; Harris, Pernille

2014-04-01

A microcrystalline suspension of Bacillus lentus subtilisin (Savinase) produced during industrial large-scale production was analysed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and X-ray single-crystal diffraction (MX). XRPD established that the bulk microcrystal sample representative of the entire production suspension corresponded to space group P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 47.65, b = 62.43, c = 75.74 Å, equivalent to those for a known orthorhombic crystal form (PDB entry 1ndq). MX using synchrotron beamlines at the Diamond Light Source with beam dimensions of 20 × 20 µm was subsequently used to study the largest crystals present in the suspension, with diffraction data being collected from two single crystals (∼20 × 20 × 60 µm) to resolutions of 1.40 and 1.57 Å, respectively. Both structures also belonged to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), but were quite distinct from the dominant form identified by XRPD, with unit-cell parameters a = 53.04, b = 57.55, c = 71.37 Å and a = 52.72, b = 57.13, c = 65.86 Å, respectively, and refined to R = 10.8% and Rfree = 15.5% and to R = 14.1% and Rfree = 18.0%, respectively. They are also different from any of the forms previously reported in the PDB. A controlled crystallization experiment with a highly purified Savinase sample allowed the growth of single crystals of the form identified by XRPD; their structure was solved and refined to a resolution of 1.17 Å with an R of 9.2% and an Rfree of 11.8%. Thus, there are at least three polymorphs present in the production suspension, albeit with the 1ndq-like microcrystals predominating. It is shown how the two techniques can provide invaluable and complementary information for such a production suspension and it is proposed that XRPD provides an excellent quality-control tool for such suspensions.

Reactor power control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishii, Yoshihiko; Arita, Setsuo; Miyamoto, Yoshiyuki; Fukazawa, Yukihisa; Ishii, Kazuhiko

1998-01-01

The present invention provides a reactor power control device capable of enhancing an operation efficiency while keeping high reliability and safety in a BWR type nuclear power plant. Namely, the device of the present invention comprises (1) a means for inputting a set value of a generator power and a set value of a reactor power, (2) a means for controlling the reactor power to either smaller one of the reactor power corresponding to the set value of the generator power and the set value of the reactor power. With such procedures, even if the nuclear power plant is set so as to operate it to make the reactor power 100%, when the generator power reaches the upper limit, the reactor power is controlled with a preference given to the upper limit value of the generator power. Accordingly, safety and reliability are not deteriorated. The operation efficiency of the plant can be improved. (I.S.)

Rheological properties of hydrate suspensions in asphaltenic crude oils; Proprietes rheologiques de suspensions d'hydrate dans des bruts asphalteniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marques de Toledo Camargo, R.

2001-03-01

The development of offshore oil exploitation under increasing water depths has forced oil companies to increase their understanding of gas hydrate formation and transportation in multiphase flow lines in which a liquid hydrocarbon phase is present. This work deals with the flow behaviour of hydrate suspensions in which a liquid hydrocarbon is the continuous phase. Three different liquid hydrocarbons are used: an asphaltenic crude oil, a condensate completely free of asphaltenes and a mixture between the asphaltenic oil and heptane. The rheological characterisation of hydrate suspensions is the main tool employed. Two original experimental devices are used: a PVT cell adapted to operate as a Couette type rheometer and a semi-industrial flow loop. Hydrate suspensions using the asphaltenic oil showed shear-thinning behaviour and thixotropy. This behaviour is typically found in flocculated systems, in which the particles attract each other forming flocs of aggregated particles at low shear rates. The suspensions using the condensate showed Newtonian behaviour. Their relative viscosities were high, which suggests that an aggregation process between hydrate particles takes. place during hydrate formation. Finally, hydrate suspensions using the mixture asphaltenic oil-heptane showed shear-thinning behaviour, thixotropy and high relative viscosity. From these results it can be inferred that, after the achievement of the hydrate formation process, the attractive forces between hydrate particles are weak. making unlikely pipeline obstruction by an aggregation process. Nevertheless, during the hydrate formation, these attractive forces can be sufficiently high. It seems that the hydrate surface wettability is an important parameter in this phenomena. (author)

Adaptive Hybrid Control of Vehicle Semiactive Suspension Based on Road Profile Estimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yechen Qin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A new road estimation based suspension hybrid control strategy is proposed. Its aim is to adaptively change control gains to improve both ride comfort and road handling with the constraint of rattle space. To achieve this, analytical expressions for ride comfort, road handling, and rattle space with respect to road input are derived based on the hybrid control, and the problem is transformed into a MOOP (Multiobjective Optimization Problem and has been solved by NSGA-II (Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II. A new road estimation and classification method, which is based on ANFIS (Adaptive Neurofuzzy Inference System and wavelet transforms, is then presented as a means of detecting the road profile level, and a Kalman filter is designed for observing unknown states. The results of simulations conducted with random road excitation show that the efficiency of the proposed control strategy compares favourably to that of a passive system.

Plasma control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsutomi, Akiyoshi.

1995-01-01

Plasma position and shape estimation values are outputted based on measured values of coil current. When the measured values of the position and the shape are judged to be abnormal, position and shape estimation values estimated by a plasma position and shape estimation means are outputted as position and shape feed back values to a plasma position and shape control means instead of the position and shape measured values. Since only a portion of the abnormal position and shape measured values may also be replaced with the position and shape estimation values, errors in the plasma position and shape feed back values can be reduced as a whole. In addition, even if the position and shape measured values are abnormal or if they can not be measured, plasma control can be continued by alternative position and shape estimation values, thereby enabling to avoid interruption of plasma control. Since the position and shape estimation values are obtained not only with the measured values of coil current but also with the position and shape estimation values, the accuracy is improved. Further, noises superposed on the position and shape measured values are filtered, and the device is stabilized compared with a prior art device. (N.H.)

A controller for controlling a group of lighting devices and a method thereof

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2017-01-01

A controller (100) for controlling a group (110) of lighting devices (112, 114) is disclosed. The group (110) comprises a first lighting device (112) and a second lighting device (114). The controller (100) comprises a communication unit (102) for communicating with the first and second lighting

Study on Dynamic Behaviour of Wishbone Suspension System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamal, M; Rahman, M M

2012-01-01

This paper presents the characteristic model of the wishbone suspension system using the quarter car model approach. Suspension system in an automobile provides vehicle control and passenger comfort by providing isolation from road disturbances. This makes it essential that the detailed behavior of suspension should be known to optimize the performance. A kinetic study is performed using multi body system (MBS) analysis. The dirt road profile is considered as an applied loading. The spring constant, damping coefficient and sprung mass are studied on the performance of the suspension system. It can be observed that the spring constant is inversely related with time required to return to initial position and the amount of deformations. The damping ratio affects the suppression of spring oscillations, beyond a certain limit damping ration has the negligible effect. Sprung mass effected the equilibrium position of the suspension system with a small effect on its oscillation behavior. It is shown that the spring constant, damping ratio and sprung mass are significant parameters to design the suspension system. This study is essential for complete understanding of working of the suspension system and a future study with real geometries.

Network synthesis and parameter optimization for vehicle suspension with inerter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Long Chen

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In order to design a comfortable-oriented vehicle suspension structure, the network synthesis method was utilized to transfer the problem into solving a timing robust control problem and determine the structure of “inerter–spring–damper” suspension. Bilinear Matrix Inequality was utilized to obtain the timing transfer function. Then, the transfer function of suspension system can be physically implemented by passive elements such as spring, damper, and inerter. By analyzing the sensitivity and quantum genetic algorithm, the optimized parameters of inerter–spring–damper suspension were determined. A quarter-car model was established. The performance of the inerter–spring–damper suspension was verified under random input. The simulation results manifested that the dynamic performance of the proposed suspension was enhanced in contrast with traditional suspension. The root mean square of vehicle body acceleration decreases by 18.9%. The inerter–spring–damper suspension can inhibit the vertical vibration within the frequency of 1–3 Hz effectively and enhance the performance of ride comfort significantly.

System for remote control of underground device

Science.gov (United States)

Brumleve, T.D.; Hicks, M.G.; Jones, M.O.

1975-10-21

A system is described for remote control of an underground device, particularly a nuclear explosive. The system includes means at the surface of the ground for transmitting a seismic signal sequence through the earth having controlled and predetermined signal characteristics for initiating a selected action in the device. Additional apparatus, located with or adjacent to the underground device, produces electrical signals in response to the seismic signals received and compares these electrical signals with the predetermined signal characteristics.

System for remote control of underground device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brumleve, T.D.; Hicks, M.G.; Jones, M.O.

1975-01-01

A system is described for remote control of an underground device, particularly a nuclear explosive. The system includes means at the surface of the ground for transmitting a seismic signal sequence through the earth having controlled and predetermined signal characteristics for initiating a selected action in the device. Additional apparatus, located with or adjacent to the underground device, produces electrical signals in response to the seismic signals received and compares these electrical signals with the predetermined signal characteristics

One-Quarter-Car Active SuspensionModel Verification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyniova Katerina

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Suspension system influences both the comfort and safety of the passengers. In the paper, energy recuperation and management in automotive suspension systems with linear electric motors that are controlled by a designed H∞ controller to generate a variable mechanical force for a car damper is presented. Vehicle shock absorbers in which forces are generated in response to feedback signals by active elements obviously offer increased design flexibility compared to the conventional suspensions with passive elements (springs and dampers. The main advantage of the proposed solution that uses a linear AC motor is the possibility to generate desired forces acting between the unsprung (wheel and sprung (one-quarter of the car body mass masses of the car, providing good insulation of the car sprung mass from the road surface roughness and load disturbances. As shown in the paper, under certain circumstances linear motors as actuators enable to transform mechanical energy of the vertical car vibrations to electrical energy, accumulate it, and use it when needed. Energy flow control enables to reduce or even eliminate the demands on the external power source. In particular, the paper is focused on experiments with active shock absorber that has been taken on the designed test bed and the way we developed an appropriate input signal for the test bed that as real road disturbance acts upon the vibration absorber and the obtained results are evaluated at the end. Another important point the active suspension design should satisfy is energy supply control that is made via standard controller modification, and which allows changing amount of energy required by the system. Functionality of the designed controller modification was verified taking various experiments on the experiment stand as mentioned in the paper.

Testing device for pipeline groups and control method for testing device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naito, Shinji; Kajiyama, Shigeru; Takahashi, Fuminobu; Tsuchida, Kenji; Tachibana, Yukio; Shigehiro, Katsuya; Mahara, Yoichi.

1995-01-01

The device of the present invention comprises a testing device main body disposed to a rail, a movable mechanism positioning from a reference point, a circumferential direction scanning mechanism, an axial direction scanning mechanism, a posture control mechanism, and a testing probe. Upon testing of pipelines, the detection device main body and auxiliary members are moved from a reference point previously set on a rail for numerical control toward pipelines to be tested in a state where the axial direction scanning mechanism and the testing probe are suspended in the axial direction. The testing is conducted by controlling the position of the testing probe in the axial direction of the pipeline by means of the axial direction scanning mechanism, and scanning the testing probe to the outer circumference of the pipeline along the circumferential track by way of the circumferential direction scanning mechanism. The device can be extremely reduced in the thickness, and can be moved with no interference with pipelines and other obstacles by remote operation even under such undesired condition as the pipelines being crowded, so that non-destructive testing can be conducted accurately. (N.H.)

Power control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukawa, Naohiro.

1982-01-01

Purpose: To alleviate the load of an operator by automatically operating the main controller, the speed controller, etc. of a recirculation control system and safely operating them without erroneous operation for long period of time, thereby improving the efficiency of a plant. Constitution: An electric type hydraulic control device controls loads of a turbine and a generator and outputs a control signal also to the main controller of a recirculation flow rate control system. At this time, the main controller is set at an automatic position, and the speed controller receives a recirculation pump speed signal from the main controller at the automatic position. The speed controller outputs a pump speed control signal to the recirculation pump system, and a reactor generates a power corresponding thereto. When the power control is automatically performed by the recirculation flow rate control, an operator sets a rate of change of the recirculation pump speed and the rate of change of the mean power range monitor at a change rate setting unit. Therefore, the control of the recirculation flow rate under the power control can be substantially entirely automated. (Yoshigara, H.)

CONTROL OF POSTHARVEST TOMATO ROT BY SPORE SUSPENSION AND ANTIFUNGAL METABOLITES OF TRICHODERMA HARZIANUM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Momein H. El-Katatny

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Rot of cherry tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum fruits caused by several fungal pathogens is a detrimental disease leading to substantial yield loses worldwide. Alternaria isolates were the most common fungal species isolated from healthy or rotten fruits. Trichoderma harzianum spore suspension and culture filtrate were tested for their antagonistic activity on controlling tomato fruit rot. T. harzianum isolates suppressed or interfered with the growth of different postharvest tomato fungal pathogens albeit at different degrees. Their culture filtrate inhibited pathogen spore germination possibly due to the released extracellular diffusible metabolite(s. Besides, aberrant morphology of conidia was observed with deformation of hyphal tips. Furthermore, the resulting mycelia appeared desiccated with coagulated protoplasm leading to complete collapse of protoplasm in presence of T. harzianum culture filtrate. Application of T. harzianum spores to tomato fruits decreased disease severity significantly with the most profound effect at higher spore concentrations (108 cells per ml. Similarly, culture filtrate of T. harzianum prevented pathogen spore germination on the surface of tomato fruits leading to decreased incidence of rot symptoms at high culture filtrate concentrations. This work provides strong evidence that T. harzianum is a competent antagonist and its spore suspension and culture filtrate can be used efficiently to control postharvest tomato rot.

Automatic exchange unit for control rod drive device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nasu, Seiji; Sasaki, Masayoshi.

1982-01-01

Purpose: To enable automatic reoperation and continuation without external power interruption remedy device at the time of recovering the interrupted power soruce during automatic positioning operation. Constitution: In case of an automatic exchange unit for a control rod drive device of the control type for setting the deviation between the positioning target position and the present position of the device to zero, the position data of the drive device of the positioning target value of the device is automatically read, and an interlock of operation inhibit is applied to a control system until the data reading is completed and automatic operation start or restart conditions are sequentially confirmed. After the confirmation, the interlock is released to start the automatic operation or reoperation. Accordingly, the automatic operation can be safely restarted and continued. (Yoshihara, H.)

H∞ control of railway vehicle suspension with MR damper using scaled roller rig

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Yu-Jeong; You, Won-Hee; Hur, Hyun-Moo; Park, Joon-Hyuk

2014-01-01

In this paper, a magneto-rheological (MR) damper was applied to the secondary suspension to reduce the vibration of a car body. The control performance of the MR damper was verified by numerical analysis with a 1/5 scale railway vehicle model in accordance with the similarity law. The analysis results were then validated in tests. In particular, the objective of the study was to understand how the control performance affected the dynamic characteristics of a railway vehicle and to systematically analyze the relationship between control performance and dynamic characteristics depending on various running speeds. To achieve this, experimental results for the dynamic characteristics of the scaled MR damper designed for the 1/5 scale railway vehicle model were applied to the railway vehicle model. The H ∞ control method was applied to the controller. The means of designing the railway vehicle body vibration controller and the effectiveness of its results were studied. (paper)

Automatic operation device for control rods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekimizu, Koichi

1984-01-01

Purpose: To enable automatic operation of control rods based on the reactor operation planning, and particularly, to decrease the operator's load upon start up and shutdown of the reactor. Constitution: Operation plannings, demand for the automatic operation, break point setting value, power and reactor core flow rate change, demand for operation interrupt, demand for restart, demand for forecasting and the like are inputted to an input device, and an overall judging device performs a long-term forecast as far as the break point by a long-term forecasting device based on the operation plannings. The automatic reactor operation or the like is carried out based on the long-term forecasting and the short time forecasting is performed by the change in the reactor core status due to the control rod operation sequence based on the control rod pattern and the operation planning. Then, it is judged if the operation for the intended control rod is possible or not based on the result of the short time forecasting. (Aizawa, K.)

Control rod guide tube cleaning device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuji, Tadashi; Shiota, Yoshiaki.

1990-01-01

Since there was no exclusive device for cleaning control rods, no effective cleaning could not be conducted and there was a possibility that obstacles may not be recovered. Then, there are disposed a first pump for supplying pressurized water, a spray nozzle for forming a swirling flow in a control rod guide tube, a second pump for pressurizing water introduced by a sucking pipeline and a collecting device for recovering obstacles intruding to water from the second pump. The pressurized water supplied from the first pump is introduced to a head passing through a blowing pipe and jetted from the spray nozzle to the control rod guide tube. In this case, a swirling stream occurs and obstacles in the control guide tube are mixed into water. The water containing the obstacles passes from the sucking port through a pipeline, introduced to the second pump and recovered to the collecting device. Since there is no water staying portion upon cleaning operation, the obstacles accumulating over the entire region of the bottom of the guide tube can be recovered reliably and efficiently. (N.H.)

Measurements on an electromagnetic active suspension system for automotive applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gysen, B.L.J.; Paulides, J.J.H.; Lomonova, E.A.; Encica, L.; Gysen, B.L.J.; Jansen, J.W.; Krop, D.C.J.

2008-01-01

Abstract—This paper describes the specifications for active suspension systems and provides an electromagnetic solution. Electromagnetic actuation and preliminary control strategies are investigated in order to achieve a suspension system with the ability to absorb road irregularities and perform

Feedwater control method and device therefor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakahara, Mitsugu; Ichikawa, Yoshiaki; Ishii, Yoshikazu; Suzuki, Katsuyuki; Tanikawa, Naoshi; Mizuki, Fumio.

1997-01-01

The present invention provides a method of and a device for easily changing the constitution of feedwater systems without causing change in the water level of a reactor even when a plurality of feedwater systems have imbalance points. Namely, a feedwater control device comprises at least two feedwater systems capable of feeding water to tanks independently respectively and a controller capable of controlling water level in the tanks by controlling these feedwater systems. There is disposed a means for outputting gradually increasing driving signals to other feedwater systems, when the water level controller automatically controls one of the feedwater systems. There is also disposed a means for switching from automatic control for one of the feedwater systems to automatic control for the other feedwater system by a water level controller when the other feedwater system is in a stable operation region. As a result, entire feedwater flow rate is not temporarily changed and the water level in the tanks can be maintained constant. (N.H.)

Plasma control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takase, Haruhiko.

1987-01-01

Purpose: To obtain the optimum controllability for the plasmas and the thermonuclear device by selectively executing control operation for proportion, integration and differentiation (PID) by first and second controllers respectively based on selection instruction signals. Constitution: Deviation between a vertical direction equilibrium position: Zp as the plasma status amount measured in a measuring section and an aimed value Zref thereof is inputted to a first PID selection controller. The first controller selectively executes one of the PID control operations in accordance with the first selection signal instruction instructed by a PID control operation instruction circuit. Further, Zp is also inputted to a second PID selection controller, which selectively executes one of the PID control operations in accordance with the second selection instruction signal in the same manner as in the first controller. The deviation amount u between operations signals u1 and u2 from the first and second PID selection controllers is inputted to a power source to thereby supply a predetermined current value to control coils that generate equilibrium magnetic fields for making the vertical direction equilibrium position of plasmas constant. (Kamimura, M.)

A new variable stiffness suspension system: passive case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. M. Anubi

2013-02-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the design, analysis, and experimental validation of the passive case of a variable stiffness suspension system. The central concept is based on a recently designed variable stiffness mechanism. It consists of a horizontal control strut and a vertical strut. The main idea is to vary the load transfer ratio by moving the location of the point of attachment of the vertical strut to the car body. This movement is controlled passively using the horizontal strut. The system is analyzed using an L2-gain analysis based on the concept of energy dissipation. The analyses, simulation, and experimental results show that the variable stiffness suspension achieves better performance than the constant stiffness counterpart. The performance criteria used are; ride comfort, characterized by the car body acceleration, suspension deflection, and road holding, characterized by tire deflection.

A high-force controllable MR fluid damper–liquid spring suspension system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raja, Pramod; Wang, Xiaojie; Gordaninejad, Faramarz

2014-01-01

The goal of the present research is to investigate the feasibility of incorporating a liquid spring in a semi-active suspension system for use in heavy off-road vehicles. A compact compressible magneto-rheological (MR) fluid damper–liquid spring (CMRFD–LS) with high spring rate is designed, developed and tested. Compressible MR fluids with liquid spring and variable damping characteristics are used. These fluids can offer unique functions in reducing the volume/weight of vehicle struts and improving vehicle dynamic stability and safety. The proposed device consists of a cylinder and piston–rod arrangement with an internal annular MR fluid valve. The internal pressures in the chambers on either side of the piston develop the spring force, while the pressure difference across the MR valve produces the damping force, when the fluid flows through the MR valve. Harmonic characterization of the CMRFD–LS is performed and the force–displacement results are presented. A fluid-mechanics based model is also developed to predict the performance of the system at different operating conditions and compared to the experimental results. Good agreement between the experimental results and theoretical predictions has been achieved. (paper)

A safety control device for detecting undesirable conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1974-09-26

The invention relates to safety control devices. It deals with a device adapted to transmit a warning signal and to the detection of an undesirable condition in an associated apparatus, said device comprising switching means comprising transistors mounted in a reaction path, feeding means for opening the switching means whenever an undesirable condition has been detected by sensors, whereby an oscillator is caused to stop oscillating, and an outlet device controlled by the oscillator stoppage. This can be applied to the supervision of nuclear reactor.

Operational Modal Analysis and the Performance Assessment of Vehicle Suspension Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Soria

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Comfort, road holding and safety of passenger cars are mainly influenced by an appropriate design of suspension systems. Improvements of the dynamic behaviour can be achieved by implementing semi-active or active suspension systems. In these cases, the correct design of a well-performing suspension control strategy is of fundamental importance to obtain satisfying results. Operational Modal Analysis allows the experimental structural identification in those that are the real operating conditions: Moving from output-only data, leading to modal models linearised around the more interesting working points and, in the case of controlled systems, providing the needed information for the optimal design and verification of the controller performance. All these characters are needed for the experimental assessment of vehicle suspension systems. In the paper two suspension architectures are considered equipping the same car type. The former is a semi-active commercial system, the latter a novel prototypic active system. For the assessment of suspension performance, two different kinds of tests have been considered, proving ground tests on different road profiles and laboratory four poster rig tests. By OMA-processing the signals acquired in the different testing conditions and by comparing the results, it is shown how this tool can be effectively utilised to verify the operation and the performance of those systems, by only carrying out a simple, cost-effective road test.

Analysis Of The Method Of Predictive Control Applicable To Active Magnetic Suspension Systems Of Aircraft Engines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kurnyta-Mazurek Paulina

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Conventional controllers are usually synthesized on the basis of already known parameters associated with the model developed for the object to be controlled. However, sometimes it proves extremely difficult or even infeasible to find out these parameters, in particular when they subject to changes during the exploitation lifetime. If so, much more sophisticated control methods have to be applied, e.g. the method of predictive control. Thus, the paper deals with application of the predictive control approach to follow-up tracking of an active magnetic suspension where the mathematical and simulation models for such a control system are disclosed with preliminary results from simulation investigations of the control system in question.

Wind turbine remote control using Android devices

Science.gov (United States)

Rat, C. L.; Panoiu, M.

2018-01-01

This paper describes the remote control of a wind turbine system over the internet using an Android device, namely a tablet or a smartphone. The wind turbine workstation contains a LabVIEW program which monitors the entire wind turbine energy conversion system (WECS). The Android device connects to the LabVIEW application, working as a remote interface to the wind turbine. The communication between the devices needs to be secured because it takes place over the internet. Hence, the data are encrypted before being sent through the network. The scope was the design of remote control software capable of visualizing real-time wind turbine data through a secure connection. Since the WECS is fully automated and no full-time human operator exists, unattended access to the turbine workstation is needed. Therefore the device must not require any confirmation or permission from the computer operator in order to control it. Another condition is that Android application does not have any root requirements.

Device Configuration Handler for Accelerator Control Applications at Jefferson Lab

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bickley, Matt; Chevtsov, P.; Larrieu, T.

2003-01-01

The accelerator control system at Jefferson Lab uses hundreds of physical devices with such popular instrument bus interfaces as Industry Pack (IPAC), GPIB, RS-232, etc. To properly handle all these components, control computers (IOCs) must be provided with the correct information about the unique memory addresses of the used interface cards, interrupt numbers (if any), data communication channels and protocols. In these conditions, the registration of a new control device in the control system is not an easy task for software developers. Because the device configuration is distributed, it requires the detailed knowledge about not only the new device but also the configuration of all other devices on the existing system. A configuration handler implemented at Jefferson Lab centralizes the information about all control devices making their registration user-friendly and very easy to use. It consists of a device driver framework and the device registration software developed on the basis of ORACLE database and freely available scripting tools (perl, php)

Robust control of nonlinear MAGLEV suspension system with mismatched uncertainties via DOBC approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jun; Zolotas, Argyrios; Chen, Wen-Hua; Michail, Konstantinos; Li, Shihua

2011-07-01

Robust control of a class of uncertain systems that have disturbances and uncertainties not satisfying "matching" condition is investigated in this paper via a disturbance observer based control (DOBC) approach. In the context of this paper, "matched" disturbances/uncertainties stand for the disturbances/uncertainties entering the system through the same channels as control inputs. By properly designing a disturbance compensation gain, a novel composite controller is proposed to counteract the "mismatched" lumped disturbances from the output channels. The proposed method significantly extends the applicability of the DOBC methods. Rigorous stability analysis of the closed-loop system with the proposed method is established under mild assumptions. The proposed method is applied to a nonlinear MAGnetic LEViation (MAGLEV) suspension system. Simulation shows that compared to the widely used integral control method, the proposed method provides significantly improved disturbance rejection and robustness against load variation. Copyright © 2011 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

GPS User Devices Parameter Control Methods

OpenAIRE

Klūga, A; Kuļikovs, M; Beļinska, V; Zeļenkovs, A

2007-01-01

In our day’s wide assortment of GPS user devices is manufacture. How to verify that parameters of the real device corresponds to parameters that manufacture shows. How to verify that parameters have not been changed during the operation time. The last one is very important for aviation GPS systems, which must be verified before the flight, but the values of parameter in time of repair works. This work analyses GPS user devices parameters control methods.

Experimental Evaluation of Mountain Bike Suspension Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Titlestad

2003-01-01

Full Text Available A significant distinction between competitive mountain bikes is whether they have a suspension system. Research studies indicate that a suspension system gives advantages, but it is difficult to quantify the benefits because they depend on so many variables, including the physiology and psychology of the cyclist, the roughness of the track and the design of the suspension system. A laboratory based test rig has been built that allows the number of variables in the system to be reduced and test conditions to be controlled. The test rig simulates regular impacts of the rear wheel with bumps in a rolling road. The physiological variables of oxygen consumption and heart rate were measured, together with speeds and forces at various points in the system. Physiological and mechanical test results both confirm a significant benefit in using a suspension system on the simulated rough track, with oxygen consumption reduced by around 30 % and power transmitted through the pedals reduced by 30 % to 60 %.

Selection of input devices and controls for modern process control consoles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasenfuss, O.; Zimmermann, R.

1975-06-01

In modern process control consoles man-machine communication is realized more and more by computer driven CRT displays, the most efficient communication system today. This paper describes the most important input devices and controls for such control consoles. A certain number of facts are given, which should be considered during the selection. The aptitude of the described devices for special tasks is discussed and recommendations are given for carrying out a selection. (orig.) [de

Chain Dynamics in Magnetorheological Suspensions

Science.gov (United States)

Gast, A. P.; Furst, E. M.

1999-01-01

Magnetorheological (MR) suspensions are composed of colloidal particles which acquire dipole moments when subjected to an external magnetic field. At sufficient field strengths and concentrations, the dipolar particles rapidly aggregate to form long chains. Subsequent lateral cross-linking of the dipolar chains is responsible for a rapid liquid-to-solid-like rheological transition. The unique, magnetically-activated rheological properties of MR suspensions make them ideal for interfacing mechanical systems to electronic controls. Additionally, the ability to experimentally probe colloidal suspensions interacting through tunable anisotropic potentials is of fundamental interest. Our current experimental work has focused on understanding the fluctuations of dipolar chains. It has been proposed by Halsey and Toor (HT) that the strong Landau-Peierls thermal fluctuations of dipolar chains could be responsible for long-range attractions between chains. Such interactions will govern the long-time relaxation of MR suspensions. We have synthesized monodisperse neutrally buoyant MR suspensions by density matching stabilized ferrofluid emulsion droplets with D2O. This allows us to probe the dynamics of the dipolar chains using light scattering without gravitational, interfacial, and polydispersity effects to resolve the short-wavelength dynamics of the dipolar chains. We used diffusing wave spectroscopy to measure these dynamics. The particle displacements at short times that show an independence to the field strength, but at long times exhibit a constrained, sub-diffusive motion that slows as the dipole strength is increased. The experiments are in good qualitative agreement with Brownian dynamics simulations of dipolar chains. Although there have been several important and detailed studies of the structure and interactions in MR suspensions, there has not been conclusive evidence that supports or contradicts the HT model prediction that long-range interactions exist between

A LQR-Based Controller with Estimation of Road Bank for Improving Vehicle Lateral and Rollover Stability via Active Suspension.

Science.gov (United States)

Riofrio, Andres; Sanz, Susana; Boada, Maria Jesus L; Boada, Beatriz L

2017-10-13

In this article, a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) lateral stability and rollover controller has been developed including as the main novelty taking into account the road bank angle and using exclusively active suspension for both lateral stability and rollover control. The main problem regarding the road bank is that it cannot be measured by means of on-board sensors. The solution proposed in this article is performing an estimation of this variable using a Kalman filter. In this way, it is possible to distinguish between the road disturbance component and the vehicle's roll angle. The controller's effectiveness has been tested by means of simulations carried out in TruckSim, using an experimentally-validated vehicle model. Lateral load transfer, roll angle, yaw rate and sideslip angle have been analyzed in order to quantify the improvements achieved on the behavior of the vehicle. For that purpose, these variables have been compared with the results obtained from both a vehicle that uses passive suspension and a vehicle using a fuzzy logic controller.

Lateral Vibration Attenuation by the Dynamic Adjustment of Bias Currents in Magnetic Suspension System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mizuno, Takeshi; Takasaki, Masaya; Ishino, Yuji

2016-01-01

Switching stiffness control is applied to attenuate vibration in the lateral directions in an active magnetic suspension system with electromagnets operated in differential mode. The magnetic suspension system using the attractive force between magnetized bodies is inherently unstable in the normal direction so that feedback control is necessary to achieve stable suspension. In contrast, it can be stable in the lateral directions due to the edge effects in the magnetic circuits. In several applications, such passive suspension is used in combination with the active one to reduce cost and space. However, damping in the lateral directions is generally small. As a result, induced vibrations in these directions are hardly attenuated. To suppress such vibration without any additional actuator (electromagnet), switching stiffness control is applied to an magnetic suspension system operated in the differential mode. The stiffness in the lateral direction is adjusted by varying the bias currents of an opposed pair of electromagnets located in the normal direction simultaneously according to the motion of the suspended object. When the varied bias currents are adjusted for the additive normal forces cancel each other, such control does not affect the suspension in the normal direction. The effectiveness of the proposed control methods is confirmed experimentally. (paper)

Device for controlling gas recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichioka, Atsushi.

1976-01-01

Purpose: To provide a controlling device for UF 6 gas recovery device, which can increase working efficiency and to discriminate normality and abnormality of the recovery device. Constitution: The gas recovery device comprises a plurality of traps, which are connected in series. The UF 6 gas is introduced into the first trap where adsorbing work is taken place to accumulate UF 6 gases, and the UF 6 gases partly flow into the succeeding trap. Even in this trap, when the adsorbing work begins, the succeeding trap is operated in series fashion. In this manner, two traps are continuously operated to recover the gases while performing the steps of adsorbing, waiting and regenerating in that order. The switching operation of the aforesaid steps is accomplished on the basis of concentration of the UF 6 detected between two traps, which are continuously driven. (Kamimura, M.)

Development of a power-assisted lifting device for construction and periodic inspection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayatsu, M.; Yamada, M.; Takasu, H.; Tagawa, Y.; Kajiwara, K.

2001-01-01

This study focuses on the control system design and control performance of a power-assisted lifting device. The device consists of several electric chain-blocks, each controlled by force sensors and a CPU. The mechanism is as follows: (1) Force sensors detect any chain tension changes (by human force), (2) The CPU calculates the required output, (3) Electric chain-blocks move the object in the intended direction. The feature of this device is that it does not require any information related to the suspension points of the electric chain-blocks. The controller was designed using the H method, which considers disturbances and aims to provide robust stability under the operation conditions of construction verified through experiments using a 700 kg steel dummy mass (control object) suspended by four electric chain-blocks. In the experiments, the controller, which was designed using the H method, was compared to the PI controller method, and the effectiveness of the H controller was proven. A control object could be moved, translated, and rotated by human force (of less than 10 kg). Positioning performance errors were suppressed to less than 0.5 mm, and operation time was reduced by about 50%. This device will improve working efficiency and rationalize lifting operations in nuclear power plants. (author)

Development of a power-assisted lifting device for construction and periodic inspection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hayatsu, M.; Yamada, M.; Takasu, H. [Hitachi Plant Engineering and Construction, Chiba-ken (Japan); Tagawa, Y. [Tokyo Univ. of Agriculture and Technology (Japan); Kajiwara, K. [National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, Tokyo (Japan)

2001-07-01

This study focuses on the control system design and control performance of a power-assisted lifting device. The device consists of several electric chain-blocks, each controlled by force sensors and a CPU. The mechanism is as follows: (1) Force sensors detect any chain tension changes (by human force), (2) The CPU calculates the required output, (3) Electric chain-blocks move the object in the intended direction. The feature of this device is that it does not require any information related to the suspension points of the electric chain-blocks. The controller was designed using the H method, which considers disturbances and aims to provide robust stability under the operation conditions of construction verified through experiments using a 700 kg steel dummy mass (control object) suspended by four electric chain-blocks. In the experiments, the controller, which was designed using the H method, was compared to the PI controller method, and the effectiveness of the H controller was proven. A control object could be moved, translated, and rotated by human force (of less than 10 kg). Positioning performance errors were suppressed to less than 0.5 mm, and operation time was reduced by about 50%. This device will improve working efficiency and rationalize lifting operations in nuclear power plants. (author)

Design and experiment study of a semi-active energy-regenerative suspension system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, Dehua; Chen, Long; Wang, Ruochen; Jiang, Haobin; Shen, Yujie

2015-01-01

A new kind of semi-active energy-regenerative suspension system is proposed to recover suspension vibration energy, as well as to reduce the suspension cost and demands for the motor-rated capacity. The system consists of an energy-regenerative damper and a DC-DC converter-based energy-regenerative circuit. The energy-regenerative damper is composed of an electromagnetic linear motor and an adjustable shock absorber with three regulating levels. The linear motor just works as the generator to harvest the suspension vibration energy. The circuit can be used to improve the system’s energy-regenerative performance and to continuously regulate the motor’s electromagnetic damping force. Therefore, although the motor works as a generator and damps the isolation without an external power source, the motor damping force is controllable. The damping characteristics of the system are studied based on a two degrees of freedom vehicle vibration model. By further analyzing the circuit operation characteristics under different working modes, the double-loop controller is designed to track the desired damping force. The external-loop is a fuzzy controller that offers the desired equivalent damping. The inner-loop controller, on one hand, is used to generate the pulse number and the frequency to control the angle and the rotational speed of the step motor; on the other hand, the inner-loop is used to offer the duty cycle of the energy-regenerative circuit. Simulations and experiments are conducted to validate such a new suspension system. The results show that the semi-active energy-regenerative suspension can improve vehicle ride comfort with the controllable damping characteristics of the linear motor. Meanwhile, it also ensures energy regeneration. (paper)

Use of UPFC device controlled by fuzzy logic controllers for decoupled power flow control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivković Sanja

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the possibility of decoupled active and reactive power flow control in a power system using a UPFC device controlled by fuzzy logic controllers. A Brief theoretical review of the operation principles and applications of UPFC devices and design principles of the fuzzy logic controller used are given. A Matlab/Simulink model of the system with UPFC, the fuzzy controller setup, and graphs of the results are presented. Conclusions are drawn regarding the possibility of using this system for decoupled control of the power flow in power systems based on analysis of these graphs.

Rheological Properties of Aqueous Nanometric Alumina Suspensions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Chuanping [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2004-01-01

Colloidal processing is an effective and reliable approach in the fabrication of the advanced ceramic products. Successful colloidal processing of fine ceramic powders requires accurate control of the rheological properties. The accurate control relies on the understanding the influences of various colloidal parameters on the rheological properties. Almost all research done on the rheology paid less attention to the interactions of particle and solvent. However, the interactions of the particles are usually built up through the media in which the particles are suspended. Therefore, interactions of the particle with the media, the adsorbed layers on the particle surface, and chemical and physical properties of media themselves must influence the rheology of the suspension, especially for the dense suspensions containing nanosized particles. Relatively little research work has been reported in this area. This thesis addresses the rheological properties of nanometric alumina aqueous suspensions, and paying more attention to the interactions between particle and solvent, which in turn influence the particle-particle interactions. Dense nanometric alumina aqueous suspensions with low viscosity were achieved by environmentally-benign fructose additives. The rheology of nanometric alumina aqueous suspensions and its variation with the particle volume fraction and concentration of fructose were explored by rheometry. The adsorptions of solute (fructose) and solvent (water) on the nanometric alumina particle surfaces were measured and analyzed by TG/DSC, TOC, and NMR techniques. The mobility of water molecules in the suspensions and its variation with particle volume fractions and fructose additive were determined by the ¹⁷O NMR relaxation method. The interactions between the nanometric alumina particles in water and fructose solutions were investigated by AFM. The results indicated that a large number of water layers were physically bound on the particles

Control of a long reach manipulator with suspension cables for waste storage tank remediation. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, S.L.

1994-01-01

A long reach manipulator will be used for waste remediation in large underground storage tanks. The manipulator's slenderness makes it flexible and difficult to control. A low-cost and effective method to enhance the manipulator's stiffness is proposed in this research by using suspension cables. These cables can also be used to accurately measure the position of the manipulator's wrist

Method and device for controlling radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilhelm, G.M.

1979-01-01

A device which will control radiation emanating from colour television sets is described. It consists of two transparent plates the same size as a television screen, with a thin layer of transparent mineral oil sealed between them. The device may be installed by the manufacturer or bought separately and installed by the user. (LL)

Control system and method for prosthetic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr. (Inventor)

1992-01-01

A control system and method for prosthetic devices is provided. The control system comprises a transducer for receiving movement from a body part for generating a sensing signal associated with that movement. The sensing signal is processed by a linearizer for linearizing the sensing signal to be a linear function of the magnitude of the distance moved by the body part. The linearized sensing signal is normalized to be a function of the entire range of body part movement from the no-shrug position of the movable body part through the full-shrug position of the movable body part. The normalized signal is divided into a plurality of discrete command signals. The discrete command signals are used by typical converter devices which are in operational association with the prosthetic device. The converter device uses the discrete command signals for driving the movable portions of the prosthetic device and its sub-prosthesis. The method for controlling a prosthetic device associated with the present invention comprises the steps of receiving the movement from the body part, generating a sensing signal in association with the movement of the body part, linearizing the sensing signal to be a linear function of the magnitude of the distance moved by the body part, normalizing the linear signal to be a function of the entire range of the body part movement, dividing the normalized signal into a plurality of discrete command signals, and implementing the plurality of discrete command signals for driving the respective movable prosthesis device and its sub-prosthesis.

Red blood cell (RBC) suspensions in confined microflows: Pressure-flow relationship.

Science.gov (United States)

Stauber, Hagit; Waisman, Dan; Korin, Netanel; Sznitman, Josué

2017-10-01

Microfluidic-based assays have become increasingly popular to explore microcirculation in vitro. In these experiments, blood is resuspended to a desired haematocrit level in a buffer solution, where frequent choices for preparing RBC suspensions comprise notably Dextran and physiological buffer. Yet, the rational for selecting one buffer versus another is often ill-defined and lacks detailed quantification, including ensuing changes in RBC flow characteristics. Here, we revisit RBC suspensions in microflows and attempt to quantify systematically some of the differences emanating between buffers. We measure bulk flow rate (Q) of RBC suspensions, using PBS- and Dextran-40, as a function of the applied pressure drop (ΔP) for two hematocrits (∼0% and 23%). Two distinct microfluidic designs of varying dimensions are employed: a straight channel larger than and a network array similar to the size of individual RBCs. Using the resulting pressure-flow curves, we extract the equivalent hydrodynamic resistances and estimate the relative viscosities. These efforts are a first step in rigorously quantifying the influence of the 'background' buffer on RBC flows within microfluidic devices and thereby underline the importance of purposefully selecting buffer suspensions for microfluidic in vitro assays. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Hydrodynamic dispersion of microswimmers in suspension

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Matthieu; Rafaï, Salima; Peyla, Philippe

2014-11-01

In our laboratory, we study hydrodynamics of suspensions of micro-swimmers. These micro-organisms are unicellular algae Chlamydomonas Rheinhardii which are able to swim by using their flagella. The swimming dynamics of these micro-swimmers can be seen as a random walk, in absence of any kind of interaction. In addition, these algae have the property of being phototactic, i.e. they swim towards the light. Combining this property with a hydrodynamic flow, we were able to reversibly separate algae from the rest of the fluid. But for sufficiently high volume fraction, these active particles interact with each other. We are now interested in how the coupling of hydrodynamic interactions between swimmers and phototaxis can modify the swimming dynamics at the scale of the suspension. To this aim, we conduct experiments in microfluidic devices to study the dispersion of the micro-organisms in a the liquid phase as a function of the volume fraction. We show that the dispersion of an assembly of puller type microswimmers is quantitatively affected by hydrodynamics interactions. Phd student.

Armoring confined bubbles in concentrated colloidal suspensions

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yingxian; Khodaparast, Sepideh; Stone, Howard

2016-11-01

Encapsulation of a bubble with microparticles is known to significantly improve the stability of the bubble. This phenomenon has recently gained increasing attention due to its application in a variety of technologies such as foam stabilization, drug encapsulation and colloidosomes. Nevertheless, the production of such colloidal armored bubble with controlled size and particle coverage ratio is still a great challenge industrially. We study the coating process of a long air bubble by microparticles in a circular tube filled with a concentrated microparticles colloidal suspension. As the bubble proceeds in the suspension of particles, a monolayer of micro-particles forms on the interface of the bubble, which eventually results in a fully armored bubble. We investigate the phenomenon that triggers and controls the evolution of the particle accumulation on the bubble interface. Moreover, we examine the effects of the mean flow velocity, the size of the colloids and concentration of the suspension on the dynamics of the armored bubble. The results of this study can potentially be applied to production of particle-encapsulated bubbles, surface-cleaning techniques, and gas-assisted injection molding.

Wearable Device Control Platform Technology for Network Application Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heejung Kim

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Application development platform is the most important environment in IT industry. There are a variety of platforms. Although the native development enables application to optimize, various languages and software development kits need to be acquired according to the device. The coexistence of smart devices and platforms has rendered the native development approach time and cost consuming. Cross-platform development emerged as a response to these issues. These platforms generate applications for multiple devices based on web languages. Nevertheless, development requires additional implementation based on a native language because of the coverage and functions of supported application programming interfaces (APIs. Wearable devices have recently attracted considerable attention. These devices only support Bluetooth-based interdevice communication, thereby making communication and device control impossible beyond a certain range. We propose Network Application Agent (NetApp-Agent in order to overcome issues. NetApp-Agent based on the Cordova is a wearable device control platform for the development of network applications, controls input/output functions of smartphones and wearable/IoT through the Cordova and Native API, and enables device control and information exchange by external users by offering a self-defined API. We confirmed the efficiency of the proposed platform through experiments and a qualitative assessment of its implementation.

Object oriented programming techniques applied to device access and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goetz, A.; Klotz, W.D.; Meyer, J.

1992-01-01

In this paper a model, called the device server model, has been presented for solving the problem of device access and control faced by all control systems. Object Oriented Programming techniques were used to achieve a powerful yet flexible solution. The model provides a solution to the problem which hides device dependancies. It defines a software framework which has to be respected by implementors of device classes - this is very useful for developing groupware. The decision to implement remote access in the root class means that device servers can be easily integrated in a distributed control system. A lot of the advantages and features of the device server model are due to the adoption of OOP techniques. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this paper is that 1. the device access and control problem is adapted to being solved with OOP techniques, 2. OOP techniques offer a distinct advantage over traditional programming techniques for solving the device access problem. (J.P.N.)

Muscle Activation during Push-Ups with Different Suspension Training Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Calatayud, Joaquin; Borreani, Sebastien; Colado, Juan C; Martín, Fernando F; Rogers, Michael E; Behm, David G; Andersen, Lars L

2014-09-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze upper extremity and core muscle activation when performing push-ups with different suspension devices. Young fit male university students (n = 29) performed 3 push-ups each with 4 different suspension systems. Push-up speed was controlled using a metronome and testing order was randomized. Average amplitude of the electromyographic root mean square of Triceps Brachii, Upper Trapezius, Anterior Deltoid, Clavicular Pectoralis, Rectus Abdominis, Rectus Femoris, and Lumbar Erector Spinae was recorded. Electromyographic signals were normalized to the maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). Electromyographic data were analyzed with repeated-measures analysis of variance with a Bonferroni post hoc. Based upon global arithmetic mean of all muscles analyzed, the suspended push-up with a pulley system provided the greatest activity (37.76% of MVIC; p push-up with a pulley system also provided the greatest triceps brachii, upper trapezius, rectus femoris and erector lumbar spinae muscle activation. In contrast, more stable conditions seem more appropriate for pectoralis major and anterior deltoid muscles. Independent of the type of design, all suspension systems were especially effective training tools for reaching high levels of rectus abdominis activation. Key PointsCompared with standard push-ups on the floor, suspended push-ups increase core muscle activation.A one-anchor system with a pulley is the best option to increase TRICEP, TRAPS, LUMB and FEM muscle activity.More stable conditions such as the standard push-up or a parallel band system provide greater increases in DELT and PEC muscle activation.A suspended push-up is an effective method to achieve high muscle activity levels in the ABS.

Correlation between structure and rheological properties of suspension of nanosized powders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tabellion, J.; Clasen, R. [Saarland Univ., Saarbruecken (Germany). Dept. of Powder Technology; Reinshagen, J.; Oberacker, R.; Hoffmann, M.J. [Karlsruhe Univ. (Germany). Inst. for Ceramics in Mechanical Engineering

2002-07-01

Since the properties of a ceramic green body and compact produced thereof are strongly influenced by the properties of the suspension used, controlling structure and properties of a suspension is a very important issue in ceramic manufacturing. Macroscopically, the rheological properties of a suspension are the key parameters that influence the behaviour during the shaping process. The rheological behaviour of aqueous suspensions of nanosized fumed silica (DEGUSSA, Aerosil OX50) with different amounts of OX50 (10 to 50 wt.%) was measured over a pH-range from 1 to 13 by means of rotational viscosimetry. A distinct maximum of the viscosity was observed for a pH of about 7 to 8, independent of the solid content of the suspensions. Since the rheological behaviour of the suspensions could not be explained by the {zeta}-Potential measured for OX50, the suspensions were investigated by means of so-called cryo-SEM characterization. A droplet of the suspension is quench-frozen in subcooled nitrogen (-210 C), prepared and the water is sublimed at -90 C. Thus it was possible to visualize the agglomerate structure of the primary OX50-particles within the suspensions. (orig.)

Nanometer-scale sizing accuracy of particle suspensions on an unmodified cell phone using elastic light scattering.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Zachary J; Chu, Kaiqin; Wachsmann-Hogiu, Sebastian

2012-01-01

We report on the construction of a Fourier plane imaging system attached to a cell phone. By illuminating particle suspensions with a collimated beam from an inexpensive diode laser, angularly resolved scattering patterns are imaged by the phone's camera. Analyzing these patterns with Mie theory results in predictions of size distributions of the particles in suspension. Despite using consumer grade electronics, we extracted size distributions of sphere suspensions with better than 20 nm accuracy in determining the mean size. We also show results from milk, yeast, and blood cells. Performing these measurements on a portable device presents opportunities for field-testing of food quality, process monitoring, and medical diagnosis.

Smooth Sliding Mode Control for Vehicle Rollover Prevention Using Active Antiroll Suspension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duanfeng Chu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The rollover accidents induced by severe maneuvers are very dangerous and mostly happen to vehicles with elevated center of gravity, such as heavy-duty trucks and pickup trucks. Unfortunately, it is hard for drivers of those vehicles to predict and prevent the trend of the maneuver-induced (untripped rollover ahead of time. In this study, a lateral load transfer ratio which reflects the load distribution of left and right tires is used to indicate the rollover criticality. An antiroll controller is designed with smooth sliding mode control technique for vehicles, in which an active antiroll suspension is installed. A simplified second order roll dynamic model with additive sector bounded uncertainties is used for control design, followed by robust stability analysis. Combined with the vehicle dynamics simulation package TruckSim, MATLAB/Simulink is used for simulating experiment. The results show that the applied controller can improve the roll stability under some typical steering maneuvers, such as Fishhook and J-turn. This direct antiroll control method could be more effective for untripped rollover prevention when driver deceleration or steering is too late. It could also be extended to handle tripped rollovers.

Detection device for control rod scram

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishiyama, Satoshi.

1989-01-01

The device of the present invention comprises a control rod dropping separately from a control rod driving mechanism main body, a following tube falling separately accompanying therewith and a guide tube for guiding the dropping of the control rod and the following tube. Further, rare earth permanent magnets are embedded with the pole being axially oriented in the following tube and bobbins each mounted with an inner flange made of high magnetic permeability material are disposed to the guide tube. Coils are wound in the bobbin. In this control rod scram detection device, since magnetic fluxes can effectively be supplied to the coils, it is possible to obtain stable and highly reliable scram detection signals. Further, since the coils and the bobbins can be manufactured separately from the guide tube, their assemblies can be tested independently from the guide tube. (K.M.)

Weakly sheared active suspensions: hydrodynamics, stability, and rheology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Zhenlu

2011-03-01

We present a kinetic model for flowing active suspensions and analyze the behavior of a suspension subjected to a weak steady shear. Asymptotic solutions are sought in Deborah number expansions. At the leading order, we explore the steady states and perform their stability analysis. We predict the rheology of active systems including an activity thickening or thinning behavior of the apparent viscosity and a negative apparent viscosity depending on the particle type, flow alignment, and the anchoring conditions, which can be tested on bacterial suspensions. We find remarkable dualities that show that flow-aligning rodlike contractile (extensile) particles are dynamically and rheologically equivalent to flow-aligning discoid extensile (contractile) particles for both tangential and homeotropic anchoring conditions. Another key prediction of this work is the role of the concentration of active suspensions in controlling the rheological behavior: the apparent viscosity may decrease with the increase of the concentration.

Progress towards extreme attitude testing with Magnetic Suspension and Balance Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Britcher, Colin P.; Parker, David H.

1988-01-01

Progress is reported in a research effort aimed towards demonstration of the feasibility of suspension and aerodynamic testing of models at high angles of attack in wind tunnel Magnetic Suspension and Balance Systems. Extensive modifications, described in this paper, have been made to the Southampton University suspension system in order to facilitate this work. They include revision of electromagnet configuration, installation of all-new position sensors and expansion of control system programs. An angle of attack range of 0 to 90 deg is expected for axisymmetric models. To date, suspension up to 80 deg angle of attack has been achieved.

A proposed protocol for remote control of automated assessment devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kissock, P.S.; Pritchard, D.A.

1996-01-01

Systems and devices that are controlled remotely are becoming more common in security systems in the US Air Force and other government agencies to provide protection of valuable assets. These systems reduce the number of needed personnel while still providing a high level of protection. However, each remotely controlled device usually has its own communication protocol. This limits the ability to change devices without changing the system that provides the communications control to the device. Sandia is pursuing a standard protocol that can be used to communicate with the different devices currently in use, or may be used in the future, in the US Air Force and other government agencies throughout the security community. Devices to be controlled include intelligent pan/tilt mounts, day/night video cameras, thermal imaging cameras, and remote data processors. Important features of this protocol include the ability to send messages of varying length, identify the sender, and more importantly, control remote data processors. This paper describes the proposed public domain protocol, features, and examples of use. The authors hope to elicit comments from security technology developers regarding format and use of remotely controlled automated assessment devices

Method for installing a control rod driving device in a reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Haruo; Watanabe, Masatoshi.

1975-01-01

Object: To install a device using a wire rope, including individually moving up and down a control rod and a control rod driving device thereby enabling to install them within a low house and to reduce time required for installing operation. Structure: The control rod is temporarily attached to a support structure for the control rod driving device, the control rod driving device is suspended on a crane positioned upwardly of the support structure, a rope connected to the control rod driving device is connected to the control rod, a sagged portion of the rope is then wound about a rotary cylinder, the control rod is disconnected from its temporary attachment, and the wound rope is wound back while the rotary cylinder is rotated to move down the control rod. After the rope has been released from the rotary cylinder, the control rod driving device is moved down by the crane. (Kamimura, M.)

State-observer with low sensitivity and its application to Maglev vehicle suspension control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Breinl, W; Mueller, P C

1982-12-01

A linear time-invariant multi-input/multi-output dynamical system with uncertain parameters is considered. In general the separate design of the regulator and of the observer is not possible because the separation principle does not hold for parameter variations. However, in certain cases the observer matrices may be chosen in a special manner that an observer with low sensitivity can be designed. Then the separation principle is also valid for parameter variations. The existence and the design of such insensitive observers are discussed. The theoretical results are illustrated by an application to the suspension control of a Maglev vehicle.

A magneto rheological hybrid damper for railway vehicles suspensions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gheorghe GHITA

2012-09-01

Full Text Available High speed railway vehicles features a specific lateral oscillation resulting from the coupled lateral displacement and yaw of the wheelset which leads to a sinusoid movement of the wheelset along the track, transferred to the entire vehicle. The amplitude of this oscillation is strongly dependant on vehicle’s velocity. Over a certain value, namely the critical speed, the instability phenomenon so-called hunting occurs. To raise the vehicle’s critical speed different designs of the suspension all leading to a much stiffer vehicle can be envisaged. Different simulations prove that a stiffer central suspension will decrease the passenger’s comfort in terms of lateral accelerations of the carboy. The authors propose a semi-active magneto rheological suspension to improve the vehicle’s comfort at high speeds. The suspension has as executive elements hybrid magneto rheological dampers operating under sequential control strategy type balance logic. Using an original mathematical model for the lateral dynamics of the vehicle the responses of the system with passive and semi-active suspensions are simulated. It is shown that the semi-active suspension can improve the vehicle performances.

A LQR-Based Controller with Estimation of Road Bank for Improving Vehicle Lateral and Rollover Stability via Active Suspension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andres Riofrio

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In this article, a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR lateral stability and rollover controller has been developed including as the main novelty taking into account the road bank angle and using exclusively active suspension for both lateral stability and rollover control. The main problem regarding the road bank is that it cannot be measured by means of on-board sensors. The solution proposed in this article is performing an estimation of this variable using a Kalman filter. In this way, it is possible to distinguish between the road disturbance component and the vehicle’s roll angle. The controller’s effectiveness has been tested by means of simulations carried out in TruckSim, using an experimentally-validated vehicle model. Lateral load transfer, roll angle, yaw rate and sideslip angle have been analyzed in order to quantify the improvements achieved on the behavior of the vehicle. For that purpose, these variables have been compared with the results obtained from both a vehicle that uses passive suspension and a vehicle using a fuzzy logic controller.

Particle interactions in concentrated suspensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mondy, L.A.; Graham, A.L.; Abbott, J.R.; Brenner, H.

1993-01-01

An overview is presented of research that focuses on slow flows of suspensions in which colloidal and inertial effects are negligibly small. The authors describe nuclear magnetic resonance imaging experiments to quantitatively measure particle migration occurring in concentrated suspensions undergoing a flow with a nonuniform shear rate. These experiments address the issue of how the flow field affects the microstructure of suspensions. In order to understand the local viscosity in a suspension with such a flow-induced, spatially varying concentration, one must know how the viscosity of a homogeneous suspension depends on such variables as solids concentration and particle orientation. The authors suggest the technique of falling ball viscometry, using small balls, as a method to determine the effective viscosity of a suspension without affecting the original microstructure significantly. They also describe data from experiments in which the detailed fluctuations of a falling ball's velocity indicate the noncontinuum nature of the suspension and may lead to more insights into the effects of suspension microstructure on macroscopic properties. Finally, they briefly describe other experiments that can be performed in quiescent suspensions (in contrast to the use of conventional shear rotational viscometers) in order to learn more about boundary effects in concentrated suspensions

Reactor control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinoshita, Mitsuo.

1991-01-01

Heretofore, since the aimed value of a reactor power has been determined only based on the deviation between a temperature variation coefficient and the aimed value, it involves a problem that a region for finely determining a control constant is complicated. In view of the above, in the present invention, an approximate value of the aimed reactor power value is determined based on the aimed value for the temperature variation coefficient, then a compensation value for the aimed power value is determined based on the deviation between the temperature variation coefficient and the aimed value and, further, the aimed power value is determined based on the approximate value and the compensation value. Control elements are automatically operated so that the power follows the aimed value after determining the aimed value. Then, since the aimed reactor power value is controlled finely so that the responsiveness of the temperature variation coefficient is satisfactory and the temperature variation coefficient agrees with the aimed value, the stability for the control of temperature variation coefficient is satisfactory. That is, high performance control is enabled by a simple control algorithm to reduce the number of the steps for the design and the device control. (N.H.)

A magnetorheological fluid-based multifunctional haptic device for vehicular instrument controls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Young-Min; Kim, Chan-Jung; Choi, Seung-Bok

2009-01-01

This paper presents control performances of a magnetorheological (MR) fluid-based multifunctional haptic device which is applicable to vehicular instrument controls. By combining in-vehicle functions into a single device, the proposed haptic device can transmit various reflection forces for each comfort function to a driver without requiring the driver's visual attention. As a multifunctional haptic device, a MR knob is proposed in this work and then devised to be capable of both rotary and push motions with a single knob. Under consideration of the spatial limitations of vehicle dashboards, design parameters are optimally determined by finite element analysis, and the objective function is to maximize a relative control torque. The proposed haptic device is then manufactured, and in-vehicle comfort functions are constructed in a virtual environment which makes the functions to communicate with the haptic device. Subsequently, a feed-forward controller using torque/force maps is formulated for the force tracking control. Control performances such as reflection force of the haptic device are experimentally evaluated via the torque/force map-based feed-forward controller

Micro-Scalable Thermal Control Device

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Matthew E. (Inventor)

2002-01-01

A microscalable thermal control module consists of a Stirling cycle cooler that can be manipulated to operate at a selected temperature within the heating and cooling range of the module. The microscalable thermal control module is particularly suited for controlling the temperature of devices that must be maintained at precise temperatures. It is particularly suited for controlling the temperature of devices that need to be alternately heated or cooled. The module contains upper and lower opposing diaphragms, with a regenerator region containing a plurality of regenerators interposed between the diaphragms. Gaps exist on each side of each diaphragm to permit it to oscillate freely. The gap on the interior side one diaphragm is in fluid connection with the gap on the interior side of the other diaphragm through regenerators. As the diaphragms oscillate working gas is forced through the regenerators. The surface area of each regenerator is sufficiently large to effectively transfer thermal energy to and from the working gas as it is passed through them. The phase and amplitude of the oscillations can be manipulated electronically to control the steady state temperature of the active thermal control surface, and to switch the operation of the module from cooling to heating, or vice versa. The ability of the microscalable thermal control module to heat and cool may be enhanced by operating a plurality of modules in series, in parallel, or in connection through a shared bottom layer.

Control system devices : architectures and supply channels overview.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trent, Jason; Atkins, William Dee; Schwartz, Moses Daniel; Mulder, John C.

2010-08-01

This report describes a research project to examine the hardware used in automated control systems like those that control the electric grid. This report provides an overview of the vendors, architectures, and supply channels for a number of control system devices. The research itself represents an attempt to probe more deeply into the area of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) - the specialized digital computers that control individual processes within supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. The report (1) provides an overview of control system networks and PLC architecture, (2) furnishes profiles for the top eight vendors in the PLC industry, (3) discusses the communications protocols used in different industries, and (4) analyzes the hardware used in several PLC devices. As part of the project, several PLCs were disassembled to identify constituent components. That information will direct the next step of the research, which will greatly increase our understanding of PLC security in both the hardware and software areas. Such an understanding is vital for discerning the potential national security impact of security flaws in these devices, as well as for developing proactive countermeasures.

Laser micromachining of biofactory-on-a-chip devices

Science.gov (United States)

Burt, Julian P.; Goater, Andrew D.; Hayden, Christopher J.; Tame, John A.

2002-06-01

Excimer laser micromachining provides a flexible means for the manufacture and rapid prototyping of miniaturized systems such as Biofactory-on-a-Chip devices. Biofactories are miniaturized diagnostic devices capable of characterizing, manipulating, separating and sorting suspension of particles such as biological cells. Such systems operate by exploiting the electrical properties of microparticles and controlling particle movement in AC non- uniform stationary and moving electric fields. Applications of Biofactory devices are diverse and include, among others, the healthcare, pharmaceutical, chemical processing, environmental monitoring and food diagnostic markets. To achieve such characterization and separation, Biofactory devices employ laboratory-on-a-chip type components such as complex multilayer microelectrode arrays, microfluidic channels, manifold systems and on-chip detection systems. Here we discuss the manufacturing requirements of Biofactory devices and describe the use of different excimer laser micromachined methods both in stand-alone processes and also in conjunction with conventional fabrication processes such as photolithography and thermal molding. Particular attention is given to the production of large area multilayer microelectrode arrays and the manufacture of complex cross-section microfluidic channel systems for use in simple distribution and device interfacing.

Nanometer-scale sizing accuracy of particle suspensions on an unmodified cell phone using elastic light scattering.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zachary J Smith

Full Text Available We report on the construction of a Fourier plane imaging system attached to a cell phone. By illuminating particle suspensions with a collimated beam from an inexpensive diode laser, angularly resolved scattering patterns are imaged by the phone's camera. Analyzing these patterns with Mie theory results in predictions of size distributions of the particles in suspension. Despite using consumer grade electronics, we extracted size distributions of sphere suspensions with better than 20 nm accuracy in determining the mean size. We also show results from milk, yeast, and blood cells. Performing these measurements on a portable device presents opportunities for field-testing of food quality, process monitoring, and medical diagnosis.

Automatic control device for the reduction of reactor power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumida, Susumu; Mizuno, Hiroshi.

1982-01-01

Purpose: To early detect troubles in condensate pipeways and feedwater pipeways of BWR-type reactor. Constitution: Detectors are provided to a condensate pipe, a condensator, a low pressure condensate pump, a condensate desalting device and a high pressure condensate pump for constituting condensate pipeways, as well as to a feedwater heater, a feedwater pipe and a feedwater pump for constituting feedwater pipeways. Each of the detectors is connected by way of a lead wire to an abnormal detection and processing device. The abnormal detection and processing device, which are connected to a recycling control device, monitor the input from the detector and sends a control signal to the recycling control system upon calculation of a trouble signal from the detector. (Sekiya, K.)

The non-monotonic shear-thinning flow of two strongly cohesive concentrated suspensions

OpenAIRE

Buscall, Richard; Kusuma, Tiara E.; Stickland, Anthony D.; Rubasingha, Sayuri; Scales, Peter J.; Teo, Hui-En; Worrall, Graham L.

2014-01-01

The behaviour in simple shear of two concentrated and strongly cohesive mineral suspensions showing highly non-monotonic flow curves is described. Two rheometric test modes were employed, controlled stress and controlled shear-rate. In controlled stress mode the materials showed runaway flow above a yield stress, which, for one of the suspensions, varied substantially in value and seemingly at random from one run to the next, such that the up flow-curve appeared to be quite irreproducible. Th...

Simultaneous determination of Albendazol and Triclabendazol in Triclazol 22 suspension for veterinary purposes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Penna, Caridad M.; Gafas Leyva, Maite; Rosales Bosch, Karina

2013-01-01

Triclazol 22 suspension containing triclabendazol and albendazol is used as parasiticide for veterinary purposes. to validate the analytical method for simultaneous determination of triclabendazol and albendazol in triclazol 22 suspension for quality control

Performance Testing of Suspension Plasma Sprayed Thermal Barrier Coatings Produced with Varied Suspension Parameters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicholas Curry

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Suspension plasma spraying has become an emerging technology for the production of thermal barrier coatings for the gas turbine industry. Presently, though commercial systems for coating production are available, coatings remain in the development stage. Suitable suspension parameters for coating production remain an outstanding question and the influence of suspension properties on the final coatings is not well known. For this study, a number of suspensions were produced with varied solid loadings, powder size distributions and solvents. Suspensions were sprayed onto superalloy substrates coated with high velocity air fuel (HVAF -sprayed bond coats. Plasma spray parameters were selected to generate columnar structures based on previous experiments and were maintained at constant to discover the influence of the suspension behavior on coating microstructures. Testing of the produced thermal barrier coating (TBC systems has included thermal cyclic fatigue testing and thermal conductivity analysis. Pore size distribution has been characterized by mercury infiltration porosimetry. Results show a strong influence of suspension viscosity and surface tension on the microstructure of the produced coatings.

Investigating high-concentration monoclonal antibody powder suspension in nonaqueous suspension vehicles for subcutaneous injection.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, Mayumi; Armstrong, Nick; Maa, Yuh-Fun

2012-12-01

Developing high-concentration monoclonal antibody (mAb) liquid formulations for subcutaneous (s.c.) administration is challenging because increased viscosity makes injection difficult. To overcome this obstacle, we investigated a nonaqueous powder suspension approach. Three IgG1 mAbs were spray dried and suspended at different concentrations in Miglyol® 840, benzyl benzoate, or ethyl lactate. Suspensions were characterized for viscosity, particle size, and syringeability; physical stability was visually inspected. Suspensions generally outperformed liquid solutions for injectability despite higher viscosity at the same mAb concentrations. Powder formulations and properties had little effect on viscosity or injectability. Ethyl lactate suspensions had lowest viscosity (Miglyol® 840 improved overall performance in high mAb concentration suspensions. This study demonstrated the viability of high mAb concentration (>300 mg/mL) in suspension formulations for s.c. administration. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Power control device of an atomic power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ootsuka, Shiro; Ito, Takero.

1980-01-01

Purpose: To improve the power controllability of an atomic power plant by improving the controllability, response and stability of the recirculation flow rate. Constitution: The power control device comprises a power detector of the reactor, which detects and operates the reactor power from the thermal power, neutron flux or the process quantity controlling the same, and a deviation detector which seeks deviation between the power signal of the power detector and the power set value of the reactor or power station. By use of the power control device constituted in this manner, the core flow rate is regulated by the power signal of the deviation detector thereby to control the power. (Aizawa, K.)

Four-Wheel Vehicle Suspension System

Science.gov (United States)

Bickler, Donald B.

1990-01-01

Four-wheel suspension system uses simple system of levers with no compliant components to provide three-point suspension of chassis of vehicle while maintaining four-point contact with uneven terrain. Provides stability against tipping of four-point rectangular base, without rocking contact to which rigid four-wheel frame susceptible. Similar to six-wheel suspension system described in "Articulated Suspension Without Springs" (NPO-17354).

21 CFR 1404.600 - How do suspension and debarment actions start?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How do suspension and debarment actions start? 1404.600 Section 1404.600 Food and Drugs OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY GOVERNMENTWIDE... § 1404.600 How do suspension and debarment actions start? When we receive information from any source...

Suspension trauma; Le traumatisme de suspension

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trudel, S. [Le Centre de sante et de services sociaux du rocher Perce, Chandler, PQ (Canada)

2010-07-01

This presentation discussed the precautions that should be taken to avoid falls from wind turbines or transmission towers. Suspension trauma was explained by a medical doctor in terms of physiology and the body's normal circulation and the elements that disturb normal physiology when in suspension. The trauma occurs following a fall, which carries the risk of 1or more disorders, such as massive hemorrhage, high cardiac pulse, and constriction of blood vessels. Nausea, vertigo, cardiac arrhythmia and sweating occur 15 to 20 minutes following the fall. The presentation emphasized the importance of having qualified personnel at the site and wearing proper harnesses and equipment that supports the neck. figs.

A novel magnetic lead screw active suspension system for vehicles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berg, Nick Ilsø; Holm, Rasmus Koldborg; Rasmussen, Peter Omand

2014-01-01

This paper encompasses a detailed study of the redesign of a novel Magnetic Lead Screw (MLS) active suspension system for possible regeneration of the energy dispatched in the suspension system and active control of vehicle body movement. The MLS converts a low speed high force linear motion...... of a translator into a high speed low torque rotational motion of a rotor through helically shaped magnets. The paper describes the drawback of the first MLS prototype v1.0 developed for active suspension system, which lead to a new design of the MLS prototype named v1.5. Furthermore the paper introduces detailed...

Hysteresis-induced bifurcation and chaos in a magneto-rheological suspension system under external excitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Hailong; Zhang Ning; Wang Enrong; Min Fuhong

2016-01-01

The magneto-rheological damper (MRD) is a promising device used in vehicle semi-active suspension systems, for its continuous adjustable damping output. However, the innate nonlinear hysteresis characteristic of MRD may cause the nonlinear behaviors. In this work, a two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) MR suspension system was established first, by employing the modified Bouc–Wen force–velocity (F–v) hysteretic model. The nonlinear dynamic response of the system was investigated under the external excitation of single-frequency harmonic and bandwidth-limited stochastic road surface. The largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) was used to detect the chaotic area of the frequency and amplitude of harmonic excitation, and the bifurcation diagrams, time histories, phase portraits, and power spectrum density (PSD) diagrams were used to reveal the dynamic evolution process in detail. Moreover, the LLE and Kolmogorov entropy (K entropy) were used to identify whether the system response was random or chaotic under stochastic road surface. The results demonstrated that the complex dynamical behaviors occur under different external excitation conditions. The oscillating mechanism of alternating periodic oscillations, quasi-periodic oscillations, and chaotic oscillations was observed in detail. The chaotic regions revealed that chaotic motions may appear in conditions of mid-low frequency and large amplitude, as well as small amplitude and all frequency. The obtained parameter regions where the chaotic motions may appear are useful for design of structural parameters of the vibration isolation, and the optimization of control strategy for MR suspension system. (paper)

Bidisperse and polydisperse suspension rheology at large solid fraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pednekar, Sidhant [Benjamin Levich Institute and Department of Chemical Engineering, The City College of New York, New York, New York 10031; Chun, Jaehun [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352; Morris, Jeffrey F. [Benjamin Levich Institute and Department of Chemical Engineering, The City College of New York, New York, New York 10031

2018-03-01

At the same solid volume fraction, bidisperse and polydisperse suspensions display lower viscosities, and weaker normal stress response, compared to monodisperse suspensions. The reduction of viscosity associated with size distribution can be explained by an increase of the maximum flowable, or jamming, solid fraction. In this work, concentrated or "dense" suspensions are simulated under strong shearing, where thermal motion and repulsive forces are negligible, but we allow for particle contact with a mild frictional interaction with interparticle friction coefficient of 0.2. Aspects of bidisperse suspension rheology are first revisited to establish that the approach reproduces established trends; the study of bidisperse suspensions at size ratios of large to small particle radii (2 to 4) shows that a minimum in the viscosity occurs for zeta slightly above 0.5, where zeta=phi_{large}/phi is the fraction of the total solid volume occupied by the large particles. The simple shear flows of polydisperse suspensions with truncated normal and log normal size distributions, and bidisperse suspensions which are statistically equivalent with these polydisperse cases up to third moment of the size distribution, are simulated and the rheologies are extracted. Prior work shows that such distributions with equivalent low-order moments have similar phi_{m}, and the rheological behaviors of normal, log normal and bidisperse cases are shown to be in close agreement for a wide range of standard deviation in particle size, with standard correlations which are functionally dependent on phi/phi_{m} providing excellent agreement with the rheology found in simulation. The close agreement of both viscosity and normal stress response between bi- and polydisperse suspensions demonstrates the controlling in influence of the maximum packing fraction in noncolloidal suspensions. Microstructural investigations and the stress distribution according to particle size are also presented.

Improving the strength of ceramics by controlling the interparticle forces and rheology of the ceramic suspensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chou, Yi-Ping

2001-01-01

This thesis describes a study of the modification of the interparticle forces of colloidal ceramic particles in aqueous suspensions in order to improve the microstructural homogeneity, and hence the reliability and mechanical performances, of subsequently formed ceramic compacts. A concentrated stable fine ceramic powder suspension has been shown to be able to generate a higher density of a ceramic product with better mechanical, and also electrical, electrochemical and optical, properties of the ceramic body. This is because in a colloidally stable suspension there are no aggregates and so defect formation, which is responsible for the ceramic body performance below its theoretical maximum, is reduced. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to form a well dispersed ceramic suspension by ensuring the interparticle forces between the particles are repulsive, with as a high a loading with particles as possible. By examining the rheological behaviour and the results of Atomic Force Microscope, the dispersion state of the suspensions and hence the interparticle forces can be analysed. In this study, concentrated ceramic suspensions were made from two kinds of zirconia powders, monoclinic (DK1) and yttria partially stabilised (HSY3) zirconia, in the presence of a dispersant, 4,5-dihydroxy-1,3-benzenedisulfonic acid disodium salt (Tiron), in aqueous system. The optimum dispersant concentrations, where the viscosity and rheological moduli are the entire minimum, for DK1 and HSY3 suspensions, respectively, are 0.625% and 0.1%. The modifications of the interparticle forces were also achieved by pH adjustment and it was found that both of the suspensions at the optimum dispersant concentration were stable over the pH range 7 ∼ 10, which coincide with the results of the electrophoretic mobility measurements. Ceramic compacts have then been made by slip casting the suspensions of different dispersant concentration, followed by firing procedure. Mechanical properties of

Optically controlled multiple switching operations of DNA biopolymer devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hung, Chao-You; Tu, Waan-Ting; Lin, Yi-Tzu; Fruk, Ljiljana; Hung, Yu-Chueh

2015-01-01

We present optically tunable operations of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) biopolymer devices, where a single high-resistance state, write-once read-many-times memory state, write-read-erase memory state, and single low-resistance state can be achieved by controlling UV irradiation time. The device is a simple sandwich structure with a spin-coated DNA biopolymer layer sandwiched by two electrodes. Upon irradiation, the electrical properties of the device are adjusted owing to a phototriggered synthesis of silver nanoparticles in DNA biopolymer, giving rise to multiple switching scenarios. This technique, distinct from the strategy of doping of pre-formed nanoparticles, enables a post-film fabrication process for achieving optically controlled memory device operations, which provides a more versatile platform to fabricate organic memory and optoelectronic devices

Optically controlled multiple switching operations of DNA biopolymer devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hung, Chao-You; Tu, Waan-Ting; Lin, Yi-Tzu [Institute of Photonics Technologies, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Fruk, Ljiljana [Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3RA (United Kingdom); Hung, Yu-Chueh, E-mail: ychung@ee.nthu.edu.tw [Institute of Photonics Technologies, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China); Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China)

2015-12-21

We present optically tunable operations of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) biopolymer devices, where a single high-resistance state, write-once read-many-times memory state, write-read-erase memory state, and single low-resistance state can be achieved by controlling UV irradiation time. The device is a simple sandwich structure with a spin-coated DNA biopolymer layer sandwiched by two electrodes. Upon irradiation, the electrical properties of the device are adjusted owing to a phototriggered synthesis of silver nanoparticles in DNA biopolymer, giving rise to multiple switching scenarios. This technique, distinct from the strategy of doping of pre-formed nanoparticles, enables a post-film fabrication process for achieving optically controlled memory device operations, which provides a more versatile platform to fabricate organic memory and optoelectronic devices.

Highly tunable local gate controlled complementary graphene device performing as inverter and voltage controlled resistor.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Wonjae; Riikonen, Juha; Li, Changfeng; Chen, Ya; Lipsanen, Harri

2013-10-04

Using single-layer CVD graphene, a complementary field effect transistor (FET) device is fabricated on the top of separated back-gates. The local back-gate control of the transistors, which operate with low bias at room temperature, enables highly tunable device characteristics due to separate control over electrostatic doping of the channels. Local back-gating allows control of the doping level independently of the supply voltage, which enables device operation with very low VDD. Controllable characteristics also allow the compensation of variation in the unintentional doping typically observed in CVD graphene. Moreover, both p-n and n-p configurations of FETs can be achieved by electrostatic doping using the local back-gate. Therefore, the device operation can also be switched from inverter to voltage controlled resistor, opening new possibilities in using graphene in logic circuitry.

FxLMS Method for Suppressing In-Wheel Switched Reluctance Motor Vertical Force Based on Vehicle Active Suspension System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan-yang Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The vibration of SRM obtains less attention for in-wheel motor applications according to the present research works. In this paper, the vertical component of SRM unbalanced radial force, which is named as SRM vertical force, is taken into account in suspension performance for in-wheel motor driven electric vehicles (IWM-EV. The analysis results suggest that SRM vertical force has a great effect on suspension performance. The direct cause for this phenomenon is that SRM vertical force is directly exerted on the wheel, which will result in great variation in tyre dynamic load and the tyre will easily jump off the ground. Furthermore, the frequency of SRM vertical force is broad which covers the suspension resonance frequencies. So it is easy to arouse suspension resonance and greatly damage suspension performance. Aiming at the new problem, FxLMS (filtered-X least mean square controller is proposed to improve suspension performance. The FxLMS controller is based on active suspension system which can generate the controllable force to suppress the vibration caused by SRM vertical force. The conclusion shows that it is effective to take advantage of active suspensions to reduce the effect of SRM vertical force on suspension performance.

Device provides controlled gas leaks

Science.gov (United States)

Kami, S. K.; King, H. J.

1968-01-01

Modified palladium leak device provides a controlled release /leak/ of very small quantities of gas at low or medium pressures. It has no moving parts, requires less than 5 watts to operate, and is capable of releasing the gas either continuously or in pulses at adjustable flow rates.

Comfort-oriented vehicle suspension design with skyhook inerter configuration

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yinlong; Chen, Michael Z. Q.; Sun, Yonghui

2017-09-01

This paper is concerned with the comfort-oriented vehicle suspension design problem by using a skyhook inerter configuration. The rationale of the skyhook inerter is to use a grounded inerter to virtually increase the sprung mass of a vehicle, as it is analytically demonstrated that increasing the sprung mass can always improve the ride comfort performance. Semi-active means to realize the skyhook inerter configuration are investigated by using semi-active inerters. Three control laws, that is the on-off control, the anti-chatter on-off control, and the continuous control, are proposed for the semi-active inerter to approximate the skyhook inerter. Numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness and performances of these control laws. It is shown that the semi-active realizations of the skyhook inerter by using the proposed control laws can achieve over 10% improvement compared with the traditional strut, and similar performances are obtained for these control laws, with slight differences with respect to different static stiffnesses of the suspension system.

A New Fuzzy Sliding Mode Controller with a Disturbance Estimator for Robust Vibration Control of a Semi-Active Vehicle Suspension System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Byung-Keun Song

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a new fuzzy sliding mode controller (FSMC to improve control performances in the presence of uncertainties related to model errors and external disturbance (UAD. As a first step, an adaptive control law is designed using Lyapunov stability analysis. The control law can update control parameters of the FSMC with a disturbance estimator (DE in which the closed-loop stability and finite-time convergence of tracking error are guaranteed. A solution for estimating the compensative quantity of the impact of UAD on a control system and a set of solutions are then presented in order to avoid the singular cases of the fuzzy-based function approximation, increase convergence ability, and reduce the calculating cost. Subsequently, the effectiveness of the proposed controller is verified through the investigation of vibration control performances of a semi-active vehicle suspension system featuring a magnetorheological damper (MRD. It is shown that the proposed controller can provide better control ability of vibration control with lower consumed power compared with two existing fuzzy sliding mode controllers.

Suspension, a Wake-Up Call: Rural Educators' Attitudes toward Suspension.

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Joan; Friedland, Billie

Data from the West Virginia Department of Education reveals that from September 1991 to January 1992, school districts reported 18,915 out-of-school suspensions involving 12,997 students. In 1995, the West Virginia State Legislature enacted the Safe Schools Act, which specifically mandates suspension for no less than 12 consecutive months for…

Reactor power control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doi, Kazuyori.

1981-01-01

Purpose: To automatically control the BWR type reactor power by simple and short-time searching the load pattern nearest to the required pattern at a nuclear power plant side. Constitution: The reactor power is automatically regulated by periodical modifying of coefficients fitting to a reactor core model, according as a required load pattern. When a load requirement pattern is given, a simulator estimates the total power change and the axial power distribution change from a xenon density change output calculated by a xenon dynamic characteristic estimating device, and a load pattern capable of being realized is searched. The amount to be recirculated is controlled on the basis of the load patteren thus searched, and the operation of the BWR type reactor is automatically controlled at the side of the nuclear power plant. (Kamimura, M.)

Effect of anabolic steroids on skeletal muscle mass during hindlimb suspension

Science.gov (United States)

Tsika, R. W.; Herrick, R. E.; Baldwin, K. M.

1987-01-01

The effect of treatment with an anabolic steroid (nandrolone decanoate) on the muscle mass of plantaris and soleus of a rats in hindlimb suspension, and on the isomyosin expression in these muscles, was investigated in young female rats divided into four groups: normal control (NC), normal steroid (NS), normal suspension (N-sus), and suspension steroid (sus-S). Steroid treatment of suspended animals (sus-S vs N-sus) was found to partially spare body weight and muscle weight, as well as myofibril content of plantaris (but not soleus), but did not modify the isomyosin pattern induced by suspension. In normal rats (NS vs NC), steroid treatment did enhance body weight and plantaris muscle weight; the treatment did not alter isomyosin expression in either muscle type.

Design of a suspension system and determining suspension parameters of a medium downforce small Formula type car

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Biswal Sadjyot

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The focus of the paper is on designing a suspension system for a medium downforce small Formula type race car. The paper not only focusses on step by step design for a double wishbone type suspension but will also show the use and role of kinematics software in determining the optimized suspension of the car. The paper will also focus on the use of tire data in determining suspension parameters and the design of the double wishbone suspension. Various parameters, their design importance and the process to optimize them according to suspension design goals will be covered. The easiest and best ways to change the suspension parameters to get the best results will also be covered.

An innovative magnetorheological damper for automotive suspension: from design to experimental characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Sassi, Sadok; Cherif, Khaled; Mezghani, Lotfi; Thomas, Marc; Kotrane, Asma

2005-08-01

The development of a powerful new magnetorheological fluid (MRF), together with recent progress in the understanding of the behavior of such fluids, has convinced researchers and engineers that MRF dampers are among the most promising devices for semi-active automotive suspension vibration control, because of their large force capacity and their inherent ability to provide a simple, fast and robust interface between electronic controls and mechanical components. In this paper, theoretical and experimental studies are performed for the design, development and testing of a completely new MRF damper model that can be used for the semi-active control of automotive suspensions. The MR damper technology presented in this paper is based on a completely new approach where, in contrast to in the conventional solutions where the coil axis is usually superposed on the damper axis and where the inner cylindrical housing is part of the magnetic circuit, the coils are wound in a direction perpendicular to the damper axis. The paper investigates approaches to optimizing the dynamic response and provides experimental verification. Both experimental and theoretical results have shown that, if this particular model is filled with an 'MRF 336AG' MR fluid, it can provide large controllable damping forces that require only a small amount of energy. For a magnetizing system with four coils, the damping coefficient could be increased by up to three times for an excitation current of only 2 A. Such current could be reduced to less than 1 A if the magnetizing system used eight small cores. In this case, the magnetic field will be more powerful and more regularly distributed. In the presence of harmonic excitation, such a design will allow the optimum compromise between comfort and stability to be reached over different intervals of the excitation frequencies.

Medical Devices; Immunology and Microbiology Devices; Classification of the Assayed Quality Control Material for Clinical Microbiology Assays. Final order.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-07-27

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Agency, or we) is classifying the assayed quality control material for clinical microbiology assays into class II (special controls). The special controls that will apply to the device are identified in this order and will be part of the codified language for the assayed quality control material for clinical microbiology assays' classification. The Agency is classifying the device into class II (special controls) to provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness of the device.

Polymorphism in Bacterial Flagella Suspensions

Science.gov (United States)

Schwenger, Walter J.

Bacterial flagella are a type of biological polymer studied for its role in bacterial motility and the polymorphic transitions undertaken to facilitate the run and tumble behavior. The naturally rigid, helical shape of flagella gives rise to novel colloidal dynamics and material properties. This thesis studies methods in which the shape of bacterial flagella can be controlled using in vitro methods and the changes the shape of the flagella have on both single particle dynamics and bulk material properties. We observe individual flagellum in both the dilute and semidilute regimes to observe the effects of solvent condition on the shape of the filament as well as the effect the filament morphology has on reptation through a network of flagella. In addition, we present rheological measurements showing how the shape of filaments effects the bulk material properties of flagellar suspensions. We find that the individual particle dynamics in suspensions of flagella can vary with geometry from needing to reptate linearly via rotation for helical filaments to the prevention of long range diffusion for block copolymer filaments. Similarly, for bulk material properties of flagella suspensions, helical geometries show a dramatic enhancement in elasticity over straight filaments while block copolymers form an elastic gel without the aid of crosslinking agents.

Microfluidic Fabrication Solutions for Tailor-Designed Fiber Suspensions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helene Berthet

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Fibers are widely used in different industrial processes, for example in paper manufacturing or lost circulation problems in the oil industry. Recently, interest towards the use of fibers at the microscale has grown, driven by research in bio-medical applications or drug delivery systems. Microfluidic systems are not only directly relevant for lab-on-chip applications, but have also proven to be good model systems to tackle fundamental questions about the flow of fiber suspensions. It has therefore become necessary to provide fiber-like particles with an excellent control of their properties. We present here two complementary in situ methods to fabricate controlled micro-fibers allowing for an embedded fabrication and flow-on-a-chip platform. The first one, based on a photo-lithography principle, can be used to make isolated fibers and dilute fiber suspensions at specific locations of interest inside a microchannel. The self-assembly property of super-paramagnetic colloids is the principle of the second fabrication method, which enables the fabrication of concentrated suspensions of more flexible fibers. We propose a flow gallery with several examples of fiber flow illustrating the two methods’ capabilities and a range of recent laminar flow results.

Optimisation of active suspension control inputs for improved performance of active safety systems

Science.gov (United States)

Čorić, Mirko; Deur, Joško; Xu, Li; Tseng, H. Eric; Hrovat, Davor

2018-01-01

A collocation-type control variable optimisation method is used to investigate the extent to which the fully active suspension (FAS) can be applied to improve the vehicle electronic stability control (ESC) performance and reduce the braking distance. First, the optimisation approach is applied to the scenario of vehicle stabilisation during the sine-with-dwell manoeuvre. The results are used to provide insights into different FAS control mechanisms for vehicle performance improvements related to responsiveness and yaw rate error reduction indices. The FAS control performance is compared to performances of the standard ESC system, optimal active brake system and combined FAS and ESC configuration. Second, the optimisation approach is employed to the task of FAS-based braking distance reduction for straight-line vehicle motion. Here, the scenarios of uniform and longitudinally or laterally non-uniform tyre-road friction coefficient are considered. The influences of limited anti-lock braking system (ABS) actuator bandwidth and limit-cycle ABS behaviour are also analysed. The optimisation results indicate that the FAS can provide competitive stabilisation performance and improved agility when compared to the ESC system, and that it can reduce the braking distance by up to 5% for distinctively non-uniform friction conditions.

Implementation of Adaptive Digital Controllers on Programmable Logic Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Gwaltney, David A.; King, Kenneth D.; Smith, Keary J.; Monenegro, Justino (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Much has been made of the capabilities of FPGA's (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) in the hardware implementation of fast digital signal processing. Such capability also makes an FPGA a suitable platform for the digital implementation of closed loop controllers. Other researchers have implemented a variety of closed-loop digital controllers on FPGA's. Some of these controllers include the widely used proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller, state space controllers, neural network and fuzzy logic based controllers. There are myriad advantages to utilizing an FPGA for discrete-time control functions which include the capability for reconfiguration when SRAM-based FPGA's are employed, fast parallel implementation of multiple control loops and implementations that can meet space level radiation tolerance requirements in a compact form-factor. Generally, a software implementation on a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or microcontroller is used to implement digital controllers. At Marshall Space Flight Center, the Control Electronics Group has been studying adaptive discrete-time control of motor driven actuator systems using digital signal processor (DSP) devices. While small form factor, commercial DSP devices are now available with event capture, data conversion, pulse width modulated (PWM) outputs and communication peripherals, these devices are not currently available in designs and packages which meet space level radiation requirements. In general, very few DSP devices are produced that are designed to meet any level of radiation tolerance or hardness. The goal of this effort is to create a fully digital, flight ready controller design that utilizes an FPGA for implementation of signal conditioning for control feedback signals, generation of commands to the controlled system, and hardware insertion of adaptive control algorithm approaches. An alternative is required for compact implementation of such functionality to withstand the harsh environment

40 CFR 1700.14 - Marine Pollution Control Device (MPCD) Performance Standards. [Reserved

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Marine Pollution Control Device (MPCD... UNIFORM NATIONAL DISCHARGE STANDARDS FOR VESSELS OF THE ARMED FORCES Marine Pollution Control Device (MPCD) Performance Standards § 1700.14 Marine Pollution Control Device (MPCD) Performance Standards. [Reserved] ...

Reactor power control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imaruoka, Hiromitsu.

1994-01-01

A high pressure water injection recycling system comprising injection pipelines of a high pressure water injection system and a flow rate control means in communication with a pool of a pressure control chamber is disposed to a feedwater system of a BWR type reactor. In addition, the flow rate control means is controlled by a power control device comprising a scram impossible transient event judging section, a required injection flow rate calculation section for high pressure water injection system and a control signal calculation section. Feed water flow rate to be supplied to the reactor is controlled upon occurrence of a scram impossible transient event of the reactor. The scram impossible transient event is judged based on reactor output signals and scram operation demand signals and injection flow rate is calculated based on a predetermined reactor water level, and condensate storage tank water or pressure control chamber pool water is injected to the reactor. With such procedures, water level can be ensured and power can be suppressed. Further, condensate storage tank water of low enthalpy is introduced to the pressure suppression chamber pool to directly control elevation of water temperature and ensure integrity of the pressure vessel and the reactor container. (N.H.)

Piezo Voltage Controlled Planar Hall Effect Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bao; Meng, Kang-Kang; Yang, Mei-Yin; Edmonds, K W; Zhang, Hao; Cai, Kai-Ming; Sheng, Yu; Zhang, Nan; Ji, Yang; Zhao, Jian-Hua; Zheng, Hou-Zhi; Wang, Kai-You

2016-06-22

The electrical control of the magnetization switching in ferromagnets is highly desired for future spintronic applications. Here we report on hybrid piezoelectric (PZT)/ferromagnetic (Co2FeAl) devices in which the planar Hall voltage in the ferromagnetic layer is tuned solely by piezo voltages. The change of planar Hall voltage is associated with magnetization switching through 90° in the plane under piezo voltages. Room temperature magnetic NOT and NOR gates are demonstrated based on the piezo voltage controlled Co2FeAl planar Hall effect devices without the external magnetic field. Our demonstration may lead to the realization of both information storage and processing using ferromagnetic materials.

Fast-acting nuclear reactor control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotlyar, O.M.; West, P.B.

1993-01-01

A fast-acting nuclear reactor control device is described for controlling a safety control rod within the core of a nuclear reactor, the reactor controlled by a reactor control system, the device comprising: a safety control rod drive shaft and an electromagnetic clutch co-axial with the drive shaft operatively connected to the safety control rod for driving and positioning the safety control rod within or without the reactor core during reactor operation, the safety rod being oriented in a substantially vertical position to allow the rod to fall into the reactor core under the influence of gravity during shutdown of the reactor; the safety control rod drive shaft further operatively connected to a hydraulic pump such that operation of the drive shaft simultaneously drives and positions the safety control rod and operates the hydraulic pump such that a hydraulic fluid is forced into an accumulator, filling the accumulator with oil for the storage and supply of primary potential energy for safety control rod insertion such that the release of potential energy in the accumulator causes hydraulic fluid to flow through the hydraulic pump, converting the hydraulic pump to a hydraulic motor having speed and power capable of full length insertion and high speed driving of the safety control rod into the reactor core; a solenoid valve interposed between the hydraulic pump and the accumulator, said solenoid valve being a normally open valve, actuated to close when the safety control rod is out of the reactor during reactor operation; and further wherein said solenoid opens in response to a signal from the reactor control system calling for shutdown of the reactor and rapid insertion of the safety control rod into the reactor core, such that the opening of the solenoid releases the potential energy in the accumulator to place the safety control rod in a safe shutdown position

Discontinuous Shear Thickening and Dilatancy: Frictional Effects in Viscous Suspensions

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Jeffrey

2015-03-01

Shear thickening in concentrated suspensions has been well-known for quite a long time, yet a firm consensus on the basis for very abrupt or ``discontinuous'' shear thickening (DST) seen in suspensions of large solid fraction, ϕ, has not been reached. This work addresses the DST phenomenon, and proposes a simulation method based in the Stokesian Dynamics algorithm to explore the role of various forces between the particles, including hydrodynamic, conservative potential, and frictional interactions. This work shows that allowance for friction between spherical particles suspended in a viscous liquid causes a significant reduction in the jamming solid fraction of the mixture, ϕmax, taken as the maximum fraction at which the suspension will flow. A consequence of this is a shifting of the singularity in the effective viscosity, η, to smaller ϕmax, and the frictional suspension has a larger viscosity than does the frictionless suspension of the same solid fraction, as is clear from the standard empirical modeling of η (ϕ) =(1 - ϕ /ϕmax) - α , α ~ 2 . When a counterbalancing repulsive force between the particles, representative for example of charge-induced repulsion, is incorporated in the dynamics, the mixture undergoes a transition from frictionless to frictional interactions, and from low to high effective viscosity, at a critical shear rate. Comparison with experimental data shows remarkable agreement in the features of DST captured by the method. The basic algorithm and results of both rate-controlled and stress-controlled simulations will be presented. Like the shear stress, the magnitude of the normal stress exerted by the suspended particles also increases abruptly at the critical shear rate, consistent with the long-standing notion that dilatancy and shear-thickening are synonymous. We will show that considering all shear thickening materials as dilatant is a misconception, but demonstrate the validity of the connection of dilatancy with DST in

Semi-active control of helicopter vibration using controllable stiffness and damping devices

Science.gov (United States)

Anusonti-Inthra, Phuriwat

Semi-active concepts for helicopter vibration reduction are developed and evaluated in this dissertation. Semi-active devices, controllable stiffness devices or controllable orifice dampers, are introduced; (i) in the blade root region (rotor-based concept) and (ii) between the rotor and the fuselage as semi-active isolators (in the non-rotating frame). Corresponding semi-active controllers for helicopter vibration reduction are also developed. The effectiveness of the rotor-based semi-active vibration reduction concept (using stiffness and damping variation) is demonstrated for a 4-bladed hingeless rotor helicopter in moderate- to high-speed forward flight. A sensitivity study shows that the stiffness variation of root element can reduce hub vibrations when proper amplitude and phase are used. Furthermore, the optimal semi-active control scheme can determine the combination of stiffness variations that produce significant vibration reduction in all components of vibratory hub loads simultaneously. It is demonstrated that desired cyclic variations in properties of the blade root region can be practically achieved using discrete controllable stiffness devices and controllable dampers, especially in the flap and lag directions. These discrete controllable devices can produce 35--50% reduction in a composite vibration index representing all components of vibratory hub loads. No detrimental increases are observed in the lower harmonics of blade loads and blade response (which contribute to the dynamic stresses) and controllable device internal loads, when the optimal stiffness and damping variations are introduced. The effectiveness of optimal stiffness and damping variations in reducing hub vibration is retained over a range of cruise speeds and for variations in fundamental rotor properties. The effectiveness of the semi-active isolator is demonstrated for a simplified single degree of freedom system representing the semi-active isolation system. The rotor

Fluid control structures in microfluidic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Mathies, Richard A.; Grover, William H.; Skelley, Alison; Lagally, Eric; Liu, Chung N.

2017-05-09

Methods and apparatus for implementing microfluidic analysis devices are provided. A monolithic elastomer membrane associated with an integrated pneumatic manifold allows the placement and actuation of a variety of fluid control structures, such as structures for pumping, isolating, mixing, routing, merging, splitting, preparing, and storing volumes of fluid. The fluid control structures can be used to implement a variety of sample introduction, preparation, processing, and storage techniques.

Stabilizing device for control rod tip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verdone, G.F.

1982-01-01

A control rod has a spring device on its lower end for eliminating oscillatory contact of the rod against its adjacent guide tube wall. The base of the device is connected to the lower tip of the rod. A plurality of elongated extensions are cantilevered downward from the base. Each extension has a shoulder for contacting the guide tube, and the plurality of shoulders as a group has a transverse dimension that is preset to be larger than the inner diameter of the guide tube such that an interference fit is obtained when the control rod is inserted in the tube. The elongated extensions form an open-ended, substantially hollow member through which most of the liquid coolant flows, and the spaces between adjacent extensions allow the flow to bypass the shoulders without experiencing a significant pressure drop

Control rod withdrawal monitoring device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebisuya, Mitsuo.

1984-01-01

Purpose: To prevent the power ramp even if a plurality of control rods are subjected to withdrawal operation at a time, by reducing the reactivity applied to the reactor. Constitution: The control rod withdrawal monitoring device is adapted to monitor and control the withdrawal of the control rods depending on the reactor power and the monitoring region thereof is divided into a control rod group monitoring region a transition region and a control group monitoring not interfere region. In a case if the distance between a plurality of control rods for which the withdrawal positions are selected is less than a limiting value, the coordinate for the control rods, distance between the control rods and that the control rod distance is shorter are displayed on a display panel, and the withdrawal for the control rods are blocked. Accordingly, even if a plurality of control rods are subjected successively to the withdrawal operation contrary to the control rod withdrawal sequence upon high power operation of the reactor, the power ramp can be prevented. (Kawakami, Y.)

A comparison of optimal semi-active suspension systems regarding vehicle ride comfort

Science.gov (United States)

Koulocheris, Dimitrios; Papaioannou, Georgios; Chrysos, Emmanouil

2017-10-01

The aim of this work is to present a comparison of the main semi active suspension systems used in a passenger car, after having optimized the suspension systems of the vehicle model in respect with ride comfort and road holding. Thus, a half car model, equipped with controllable dampers, along with a seat and a driver was implemented. Semi-active suspensions have received a lot of attention since they seem to provide the best compromise between cost (energy consumption, actuators/sensors hardware) and performance in comparison with active and passive suspensions. In this work, the semi active suspension systems studied are comfort oriented and consist of (a) the two version of Skyhook control (two states skyhook and skyhook linear approximation damper), (b) the acceleration driven damper (ADD), (c) the power driven damper (PDD), (d) the combination of Skyhook and ADD (Mixed Skyhook-ADD) and (e) the combination of the two with the use of a sensor. The half car model equipped with the above suspension systems was excited by a road bump, and was optimized using genetic algorithms (GA) in respect with ride comfort and road holding. This study aims to highlight how the optimization of the vehicle model could lead to the best compromise between ride comfort and road holding, overcoming their well-known trade-off. The optimum results were compared with important performance metrics regarding the vehicle’s dynamic behaviour in general.

Active Electromechanical Suspension System for Planetary Rovers, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Balcones Technologies, LLC proposes to adapt actively controlled suspension technology developed by The University of Texas at Austin Center for Electromechanics...

Control device for handling device of control rod drive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasaki, Toshiya

1998-01-01

A predetermined aimed portion of control rod drives disposed in a pedestal is photographed, and image data and camera data including the position of the camera are outputted. Edge cut out processing image data are formed based on the outputted image data, and aimed image data and aimed camera data obtained when previously positioning the handling device precisely to a predetermined aimed position are stored. The aimed image data are taken out from the aimed image data file to prepare computer graphic image data, and there is disposed an image superposing processing portion for comparing images based on the computer graphic image data and images based on the image data for edge cut out processing, as well as comparing the aimed camera data and the camera data, and displaying each of them to an image display portion. (I.S.)

Prototyping of concurrent control systems implemented in FPGA devices

CERN Document Server

Wiśniewski, Remigiusz

2017-01-01

This book focuses on prototyping aspects of concurrent control systems and their further implementation and partial reconfiguration in programmable devices. Further, it lays out a full prototyping flow for concurrent control systems. Based on a given primary specification, a system is described with an interpreted Petri net, which naturally reflects the concurrent and sequential relationships of the design. The book shows that, apart from the traditional option of static configuration of the entire system, the latest programmable devices (especially FPGAs) offer far more sophistication. Partial reconfiguration allows selected parts of the system to be replaced without having to reprogram the entire structure of the device. Approaches to dynamic and static partial reconfiguration of concurrent control systems are presented and described in detail.< The theoretical work is illustrated by examples drawn from various applications, with a milling machine and a traffic-light controller highlighted as representat...

Norms concerning the programmable automatic control devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fourmentraux, G.

1995-01-01

This presentation is a report of the studies carried out by the Work Group on Functioning Safety of Programmable Automatic Control Devices and by the Group for Prevention Studies (GEP) from the CEA. The objective of these groups is to evaluate the methods which could be used to estimate the functioning safety of control and instrumentation systems involved in the Important Elements for Safety (EIS) of the Basic Nuclear Installations (INB) of the CEA, and also to carry out a qualification of automatic control devices. Norms, protocols and tools for the evaluation are presented. The problem comprises two aspects: the evaluation of fault avoidance techniques and the evaluation of fault control techniques used during the conceiving. For the fault avoidance techniques, the quality assurance organization, the environment tests, and the software quality plans are considered. For the fault control techniques, the different available tools and fault injection models are analysed. The results of an analysis carried out with the DEF.I tool from the National Institute for Research and Safety (INRS) are reported. (J.S.). 23 refs

Towards the synthesis of hydroxyapatite/protein scaffolds with controlled porosities: bulk and interfacial shear rheology of a hydroxyapatite suspension with protein additives.

Science.gov (United States)

Maas, Michael; Bodnar, Pedro Marcus; Hess, Ulrike; Treccani, Laura; Rezwan, Kurosch

2013-10-01

The synthesis of porous hydroxyapatite scaffolds is essential for biomedical applications such as bone tissue engineering and replacement. One way to induce macroporosity, which is needed to support bone in-growth, is to use protein additives as foaming agents. Another reason to use protein additives is the potential to introduce a specific biofunctionality to the synthesized scaffolds. In this work, we study the rheological properties of a hydroxyapatite suspension system with additions of the proteins bovine serum albumin (BSA), lysozyme (LSZ) and fibrinogen (FIB). Both the rheology of the bulk phase as well as the interfacial shear rheology are studied. The bulk rheological data provides important information on the setting behavior of the thixotropic suspension, which we find to be faster with the addition of FIB and LSZ and much slower with BSA. Foam bubble stabilization mechanisms can be rationalized via interfacial shear rheology and we show that it depends on the growth of interfacial films at the suspension/air interface. These interfacial films support the stabilization of bubbles within the ceramic matrix and thereby introduce macropores. Due to the weak interaction of the protein molecules with the hydroxyapatite particles of the suspension, we find that BSA forms the most stable interfacial films, followed by FIB. LSZ strongly interacts with the hydroxyapatite particles and thus only forms thin films with very low elastic moduli. In summary, our study provides fundamental rheological insights which are essential for tailoring hydroxyapatite/protein suspensions in order to synthesize scaffolds with controlled porosities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Progress of artificial pancreas devices towards clinical use: the first outpatient studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Steven J

2015-04-01

This article describes recent progress in the automated control of glycemia in type 1 diabetes with artificial pancreas devices that combine continuous glucose monitoring with automated decision-making and insulin delivery. After a gestation period of closely supervised feasibility studies in research centers, the last 2 years have seen publication of studies testing these devices in outpatient environments, and many more such studies are ongoing. The most basic form of automation, suspension of insulin delivery for actual or predicted hypoglycemia, has been shown to be effective and well tolerated, and a first-generation device has actually reached the market. Artificial pancreas devices that actively dose insulin fall into two categories, those that dose insulin alone and those that also use glucagon to prevent and treat hypoglycemia (bihormonal artificial pancreas). Initial outpatient clinical trials have shown that both strategies can improve glycemic management in comparison with patient-controlled insulin pump therapy, but only the bihormonal strategy has been tested without restrictions on exercise. Artificial pancreas technology has the potential to reduce acute and chronic complications of diabetes and mitigate the burden of diabetes self-management. Successful outpatient studies bring these technologies one step closer to availability for patients.

Calcipotriene plus betamethasone dipropionate topical suspension for the treatment of mild to moderate psoriasis vulgaris on the body: a randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Menter, Alan; Gold, Linda Stein; Bukhalo, Michael; Grekin, Steven; Kempers, Steven; Boyce, Brent M; Ganslandt, Cecilia; Villumsen, John; Lebwohl, Mark

2013-01-01

A combination topical suspension/gel containing calcipotriene plus betamethasone dipropionate has been developed as a safe and effective treatment for patients with psoriasis vulgaris of the scalp. This same preparation has the potential to be a convenient, effective, and cosmetically appealing formulation for psoriasis on the body. This trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of a topical suspension containing calcipotriene plus betamethasone dipropionate compared with its constituent components and topical suspension vehicle in the treatment of mild to moderate psoriasis on the trunk and limbs. This was a randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled, 4-arm trial in 1,152 subjects. The co-primary efficacy end points were the proportion of subjects achieving controlled disease based on the Investigators' Global Assessment of disease severity at weeks 4 and 8. Adverse events, vital signs, and clinical laboratory measurements were also assessed. At week 4, a greater proportion of subjects in the calcipotriene plus betamethasone group achieved controlled disease compared with subjects in the calcipotriene-only and vehicle-only treatment groups. At week 8, a statistically significantly (Psuspension containing calcipotriene plus betamethasone dipropionate traditionally used for scalp psoriasis is also a safe and effective once-daily treatment for psoriasis vulgaris on the body.

Constraint Embedding for Vehicle Suspension Dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jain Abhinandan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The goal of this research is to achieve close to real-time dynamics performance for allowing auto-pilot in-the-loop testing of unmanned ground vehicles (UGV for urban as well as off-road scenarios. The overall vehicle dynamics performance is governed by the multibody dynamics model for the vehicle, the wheel/terrain interaction dynamics and the onboard control system. The topic of this paper is the development of computationally efficient and accurate dynamics model for ground vehicles with complex suspension dynamics. A challenge is that typical vehicle suspensions involve closed-chain loops which require expensive DAE integration techniques. In this paper, we illustrate the use the alternative constraint embedding technique to reduce the cost and improve the accuracy of the dynamics model for the vehicle.

Plasma Equilibrium Control in Nuclear Fusion Devices 2. Plasma Control in Magnetic Confinement Devices 2.1 Plasma Control in Tokamaks

Science.gov (United States)

Fukuda, Takeshi

The plasma control technique for use in large tokamak devices has made great developmental strides in the last decade, concomitantly with progress in the understanding of tokamak physics and in part facilitated by the substantial advancement in the computing environment. Equilibrium control procedures have thereby been established, and it has been pervasively recognized in recent years that the real-time feedback control of physical quantities is indispensable for the improvement and sustainment of plasma performance in a quasi-steady-state. Further development is presently undertaken to realize the “advanced plasma control” concept, where integrated fusion performance is achieved by the simultaneous feedback control of multiple physical quantities, combined with equilibrium control.

High-impact exercise in rats prior to and during suspension can prevent bone loss

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanagihara, G.R.; Paiva, A.G.; Gasparini, G.A.; Macedo, A.P.; Frighetto, P.D.; Volpon, J.B.; Shimano, A.C.

2016-01-01

High-impact exercise has been considered an important method for treating bone loss in osteopenic experimental models. In this study, we investigated the effects of osteopenia caused by inactivity in femora and tibiae of rats subjected to jump training using the rat tail suspension model. Eight-week-old female Wistar rats were divided into five groups (n=10 each group): jump training for 2 weeks before suspension and training during 3 weeks of suspension; jump training for 2 weeks before suspension; jump training only during suspension; suspension without any training; and a control group. The exercise protocol consisted of 20 jumps/day, 5 days/week, with a jump height of 40 cm. The bone mineral density of the femora and tibiae was measured by double energy X-ray absorptiometry and the same bones were evaluated by mechanical tests. Bone microarchitecture was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. One-way ANOVA was used to compare groups. Significance was determined as P<0.05. Regarding bone mineral density, mechanical properties and bone microarchitecture, the beneficial effects were greater in the bones of animals subjected to pre-suspension training and subsequently to training during suspension, compared with the bones of animals subjected to pre-suspension training or to training during suspension. Our results indicate that a period of high impact exercise prior to tail suspension in rats can prevent the installation of osteopenia if there is also training during the tail suspension

High-impact exercise in rats prior to and during suspension can prevent bone loss

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yanagihara, G.R.; Paiva, A.G.; Gasparini, G.A.; Macedo, A.P. [Laboratório de Bioengenharia, Departamento de Biomecânica, Medicina e Reabilitação do Aparelho Locomotor, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP (Brazil); Frighetto, P.D. [Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Volpon, J.B.; Shimano, A.C. [Laboratório de Bioengenharia, Departamento de Biomecânica, Medicina e Reabilitação do Aparelho Locomotor, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP (Brazil)

2016-02-02

High-impact exercise has been considered an important method for treating bone loss in osteopenic experimental models. In this study, we investigated the effects of osteopenia caused by inactivity in femora and tibiae of rats subjected to jump training using the rat tail suspension model. Eight-week-old female Wistar rats were divided into five groups (n=10 each group): jump training for 2 weeks before suspension and training during 3 weeks of suspension; jump training for 2 weeks before suspension; jump training only during suspension; suspension without any training; and a control group. The exercise protocol consisted of 20 jumps/day, 5 days/week, with a jump height of 40 cm. The bone mineral density of the femora and tibiae was measured by double energy X-ray absorptiometry and the same bones were evaluated by mechanical tests. Bone microarchitecture was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. One-way ANOVA was used to compare groups. Significance was determined as P<0.05. Regarding bone mineral density, mechanical properties and bone microarchitecture, the beneficial effects were greater in the bones of animals subjected to pre-suspension training and subsequently to training during suspension, compared with the bones of animals subjected to pre-suspension training or to training during suspension. Our results indicate that a period of high impact exercise prior to tail suspension in rats can prevent the installation of osteopenia if there is also training during the tail suspension.

Digital Control of External Devices through the Parallel Port of a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Digital Control of External Devices through the Parallel Port of a Computer Using Visual Basic. ... Nigerian Journal of Technology ... Keywords: device controller, digital switching, digital interfacing, visual basic, computer parallel port ...

Bidirectional Telemetry Controller for Neuroprosthetic Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Vishnu; McCreery, Douglas B.; Han, Martin; Pikov, Victor

2010-01-01

We present versatile multifunctional programmable controller with bidirectional data telemetry, implemented using existing commercial microchips and standard Bluetooth protocol, which adds convenience, reliability, and ease-of-use to neuroprosthetic devices. Controller, weighing 190 g, is placed on animal's back and provides bidirectional sustained telemetry rate of 500 kb/s, allowing real-time control of stimulation parameters and viewing of acquired data. In continuously-active state, controller consumes ∼420 mW and operates without recharge for 8 h. It features independent 16-channel current-controlled stimulation, allowing current steering; customizable stimulus current waveforms; recording of stimulus voltage waveforms and evoked neuronal responses with stimulus artifact blanking circuitry. Flexibility, scalability, cost-efficiency, and a user-friendly computer interface of this device allow use in animal testing for variety of neuroprosthetic applications. Initial testing of the controller has been done in a feline model of brainstem auditory prosthesis. In this model, the electrical stimulation is applied to the array of microelectrodes implanted in the ventral cochlear nucleus, while the evoked neuronal activity was recorded with the electrode implanted in the contralateral inferior colliculus. Stimulus voltage waveforms to monitor the access impedance of the electrodes were acquired at the rate of 312 kilosamples/s. Evoked neuronal activity in the inferior colliculus was recorded after the blanking (transient silencing) of the recording amplifier during the stimulus pulse, allowing the detection of neuronal responses within 100 μs after the end of the stimulus pulse applied in the cochlear nucleus. PMID:19933010

Bidirectional telemetry controller for neuroprosthetic devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Vishnu; McCreery, Douglas B; Han, Martin; Pikov, Victor

2010-02-01

We present versatile multifunctional programmable controller with bidirectional data telemetry, implemented using existing commercial microchips and standard Bluetooth protocol, which adds convenience, reliability, and ease-of-use to neuroprosthetic devices. Controller, weighing 190 g, is placed on animal's back and provides bidirectional sustained telemetry rate of 500 kb/s , allowing real-time control of stimulation parameters and viewing of acquired data. In continuously-active state, controller consumes approximately 420 mW and operates without recharge for 8 h . It features independent 16-channel current-controlled stimulation, allowing current steering; customizable stimulus current waveforms; recording of stimulus voltage waveforms and evoked neuronal responses with stimulus artifact blanking circuitry. Flexibility, scalability, cost-efficiency, and a user-friendly computer interface of this device allow use in animal testing for variety of neuroprosthetic applications. Initial testing of the controller has been done in a feline model of brainstem auditory prosthesis. In this model, the electrical stimulation is applied to the array of microelectrodes implanted in the ventral cochlear nucleus, while the evoked neuronal activity was recorded with the electrode implanted in the contralateral inferior colliculus. Stimulus voltage waveforms to monitor the access impedance of the electrodes were acquired at the rate of 312 kilosamples/s. Evoked neuronal activity in the inferior colliculus was recorded after the blanking (transient silencing) of the recording amplifier during the stimulus pulse, allowing the detection of neuronal responses within 100 mus after the end of the stimulus pulse applied in the cochlear nucleus.

Experimental and simulated control of lift using trailing edge devices

Science.gov (United States)

Cooperman, A.; Blaylock, M.; van Dam, C. P.

2014-12-01

Two active aerodynamic load control (AALC) devices coupled with a control algorithm are shown to decrease the change in lift force experienced by an airfoil during a change in freestream velocity. Microtabs are small (1% chord) surfaces deployed perpendicular to an airfoil, while microjets are pneumatic jets with flow perpendicular to the surface of the airfoil near the trailing edge. Both devices are capable of producing a rapid change in an airfoil's lift coefficient. A control algorithm for microtabs has been tested in a wind tunnel using a modified S819 airfoil, and a microjet control algorithm has been simulated for a NACA 0012 airfoil using OVERFLOW. In both cases, the AALC devices have shown the ability to mitigate the changes in lift during a gust.

Control-rod scram device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsui, Yoshiro; Saito, Koji.

1986-01-01

Purpose: To eliminate the requirement for the nitrogen gas system in a scram device and enable safety and reliable shutdown of a water-cooled reactor power plant. Constitution: A piston and a spring are contained within a hydraulic vessel, and the piston is driven by the energy stored in the spring so as to supply hydraulic water to control mechanisms. During usual reactor operation, a scram valve is closed and a high water pressure of about 130 kg/cm 2 is applied to the water filled in the vessel through a check valve. Upon occurrence of abnormal conditions and generation of scram signals, the scram valve is opened to supply the water filled in the vessel through the scram valve to the control rod drive mechanisms. When the water pressure in the vessel is decreased, since the piston is urged upwardly by the energy stored in the spring, the water filled in the vessel is intermitently supplied to the control rod drive mechanisms. Thus, control rods can be inserted into the nuclear reactor to shutdown the same. (Horiuchi, T.)

Practical design control implementation for medical devices

CERN Document Server

Justiniano, Jose

2003-01-01

Bringing together the concepts of design control and reliability engineering, this book is a must for medical device manufacturers. It helps them meet the challenge of designing and developing products that meet or exceed customer expectations and also meet regulatory requirements. Part One covers motivation for design control and validation, design control requirements, process validation and design transfer, quality system for design control, and measuring design control program effectiveness. Part Two discusses risk analysis and FMEA, designing-in reliability, reliability and design verific

Biolistic transformation of tobacco and maize suspension cells using bacterial cells as microprojectiles.

Science.gov (United States)

Rasmussen, J L; Kikkert, J R; Roy, M K; Sanford, J C

1994-01-01

We have used both Escherichia coli cells and Agrobacterium tumefaciens cells as microprojectiles to deliver DNA into suspension-cultured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. line NT1) cells using a helium powered biolistic device. In addition, E. coli cells were used as microprojectiles for the transformation of suspension-cultured maize (Zea mays cv. Black Mexican Sweet) cells. Pretreating the bacterial cells with phenol at a concentration of 1.0%, and combining the bacterial cells with tungsten particles increased the rates of transformation. In N. tabacum, we obtained hundreds of transient transformants per bombardment, but were unable to recover any stable transformants. In Z. mays we obtained thousands of transient transformants and an average of six stable transformants per bombardment. This difference is discussed.

Migrated Essure permanent birth control device: sonographic findings.

Science.gov (United States)

Khati, Nadia Juliet; Gorodenker, Joseph; Brindle, Kathleen Ann

2014-05-01

We report a case of a migrated Essure permanent birth control device. The correct diagnosis was made on conventional two-dimensional and three-dimensional pelvic sonography 7 years after placement of the device when the patient presented with persistent right-sided pain. The 3-month post placement hysterosalpingogram had shown an appropriately occluded right fallopian tube but had overlooked the abnormal position of the right Essure device, which was too proximal and extending slightly in the uterine cavity. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Suspensions with reduced violin string modes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, B H; Ju, L; Blair, D G

2006-01-01

We discuss the possibility of significantly reducing the number and Q-factor of violin string modes in the mirror suspension. Simulations of a bar-flexure suspension and an orthogonal ribbon have shown a reduction in the number of violin string modes when compared to a normal ribbon suspension. By calculating the expected suspension thermal noise, we find that the orthogonal ribbon provides a promising suspension alternative. A lower number of violin modes oscillating in the direction of the laser and a reduction in violin mode peak values of at least 23dB can be achieved with a slight increase in thermal noise above 40Hz

Suspensions with reduced violin string modes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, B H; Ju, L; Blair, D G [School of Physics, University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, WA (Australia)

2006-03-02

We discuss the possibility of significantly reducing the number and Q-factor of violin string modes in the mirror suspension. Simulations of a bar-flexure suspension and an orthogonal ribbon have shown a reduction in the number of violin string modes when compared to a normal ribbon suspension. By calculating the expected suspension thermal noise, we find that the orthogonal ribbon provides a promising suspension alternative. A lower number of violin modes oscillating in the direction of the laser and a reduction in violin mode peak values of at least 23dB can be achieved with a slight increase in thermal noise above 40Hz.

Damping and tuning of the fibre violin modes in monolithic silica suspensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gossler, S; Cagnoli, G; Crooks, D R M; Lueck, H; Rowan, S; Smith, J R; Strain, K A; Hough, J; Danzmann, K

2004-01-01

High Q mirror suspensions are a key element of the advanced interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. In December 2002 the last of the final interferometer optics of GEO 600 were monolithically suspended, using fused silica fibres. The violin modes of the suspension fibres can have Q greater than 10 8 and can therefore interfere with the interferometer length control servo. Hence, the violin modes need to be damped, without degrading the pendulum Q itself. Furthermore, the frequency spread of the fibres used has to be small to allow for high Q notch filtering in the length control servo. The requirements for the violin modes of the two GEO 600 inboard suspensions are Q 6 for the fundamental and Q 6 for the first harmonic mode, respectively. The frequency spread should not exceed 10% within one mode. To accomplish that, two sections of the fibres were coated with amorphous Teflon. By applying the coating, the Q of the relevant modes can be degraded to the desired values and furthermore, the frequencies of these modes can be tuned almost independently with a good accuracy over a wide range. After welding the fibres in the monolithic suspension, a corrective coating was applied to some fibres, to compensate for the frequency spread due to the tension spread of the four fibres within a suspension. We present the method and the results achieved

Multiphase modeling of settling and suspension in anaerobic digester

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Liang; Ma, Jingwei; Frear, Craig; Zhao, Quanbao; Dillon, Robert; Li, Xiujin; Chen, Shulin

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Develop biowaste fluid dynamics for collision, aggregation and breakup of clusters. • Explore the mechanisms of settling and suspension in anaerobic digester. • Biowaste particles tended to have fluid properties. • Aided with CFD simulation, the scale-up effect was reduced. - Abstract: Effective suspension and settling are critical for controlling biomass retention in a bioreactor. In this paper, a multi-fluid model with kinetic theory of granular flow (KTGF) was established to describe these phenomena in the biowaste particles flow in anaerobic digesters. Solid retention time (SRT) was added as a parameter into anaerobic digestion No.1 (ADM1) model to evaluate its effect on the biogas productivity. The model was experimentally validated in a liquid–gas–solid column reactor with gas and solid volume fraction and granular temperature as the major variables. The wastewater residence time distribution was also determined through modeling and measurement to evaluate the mixing pattern in the pilot column reactor. The effect of restitution coefficient on flow behavior of biowaste particles, particles settling and suspension were predicted. Settling and suspension processes of anaerobic digesters were simulated for lab and pilot-scale reactors with comparisons made for reactor configuration and geometry model, respectively. This study demonstrated that the multi-fluid model with KTGF could provide better understanding of impact of suspension and settling upon retaining biomass particles in the anaerobic digesters

Experimental and simulated control of lift using trailing edge devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cooperman, A; Blaylock, M; Van Dam, C P

2014-01-01

Two active aerodynamic load control (AALC) devices coupled with a control algorithm are shown to decrease the change in lift force experienced by an airfoil during a change in freestream velocity. Microtabs are small (1% chord) surfaces deployed perpendicular to an airfoil, while microjets are pneumatic jets with flow perpendicular to the surface of the airfoil near the trailing edge. Both devices are capable of producing a rapid change in an airfoil's lift coefficient. A control algorithm for microtabs has been tested in a wind tunnel using a modified S819 airfoil, and a microjet control algorithm has been simulated for a NACA 0012 airfoil using OVERFLOW. In both cases, the AALC devices have shown the ability to mitigate the changes in lift during a gust

Effect of suspension characteristics on in-flight particle properties and coating microstructures achieved by suspension plasma spray

Science.gov (United States)

Aubignat, E.; Planche, M. P.; Allimant, A.; Billières, D.; Girardot, L.; Bailly, Y.; Montavon, G.

2014-11-01

This paper focuses on the influence of suspension properties on the manufacturing of coatings by suspension plasma spraying (SPS). For this purpose, alumina suspensions were formulated with two different liquid phases: water and ethanol. Suspensions were atomized with a twin-fluid nozzle and injected in an atmospheric plasma jet. Suspension injection was optimized thanks to shadowgraphy observations and drop size distribution measurements performed by laser diffraction. In-flight particle velocities were evaluated by particle image velocimetry. In addition, splats were collected on glass substrates, with the same conditions as the ones used during the spray process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and profilometry analyses were then performed to observe the splat morphology and thus to get information on plasma / suspension interactions, such as particle agglomeration. Finally, coatings were manufactured, characterized by SEM and compared to each other.

EXOS research on master controllers for robotic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Marcus, Beth A.; An, Ben; Eberman, Brian

1992-01-01

Two projects are currently being conducted by EXOS under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program with NASA. One project will develop a force feedback device for controlling robot hands, the other will develop an elbow and shoulder exoskeleton which can be integrated with other EXOS devices to provide whole robot arm and hand control. Aspects covered are the project objectives, important research issues which have arisen during the developments, and interim results of the projects. The Phase 1 projects currently underway will result in hardware prototypes and identification of research issues required for complete system development and/or integration.

Particle and impurity control in toroidal fusion devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wootton, A.J.

1986-01-01

A review of working particle and impurity control techniques used in and proposed for magnetic fusion devices is presented. The requirements of both present-day machines and envisaged fusion reactors are considered. The various techniques which have been proposed are characterized by whether they affect sources, sinks, or fluxes; in many cases a particular method or device can appear in more than one category. Examples are drawn from published results. The solutions proposed for the large devices which will be operating during the next 5 years are discussed

Microfluidic device for the assembly and transport of microparticles

Science.gov (United States)

James, Conrad D [Albuquerque, NM; Kumar, Anil [Framingham, MA; Khusid, Boris [New Providence, NJ; Acrivos, Andreas [Stanford, CA

2010-06-29

A microfluidic device comprising independently addressable arrays of interdigitated electrodes can be used to assembly and transport large-scale microparticle structures. The device and method uses collective phenomena in a negatively polarized suspension exposed to a high-gradient strong ac electric field to assemble the particles into predetermined locations and then transport them collectively to a work area for final assembly by sequentially energizing the electrode arrays.

Consumer-grade EEG devices: are they usable for control tasks?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rytis Maskeliunas

2016-03-01

Full Text Available We present the evaluation of two well-known, low-cost consumer-grade EEG devices: the Emotiv EPOC and the Neurosky MindWave. Problems with using the consumer-grade EEG devices (BCI illiteracy, poor technical characteristics, and adverse EEG artefacts are discussed. The experimental evaluation of the devices, performed with 10 subjects asked to perform concentration/relaxation and blinking recognition tasks, is given. The results of statistical analysis show that both devices exhibit high variability and non-normality of attention and meditation data, which makes each of them difficult to use as an input to control tasks. BCI illiteracy may be a significant problem, as well as setting up of the proper environment of the experiment. The results of blinking recognition show that using the Neurosky device means recognition accuracy is less than 50%, while the Emotiv device has achieved a recognition accuracy of more than 75%; for tasks that require concentration and relaxation of subjects, the Emotiv EPOC device has performed better (as measured by the recognition accuracy by ∼9%. Therefore, the Emotiv EPOC device may be more suitable for control tasks using the attention/meditation level or eye blinking than the Neurosky MindWave device.

AmbiGaze : direct control of ambient devices by gaze

OpenAIRE

Velloso, Eduardo; Wirth, Markus; Weichel, Christian; Abreu Esteves, Augusto Emanuel; Gellersen, Hans-Werner Georg

2016-01-01

Eye tracking offers many opportunities for direct device control in smart environments, but issues such as the need for calibration and the Midas touch problem make it impractical. In this paper, we propose AmbiGaze, a smart environment that employs the animation of targets to provide users with direct control of devices by gaze only through smooth pursuit tracking. We propose a design space of means of exposing functionality through movement and illustrate the concept through four prototypes...

Experiment of amnion epithelial cell suspension liquid used for acute rabbit corneal alkali burn

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan-Yan Zhang

2017-10-01

Full Text Available AIM: To investigate the effects of amnion epithelial cell(AECsuspension liquid on the biological behavior of the rabbit's corneal epithelium, combined with the in vitro and in vivo experiments. METHODS: The rabbit's corneal epithelium were cultured in the lower chamber of transwell, and AEC suspension liquid was dropwised in the upper chamber. There was only culture medium in the upper chamber of the control group. The proliferation of rabbit's corneal epithelium was observed with CCK-8 automated colorimetry and the expression of PCNA was detected by immunocytochemistry. We used the scratch wound assay to detect the migration of corneal epithelial cell(CEC. The in vivo models were established by placing a 10mm diameter corneal trephine in the center of the cornea, within 1mol/L NaOH for 1min. We divided those into three groups: treatment group of AEC suspension liquid eye drop, AEC suspension liquid subconjunctival injection and the control group without any treatment. Using the slit-lamp biomicroscope and fluorescence staining to observe the cornea per week. After 28d we took the eyeballs with the HE staining. The expression of VEGF was detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The activity of CEC with AEC treatment was much higher than the control group(PPIn vivo, the inflammation of the corneal and the CNV of the AEC group were all significantly reduced compared with the control group(PPCONCLUSION: AEC suspension liquid can promote the proliferation and migration of the rabbit's corneal epithelium. The potential of AEC suspension liquid as a therapy for acute corneal alkali burn.

49 CFR 570.8 - Suspension systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Suspension systems. 570.8 Section 570.8 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY... Pounds or Less § 570.8 Suspension systems. (a) Suspension condition. Ball joint seals shall not be cut or...

Nuclear reactor power control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koshi, Yuji; Sakata, Akira; Karatsu, Hiroyuki.

1987-01-01

Purpose: To control abrupt changes in neutron fluxes by feeding back a correction signal obtained from a deviation between neutron fluxes and heat fluxes for changing the reactor core flow rate to a recycling flow rate control system upon abrupt power change of a nuclear reactor. Constitution: In addition to important systems, that is, a reactor pressure control system and a recycling control system in the power control device of a BWR type power plant, a control circuit for feeding back a deviation between neutron fluxes and heat fluxes to a recycling flow rate control system is disposed. In the suppression circuit, a deviation signal is prepared in an adder from neutron flux and heat flux signals obtained through a primary delay filter. The deviation signal is passed through a dead band and an advance/delay filter into a correction signal, which is adapted to be fed back to the recycling flow rate control system. As a result, the reactor power control can be conducted smoothly and it is possible to effectively suppress the abrupt change or over shoot of the neutron fluxes and abrupt power change. (Kamimura, M.)

Re-Active Passive devices for control of noise transmission through a panel

Science.gov (United States)

Carneal, James P.; Giovanardi, Marco; Fuller, Chris R.; Palumbo, Dan

2008-01-01

Re-Active Passive devices have been developed to control low-frequency (transmission through a panel. These devices use a combination of active, re-active, and passive technologies packaged into a single unit to control a broad frequency range utilizing the strength of each technology over its best suited frequency range. The Re-Active Passive device uses passive constrained layer damping to cover relatively high-frequency range (>150 Hz), reactive distributed vibration absorber to cover the medium-frequency range (50-200 Hz), and active control for controlling low frequencies (transmission through a panel mounted in the Transmission Loss Test Facility at Virginia Tech. Experimental results are presented for the bare panel, and combinations of passive treatment, reactive treatment, and active control. Results indicate that three Re-Active Passive devices were able to increase the overall broadband (15-1000 Hz) transmission loss by 9.4 dB. These three devices added a total of 285 g to the panel mass of 6.0 kg, or approximately 5%, not including control electronics.

Do rice suspension-cultured cells treated with abscisic acid mimic developing seeds?

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuno, Koya; Fujimura, Tatsuhito

2015-08-01

Starch synthesis is activated in the endosperm during seed development and also in rice suspension cells cultured with abscisic acid. In the anticipation that the mechanisms of starch synthesis are similar between the endosperm and the suspension cells cultured with abscisic acid, expression of genes involved in starch synthesis was evaluated in the suspension cells after abscisic acid treatment. However, it was found that the regulatory mechanism of starch synthesis in the suspension cells cultured with abscisic acid was different from that in developing seeds. Expression analyses of genes involved in oil bodies, which accumulate in the embryo and aleurone layer, and seed storage proteins, which accumulate mainly in the endosperm, showed that the former were activated in the suspension cells cultured with abscisic acid, but the latter were not. Master regulators for embryogenesis, OsVP1 (homologue of AtABI3) and OsLFL1 (homologue of AtFUS3 or AtLFL2), were expressed in the suspension cells at levels comparable to those in the embryo. From these results, it is suggested that interactions between regulators and abscisic acid control the synthesis of phytic acid and oil bodies in the cultured cells and embryo. We suggest that the system of suspension cells cultured with abscisic acid helps to reveal the mechanisms of phytic acid and oil body synthesis in embryo.

Reactor water level control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Utagawa, Kazuyuki.

1993-01-01

A device of the present invention can effectively control fluctuation of a reactor water level upon power change by reactor core flow rate control operation. That is, (1) a feedback control section calculates a feedwater flow rate control amount based on a deviation between a set value of a reactor water level and a reactor water level signal. (2) a feed forward control section forecasts steam flow rate change based on a reactor core flow rate signal or a signal determining the reactor core flow rate, to calculate a feedwater flow rate control amount which off sets the steam flow rate change. Then, the sum of the output signal from the process (1) and the output signal from the process (2) is determined as a final feedwater flow rate control signal. With such procedures, it is possible to forecast the steam flow rate change accompanying the reactor core flow rate control operation, thereby enabling to conduct preceding feedwater flow rate control operation which off sets the reactor water level fluctuation based on the steam flow rate change. Further, a reactor water level deviated from the forecast can be controlled by feedback control. Accordingly, reactor water level fluctuation upon power exchange due to the reactor core flow rate control operation can rapidly be suppressed. (I.S.)

Osmotic consolidation of suspensions and gels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, K.T.; Zukoski, C.F.

1994-01-01

An osmotic method for the consolidation of suspensions of ceramic particles is demonstrated. Concentrated solutions of poly(ethylene oxide) are separated from a suspension of ceramic particles by a semipermeable membrane, creating a gradient in solvent chemical potential. Solvent passes from the suspension into the polymer solution, lowering its free energy and consolidating the suspension. Dispersions of stable 8-nm hydrous zirconia particles were consolidated to over 47% by volume. Suspensions of α-alumina in three states of aggregation (dispersed, weakly flocculated, and strongly flocculated) were consolidated to densities greater than or equal to those produced in conventional pressure filtration. Moreover, the as-consolidated alumina bodies were partially drained of fluid during the osmotic consolidation process, producing cohesive partially dried bodies with improved handling characteristics

Electronic adherence monitoring device performance and patient acceptability: a randomized control trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Amy Hai Yan; Stewart, Alistair William; Harrison, Jeff; Black, Peter Nigel; Mitchell, Edwin Arthur; Foster, Juliet Michelle

2017-05-01

To investigate the performance and patient acceptability of an inhaler electronic monitoring device in a real-world childhood asthma population. Children 6 to 15 years presenting with asthma to the hospital emergency department and prescribed inhaled corticosteroids were included. Participants were randomized to receive a device with reminder features enabled or disabled for use with their preventer. Device quality control tests were conducted. Questionnaires on device acceptability, utility and ergonomics were completed at six months. A total of 1306 quality control tests were conducted; 84% passed pre-issue and 87% return testing. The most common failure reason was actuation under-recording. Acceptability scores were high, with higher scores in the reminder than non-reminder group (median, 5 th -95 th percentile: 4.1, 3.1-5.0 versus 3.7, 2.3-4.8; p 90%) rated the device easy to use. Feedback was positive across five themes: device acceptability, ringtone acceptability, suggestions for improvement, effect on medication use, and effect on asthma control. This study investigates electronic monitoring device performance and acceptability in children using quantitative and qualitative measures. Results indicate satisfactory reliability, although failure rates of 13-16% indicate the importance of quality control. Favorable acceptability ratings support the use of these devices in children.

Besifloxacin ophthalmic suspension 0.6% in patients with bacterial conjunctivitis: A multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-masked, vehicle-controlled, 5-day efficacy and safety study.

Science.gov (United States)

Karpecki, Paul; Depaolis, Michael; Hunter, Judy A; White, Eric M; Rigel, Lee; Brunner, Lynne S; Usner, Dale W; Paterno, Michael R; Comstock, Timothy L

2009-03-01

Besifloxacin ophthalmic suspension 0.6% is a new topical fluoroquinolone for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis. Besifloxacin has potent in vitro activity against a broad spectrum of ocular pathogens, including drug-resistant strains. The primary objective of this study was to compare the clinical and microbiologic efficacy of besifloxacin ophthalmic suspension 0.6% with that of vehicle (the formulation without besifloxacin) in the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis. This was a multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-masked, vehicle-controlled, parallel-group study in patients with acute bacterial conjunctivitis. Patients received either topical besifloxacin ophthalmic suspension or vehicle administered 3 times daily for 5 days. At study entry and on days 4 and 8 (visits 2 and 3), a clinical assessment of ocular signs and symptoms was performed in both eyes, as well as pinhole visual acuity testing, biomicroscopy, and culture of the infected eye(s). An ophthalmoscopic examination was performed at study entry and on day 8. The primary efficacy outcome measures were clinical resolution and eradication of the baseline bacterial infection on day 8 in culture-confirmed patients. The safety evaluation included adverse events, changes in visual acuity, and biomicroscopy and ophthalmoscopy findings in all patients who received at least 1 dose of active treatment or vehicle. The safety population consisted of 269 patients (mean [SD] age, 34.2 [22.3] years; 60.2% female; 82.5% white) with acute bacterial conjunctivitis. The culture-confirmed intent-to-treat population consisted of 118 patients (60 besifloxacin ophthalmic suspension, 58 vehicle). Significantly more patients receiving besifloxacin ophthalmic suspension than vehicle had clinical resolution of the baseline infection at visit 3 (44/60 [73.3%] vs 25/58 [43.1%], respectively; P suspension compared with vehicle at visit 3 (53/60 [88.3%] vs35/58 [60.3%]; P suspension 0.6% given 3 times daily for 5 days

Method and device for controlling nuclear reactor power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takigawa, Yukio; Ebata, Shigeo.

1988-01-01

Purpose: To detect and suppress the special power oscillations in the reactor core. Method: Four pairs of LPRM detectors, each pair comprising two detectors are disposed at an identical axial direction of the reactor core and situated at substantially insymmetrical positions at least in longitudinal, vertical and orthogonal directions with respect to the center of te reactor core and LPRM signals from them are inputted into a device for judging special power oscillations. In this case, a standardized mutual relation function is determined on every pair for the respective LPRM signals. Generation of special power oscillations in the reactor core is judged when it is detected that peaks appearing at least in one of the function forms for each pair are negative and have absolute values exceeding a predetermined value and that time of peak is within a predetermined time. The judged signal is inputted to a selected control rod insertion device. The selected control rod insertion device, upon preceiving the signal, inserts selected control rods into the reactor core to suppress the special power oscillations. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the fuel integrity. (Horiuchi, T.)

Design analysis of formula student race car suspension system

Science.gov (United States)

Wirawan, Julian Wisnu; Ubaidillah, Aditra, Rama; Alnursyah, Rafli; Rahman, Rizki Abdul; Cahyono, Sukmaji Indro

2018-02-01

Design analysis of suspension especially for racecar suspension is very crucial to achieve maximum performance and handling. Suspension design may vary depending on the road terrain and the vehicle purpose itself, such as high speed or off-road vehicle. This paper focused on the suspension which used for racecar vehicle. The suspension type used was unequal double wishbone. This model is used because of its stability for high-speed usage compared to another kind of suspension. The suspension parameter was calculated to achieve desired performance. The result is the motion ratio of the designed suspension geometry. The obtained value of motion ratio was 1:2 for front suspension and 1:1 for the rear suspension. These calculation result the front suspension is still too soft, which the optimal motion ratio should be kept around 1:1 for better handling. This problem caused by the lack of space for suspension linkage.

49 CFR 570.61 - Suspension system.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Suspension system. 570.61 Section 570.61... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE IN USE INSPECTION STANDARDS Vehicles With GVWR of More Than 10,000 Pounds § 570.61 Suspension system. (a) Suspension condition. Ball joint seals shall not be cut...

Control rod driving hydraulic device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugano, Hiroshi.

1993-01-01

In a control rod driving hydraulic device for an improved BWR type reactor, a bypass pipeline is disposed being branched from a scram pipeline, and a control orifice and a throttle valve are interposed to the bypass pipeline for restricting pressure. Upon occurrence of scram, about 1/2 of water quantity flowing from an accumulator of a hydraulic control unit to the lower surface of a piston of control rod drives by way of a scram pipeline is controlled by the restricting orifice and the throttle valve, by which the water is discharged to a pump suction pipeline or other pipelines by way of the bypass pipeline. With such procedures, a function capable of simultaneously conducting scram for two control rod drives can be attained by one hydraulic control unit. Further, an excessive peak pressure generated by a water hammer phenomenon in the scram pipeline or the control rod drives upon occurrence of scram can be reduced. Deformation and failure due to the excessive peak pressure can be prevented, as well as vibrations and degradation of performance of relevant portions can be prevented. (N.H.)

Channel Access and Power Control for Mobile Crowdsourcing in Device-to-Device Underlaid Cellular Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yue Ma

2018-01-01

Full Text Available With the access of a myriad of smart handheld devices in cellular networks, mobile crowdsourcing becomes increasingly popular, which can leverage omnipresent mobile devices to promote the complicated crowdsourcing tasks. Device-to-device (D2D communication is highly desired in mobile crowdsourcing when cellular communications are costly. The D2D cellular network is more preferable for mobile crowdsourcing than conventional cellular network. Therefore, this paper addresses the channel access and power control problem in the D2D underlaid cellular networks. We propose a novel semidistributed network-assisted power and a channel access control scheme for D2D user equipment (DUE pieces. It can control the interference from DUE pieces to the cellular user accurately and has low information feedback overhead. For the proposed scheme, the stochastic geometry tool is employed and analytic expressions are derived for the coverage probabilities of both the cellular link and D2D links. We analyze the impact of key system parameters on the proposed scheme. The Pareto optimal access threshold maximizing the total area spectral efficiency is obtained. Unlike the existing works, the performances of the cellular link and D2D links are both considered. Simulation results show that the proposed method can improve the total area spectral efficiency significantly compared to existing schemes.

Damping and tuning of the fibre violin modes in monolithic silica suspensions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gossler, S [Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert-Einstein-Institute) and University of Hannover, Callinstr 38, D-30167 Hannover (Germany); Cagnoli, G [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for Gravitational Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom); Crooks, D R M [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for Gravitational Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom); Lueck, H [Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert-Einstein-Institute) and University of Hannover, Callinstr 38, D-30167 Hannover (Germany); Rowan, S [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for Gravitational Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom); Smith, J R [Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert-Einstein-Institute) and University of Hannover, Callinstr 38, D-30167 Hannover (Germany); Strain, K A [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for Gravitational Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom); Hough, J [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Institute for Gravitational Research, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom); Danzmann, K [Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert-Einstein-Institute) and University of Hannover, Callinstr 38, D-30167 Hannover (Germany)

2004-03-07

High Q mirror suspensions are a key element of the advanced interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. In December 2002 the last of the final interferometer optics of GEO 600 were monolithically suspended, using fused silica fibres. The violin modes of the suspension fibres can have Q greater than 10{sup 8} and can therefore interfere with the interferometer length control servo. Hence, the violin modes need to be damped, without degrading the pendulum Q itself. Furthermore, the frequency spread of the fibres used has to be small to allow for high Q notch filtering in the length control servo. The requirements for the violin modes of the two GEO 600 inboard suspensions are Q < 3 x 10{sup 6} for the fundamental and Q < 2 x 10{sup 6} for the first harmonic mode, respectively. The frequency spread should not exceed 10% within one mode. To accomplish that, two sections of the fibres were coated with amorphous Teflon. By applying the coating, the Q of the relevant modes can be degraded to the desired values and furthermore, the frequencies of these modes can be tuned almost independently with a good accuracy over a wide range. After welding the fibres in the monolithic suspension, a corrective coating was applied to some fibres, to compensate for the frequency spread due to the tension spread of the four fibres within a suspension. We present the method and the results achieved.

Multivectored Superficial Muscular Aponeurotic System Suspension for Facial Paralysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Leach, Garrison; Kurnik, Nicole; Joganic, Jessica; Joganic, Edward

2017-06-01

Facial paralysis is a devastating condition that may cause severe cosmetic and functional deformities. In this study we describe our technique for superficial muscular aponeurotic system (SMAS) suspension using barbed suture and compare the vectors of suspension in relation to the underlying musculature. This study also quantifies the improvements in postoperative symmetry using traditional anthropologic landmarks. The efficacy of this procedure for improving facial paralysis was determined by comparing anthropometric indices and using Procrustes distance between 4 groupings of homologous landmarks plotted on each patient's preoperative and postoperative photos. Geometric morphometrics was used to evaluate change in facial shape and improvement in symmetry postoperatively.To analyze the vector of suspension in relation to the underlying musculature, specific anthropologic landmarks were used to calculate the vector of the musculature in 3 facial hemispheres from cadaveric controls against the vector of repair in our patients. Ten patients were included in our study. Subjectively, great improvement in functional status was achieved. Geometric morphometric analysis demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in facial symmetry. Cadaveric dissection demonstrated that the suture should be placed in the SMAS in vectors parallel to the underlying musculature to achieve these results. There were no complications in our study to date. In conclusion, multivectored SMAS suture suspension is an effective method for restoring static suspension of the face after facial paralysis. This method has the benefit of producing quick, reliable results with improved function, low cost, and low morbidity.

A novel surface micromachining process to fabricate AlN unimorph suspensions and its application for RF resonators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Saravanan, S.; Saravanan, S.; Berenschot, Johan W.; Krijnen, Gijsbertus J.M.; Elwenspoek, Michael Curt

2006-01-01

A novel surface micromachining process is reported for aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films to fabricate piezoelectric unimorph suspension devices for micro actuator applications. Wet anisotropic etching of AlN thin film is used with a Cr metal mask layer in the microfabrication process. Tetra methyl

Use of integrity control and automatic start of reserve in a multi-channel temperature and flow rate control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strzalkowski, L.

1975-01-01

A way to increase reliability of process quantity control is control of the integrity of the control plants themselves. The possibilities of integrity control on control devices having simply duplicated control channels or working on the basis of the ''two-from-three'' principle are valued. A highly reliable integrity control is possible by use of test signals. For an appropriate control device, structure and function of the assemblies are described. The integrity control device may be used in the water coolant temperature and flow rate control system for all technological channels of the research reactor ''Maria''

Traffic Control Device Evaluation Program : FY 2017

Science.gov (United States)

2018-03-01

This report presents findings on the activities conducted in the Traffic Control Device Evaluation Program during the 2017 fiscal year. The research on sponsored changeable message signs (continued from the previous year) was terminated by the Federa...

Compressible Fluid Suspension Performance Testing

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hoogterp, Francis

2003-01-01

... compressible fluid suspension system that was designed and installed on the vehicle by DTI. The purpose of the tests was to evaluate the possible performance benefits of the compressible fluid suspension system...

Control rod excess withdrawal prevention device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takayama, Yoshihito.

1992-01-01

Excess withdrawal of a control rod of a BWR type reactor is prevented. That is, the device comprises (1) a speed detector for detecting the driving speed of a control rod, (2) a judging circuit for outputting an abnormal signal if the driving speed is greater than a predetermined level and (3) a direction control valve compulsory closing circuit for controlling the driving direction of inserting and withdrawing a control rod based on an abnormal signal. With such a constitution, when the with drawing speed of a control rod is greater than a predetermined level, it is detected by the speed detector and the judging circuit. Then, all of the direction control valve are closed by way of the direction control valve compulsory closing circuit. As a result, the operation of the control rod is stopped compulsorily and the withdrawing speed of the control rod can be lowered to a speed corresponding to that upon gravitational withdrawal. Accordingly, excess withdrawal can be prevented. (I.S)

Design controls for the medical device industry

CERN Document Server

Teixeira, Marie B

2013-01-01

The second edition of a bestseller, Design Controls for the Medical Device Industry provides a comprehensive review of the latest design control requirements, as well as proven tools and techniques to ensure your company's design control program evolves in accordance with current industry practice. The text assists in the development of an effective design control program that not only satisfies the US FDA Quality System Regulation (QSR) and ISO 9001 and 13485 standards, but also meets today's third-party auditor/investigator expectations and saves you valuable time and money.The author's cont

A prospective, randomized, controlled study of a suspension positioning system used with elderly bedridden patients with neurogenic fecal incontinence.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Mei-Yin; Lin, Shi-Quan; zhou, Ye-Wen; Zhou, Ye-Wen; Liu, Si-Ya; Lin, Ai; Lin, Xi-Rong

2015-01-01

Elderly patients with acute neurological impairment are prone to severe disability, fecal incontinence (FI), and resultant complications. A suspension positioning system (SPS), based on the orthopedic suspension traction system commonly used for conservative treatment of pediatric femoral fracture and uncomplicated adult pelvic fracture, was developed to facilitate FI management in patients immobilized secondary to an acute neurological condition. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the system, a prospective, randomized, controlled study was conducted between October 2009 and July 2012. Two hundred (200) elderly, bedridden, hospitalized patients with acute, nonchronic neurological impairment were randomly assigned to receive routine FI nursing care (ie, individualized dietary modification, psychological support, health education, and social support for caregivers and family members [control group]) or routine incontinence care plus the SPS (experimental group) during the day. Rates of perianal fecal contamination, skin breakdown, incontinence associated dermatitis, pressure ulcer development, and lower urinary tract infection (LUTI) were significantly lower in the SPS than in the control group (P <0.05). Length of hospitalization and costs of care were also lower in the SPS group (P <0.05). Patient quality-of-life (QoL) and FI QoL scores were similar at baseline but significantly higher (better) at the 6-month follow-up interview in the SPS than in the control group (P <0.05). In this study, the rate of FI-associated morbidities was lower and 6-month patient QoL scores were higher in the SPS than in the control group. No adverse events were observed, and all patients completed the study. Further clinical studies are needed to examine the long-term effects of SPS use among neurologically impaired FI patients.

Motion control, motion sickness, and the postural dynamics of mobile devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoffregen, Thomas A; Chen, Yi-Chou; Koslucher, Frank C

2014-04-01

Drivers are less likely than passengers to experience motion sickness, an effect that is important for any theoretical account of motion sickness etiology. We asked whether different types of control would affect the incidence of motion sickness, and whether any such effects would be related to participants' control of their own bodies. Participants played a video game on a tablet computer. In the Touch condition, the device was stationary and participants controlled the game exclusively through fingertip inputs via the device's touch screen. In the Tilt condition, participants held the device in their hands and moved the device to control some game functions. Results revealed that the incidence of motion sickness was greater in the Touch condition than in the Tilt condition. During game play, movement of the head and torso differed as a function of the type of game control. Before the onset of subjective symptoms of motion sickness, movement of the head and torso differed between participants who later reported motion sickness and those that did not. We discuss implications of these results for theories of motion sickness etiology.

An Automatic Occlusion Device for Remote Control of Tumor Tissue Ischemia

Science.gov (United States)

El-Dahdah, Hamid; Wang, Bei; He, Guanglong; Xu, Ronald X.

2015-01-01

We developed an automatic occlusion device for remote control of tumor tissue ischemia. The device consists of a flexible cannula encasing a shape memory alloy wire with its distal end connected to surgical suture. Regional tissue occlusion was tested on both the benchtop and the animal models. In the benchtop test, the occlusion device introduced quantitative and reproducible changes of blood flow in a tissue simulating phantom embedding a vessel simulator. In the animal test, the device generated a cyclic pattern of reversible ischemia in the right hinder leg tissue of a black male C57BL/6 mouse. We also developed a multimodal detector that integrates near infrared spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy for continuous monitoring of tumor tissue oxygenation, blood content, and oxygen tension changes. The multimodal detector was tested on a cancer xenograft nude mouse undergoing reversible tumor ischemia. The automatic occlusion device and the multi-modal detector can be potentially integrated for closed-loop feedback control of tumor tissue ischemia. Such an integrated occlusion device may be used in multiple clinical applications such as regional hypoperfusion control in tumor resection surgeries and thermal ablation processes. In addition, the proposed occlusion device can also be used as a research tool to understand tumor oxygen transport and hemodynamic characteristics. PMID:20082532

Deformation and friction of MoS2 particles in liquid suspensions used to lubricate sliding contact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahoo, Rashmi R.; Biswas, Sanjay K.

2010-01-01

Tribology of a well known solid lubricant molybdenum disulphide is studied here in water and oil medium, over a large range of contact dimensions. Lateral force microscopy is used to identify the deformation modes; intra-crystalline slip, plastic grooving, fragmentation and fracture, of single particles. The medium and agglomeration were found to dictate the deformation mode. Steel on steel tribology lubricated by suspensions of these particles in liquid media was conducted over a range of contact pressure and sliding velocity. A scrutiny of the frictional data with the aid of Raman spectroscopy to identify the transfer film, suggested that the particle size, as it is at contact, is an important tribological parameter. Ultrasonication of the suspension and dispersion of the particle by surfactants were used to control the apriori particle size fed into the suspension. Correspondence of friction data of the gently sonicated suspension with that of the ultrasonicated suspension with dispersants indicated the importance of liquid ingestion by these particles as it controls their mode of deformation and consequent tribology.

Re-active Passive (RAP) Devices for Control of Noise Transmission through a Panel

Science.gov (United States)

Carneal, James P.; Giovanardi, Marco; Fuller, Chris R.; Palumbo, Daniel L.

2008-01-01

Re-Active Passive (RAP) devices have been developed to control low frequency (transmission through a panel. These devices use a combination of active, re-active, and passive technologies packaged into a single unit to control a broad frequency range utilizing the strength of each technology over its best suited frequency range. The RAP device uses passive constrained layer damping to cover the relatively high frequency range (>200 Hz), reactive distributed vibration absorber) to cover the medium frequency range (75 to 250 Hz), and active control for controlling low frequencies (transmission through a panel mounted in a transmission loss test facility. Experimental results are presented for the bare panel, and combinations of passive treatment, reactive treatment, and active control. Results indicate that three RAP devices were able to increase the overall broadband (15-1000 Hz) transmission loss by 9.4 dB. These three devices added a total of 285 grams to the panel mass of 6.0 kg, or approximately 5%, not including control electronics.

Generation of ultra-small InN nanocrystals by pulsed laser ablation of suspension in organic solution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kursungoez, Canan; Uzcengiz Simsek, Elif; Ortac, Buelend [Bilkent University, Materials Science and Nanotechnology Department, UNAM-National Nanotechnology Research Center, Ankara (Turkey); Bilkent University, Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology, Ankara (Turkey); Tuzakli, Refik [Bilkent University, Materials Science and Nanotechnology Department, UNAM-National Nanotechnology Research Center, Ankara (Turkey)

2017-03-15

Nanostructures of InN have been extensively investigated since nano-size provides a number of advantages allowing applications in nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices. It is quite important to obtain pure InN nanocrystals (InN-NCs) to reveal the characteristic features, which gain interest in the literature. Here, we proposed a new approach for the synthesis of ultra-small hexagonal InN-NCs by using suspension of micron-sized InN powder in ethanol with pulsed laser ablation method. The liquid environment, laser energy and ablation time were optimized and a post-synthesis treatment, centrifugation, was performed to achieve InN-NCs with the smallest size. Besides, the micron-sized InN powder suspension, as a starting material, enabled us to obtain InN-NCs having diameters smaller than 5 nm. We also presented a detailed characterization of InN-NCs and demonstrated that the formation mechanism mainly depends on the fragmentation due to laser irradiation of the suspension. (orig.)

Generation of ultra-small InN nanocrystals by pulsed laser ablation of suspension in organic solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kursungoez, Canan; Uzcengiz Simsek, Elif; Ortac, Buelend; Tuzakli, Refik

2017-01-01

Nanostructures of InN have been extensively investigated since nano-size provides a number of advantages allowing applications in nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices. It is quite important to obtain pure InN nanocrystals (InN-NCs) to reveal the characteristic features, which gain interest in the literature. Here, we proposed a new approach for the synthesis of ultra-small hexagonal InN-NCs by using suspension of micron-sized InN powder in ethanol with pulsed laser ablation method. The liquid environment, laser energy and ablation time were optimized and a post-synthesis treatment, centrifugation, was performed to achieve InN-NCs with the smallest size. Besides, the micron-sized InN powder suspension, as a starting material, enabled us to obtain InN-NCs having diameters smaller than 5 nm. We also presented a detailed characterization of InN-NCs and demonstrated that the formation mechanism mainly depends on the fragmentation due to laser irradiation of the suspension. (orig.)

The Mystical Suspension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Héctor Santiesteban Oliva

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Mistical suspension, silence, time, absolute, ontology, ineffability, aletheiaIn the mystical ecstasy there is a sensorial and intellectual suspension when contemplating the absolute, the ontological Being. Silence is not only significant: it is revealing. The greatest expression of experience inner silence . The word is insufficient when the ontological reality is revealed. Revelation or truth , the Greek concept of aletheia, takes on greater significance in that transcendental experience. It is also suspended phenomenological time and remains eternity open.

Magneto-rheological suspensions for improving ground vehicle's ride comfort, stability, and handling

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmadian, Mehdi

2017-10-01

A state-of-the-art discussion on the applications of magneto-rheological (MR) suspensions for improving ride comfort, handling, and stability in ground vehicles is discussed for both road and rail applications. A historical perspective on the discovery and engineering development of MR fluids is presented, followed by some of the common methods for modelling their non-Newtonian behaviour. The common modes of the MR fluids are discussed, along with the application of the fluid in valve mode for ground vehicles' dampers (or shock absorbers). The applications span across nearly all road vehicles, including automobiles, trains, semi-trucks, motorcycles, and even bicycles. For each type of vehicle, the results of some of the past studies is presented briefly, with reference to the originating study. It is discussed that Past experimental and modelling studies have indicated that MR suspensions provide clear advantages for ground vehicles that far surpasses the performance of passive suspension. For rail vehicles, the primary advantage is in terms of increasing the speed at which the onset of hunting occurs, whereas for road vehicles - mainly automobiles - the performance improvements are in terms of a better balance between vehicle ride, handling, and stability. To further elaborate on this point, a single-suspension model is used to develop an index-based approach for studying the compromise that is offered by vehicle suspensions, using the H2 optimisation approach. Evaluating three indices based on the sprung-mass acceleration, suspension rattlespace, and tyre deflection, it is clearly demonstrated that MR suspensions significantly improve road vehicle's ride comfort, stability, and handling in comparison with passive suspensions. For rail vehicles, the simulation results indicate that using MR suspensions with an on-off switching control can increase the speed at which the on-set of hunting occurs by as much as 50% to more than 300%.

Scalability of voltage-controlled filamentary and nanometallic resistance memory devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yang; Lee, Jong Ho; Chen, I-Wei

2017-08-31

Much effort has been devoted to device and materials engineering to realize nanoscale resistance random access memory (RRAM) for practical applications, but a rational physical basis to be relied on to design scalable devices spanning many length scales is still lacking. In particular, there is no clear criterion for switching control in those RRAM devices in which resistance changes are limited to localized nanoscale filaments that experience concentrated heat, electric current and field. Here, we demonstrate voltage-controlled resistance switching, always at a constant characteristic critical voltage, for macro and nanodevices in both filamentary RRAM and nanometallic RRAM, and the latter switches uniformly and does not require a forming process. As a result, area-scalability can be achieved under a device-area-proportional current compliance for the low resistance state of the filamentary RRAM, and for both the low and high resistance states of the nanometallic RRAM. This finding will help design area-scalable RRAM at the nanoscale. It also establishes an analogy between RRAM and synapses, in which signal transmission is also voltage-controlled.

Suspension culture of pluripotent stem cells: effect of shear on stem cell fate.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Kevin C; Rodrigues, Beatriz; zur Nieden, Nicole I

2014-01-01

Despite significant promise, the routine usage of suspension cell culture to manufacture stem cell-derived differentiated cells has progressed slowly. Suspension culture is an innovative way of either expanding or differentiating cells and sometimes both are combined into a single bioprocess. Its advantages over static 2D culturing include a homogeneous and controllable culture environment and producing a large quantity of cells in a fraction of time. This feature makes suspension cell culture ideal for use in stem cell research and eventually ideal in the large-scale production of differentiated cells for regenerative medicine. Because of their tremendous differentiation capacities and unlimited growth properties, pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) in particular are considered potential sources for future cell-replacement therapies. Currently, expansion of PSCs is accomplished in 2D, which only permits a limited amount of cell growth per culture flask before cells need to be passaged. However, before stem cells can be applied clinically, several aspects of their expansion, such as directed growth, but also differentiation, need to be better controlled. This review will summarize recent advantages in suspension culture of PSCs, while at the same time highlighting current challenges.

Control device for a nuclear reactor with a multitude of control rods, extending into the reactor core from above, with linear drive mechanisms and additional gripper devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bevilacqua, F.

1979-01-01

The components of the additional gripper devices with magnetically operated finger-shaped latches are separated from the also magnetically operated latches of the linear drive mechanisms in order to avoid common-mode failures when fast shutdown is required. Only part of the safety rods are held by the additional gripping devices in the withdrawn position. There is provided for recording elements indicating positively which one of the safety locks is gearing with the control rods. At the upper end of each control rod there is a coupling head held by electromagnetically operated locking devices in the withdrawn position, if control power is available. (DG) [de

Electronic control devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartill, D.L.

1981-01-01

The subject of these lectures is the translation of information from particle detectors to computers. Large solid angle general purpose detectors at the intersection regions of high energy e+e- storage rings and pp and pp storage rings are discussed. Three choices for data acquisition are reviewed: use CAMAC (Computer Aided Measurement and Control), start from scratch and design a system, or wait for the final version of the proposed FASTBUS to be developed. The do-it-yourself procedure includes designs of drift chamber discriminator, time to amplitude converter, and data card block diagram. Trigger systems, the fast decision making systems judging an event interesting enough for a read-out cycle to be initiated, are discussed. Finally, a FASTBUS system layout, with its goals of minimum bus speed, general system topologies, and support multiple smart devices is given

SeleCon: Scalable IoT Device Selection and Control Using Hand Gestures.

Science.gov (United States)

Alanwar, Amr; Alzantot, Moustafa; Ho, Bo-Jhang; Martin, Paul; Srivastava, Mani

2017-04-01

Although different interaction modalities have been proposed in the field of human-computer interface (HCI), only a few of these techniques could reach the end users because of scalability and usability issues. Given the popularity and the growing number of IoT devices, selecting one out of many devices becomes a hurdle in a typical smarthome environment. Therefore, an easy-to-learn, scalable, and non-intrusive interaction modality has to be explored. In this paper, we propose a pointing approach to interact with devices, as pointing is arguably a natural way for device selection. We introduce SeleCon for device selection and control which uses an ultra-wideband (UWB) equipped smartwatch. To interact with a device in our system, people can point to the device to select it then draw a hand gesture in the air to specify a control action. To this end, SeleCon employs inertial sensors for pointing gesture detection and a UWB transceiver for identifying the selected device from ranging measurements. Furthermore, SeleCon supports an alphabet of gestures that can be used for controlling the selected devices. We performed our experiment in a 9 m -by-10 m lab space with eight deployed devices. The results demonstrate that SeleCon can achieve 84.5% accuracy for device selection and 97% accuracy for hand gesture recognition. We also show that SeleCon is power efficient to sustain daily use by turning off the UWB transceiver, when a user's wrist is stationary.

Manipulation of nano-entities in suspension by electric fields

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Donglei

Nanoscale entities, including nanospheres, nanodisks, nanorings, nanowires and nanotubes are potential building blocks for nanoscale devices. Among them, nanowires is an important type of nanoparticles, due to the potential application in microelectronics and bio-diagnosis. Manipulation of nanowires in suspension has been a formidable problem. As described in this thesis, using AC electric fields applied to strategically designed microelectrodes, nanowires in suspension can be driven to align, to chain, to accelerate in directions parallel and perpendicular to its orientation, to concentrate onto designated places, and to disperse in a controlled manner with high efficiency despite an extremely low Reynolds number at the level of 10-5. Randomly oriented nanowires in suspension can be rapidly assembled into extended nonlinear structures within seconds. We show that both the electric field and its gradient play the essential roles of aligning and transporting the nanowires into scaffolds according to the electric field distributions inherent to the geometry of the microelectrodes. The assembling efficiency depends strongly on the frequency of the applied AC voltages and varies as square of the voltage. Furthermore, nanowires have been rotated by AC electric fields applied to strategically designed electrodes. The rotation of the nanowires can be instantly switched on or off with precisely controlled rotation speed (to at least 25000 rpm), definite chirality, and total angle of rotation. This new method has been used to controllably rotate magnetic and non-magnetic nanowires as well as multi-wall carbon nanotubes. We have also produced a micromotor using a rotating nanowire that can drive particles into circular motion. This has application to microfluidic devices, micro-stirrers, and micro electromechanical systems (MEMS). To move and place nanowires onto designated locations with high precision, electrophoretic force has been combined with dielectrophoretic force to

Flow-induced structure in colloidal suspensions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vermant, J [Department of Chemical Engineering, K U Leuven, W de Croylaan 46, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Solomon, M J [Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2136 (United States)

2005-02-02

We review the sequences of structural states that can be induced in colloidal suspensions by the application of flow. Structure formation during flow is strongly affected by the delicate balance among interparticle forces, Brownian motion and hydrodynamic interactions. The resulting non-equilibrium microstructure is in turn a principal determinant of the suspension rheology. Colloidal suspensions with near hard-sphere interactions develop an anisotropic, amorphous structure at low dimensionless shear rates. At high rates, clustering due to strong hydrodynamic forces leads to shear thickening rheology. Application of steady-shear flow to suspensions with repulsive interactions induces a rich sequence of transitions to one-, two-and three-dimensional order. Oscillatory-shear flow generates metastable ordering in suspensions with equilibrium liquid structure. On the other hand, short-range attractive interactions can lead to a fluid-to-gel transition under quiescent suspensions. Application of flow leads to orientation, breakup, densification and spatial reorganization of aggregates. Using a non-Newtonian suspending medium leads to additional possibilities for organization. We examine the extent to which theory and simulation have yielded mechanistic understanding of the microstructural transitions that have been observed. (topical review)

Real-Time Occupant Based Plug-in Device Control Using ICT in Office Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woo-Bin Bae

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to reduce the unnecessary plug loads used by computers, monitors, and computer peripheral devices, all of which account for more than 95% of the entire plug loads of an office building. To this end, an occupant-based plug-in device control (OBC-P software was developed. The OBC-P software collects real-time information about the presence or absence of occupants who are connected to the access point through the Wifi and controls the power of monitors or computers, while a standby power off device controls computer peripheral devices. To measure the plug load saving of the occupant-based plug-in device control, an experiment was conducted, targeting 10 occupants of three research labs of the graduate school, for two weeks. The experiment results showed that it could save the plug loads of monitors and computer peripheral devices by 15% in the Awake mode, and by 26% in the Sleep mode.

Gasification of peat and biomass in suspension. Turpeen ja biomassan suspensiokaasutus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haukka, P.; Raiko, R.

1993-01-01

Gasification of peat and biomass in dilute particle-gas suspension has not been studied significantly in Finland, even though these fuels require drying, which often produces dry pulverized fuel. This report has concentrated on studying suitability of so-called two-stage entrained-bed gasification for peat and biomass. The gasification system consists of a pyrolysis reactor (entrained flow) and an adiabatic char combustor. Dry or almost dry fuel is fed into the hot flue gas stream coming from the char combustor. Gasification is based on flash pyrolysis in the dilute suspension flow. Residual char is separated from pyrolyzer gases in a gas cleaning device and fed back to the adiabatic combustor. In the combustor char is burned at high temperature to supply the heat required to support endothermic reactions occurring in the pyrolyzer. To study entrained-bed gasification two types of computer models were developed: steady state simulation model and kinetic pyrolyzer model. With the help of these computer models mass and energy balances of the gasifier can be solved and the main dimensions of the gasifier can be determined. Lack of proper kinetic parameters for fast pyrolysis of peat and biomass makes it more difficult to apply the kinetic model in practice. Quantitative data concerning fast pyrolysis in dilute gas-particle suspension are needed to be able to evaluate the performance of the suspension gasifier in more detail. Gasifier operation has been studied using three different levels for amounts of pyrolysis pro- ducts, nine pressure levels between 15-23 bars and five temperature levels between 800-1200 deg C. Furthermore, normal pressure performance was simulated. In addition to simulation studies product gas heating value was optimized

A Multiposture Locomotor Training Device with Force-Field Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianfeng Sui

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces a multiposture locomotor training device (MPLTD with a closed-loop control scheme based on joint angle feedback, which is able to overcome various difficulties resulting from mechanical vibration and the weight of trainer to achieve higher accuracy trajectory. By introducing the force-field control scheme used in the closed-loop control, the device can obtain the active-constrained mode including the passive one. The MPLTD is mainly composed of three systems: posture adjusting and weight support system, lower limb exoskeleton system, and control system, of which the lower limb exoskeleton system mainly includes the indifferent equilibrium mechanism with two degrees of freedom (DOF and the driving torque is calculated by the Lagrangian function. In addition, a series of experiments, the weight support and the trajectory accuracy experiment, demonstrate a good performance of mechanical structure and the closed-loop control.

Challenging an immediate suspension of a DEA registration: is it time for a new tact?

Science.gov (United States)

Behr, Douglas J

2014-01-01

A Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") registration is not only a necessity, but also an invaluable commodity for doctors, pharmacists, hospitals and drug wholesalers who prescribe, stock, and distribute controlled substances. While the DEA may only suspend a registration by issuing an immediate suspension order ("ISO) after an ex parte finding of "imminent danger to the public health or safety," the law fails to explicitly protect the registrant by way of a post-suspension hearing on the ISO, despite the registrant's constitutionally protected property interest in the registration. A registrant has only two procedural options--which are often unsuccessful--to challenge the ISO: endure a long and arduous administrative review proceeding or petition the court for a "not-so-easily proven" injunction, all the while the suspension remains in effect and the controlled substance business operations cease. Accordingly, a suspension of the registration may be certain death to doctors and pharmacists without the financial means to operate the business in the absence of the registration. Because the DEA registration is a constitutionally-protected interest, there is a better way to challenge the suspension. The Supreme Court has held that once a license is issued, the continued possession of it is essential to the registrant's livelihood. Therefore suspension or revocation of such a protected interest requires due process. Due-process hearings, while varied, will provide the necessary avenues of review to provide a fair review of the justification of the suspension and its continuance, i.e., whether there truly is imminent danger to public health or safety and whether the suspension is overbroad and should be limited. To date, this thesis remains to be tested and awaits a petitioner with a justiciable claim and the financial resources to challenge the DEA in court. But in the field of DEA ISO challenges, it is time for a new tact!

Naratriptan hydrochloride in extemporaneosly compounded oral suspensions.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y P; Trissel, L A; Fox, J L

2000-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmaceutical acceptability and chemical stability of naratriptan hydrochloride in three extemporaneously compounded suspension formulations. The naratriptan-hydrochloride oral suspensions were prepared from 2.5-mg commercial tablets yielding a nominal naratriptan concentration of 0.5 mg/mL. The suspension vehicles selected for testing were Syrpalta, an equal-parts mixture of Ora-Plus and Ora-Sweet, and an equal-parts mixture of Ora-Plus and Ora-Sweet SF. The tablets were crushed and thoroughly triturated to a fine powder using a porcelain mortar and pestle. The powder was incorporated into a portion of the Syrpalta or Ora-Plus suspension vehicle and mixed until homogeneous. The mixtures were then brought to volume with Syrpalta, Ora-Sweet or Ora-Sweet SF, as appropriate. The suspensions were packaged in amber, plastic, screw-cap prescription bottles and stored at 23 deg C for seven days and 4 deg C for 90 days. An adequate suspension was never achieved in Syrpalta. The crushed-tablet powder did not produce a uniformly dispersed mixture and exhibited clumping and a high rate of sedimentation. A distinct layer of the solid tablet material settled immediately after shaking. Over the next four hours, a densely packed, yellow, caked layer formed at the bottom of the containers, making resuspension difficult. During storage, the caking became worse. Chemical analysis was not performed. The Ora-Plus and Ora-Sweet or Ora-Sweet SF suspensions had a slight greenish cast and were resuspended without difficulty by shaking for approximately ten seconds, yielding easily poured and homogeneous mixtures throughout the study. Visible settling and layering did not begin for four hours with the Ora-Sweet suspension and 24 hours for the Ora-Sweet SF suspension. High pressure liquid chromatographic analysis found that the naratriptan concentration in both suspension-vehicle combinations exhibited little or no loss for seven days at 23

Autotuning of PID controller by means of human machine interface device

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michał Awtoniuk

2017-06-01

Full Text Available More and more control systems are based on industry microprocessors like PLC controllers (Programmable Logic Controller. The most commonly used control algorithm is PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative algorithm. Autotuning procedure is not available in every PLC. These controllers are typically used in cooperation with HMI (Human Machine Interface devices. In the study two procedures of autotuning of the PID controller were implemented in the HMI device: step method and relay method. Six tuning rules for step methods and one for relay method were chosen. The autotuning procedures on simulated controlled object and PLC controller without build-in autotuning were tested. The object of control was first order system plus time delay.

Development and control of a magnetorheological haptic device for robot assisted surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Shokrollahi, Elnaz; Goldenberg, Andrew A; Drake, James M; Eastwood, Kyle W; Kang, Matthew

2017-07-01

A prototype magnetorheological (MR) fluid-based actuator has been designed for tele-robotic surgical applications. This device is capable of generating forces up to 47 N, with input currents ranging from 0 to 1.5 A. We begin by outlining the physical design of the device, and then discuss a novel nonlinear model of the device's behavior. The model was developed using the Hammerstein-Wiener (H-W) nonlinear black-box technique and is intended to accurately capture the hysteresis behavior of the MR-fluid. Several experiments were conducted on the device to collect estimation and validation datasets to construct the model and assess its performance. Different estimating functions were used to construct the model, and their effectiveness is assessed based on goodness-of-fit and final-prediction-error measurements. A sigmoid network was found to have a goodness-of-fit of 95%. The model estimate was then used to tune a PID controller. Two control schemes were proposed to eliminate the hysteresis behavior present in the MR fluid device. One method uses a traditional force feedback control loop and the other is based on measuring the magnetic field using a Hall-effect sensor embedded within the device. The Hall-effect sensor scheme was found to be superior in terms of cost, simplicity and real-time control performance compared to the force control strategy.

Hysteresis-induced bifurcation and chaos in a magneto-rheological suspension system under external excitation

Science.gov (United States)

Hailong, Zhang; Enrong, Wang; Fuhong, Min; Ning, Zhang

2016-03-01

The magneto-rheological damper (MRD) is a promising device used in vehicle semi-active suspension systems, for its continuous adjustable damping output. However, the innate nonlinear hysteresis characteristic of MRD may cause the nonlinear behaviors. In this work, a two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) MR suspension system was established first, by employing the modified Bouc-Wen force-velocity (F-v) hysteretic model. The nonlinear dynamic response of the system was investigated under the external excitation of single-frequency harmonic and bandwidth-limited stochastic road surface. The largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) was used to detect the chaotic area of the frequency and amplitude of harmonic excitation, and the bifurcation diagrams, time histories, phase portraits, and power spectrum density (PSD) diagrams were used to reveal the dynamic evolution process in detail. Moreover, the LLE and Kolmogorov entropy (K entropy) were used to identify whether the system response was random or chaotic under stochastic road surface. The results demonstrated that the complex dynamical behaviors occur under different external excitation conditions. The oscillating mechanism of alternating periodic oscillations, quasi-periodic oscillations, and chaotic oscillations was observed in detail. The chaotic regions revealed that chaotic motions may appear in conditions of mid-low frequency and large amplitude, as well as small amplitude and all frequency. The obtained parameter regions where the chaotic motions may appear are useful for design of structural parameters of the vibration isolation, and the optimization of control strategy for MR suspension system. Projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51475246, 51277098, and 51075215), the Research Innovation Program for College Graduates of Jiangsu Province China (Grant No. KYLX15 0725), and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province of China (Grant No. BK20131402).

Heavy vehicle pitch dynamics and suspension tuning

OpenAIRE

Cao, Dongpu; Rakheja, Subhash; Su, Chun-Yi

2008-01-01

The influence of suspension tuning of passenger cars on bounce and pitch ride performance has been explored in a number of studies, while only minimal efforts have been made for establishing similar rules for heavy vehicles. This study aims to explore pitch dynamics and suspension tunings of a two-axle heavy vehicle with unconnected suspension, which could also provide valuable information for heavy vehicles with coupled suspensions. Based on a generalised pitch-plane model of a two-axle heav...

Plasma surface interactions in controlled fusion devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghendrih, Ph.; Becoulet, M.; Costanzo, L. [and others

2000-07-01

This report brings together all the contributions of EURATOM/CEA association to the 14. international conference on plasma surface interactions in controlled fusion devices. 24 papers are presented and they deal mainly with the ergodic divertor and the first wall of Tore-supra tokamak.

Plasma surface interactions in controlled fusion devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghendrih, Ph.; Becoulet, M.; Costanzo, L.

2000-07-01

This report brings together all the contributions of EURATOM/CEA association to the 14. international conference on plasma surface interactions in controlled fusion devices. 24 papers are presented and they deal mainly with the ergodic divertor and the first wall of Tore-supra tokamak

Um dispositivo simples para a determinação simultânea e contínua da densidade de líquidos e da concentração de suspensões líquidas A simple device for on-line determinations of liquid density and suspension concentration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabrina S. Paes

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Um dispositivo para a determinação automática da densidade e da concentração de partículas em suspensões líquidas foi desenvolvido, usando suspensões de amido de mandioca como modelo. As determinações das propriedades foram baseadas na medição da força de empuxo que a suspensão líquida exerce sobre uma bóia de plástico esférica, submersa na mesma e conectada a um sistema eletrônico de medição de força. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que o dispositivo é um excelente densímetro e pode ser usado com sucesso para a determinação da concentração de suspensões líquidas de partículas, quando a relação entre concentração de sólidos e a densidade da suspensão é conhecida. Resultados da medida de densidade de líquidos com o dispositivo, como o glicerol com 99% de pureza e um óleo de soja comercial ficaram muito próximos dos valores citados na literatura e medidos por picnometria.A simple device was developed to determinate simultaneously the density and the concentration of particle suspensions. Cassava starch suspensions were used as a model to carry out the experiments and to develop the equipment. The determinations were based on the measure of the force suffered by a spherical plastic buoy immersed in the suspension under study. This force was transmitted to a force measure electronic cell by means of a metal stem. The experimental results showed that the device developed is a very good densimeter, which can be used to determine suspension concentration with good accuracy, when the relation between density and suspension concentration is known. Results of glycerin and a commercial soy oil density measures were in good agreement with the ones obtained in the literature and by picnometry technique, respectively.

A simple optical fibre-linked remote control system for multiple devices

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

We report on the development of a simple control system which can handle multiple devices through an optical fibre data link. The devices are controlled using a set of DACs through serial data communication via a serial port of a PC. Serial data from the PC get converted to parallel mode using a homemade “serial in ...

Control rod position detection device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akita, Haruo; Ogiwara, Sakae.

1996-01-01

The device of the present invention is used in a back-up shut down system of an LMFBR type reactor which is easy for maintenance, has high reliability and can recognize the position of control rods accurately. Namely, a permanent magnet is disposed to a control rod extension tube connected to the lower portion of the control rod. The detector guide tube is disposed in the vicinity of the control rod extension tube. A detector having a detection coil is inserted into a detector tube. With such constitution, the control rod can be detected at one position using the following method. (1) the movement of the magnetic field of the permanent magnet is detected by the detection coil. (2) a plurality of grooves are formed on the control rod extension tube, and the movement of the grooves is detected. In addition, the detection coil is inserted into the detector guide tube, and the signals from the detection coil are inputted to a signal processing circuit disposed at the outside of the reactor vessel using an MI cable to enable the maintenance of the detector. Further, if the detector comprises a detection coil and an excitation coil, the position of a dropped control rod can be recognized at a plurality of points. (I.S.)

[Microcomputer control of a LED stimulus display device].

Science.gov (United States)

Ohmoto, S; Kikuchi, T; Kumada, T

1987-02-01

A visual stimulus display system controlled by a microcomputer was constructed at low cost. The system consists of a LED stimulus display device, a microcomputer, two interface boards, a pointing device (a "mouse") and two kinds of software. The first software package is written in BASIC. Its functions are: to construct stimulus patterns using the mouse, to construct letter patterns (alphabet, digit, symbols and Japanese letters--kanji, hiragana, katakana), to modify the patterns, to store the patterns on a floppy disc, to translate the patterns into integer data which are used to display the patterns in the second software. The second software package, written in BASIC and machine language, controls display of a sequence of stimulus patterns in predetermined time schedules in visual experiments.

Optical filter based on Fabry-Perot structure using a suspension of goethite nanoparticles as electro-optic material

Science.gov (United States)

Abbas, Samir; Dupont, Laurent; Dozov, Ivan; Davidson, Patrick; Chanéac, Corinne

2018-02-01

We have investigated the feasibility of optical tunable filters based on a Fabry-Perot etalon that uses a suspension of goethite (α-FeOOH) nanorods as electro-optic material for application in optical telecommunications in the near IR range. These synthetic nanoparticles have a high optical anisotropy that give rise to a very strong Kerr effect in their colloidal suspensions. Currently, these particles are dispersed in aqueous solvent, with pH2 to ensure the colloidal electrostatic stability. However, the high conductivity of these suspensions requires using high-frequency electric fields (f > 1 MHz), which brings about a high power consumption of the driver. To decrease the field frequency, we have changed the solvent to ethylene glycol which has a lower electrical conductivity than the aqueous solvent. We have built a Fabry-Perot cell, filled with this colloidal suspension in the isotropic phase, and showed that a phase shift of 14 nm can be obtained in a field of 3V/μm. Therefore, the device can operate as a tunable filter. A key advantage of this filter is that it is, by principle, completely insensitive to the polarization of the input light. However, several technological issues still need to be solved, such as ionic contamination of the suspension from the blocking layers, and dielectrophoretic and thermal effects.

Reactor feedwater control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koshi, Yuji.

1993-01-01

In the device of the present invention, an excess response is not caused in a reactor feed water system even when voids are fluctuated by using an actual water level signal as a reactor water level signal. That is, a standard water level signal and a reactor water level signal are inputted to a comparator. An adder adds water level difference signal outputted from the comparator and mismatch flow rate signal prepared by multiplying the difference between a main steam flow rate signal and a feed water flow rate signal by a mismatch gain. A feed water controller integrates the added signal and outputs flow rate demand signal. A feed water system receives the flow rate demand signal as input. A water level calculation means is disposed to such a device for calculating an actual water level based on the change of coolant possessing amount of the reactor, and the output thereof is defined as a reactor water level signal. With such procedures, excessive elevation of water level of the reactor can be prevented even upon occurrence of void fluctuation phenomenon or the like in the reactor such as upon sole scram operation. Accordingly, plant shut down caused thereby can be avoided safely. (I.S.)

Fuel control device for various gas turbine configurations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stearns, C F; Tutherly, H W

1980-09-29

The hydromechanic fuel control device can be adapted for various engine configurations as for example turbofan-, turbopro-, and turboshaft engines by providing those elements which are common for all engine configurations in the main housing and a detachable block for each individual configuration with all control elements and flow channels necessary for the respective configuration.

On the measurement of the relative viscosity of suspensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acrivos, A.; Fan, X.; Mauri, R.

1994-01-01

The relative viscosity of a suspension of rigid, noncolloidal particles immersed in a Newtonian fluid was measured in a Couette device and was found to be shear thinning even for values of the solids fraction as low as 20%. Although such behavior was reported previously, no satisfactory explanation appears to have been given thus far. It shall be shown presently, however, that, at least for our systems, this shear-thinning effect was due to a slight mismatch in the densities of the two phases. Moreover, the apparent relative viscosities measured in our apparatus were found to be in excellent agreement with those predicted theoretically using a model, originally proposed by Leighton and Acrivos [Chem. Eng. Sci. 41, 1377--1384 (1986)], to describe viscous resuspension, according to which the measured relative viscosity should depend on the bulk particle concentration and on the dimensionless Shields number A, and should attain its correct value for a well-mixed suspension only as A→∞. The predictions of this model are also in excellent agreement with the measured transient response of the apparent relative viscosity due to a sudden change in the shear rate

Non-Hebbian learning implementation in light-controlled resistive memory devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Ungureanu, Mariana; Stoliar, Pablo; Llopis, Roger; Casanova, Fèlix; Hueso, Luis E

2012-01-01

Non-Hebbian learning is often encountered in different bio-organisms. In these processes, the strength of a synapse connecting two neurons is controlled not only by the signals exchanged between the neurons, but also by an additional factor external to the synaptic structure. Here we show the implementation of non-Hebbian learning in a single solid-state resistive memory device. The output of our device is controlled not only by the applied voltages, but also by the illumination conditions under which it operates. We demonstrate that our metal/oxide/semiconductor device learns more efficiently at higher applied voltages but also when light, an external parameter, is present during the information writing steps. Conversely, memory erasing is more efficiently at higher applied voltages and in the dark. Translating neuronal activity into simple solid-state devices could provide a deeper understanding of complex brain processes and give insight into non-binary computing possibilities.

Device for controlling the hydraulic lifter of drilling unit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kraskov, P N

1981-04-10

A device is suggested for controlling the hydraulic lifter of a drilling unit. It contains a throttling valve with cylinder for servocontrol, mechanism for assigning the program for lowering velocity connected to the power cylinder, and oil tank. In order to improve the reliable concentration of the drilling unit by guaranteeing possible alternation for halting descent when the string falls on a projection in the well, the device is equipped with a normally open two-position hydraulically controlled distributor with spring return connected to the working surface of the power cylinder and valve connected to it with logical function of ILI for hydraulic control of the normally opened two-position distributor. The latter connects the working cavity of the servocontrol cylinder with the oil tank.

Characterization of cell suspensions from solid tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pallavicini, M.

1985-01-01

The desirable features of cells in suspension will necessarily be dependent upon the use for which the cells were prepared. Adequate cell yield or recovery is defined by the measurement to be performed. Retention of cellular morphology is important for microscopic identification of cell types in a heterogenous cell suspension, and may be used to determine whether the cells in suspension are representative of those in the tumor in situ. Different dispersal protocols may yield cells with different degrees of clonogenicity, as well as altered biochemical features, such as loss of cellular proteins, surface antigens, nucleotide pools, etc. The quality of the cell suspension can be judged by the degree of cell clumping and level of cellular debris, both of which impact on flow cytometric measurements and studies in which the number of cells be known accurately. Finally, if the data measured on the cells in suspension are to be extrapolated to phenomena occurring in the tumor in situ, it is desirable that the cells in suspension are representative of those in the solid tumor in vivo. This report compares characteristics of tumor cell suspensions obtained by different types of selected disaggregation methods. 33 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs

Voltage-Controlled Reconfigurable Spin-Wave Nanochannels and Logic Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Rana, Bivas; Otani, YoshiChika

2018-01-01

Propagating spin waves (SWs) promise to be a potential information carrier in future spintronics devices with lower power consumption. Here, we propose reconfigurable nanochannels (NCs) generated by voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) in an ultrathin ferromagnetic waveguide for SW propagation. Numerical micromagnetic simulations are performed to demonstrate the confinement of magnetostatic forward volumelike spin waves in NCs by VCMA. We demonstrate that the NCs, with a width down to a few tens of a nanometer, can be configured either into a straight or curved structure on an extended SW waveguide. The key advantage is that either a single NC or any combination of a number of NCs can be easily configured by VCMA for simultaneous propagation of SWs either with the same or different wave vectors according to our needs. Furthermore, we demonstrate the logic operation of a voltage-controlled magnonic xnor and universal nand gate and propose a voltage-controlled reconfigurable SW switch for the development of a multiplexer and demultiplexer. We find that the NCs and logic devices can even be functioning in the absence of the external-bias magnetic field. These results are a step towards the development of all-voltage-controlled magnonic devices with an ultralow power consumption.

A device for automatic photoelectric control of the analytical gap for emission spectrographs

Science.gov (United States)

Dietrich, John A.; Cooley, Elmo F.; Curry, Kenneth J.

1977-01-01

A photoelectric device has been built that automatically controls the analytical gap between electrodes during excitation period. The control device allows for precise control of the analytical gap during the arcing process of samples, resulting in better precision of analysis.

Characterization of Ni-YSZ anodes for solid oxide fuel cells fabricated by suspension plasma spraying with axial feedstock injection

Science.gov (United States)

Metcalfe, Craig; Kuhn, Joel; Kesler, Olivera

2013-12-01

Composite Ni-Y0.15Zr0.85O1.925 anodes were fabricated by axial-injection suspension plasma spraying in open atmosphere conditions. The composition of the anode is controllable by adjustment of the plasma gas composition, stand-off distance, and suspension feed rate. The total porosity is controllable through the addition of carbon black to the suspension as a sacrificial pore-forming material as well as by adjustment of the suspension feed rate. The size of the NiO particles in suspension affects both the composition and total porosity, with larger NiO particles leading to increased Ni content and porosity in the deposited coatings. The surface roughness increases with a decrease of the in-flight droplet momentum, which results from both smaller NiO particles in suspension and the addition of low density pore-forming materials. A solid oxide fuel cell was fabricated with both electrodes and electrolyte fabricated by axial-injection plasma spraying. Peak power densities of 0.718 W cm-2 and 1.13 W cm-2 at 750 °C and 850 °C, respectively, were achieved.

SeleCon: Scalable IoT Device Selection and Control Using Hand Gestures

Science.gov (United States)

Alanwar, Amr; Alzantot, Moustafa; Ho, Bo-Jhang; Martin, Paul; Srivastava, Mani

2018-01-01

Although different interaction modalities have been proposed in the field of human-computer interface (HCI), only a few of these techniques could reach the end users because of scalability and usability issues. Given the popularity and the growing number of IoT devices, selecting one out of many devices becomes a hurdle in a typical smarthome environment. Therefore, an easy-to-learn, scalable, and non-intrusive interaction modality has to be explored. In this paper, we propose a pointing approach to interact with devices, as pointing is arguably a natural way for device selection. We introduce SeleCon for device selection and control which uses an ultra-wideband (UWB) equipped smartwatch. To interact with a device in our system, people can point to the device to select it then draw a hand gesture in the air to specify a control action. To this end, SeleCon employs inertial sensors for pointing gesture detection and a UWB transceiver for identifying the selected device from ranging measurements. Furthermore, SeleCon supports an alphabet of gestures that can be used for controlling the selected devices. We performed our experiment in a 9m-by-10m lab space with eight deployed devices. The results demonstrate that SeleCon can achieve 84.5% accuracy for device selection and 97% accuracy for hand gesture recognition. We also show that SeleCon is power efficient to sustain daily use by turning off the UWB transceiver, when a user’s wrist is stationary. PMID:29683151

DESIGN AND APPLICATION OF MAGNETIC BEARING SUSPENSION SYSTEM IN A THREE PHASE INDUCTION MOTOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osman GÜRDAL

1998-03-01

Full Text Available The current popularity of suspension and levitation stems no doubt the possibilities in high-speed ground transportation schemes. Although these are both challenging and exciting, there is considerable scope for application of suspension techniques to achieving frictionless bearing. The requirement in this case is often for close tolerances, low power consumption, small airgaps and ingeneral, compactness. Thus, magnetic suspension using DC electromagnets schemes have received more attention than the other techniques of repulsion levitation. Proposed prototype system consists of a conventional stator and its rotor without iron core, set of electromagnets for suspension of rotor shaft and set of compensation circuits feedbacked by optical-transducers. Prototyped system is aimed as a laboratory demonstration tool so there is no challenging to exceed the speeds of 1500 rev/min that is the speed of motor with mechanical bearings. Magnetic bearing suspension system provides a high impact visual demonstration of many principles in undergraduate educational programs in electrical education, e.g., electromagnetic design, PD controlled compensation of a unstable control system and power amplifier design. The system is capable of giving a good comparison between mechanical and magnetic bearing up to speeds 350 rev/min. Power losses without load show about 15% reduction with magnetic bearing. The noise of the motor is also decreased to a low level.

40 CFR 63.985 - Nonflare control devices used to control emissions from storage vessels and low throughput...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... included. (E) For condensers, the design evaluation shall include the final temperature of the stream vapors, the type of condenser, and the design flow rate of the emission stream. (ii) Performance test. A... control device design evaluation or performance test requirements. When using a control device other than...

Controlling Access to Input/Output Peripheral Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Y. Rodionov

2010-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper the author proposes a system that manages information security policy on enterprise. Problems related to managing information security policy on enterprise and access to peripheral devices in computer systems functioning under control of Microsoft Windows NT operating systems are considered.

13 CFR 120.660 - Suspension or revocation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Suspension or revocation. 120.660 Section 120.660 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS LOANS Secondary Market Suspension Or Revocation of Participant in Secondary Market § 120.660 Suspension or revocation. (a...

Algorithm for Public Electric Transport Schedule Control for Intelligent Embedded Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Alps, Ivars; Potapov, Andrey; Gorobetz, Mikhail; Levchenkov, Anatoly

2010-01-01

In this paper authors present heuristics algorithm for precise schedule fulfilment in city traffic conditions taking in account traffic lights. The algorithm is proposed for programmable controller. PLC is proposed to be installed in electric vehicle to control its motion speed and signals of traffic lights. Algorithm is tested using real controller connected to virtual devices and real functional models of real tram devices. Results of experiments show high precision of public transport schedule fulfilment using proposed algorithm.

Clay-cement suspensions - rheological and functional properties

Science.gov (United States)

Wojcik, L.; Izak, P.; Mastalska-Poplawska, J.; Gajek, M.

2017-01-01

The piping erosion in soil is highly unexpected in civil engineering. Elimination of such damages is difficult, expensive and time-consuming. One of the possibility is the grouting method. This method is still developed into direction of process automation as well as other useful properties of suspensions. Main way of modernization of the grouting method is connected it with rheology of injection and eventuality of fitting them to specific problems conditions. Very popular and useful became binders based on modified clays (clay-cement suspensions). Important principle of efficiency of the grouting method is using of time-dependent pseudothixotropic properties of the clay-cement suspensions. The pseudo-rheounstability aspect of the suspensions properties should be dedicated and fitted to dynamic changes of soil conditions destructions. Whole process of the modification of the suspension rheology is stimulated by the specific agents. This article contains a description of practical aspects of the rheological parameters managing of the clay-cement suspensions, dedicated to the building damages, hydrotechnic constructions etc.

In vitro production of azadirachtin from cell suspension cultures of ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

PRAKASH KUMAR G

proven effective in the control of agricultural pests in an environmentally ..... Prakash G and Srivastava A K 2005 Statistical media optimization for cell growth and ... Juss. suspension cultures; Process Biochemistry 40 3795–3800. Prakash G ...

Plant control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Masuo; Ono, Makoto.

1995-01-01

A plant control device comprises an intellectual instrumentation group for measuring a predetermined process amount, an intellectual equipment group operating in accordance with a self-countermeasure, a system information space for outputting system information, a system level monitoring and diagnosing information generalization section for outputting system information, a system level maintenance information generalization section for outputting information concerning maintenance, a plant level information space and a plant level information generalization section. Each of them determines a state of the plant autonomously, and when abnormality is detected, each of the intellectual instrumentation, equipments and systems exchange information with each other, to conduct required operations including operations of intellectual robots, as required. Appropriate countermeasures for gauges, equipments and systems can be conducted autonomously at a place where operators can not access to improve reliability of complicate operations in the working site, as well as improve plant safety and reliability. (N.H.)

Analysis of the yielding behavior of electrorheological suspensions by controlled shear stress experiments

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pavlínek, V.; Sáha, P.; Perez-Gonzales, K.; de Vargas, L.; Stejskal, Jaroslav; Quadrat, Otakar

2006-01-01

Roč. 16, 1-2 (2006), s. 14-18 ISSN 1430-6395 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/06/0419 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40500505 Keywords : electrorheology * yield stress * suspensions * polyaniline Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry

Adaptive sliding control of non-autonomous active suspension systems with time-varying loadings

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Po-Chang; Huang, An-Chyau

2005-04-01

An adaptive sliding controller is proposed in this paper for controlling a non-autonomous quarter-car suspension system with time-varying loadings. The bound of the car-body loading is assumed to be available. Then, the reference coordinate is placed at the static position under the nominal loading so that the system dynamic equation is derived. Due to spring nonlinearities, the system property becomes asymmetric after coordinate transformation. Besides, in practical cases, system parameters are not easy to be obtained precisely for controller design. Therefore, in this paper, system uncertainties are lumped into two unknown time-varying functions. Since the variation bound of one of the unknown functions is not available, conventional adaptive schemes and robust designs are not applicable. To deal with this problem, the function approximation technique is employed to represent the unknown function as a finite combination of basis functions. The Lyapunov direct method can thus be used to find adaptive laws for updating coefficients in the approximating series and to prove stability of the closed-loop system. Since the position and velocity measurements of the unsprung mass are lumped into the unknown function, there is no need to install sensors on the axle and wheel assembly in the actual implementation. Simulation results are presented to show the performance of the proposed strategy.

40 CFR 90.511 - Suspension and revocation of certificates of conformity.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... KILOWATTS Selective Enforcement Auditing § 90.511 Suspension and revocation of certificates of conformity... proposed quality control and/or quality assurance measures to be taken by the manufacturer to prevent...

40 CFR 89.511 - Suspension and revocation of certificates of conformity.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... ENGINES Selective Enforcement Auditing § 89.511 Suspension and revocation of certificates of conformity... proposed quality control and/or quality assurance measures to be taken by the manufacturer to prevent...

Time Varying Behavior of the Loudspeaker Suspension

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Bo Rohde; Agerkvist, Finn T.

2007-01-01

The suspension part of the electrodynamic loudspeaker is often modelled as a simple linear spring with viscous damping, however the dynamic behaviour of the suspension is much more complicated than predicted by such a simple model. At higher levels the compliance becomes non-linear and often chan...... changes during excitation at high levels. This paper investigates how the compliance of the suspension depends on the excitation, i.e. level and frequency content. The measurements are compared with other known measurement methods of the suspension....

Study on kinematic and compliance test of suspension

Science.gov (United States)

Jing, Lixin; Wu, Liguang; Li, Xuepeng; Zhang, Yu

2017-09-01

Chassis performance development is a major difficulty in vehicle research and development, which is the main factor restricting the independent development of vehicles in China. These years, through a large number of studies, chassis engineers have found that the suspension K&C characteristics as a quasi-static characteristic of the suspension provides a technical route for the suspension performance R&D, and the suspension K&C test has become an important means of vehicle benchmarking, optimization and verification. However, the research on suspension K&C test is less in china, and the test conditions and setting requirements vary greatly from OEM to OEM. In this paper, the influence of different settings on the characteristics of the suspension is obtained through experiments, and the causes of the differences are analyzed; in order to fully reflect the suspension characteristics, the author recommends the appropriate test case and settings.

Pair-correlations in swimmer suspensions

Science.gov (United States)

Nambiar, Sankalp; Subramanian, Ganesh

2017-11-01

Suspensions of rear-actuated swimming microorganisms, such as E.coli, exhibit several interesting phenomena including spontaneous pattern formation above a critical concentration, novel rheological properties, shear-induced concentration banding etc. Explanations based on mean-field theory are only qualitative, since interactions between swimmers are important for typical experimental concentrations. We analytically characterize the hydrodynamic pair-interactions in a quiescent suspension of slender straight swimmers. The pair-correlation, calculated at leading order by integrating the swimmer velocity disturbances along straight trajectories, decays as 1/r2 for r >> L (L being the swimmer size). This allows us to characterize both polar and nematic correlations in an interacting swimmer suspension. In the absence of correlations, the velocity covariance asymptotes from a constant for r > L, the latter being characteristic of a suspension of non-interacting point force-dipoles. On including correlations, the slow decay of the pair-orientation correlation leads to an additional contribution to the velocity covariance that diverges logarithmically with system size.

21 CFR 1301.36 - Suspension or revocation of registration; suspension of registration pending final order...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Suspension or revocation of registration; suspension of registration pending final order; extension of registration pending final order. 1301.36... registration pending final order; extension of registration pending final order. (a) For any registration...

Measuring device for control rod driving time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Kazuhiko; Hanabusa, Masatoshi.

1993-01-01

The present invention concerns a measuring device for control driving time having a function capable of measuring a selected control rod driving time and measuring an entire control rod driving time simultaneously. A calculation means and a store means for the selected rod control rod driving time, and a calculation means and a store means for the entire control rod driving time are disposed individually. Each of them measures the driving time and stores the data independent of each other based on a selected control rod insert ion signal and an entire control rod insertion signal. Even if insertion of selected and entire control rods overlaps, each of the control rod driving times can be measured reliably to provide an advantageous effect capable of more accurately conducting safety evaluation for the nuclear reactor based on the result of the measurement. (N.H.)

Modular manual control device for manipulators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dzholdasbekov, U.A.; Lukyanov, A.T.; Slutsky, L.I.; Safontsev, E.A.; Dzhamalov, N.K.

1991-01-01

The device described in this patent comprises a base, a series of connected modules, each with a position pickup and a handle. One module is provided for each degree of mobility of the manipulator being controlled; the modular construction enables the control of manipulators with differing degrees of mobility. One rotary movement module and three orthogonal linear movement modules are provided. Each linear module has two parallel guides between which a carriage is supported for movement by balls. The position pickup is provided on the carriage. The rotary module comprises inner and outer casings, relative movement of which is detected by pickup. Further rotary pickups may be provided for rotation about axes. A close/open switch and a speed control pickup may also be provided. (author)

39 CFR 3001.114 - Suspension pending review.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Suspension pending review. 3001.114 Section 3001... Suspension pending review. (a) Application. Application for suspension of a determination of the Postal Service to close or consolidate any post office pending the outcome of an appeal to the Postal Regulatory...

21 CFR 520.905a - Fenbendazole suspension.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Fenbendazole suspension. 520.905a Section 520.905a... DRUGS, FEEDS, AND RELATED PRODUCTS ORAL DOSAGE FORM NEW ANIMAL DRUGS § 520.905a Fenbendazole suspension. (a) Specifications. Each milliliter of suspension contains 100 milligrams (mg) fenbendazole. (b...

Control Board Digital Interface Input Devices – Touchscreen, Trackpad, or Mouse?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomas A. Ulrich; Ronald L. Boring; Roger Lew

2015-08-01

The authors collaborated with a power utility to evaluate input devices for use in the human system interface (HSI) for a new digital Turbine Control System (TCS) at a nuclear power plant (NPP) undergoing a TCS upgrade. A standalone dynamic software simulation of the new digital TCS and a mobile kiosk were developed to conduct an input device study to evaluate operator preference and input device effectiveness. The TCS software presented the anticipated HSI for the TCS and mimicked (i.e., simulated) the turbine systems’ responses to operator commands. Twenty-four licensed operators from the two nuclear power units participated in the study. Three input devices were tested: a trackpad, mouse, and touchscreen. The subjective feedback from the survey indicates the operators preferred the touchscreen interface. The operators subjectively rated the touchscreen as the fastest and most comfortable input device given the range of tasks they performed during the study, but also noted a lack of accuracy for selecting small targets. The empirical data suggest the mouse input device provides the most consistent performance for screen navigation and manipulating on screen controls. The trackpad input device was both empirically and subjectively found to be the least effective and least desired input device.

The modecleaner system and suspension aspects of GEO 600

CERN Document Server

Gossler, S; Freise, A; Grote, H; Lück, H B; McNamara, P; Plissi, M V; Robertson, D I; Robertson, N A; Skeldon, K D; Strain, K A; Torrie, C I; Ward, H; Willke, B; Hough, J; Danzmann, K

2002-01-01

GEO 600 uses two 8 m triangular ring cavities as a modecleaner system for the stabilization of the laser. To isolate the cavities with respect to the seismic noise the optical components are suspended as double pendulums. The resonances of these pendulums are damped by a local-control loop via magnet-coil actuators acting on the intermediate masses. The suspension scheme and the measured key data (i.e. finesse, linewidth, visibility, throughput and in-lock durations of the cavities, as well as the isolation performance and the resulting frequency stability) of the modecleaner system will be given in this paper. Furthermore an overview of the GEO 600 interferometer suspension will be given.

RIO EPICS device support application case study on an ion source control system (ISHP)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanz, Diego [UPM – Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid (Spain); Ruiz, Mariano, E-mail: mariano.ruiz@upm.es [UPM – Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid (Spain); Eguiraun, Mikel [Department of Electricity and Electronic, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Basque Country, Bilbao (Spain); Arredondo, Iñigo [ESS Bilbao Consortium, Zamudio (Spain); Badillo, Inari; Jugo, Josu [Department of Electricity and Electronic, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Basque Country, Bilbao (Spain); Vega, Jesús; Castro, Rodrigo [Asociación EURATOM/CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • A use case example of RIO/FlexRIO design methodology is described. • Ion source device is controlled and monitored by means EPICS IOCs. • NIRIO EPICS device support demonstrates that is able to manage RIO devices. • Easy and fast deployment is possible using RIO/FlexRIO design methodology using NIRIO-EDS. • RIO/FlexRIO technology and EPICS are a good combination for support large scale experiments in fusion environments. - Abstract: Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) is a software tool that during last years has become relevant as a main framework to deploy distributed control systems in large scientific environments. At the moment, ESS Bilbao uses this middleware to perform the control of their Ion Source Hydrogen Positive (ISHP) project. The implementation of the control system was based on: PXI Real Time controllers using the LabVIEW-RT and LabVIEW-EPICS tools; and RIO devices based on Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology. Intended to provide a full compliant EPICS IOCs for RIO devices and to avoid additional efforts on the system maintainability, a migration of the current system to a derivative Red Hat Linux (CentOS) environment has been conducted. This paper presents a real application case study for using the NIRIO EPICS device support (NIRIO-EDS) to give support to the ISHP. Although RIO FPGA configurations are particular solutions for ISHP performance, the NIRIO-EDS has permitted the control and monitoring of devices by applying a well-defined design methodology into the previous FPGA configuration for RIO/FlexRIO devices. This methodology has permitted a fast and easy deployment for the new robust, scalable and maintainable software to support RIO devices into the ISHP control architecture.

On Determination of the Equation of State of Colloidal Suspensions

Science.gov (United States)

Sirorattanakul, Krittanon; Huang, Hao; Uhl, Christopher; Ou-Yang, Daniel

Colloidal suspensions are the main ingredients for a variety of materials in our daily life, e.g., milk, salad dressing, skin lotions and paint for wall coatings. Material properties of these systems require an understanding of the equation of state of these materials. Our project aims to experimentally determine the equation of state of colloidal suspensions by microfluidics, dielectrophoresis (DEP) and optical imaging. We use fluorescent polystyrene latexes as a model system for this study. Placing semi-permeable membranes between microfluidics channels, which made from PDMS, we control the particle concentration and ionic strengths of the suspension. We use osmotic equilibrium equation to analyze the particle concentration distribution in a potential force field created by DEP. We use confocal optical imaging to measure the spatial distribution of the particle concentration. We compare the results of our experimental study with data obtained by computer simulation of osmotic equilibrium of interacting colloids. NSF DMR-0923299, Emulsion Polymer Institute, Department of Physics, Bioengineering Program of Lehigh University.

Non-homogeneous flow profiles in sheared bacterial suspensions

Science.gov (United States)

Samanta, Devranjan; Cheng, Xiang

Bacterial suspensions under shear exhibit interesting rheological behaviors including the remarkable ``superfluidic'' state with vanishing viscosity at low shear rates. Theoretical studies have shown that such ``superfluidic'' state is linked with non-homogeneous shear flows, which are induced by coupling between nematic order of active fluids and hydrodynamics of shear flows. However, although bulk rheology of bacterial suspensions has been experimentally studied, shear profiles within bacterial suspensions have not been explored so far. Here, we experimentally investigate the flow behaviors of E. coli suspensions under planar oscillatory shear. Using confocal microscopy and PIV, we measure velocity profiles across gap between two shear plates. We find that with increasing shear rates, high-concentration bacterial suspensions exhibit an array of non-homogeneous flow behaviors like yield-stress flows and shear banding. We show that these non-homogeneous flows are due to collective motion of bacterial suspensions. The phase diagram of sheared bacterial suspensions is systematically mapped as functions of shear rates an bacterial concentrations. Our experiments provide new insights into rheology of bacterial suspensions and shed light on shear induced dynamics of active fluids. Chemical Engineering and Material Science department.

Rheo-SAXS investigation of shear-thinning behaviour of very anisometric repulsive disc-like clay suspensions.

Science.gov (United States)

Philippe, A M; Baravian, C; Imperor-Clerc, M; De Silva, J; Paineau, E; Bihannic, I; Davidson, P; Meneau, F; Levitz, P; Michot, L J

2011-05-18

Aqueous suspensions of swelling clay minerals exhibit a rich and complex rheological behaviour. In particular, these repulsive systems display strong shear-thinning at very low volume fractions in both the isotropic and gel states. In this paper, we investigate the evolution with shear of the orientational distribution of aqueous clay suspensions by synchrotron-based rheo-SAXS experiments using a Couette device. Measurements in radial and tangential configurations were carried out for two swelling clay minerals of similar morphology and size, Wyoming montmorillonite and Idaho beidellite. The shear evolution of the small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns displays significantly different features for these two minerals. The detailed analysis of the angular dependence of the SAXS patterns in both directions provides the average Euler angles of the statistical effective particle in the shear plane. We show that for both samples, the average orientation is fully controlled by the local shear stress around the particle. We then apply an effective approach to take into account multiple hydrodynamic interactions in the system. Using such an approach, it is possible to calculate the evolution of viscosity as a function of shear rate from the knowledge of the average orientation of the particles. The viscosity thus recalculated almost perfectly matches the measured values as long as collective effects are not too important in the system.

Rheo-SAXS investigation of shear-thinning behaviour of very anisometric repulsive disc-like clay suspensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Philippe, A M; Baravian, C; Imperor-Clerc, M; De Silva, J; Davidson, P; Paineau, E; Bihannic, I; Michot, L J; Meneau, F; Levitz, P

2011-01-01

Aqueous suspensions of swelling clay minerals exhibit a rich and complex rheological behaviour. In particular, these repulsive systems display strong shear-thinning at very low volume fractions in both the isotropic and gel states. In this paper, we investigate the evolution with shear of the orientational distribution of aqueous clay suspensions by synchrotron-based rheo-SAXS experiments using a Couette device. Measurements in radial and tangential configurations were carried out for two swelling clay minerals of similar morphology and size, Wyoming montmorillonite and Idaho beidellite. The shear evolution of the small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns displays significantly different features for these two minerals. The detailed analysis of the angular dependence of the SAXS patterns in both directions provides the average Euler angles of the statistical effective particle in the shear plane. We show that for both samples, the average orientation is fully controlled by the local shear stress around the particle. We then apply an effective approach to take into account multiple hydrodynamic interactions in the system. Using such an approach, it is possible to calculate the evolution of viscosity as a function of shear rate from the knowledge of the average orientation of the particles. The viscosity thus recalculated almost perfectly matches the measured values as long as collective effects are not too important in the system.

Control solutions for robots using Android and iOS devices

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, A. William, III; Gray, Jeremy P.; Rudnick, Dave; Karlsen, Robert E.

2012-06-01

As more Soldiers seek to utilize robots to enhance their mission capabilities, controls are needed which are intuitive, portable, and adaptable to a wide range of mission tasks. Android™ and iOS™ devices have the potential to meet each of these requirements as well as being based on readily available hardware. This paper will focus on some of the ways in which an Android™ or iOS™ device could be used to control specific and varied robot mobility functions and payload tools. Several small unmanned ground vehicle (SUGV) payload tools will have been investigated at Camp Pendleton during a user assessment and mission feasibility study for automatic remote tool changing. This group of payload tools will provide a basis, to researchers, concerning what types of control functions are needed to fully utilize SUGV robotic capabilities. Additional, mobility functions using tablet devices have been used as part of the Safe Operation of Unmanned systems for Reconnaissance in Complex Environments Army Technology Objective (SOURCE ATO) which is investigating the safe operation of robotics. Using Android™ and iOS™ hand-held devices is not a new concept in robot manipulation. However, the authors of this paper hope to introduce some novel concepts that may serve to make the interaction between Soldier and machine more fluid and intuitive. By creating a better user experience, Android™ and iOS™ devices could help to reduce training time, enhance performance, and increase acceptance of robotics as valuable mission tools for Soldiers.

Brain Computer Interface-Controlling Devices Utilizing The Alpha Brain Waves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rohan Hundia

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract This paper describes the development and testing of an interface system whereby one can control external devices by voluntarily controlling alpha waves that is through eye movement. Such a system may be used for the control of prosthetics robotic arms and external devices like wheelchairs using the alpha brain waves and the Mu rhythm. The response generated through the movement of the eye detecting and controlling the amplitude of the alpha brain waves is interfaced and processed to control Robotic systems and smart home control. In order to measure the response of alpha waves over different lobes of the brain initially I measured these signals over 32 regions using silver chloride plated electrodes. By the opening and the closure of the eyes and the movement in the up-down left-right directions and processing these movements measuring them over the occipital region I was able to differentiate the amplitude of the alpha waves generated due to these several movements. In the First session testing period subjects were asked to close and open their eyes and they were able to control limited movements of a Robot and a prosthetic arm. In the Second 2session the movement of the eyes was also considered left-right up-down along with the opening and closure during this time span they were able to control more dimensions of the robot several devices at the same time using different eye movements.

The improvement of suspension training for trunk muscle power in Sanda athletes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiujie Ma

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate whether both suspension training (ST and traditional training (TT can improve Sanda athlete's strength quality of trunk muscles and to explore the effect of suspension training on Sanda athletes' trunk muscle power production. Twelve elite Sanda athletes from the Competitive Sports School of Shanghai University of Sport were randomly assigned to experimental group (EG and control group (CG. EG and CG were regularly trained with suspension training and traditional strength training for 40 minutes three times per week. The total duration of training was 10 weeks. The measurements including peak torque (PT, PT/body weight (BW, and rate of force development (RFD were used to assess trunk muscles strength. The results showed that there were significant differences between the two groups' performance when it was tested at the higher velocity of dynamometer (test of muscle power, but less significant differences when the two groups performance was tested at the lower velocity of dynamometer (test of maximum strength. The conclusion of this study is that compared with traditional training methods, suspension training can improve back and trunk flexion muscles strength more effectively. In particular, suspension training can improve the explosive power of trunk extension and flexion muscles.

Touch-free, gesture-based control of medical devices and software based on the leap motion controller.

Science.gov (United States)

Mauser, Stanislas; Burgert, Oliver

2014-01-01

There are several intra-operative use cases which require the surgeon to interact with medical devices. We used the Leap Motion Controller as input device and implemented two use-cases: 2D-Interaction (e.g. advancing EPR data) and selection of a value (e.g. room illumination brightness). The gesture detection was successful and we mapped its output to several devices and systems.

Actuator and sensor selection for an active vehicle suspension aimed at robust performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wal, van de M.M.J.; Philips, P.P.H.H.; Jager, de A.G.

1998-01-01

A recently presented method for actuator and sensor selection for linear control systems is applied and evaluated for an active vehicle suspension control problem. The aim is to eliminate the actuator/sensor combinations for which no controller exists that achieves a specified level of robust

Analysis of vibroprotection characteristics of pneumatic relaxation seat suspension with capability of vibration energy recuperation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lyashenko Mikhail

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes mechanism and control algorithm for pneumatic relaxation system of suspension with vibration energy recuperation applied to standard vehicle operator seat (“Sibeko” company. Mathematical model of the seat pneumatic relaxation suspension with two additional air volumes was created. Pneumatic motor – recuperator activated by means of air flow from the one additional volume to another is installed in air piping between additional volumes. Computational research was made in Matlab/Simulink. Amplitude-frequency characteristics of transmission coefficient for standard and proposed suspensions were plotted for preliminary evaluation of vibration protection properties of seat suspension. Performed comparative analysis of amplitude-frequency characteristics shows that noticeable improvement of vibration protection properties of pneumatic relaxation suspension system with vibration energy recuperation in comparison with standard system both in region of resonance disturbances and in above-resonance region. Main ways for further improvement of vibration protection properties of proposed system were marked out.

Magnetic suspension - Today's marvel, tomorrow's tool

Science.gov (United States)

Lawing, Pierce L.

1989-01-01

NASA's Langley facility has through constant advocacy of magnetic suspension systems (MSSs) for wind-tunnel model positioning obtained a technology-development status for the requisite large magnets, computers, automatic control techniques, and apparatus configurations, to contemplate the construction of MSSs for large wind tunnels. Attention is presently given to the prospects for MSSs in wind tunnels employing superfluid helium atmospheres to obtain very high Reynolds numbers, where the MSS can yield substantial enhancements of wind tunnel productivity.

Boundary Effects and Shear Thickening of Colloidal Suspensions: A study based on measurement of Suspension Microstructure

Science.gov (United States)

Perera, M. Tharanga D.

Microstructure is key to understanding rheological behaviors of flowing particulate suspensions. During the past decade, Stokesian Dynamics simulations have been the dominant method of determining suspension microstructure. Structure results obtained numerically reveal that an anisotropic structure is formed under high Peclet (Pe) number conditions. Researchers have used various experimental techniques such as small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and light scattering methods to validate microstructure. This work outlines an experimental technique based on confocal microscopy to study microstructure of a colloidal suspension in an index-matched fluid flowing in a microchannel. High resolution scans determining individual particle locations in suspensions 30-50 vol % yield quantitative results of the local microstructure in the form of the pair distribution function, g(r). From these experimentally determined g(r), the effect of shear rate, quantified by the Peclet number as a ratio of shear and Brownian stress, on the suspension viscosity and normal stress follow that seen in macroscopic rheological measurements and simulations. It is generally believed that shear thickening behavior of colloidal suspensions is driven by the formation of hydroclusters. From measurements of particle locations, hydroclusters are identified. The number of hydroclusters grows exponentially with increasing Pe, and the onset of shear thickening is driven by the increase in formation of clusters having 5-8 particles. At higher Pe, we notice the emergence of 12 or more particle clusters. The internal structure of these hydroclusters has been investigated, and there is some evidence that particles internal to hydroclusters preferentially align along the 45° and 135° axis. Beyond observations of bulk suspension behavior, the influence of boundaries on suspension microstructure is also investigated. Experiments were performed for suspensions flowing over smooth walls, made of glass

Introducing Dual Suspension System in Road Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Imtiaz Hussain

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The main objective of suspension system is to reduce the motions of the vehicle body with respect to road disturbances. The conventional suspension systems in road vehicles use passive elements such as springs and dampers to suppress the vibrations induced by the irregularities in the road. But these conventional suspension systems can suppress vibrations to a certain limit. This paper presents a novel idea to improve the ride quality of roads vehicles without compromising vehicle?s stability. The paper proposes the use of primary and secondary suspension to suppress the vibrations more effectively.

Remote device control and monitor system for the LHD deuterium experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakanishi, Hideya, E-mail: nakanisi@nifs.ac.jp [National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), Toki, Gifu 509-5292 (Japan); Dept. Fusion Science, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Toki, Gifu 509-5292 (Japan); Ohsuna, Masaki; Ito, Tatsuki; Nonomura, Miki; Imazu, Setsuo; Emoto, Masahiko; Iwata, Chie; Yoshida, Masanobu; Yokota, Mitsuhiro; Maeno, Hiroya; Aoyagi, Miwa; Ogawa, Hideki; Nakamura, Osamu; Morita, Yoshitaka; Inoue, Tomoyuki; Watanabe, Kiyomasa [National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), Toki, Gifu 509-5292 (Japan); Ida, Katsumi; Ishiguro, Seiji; Kaneko, Osamu [National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), Toki, Gifu 509-5292 (Japan); Dept. Fusion Science, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Toki, Gifu 509-5292 (Japan)