11,273 research outputs found
Cage-size control of guest vibration and thermal conductivity in Sr8Ga16Si30-xGex
We present a systematic study of thermal conductivity, specific heat,
electrical resistivity, thermopower and x-ray diffraction measurements
performed on single-crystalline samples of the pseudoquaternary type-I
clathrate system Sr8Ga16Si30-xGex, in the full range of 0 < x < 30. All the
samples show metallic behavior with n-type majority carriers. However, the
thermal conductivity and specific heat strongly depend on x. Upon increasing x
from 0 to 30, the lattice parameter increases by 3%, from 10.446 to 10.726 A,
and the localized vibrational energies of the Sr guest ions in the
tetrakaidekahedron (dodecahedron) cages decrease from 59 (120) K to 35 (90) K.
Furthermore, the lattice thermal conductivity at low temperatures is largely
suppressed. In fact, a crystalline peak found at 15 K for x = 0 gradually
decreases and disappears for x > 20, evolving into the anomalous glass-like
behavior observed for x = 30. It is found that the increase of the free space
for the Sr guest motion directly correlates with a continuous transition from
on-center harmonic vibration to off-center anharmonic vibration, with
consequent increase in the coupling strength between the guest's low-energy
modes and the cage's acoustic phonon modes.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, submitted to PR
Ion Exchange for Nutrient Recovery Coupled with Biosolids-Derived Biochar Pretreatment to Remove Micropollutants
Wastewater, especially anaerobic treatment effluent, contains high ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) and inorganic orthophosphate (PO4-P), which necessitate additional treatment to meet stringent discharge regulations. Ion exchange regeneration is a process that can be adopted for not only removing but also recovering nutrients. However, recovering nutrients by ion exchange from nutrient-rich effluents that also contain micropollutants (which typically pass through anaerobic treatment as well) may result in subsequent problems, since micropollutants could end up in ion exchange effluent, regenerant, or recovered fertilizer products. Micropollutant removal by a nonselective adsorbent, such as biosolids-derived biochar, before nutrient recovery processes would mitigate potential risks. The objective of this research was to evaluate the capability of biosolids-derived biochar as a pretreatment step for separating micropollutants from nutrient-rich water before ion exchange for nutrient recovery. In the presence of ammonium and phosphate, both pristine and regenerated biosolids-derived biochar could effectively adsorb triclosan (TCS) and estradiol (E2), and to a lesser extent, sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in batch sorption experiments. On the other hand, nutrient ions were not effectively adsorbed by biosolids-derived biochar. A continuous flow-through system consisting of columns in series filled with biochar, LayneRT, and then clinoptilolite was operated to test selective removal of micropollutants and nutrients in a flow-through system. The biochar column achieved more than 80% removal of influent TCS and E2, thereby reducing the chances of micropollutants being adsorbed by ion exchangers. Sulfamethoxazole removal through the biochar column was only 50%, indicating that biosolids-derived biochar would have to be optimized in the future for hydrophilic micropollutant removal. Influent nutrients were not effectively removed by the biochar column, but were captured in their respective selective ion exchanger columns. This research revealed that biosolids-derived biochar could be employed before ion exchange resins for removal of micropollutants from nutrient-rich water
Multiband OFDM for Cognitive Radio – A Way for Cyclostationary Detection and Interference Cancellation
With the tremendous growth in wireless technology there has been a shortage in the spectrum utilized for certain applications while some spectrum remains idle. To overcome this problem and for the efficient utilization of the spectrum cognitive radio is the suitable solution.Multiband OFDM can be easily modeled as cognitive radio, a technology that is employed for utilizing the available spectrum in the most efficient way. Since sensing of the free spectrum for detecting the arrival of the primary users is the foremost job of cognitive, here cyclostationary based spectrum sensing is carried out. Its performance is investigated using universal software defined radio peripheral (USRP) kit which is the hardware test bed for the cognitive radio system. Results are shown using Labview software. Further to mitigate the interference between the primary and cognitive users a modified intrusion elimination (AIC) algorithm had been proposed which in turn ensures the coexistence of both the users in the same wireless environment
Fuzzy logic based qos optimization mechanism for service composition
Increase emphasis on Quality of Service and highly changing environments make management of composite services a time consuming and complicated task. Adaptation approaches aim to mitigate the management problem by adjusting composite services to the environment conditions, maintaining functional and quality levels, and reducing human intervention. This paper presents an adaptation approach that implements self-optimization based on fuzzy logic. The proposed optimization model performs service selection based on the analysis of historical and real QoS data, gathered at different stages during the execution of composite services. The use of fuzzy inference systems enables the evaluation of the measured QoS values, helps deciding whether adaptation is needed or not, and how to perform service selection. Experimental results show significant improvements in the global QoS of the use case scenario, providing reductions up to 20.5% in response time, 33.4% in cost and 31.2% in energy consumption
Glasslike vs. crystalline thermal conductivity in carrier-tuned Ba8Ga16X30 clathrates (X = Ge, Sn)
The present controversy over the origin of glasslike thermal conductivity
observed in certain crystalline materials is addressed by studies on
single-crystal x-ray diffraction, thermal conductivity k(T) and specific heat
Cp(T) of carrier-tuned Ba8Ga16X30 (X = Ge, Sn) clathrates. These crystals show
radically different low-temperature k(T) behaviors depending on whether their
charge carriers are electrons or holes, displaying the usual crystalline peak
in the former case and an anomalous glasslike plateau in the latter. In
contrast, Cp(T) above 4 K and the general structural properties are essentially
insensitive to carrier tuning. We analyze these combined results within the
framework of a Tunneling/Resonant/Rayleigh scatterings model, and conclude that
the evolution from crystalline to glasslike k(T) is accompanied by an increase
both in the effective density of tunnelling states and in the resonant
scattering level, while neither one of these contributions can solely account
for the observed changes in the full temperature range. This suggests that the
most relevant factor which determines crystalline or glasslike behavior is the
coupling strength between the guest vibrational modes and the frameworks with
different charge carriers.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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