Using two stackers on one rail in a production system

This paper deals with the possibilities for using two stackers for interoperation transport in a workshop with a technological layout of workplaces. Basic layouts of stacker production systems are discussed. Several strategies for selecting and ordering transport demands in systems with two stackers on one rail have been simulated and evaluated. FIFO strategies are the worst in various layouts of workplaces. On the other hand, the strategy of the choice of the proximate transport demand is simple and very successful. Good technological layout can enhance transport performance. Keywords: Stacker, material supply, production system, automated transport, optimization, two cooperating stackers

Effect of P‐induced gettering on extended defects in n‐type multicrystalline silicon

AbstractThe electrical properties and the minority charge carrier recombination behaviour of grain boundaries (GBs) and intragrain dislocations in different n‐type multicrystalline silicon (mc‐Si) ingots were systematically studied through microwave‐detected PhotoConductance Decay (µW‐PCD), Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC) and PhotoLuminescence (PL) spectroscopy on as‐grown samples and on samples submitted to P‐diffusion step. It was confirmed that the overall quality of n‐type mc‐Si is high, indicating that n‐type‐Si is a valid source for photovoltaic applications. As expected, the average lifetime increases after the P‐diffusion process, which induces impurity gettering effects at the external surfaces, like in the case of p‐type samples, but an evident local increase of electrical activity of some GBs after that process was also observed using the EBIC mapping technique. Apparently, a redistribution of impurities occurs at the processing temperature and impurities are captured at the deepest sinks. In fact, while all GBs act as heterogeneous segregation/precipitation sites, some of them will compete with the external surfaces sinks, partly vanishing the effect of P‐gettering. Last but not least, it was experimentally demonstrated that the average lifetime values measured with the µW‐PCD technique well correlate with the recombination activity of GBs measured with the EBIC technique, showing the extreme importance of GBs on the effective lifetime of this material. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Dialogue-based Information Retrieval from Images

Our concept of communicative images aims to provide graphical information by means of dialogue interaction, which is suitable for people with various disabilities. Communicative images are graphical objects integrated with a dialogue interface and linked to an associated knowledge database which stores the semantics of the objects depicted. This paper deals with the utilization of formal ontologies for the process of image annotation and dialogue-based investigation in the context of assistive technologies

PECVD anti-reflective coating deposition screen printing: front side Ag grid; back side fully covering Al high temperature anneal: emitter and contact formation partially removal of the Al paste printing of the AgAl contact pads on the rear low temperatur

ABSTRACT: Screen printed Si solar cells are commonly interconnected in modules with straps soldered to their busbars on the front and the AgAl pads on their back. We present a new method for applying AgAl pads on fully covered Al backsides. This method is of great interest because it can be used to apply AgAl pads on screen printed Al rear side emitters of n-type p+nn+ Si solar cells. That makes their industrial production feasible. The method developed here can also be implemented to increase the open circuit voltage of an n+pp+ standard industrial cell due to a fully covering Al-BSF on the rear side

Nanocrystalline diamond protects Zr cladding surface against oxygen and hydrogen uptake : Nuclear fuel durability enhancement

In this work, we demonstrate and describe an effective method of protecting zirconium fuel cladding against oxygen and hydrogen uptake at both accident and working temperatures in water-cooled nuclear reactor environments. Zr alloy samples were coated with nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) layers of different thicknesses, grown in a microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus. In addition to showing that such an NCD layer prevents the Zr alloy from directly interacting with water, we show that carbon released from the NCD film enters the underlying Zr material and changes its properties, such that uptake of oxygen and hydrogen is significantly decreased. After 100–170 days of exposure to hot water at 360 °C, the oxidation of the NCD-coated Zr plates was typically decreased by 40%. Protective NCD layers may prolong the lifetime of nuclear cladding and consequently enhance nuclear fuel burnup. NCD may also serve as a passive element for nuclear safety. NCD-coated ZIRLO claddings have been selected as a candidate for Accident Tolerant Fuel in commercially operated reactors in 2020

A multiscale study of hot extruded CoNiGa ferromagnetic shape memory alloys

Ferromagnetic shape-memory CoNiGa alloys have attracted much scientific interest due to their potential alternative use as high-temperature shape-memory alloys, bearing a high prospect for actuation and damping applications at elevated temperatures. Yet, polycrystalline CoNiGa, due to strong orientation dependence of transformation strains, suffers from intergranular fracture. Here, two multi-grain CoNiGa samples were prepared by a novel hot extrusion process that can promote favourable grain-boundary orientation distribution and improve the material's mechanical behaviour. The samples were investigated by multiple methods and their microstructural, magnetic, and mechanical properties are reported. It is found that a post-extrusion solutionising heat treatment leads to the formation of a two-phase oligocrystalline homogeneous microstructure consisting of an austenitic parent B2 phase and γ-CoNiGa precipitates. Reconstruction of the full 3D grain morphology revealed large, nearly spherical grains with no low-angle grain boundaries throughout the entire sample volume. The presence of γ precipitation affects the transformation behaviour of the samples, by lowering the martensitic transformation temperature, while, in conjunction with the oligocrystalline microstructure, it improves the ductility. Controlling the composition of the B2 matrix, as well as the phase fraction of the γ phase, is thus crucial for the optimal behaviour of the alloys

Ontology Based Strategies for Supporting Communication within Social Networks

In this paper, ontology based dialogue strategies are presented in connection with the concept of communicative images. Communicative images are graphical objects integrated with a dialogue interface and linked to an associated knowledge database which stores the semantics of the objects depicted. The relevant pieces of information can be linked to the external knowledge distributed in a social network. Exploiting a formal ontology approach facilitates the process of deriving information from relevant texts that can be found in the social network and it simultaneously forms a suitable framework for supporting dialogue communication in natural language. This approach is discussed and illustrated with various examples in this paper

Direct peptide bioconjugation/PEGylation at tyrosine with linear and branched polymeric diazonium salts

Direct polymer conjugation at peptide tyrosine residues is described. In this study Tyr residues of both leucine enkephalin and salmon calcitonin (sCT) were targeted using appropriate diazonium salt-terminated linear monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)s (mPEGs) and poly(mPEG) methacrylate prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization. Judicious choice of the reaction conditions-pH, stoichiometry, and chemical structure of diazonium salt-led to a high degree of site-specificity in the conjugation reaction, even in the presence of competitive peptide amino acid targets such as histidine, lysines, and N-terminal amine. In vitro studies showed that conjugation of mPEG 2000 to sCT did not affect the peptide's ability to increase intracellular cAMP induced in T47D human breast cancer cells bearing sCT receptors. Preliminary in vivo investigation showed preserved ability to reduce [Ca 2+] plasma levels by mPEG 2000-sCT conjugate in rat animal models. © 2012 American Chemical Society

PREMIUM, a benchmark on the quantification of the uncertainty of the physical models in the system thermal-hydraulic codes: methodologies and data review

The objective of the Post-BEMUSE Reflood Model Input Uncertainty Methods (PREMIUM) benchmark is to progress on the issue of the quantification of the uncertainty of the physical models in system thermalhydraulic codes by considering a concrete case: the physical models involved in the prediction of core reflooding. The present document was initially conceived as a final report for the Phase I “Introduction and Methodology Review” of the PREMIUM benchmark. The objective of Phase I is to refine the definition of the benchmark and publish the available methodologies of model input uncertainty quantification relevant to the objectives of the benchmark. In this initial version the document was approved by WGAMA and has shown its usefulness during the subsequent phases of the project. Once Phase IV was completed, and following the suggestion of WGAMA members, the document was updated adding a few new sections, particularly the description of four new methodologies that were developed during this activity. Such developments were performed by some participants while contributing to PREMIUM progress (which is why this report arrives after those of other phases). After this revision the document title was changed to “PREMIUM methodologies and data review”. The introduction includes first a chapter devoted to contextualization of the benchmark in nuclear safety research and licensing, followed by a description of the PREMIUM objectives. Next, a description of the Phases in which the benchmark is divided and its organization is explained. Chapter two consists of a review of the involvement of the different participants, making a brief explanation of the input uncertainty quantification methodologies used in the activity. The document ends with some conclusions on the development of Phase I, some more general remarks and some statements on the benefits of the benchmark, which can be briefly summarized as it follows: - Contribution to development of tools and experience related to uncertainty calculation and promotion of the use of BEPU approaches for licensing and safety assessment purposes; - Contribution to prioritization of improvements to thermal-hydraulic system codes; - Contribution to a fluent and close interaction between the scientific community and regulatory organizations. Appendices include the complete description of the experimental data FEBA/SEFLEX used in the benchmark and the methodologies CIRCÉ and FFTBM and the general requirements and description specification used for Phase I. Due to the revision of the document, four extra appendixes have been added related to the methods developed during the activity, MCDA DIPE, Tractebel IUQ and PSI methods