A 2-MHz 6-kVA voltage-source inverter using low-profile MOSFET modules for low-temperature plasma generators

&lt;p&gt;This paper presents a 2-MHz 6-kVA voltage-source inverter for low-temperature plasma generators. A new MOSFET module referred to as a “mega pack” is specially designed and fabricated for high-frequency high-power applications. It has a low-profile package equipped with four terminal plates. The main circuit consists of a single-phase full-bridge inverter using the four new modules. The layout of the modules is characterized by two modules, which are placed back-to-back with each other, forming a half bridge. Both device and circuit designs achieve great reduction of stray inductance in the main circuit. A prototype inverter shows stable operation around frequencies as high as 2 MHz.&lt;/p&gt;</p

Selective hydrogenation of acetophenone with supported Pd and Rh catalysts in water, organic solvents, and CO2-dissolved expanded liquids

Solvent effects were investigated for selective hydrogenation of acetophenone (AP) with commercial 5% Pd/Al2O3 and 5% Pd/C catalysts using polar and nonpolar solvents. The rate of AP hydrogenation varied with the solvents used in different ways depending on the catalysts used. The highest AP conversion was achieved with water for the two catalysts and the AP conversion was correlated with hydrogen-bond-acceptance (HBA) capability (beta) for Pd/Al2O3 and hydrogen-bond-donation (HBD) capability (alpha) for Pd/C. These trends were the same as the corresponding solvent effects obtained previously with Rh/ Al2O3 and Rh/C catalysts, respectively (Green Chem., 2015, 17, 1877-1883). The influence of solvents on the rate of AP hydrogenation depends on the support materials and not on the metal species. Furthermore, AP hydrogenation was conducted with the four supported noble metal catalysts in different solvents pressurized by CO2 (CO2-dissolved expanded solvents). The influence of CO2 pressurization on the rate of reaction, the product selectivity, and the catalyst life was investigated to know whether or not CO2 molecules could function as a reaction promoter in heterogeneous AP hydrogenation reactions with supported Pd and Rh catalysts in different solvents

Optimal Design Methodology of Common Components for a Class of

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the optimal design of common components used for a class of products. While simultaneously designing multiple products has become an important concept in manufacturing in these days, alliances involved in such activities are extended from the traditional form. This means the existence of a chance that an integrator designs a set of components apart from particular products or a supplier commonalizes components independently from integrators. That is, any methodology for simultaneously designing a set of components becomes necessary behind ones for simultaneously designing a set of products. This paper formulates the design problem of common components as an optimization problem, investigates the condition of optimal design through the tradeoff among the level of system-level performance, the number of different components, etc. Then a computational procedure is configured for optimizing the commonalization of components apart from designing a particular set of products by using multivariate analysis, an optimization code based on mini-max operation and a genetic algorithm for constrained nonlinear mathematical programming. Finally the proposed optimization procedure is preliminarily applied to a design problem of liftgate dumpers for passenger cars for demonstrating the meaning of the levels of optimal design and tradeoff structure

The Origin and Kinematics of Cold Gas in Galactic Winds: Insight from Numerical Simulations

We study the origin of Na I absorbing gas in ultraluminous infrared galaxies motivated by the recent observations by Martin of extremely superthermal linewidths in this cool gas. We model the effects of repeated supernova explosions driving supershells in the central regions of molecular disks with M_d=10^10 M_\sun, using cylindrically symmetric gas dynamical simulations run with ZEUS-3D. The shocked swept-up shells quickly cool and fragment by Rayleigh-Taylor instability as they accelerate out of the dense, stratified disks. The numerical resolution of the cooling and compression at the shock fronts determines the peak shell density, and so the speed of Rayleigh-Taylor fragmentation. We identify cooled shells and shell fragments as Na I absorbing gas and study its kinematics. We find that simulations with a numerical resolution of \le 0.2 pc produce multiple Rayleigh-Taylor fragmented shells in a given line of sight. We suggest that the observed wide Na I absorption lines, = 320 \pm 120 km s^-1 are produced by these multiple fragmented shells traveling at different velocities. We also suggest that some shell fragments can be accelerated above the observed average terminal velocity of 750 km s^-1 by the same energy-driven wind with an instantaneous starburst of \sim 10^9 M_\sun. The bulk of mass is traveling with the observed average shell velocity 330 \pm 100 km s^-1. Our results show that an energy-driven bubble causing Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities can explain the kinematics of cool gas seen in the Na I observations without invoking additional physics relying primarily on momentum conservation, such as entrainment of gas by Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, ram pressure driving of cold clouds by a hot wind, or radiation pressure acting on dust. (abridged)Comment: 65 pages, 22 figures, accepted by Astrophys. J. Changes during refereeing focused on context and comparison to observation

Forensic casework of personal identification using a mixture of body fluids from more than one person by Y-STRs analysis

We applied Y-STRs (DYS385/DYS19/YCAII) to an adhesive plaster left at a crime scene. This plaster may have included body fluids from more than one person. Firstly, we performed preliminary examinations, ABO-blood type examinations, and commonly used DNA examinations (D1S80, HLADQα, TH01, and PM) on these specimens. As a result of these examinations, we could evidence that suspect A did not contacted with the plaster, but could not confirm the presence of perspiration from suspect B. As the next step, we applied Y-STR examination to the plaster. Using this examination, we detected alleles that coincided to those of suspect B. We also concluded that the fluid from an unidentified person was vaginal fluid based on crime scene investigation. Y-STRs examination data obtained from 124 persons in Tokushima prefecture showed that 1.613% of individuals demonstrated haplotypes 10-18/ 15/19-23, which was detected from the plaster and from suspect B. Therefore, we considered that there was a high probability that the persiration detected in the plaster was that of suspect B. Based on these studies, we concluded that Y-STR examination of trace evidence was very useful to screen suspects using materials that contained body fluid from more than one person