Multi-element System Research Articles

INTRAREGIONAL DIVERSIFICATION OF THE LEVEL OF THE FINANCIAL SITUATION OF THE POVIATS OF EASTERN POLAND IN RELATION TO THE DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

Territorial self-government is an independent entity that has a certain scope of freedom in deciding on the path of development of the subordinate area, common property, and implementation of public tasks. The aim of the study is to assess the intra-regional diagnosis of the level of the poviat’s financial situation relative to the development potential. The data used to conduct the study refer to the years of 2009 and 2016; they come from the Local Data Bank and cover 101 poviats of Eastern Poland. The poviat can carry out its tasks when it is equipped with stable and efficient sources of income. The level and structure of budget revenues determine investment activity. The socio-economic space of the poviat’s activity is a multi-element system. It achieves different levels of development depending on the structure, equipment elements, as well as the quality and complexity of the links between them. The ability of a poviat to operate can be seen as a set of factors that are mutually related to each other. These factors include: technical infrastructure, knowledge, innovation, regional product, eco-development, geographical location, finances. These factors depend on the potential inherent in the region, activity in the sphere of planning and implementation of regional policy by regional self-government authorities, the state’s economic policy, and the standards of structural policy and EU cohesion policy. These factors are not unchangeable over time; therefore, they should be subjected to continuous and ongoing analysis. The synthetic measure of the financial situation according to the average value of the 2007–2016 years was in the range from 0.24 to 0.49. Poviats with a higher rate of the synthetic financial situation are better in terms of the measure of development. The level of the indicator is influenced by: the economic character of the entity and the function of the area, economic potential, financial situation, quality of the natural environment and infrastructure. The management of financial resources is of special importance in the functioning of poviats. They affect the economic situation of the local government, the conditions for the implementation of tasks. Financial resources are the basis for the operation of individuals and a condition for the implementation of the tasks imposed on them, they determine development and are an expression of the potential for economic development. The situation of the surveyed units varied. The ranking of cities in the ranking did not change substantially in the subsequent years. It was confirmed that financial resources are the basis for the operation of individuals and a condition for carrying out the tasks imposed on them, determine development, and reflect the potential for economic development.

Phase Transitions of Hybrid Perovskites Simulated by Machine-Learning Force Fields Trained on the Fly with Bayesian Inference.

Realistic finite temperature simulations of matter are a formidable challenge for first principles methods. Long simulation times and large length scales are required, demanding years of computing time. Here we present an on-the-fly machine learning scheme that generates force fields automatically during molecular dynamics simulations. This opens up the required time and length scales, while retaining the distinctive chemical precision of first principles methods and minimizing the need for human intervention. The method is widely applicable to multielement complex systems. We demonstrate its predictive power on the entropy driven phase transitions of hybrid perovskites, which have never been accurately described in simulations. Using machine learned potentials, isothermal-isobaric simulations give direct insight into the underlying microscopic mechanisms. Finally, we relate the phase transition temperatures of different perovskites to the radii of the involved species, and we determine the order of the transitions in Landau theory.

Diagnoses in the Aging Process of Residential Buildings Constructed Using Traditional Technology

The perspective of maintaining residential buildings in adequate technical condition is one of the most important problems over the course of their service life. The aim of the work is to present issues connected with the methods of predicting the process of changes in performance characteristics over the entire period that a building, constructed using traditional technology, is operational. Identification of the technical situation consists of a prognosis based on the analytical form of the distribution function and probability density of building usability. The technical condition of a building results from its past, while familiarity with the condition is necessary to determine how the building will behave in the future. The presented predictive diagnostics of the performance characteristics of an entire building and its elements is an original methodology of describing the lifespan of a building. In addition to identifying the technical condition, its aim is also to aid in making decisions regarding maintenance works. The developed model of predicting changes in the performance characteristics of buildings, the Prediction of Reliability according to Exponentials Distribution (PRED), is based on the principles applied for technical devices. The model is characterized by significant limitations in its application due to the negligible influence of wear processes. In connection with the above, the Prediction of Reliability according to Raleigh Distribution (PRDD) was developed, where the carried-out processes of changes in the performance characteristics are described using Rayleigh’s distribution, and the building is a multi-element system. Model development would be incomplete without subjecting it to verification. Predicting the degree of the technical wear of load-bearing walls of a building is a form of checking the proposed PRED and PRRD models on the basis of data derived from periodical inspections of the research material. The developed model of the time distribution of the proper functioning of a building, presented as an image of the forecast of changes in the technical condition, can be applied to solving problems occurring in practice. The targeted approach to predicting the occurrence of damage will allow for optimal planning of maintenance works in buildings during their entire service life.

Removal of Chromates and Sulphates by Mg/Fe LDH and Heterostructured LDH/Halloysite Materials: Efficiency, Selectivity, and Stability of Adsorbents in Single- and Multi-Element Systems.

Industrial wastewaters often contain mobile and toxic anions that cannot be removed by precipitation techniques and most known adsorbents. Layered double hydroxides (LDH) are excellent scavengers of anions; however, their use in real applications is of minor importance owing to their swelling behavior and high cost of production. The performed research shows the possibility of obtaining Mg/Fe LDH using natural magnesite. Moreover, heterostructured LDH/halloysite materials were synthesized. The adsorption efficiency of these materials was very high in both single- and multi-element systems, confirming the LDH selectivity. This was with the exception of wastewaters containing a high concentration of chlorides, which clearly hampered the removal of Cr(VI) and S(VI). The measurements indicated that LDH dissolution took place to a small extent (<10 wt%). The LDH/halloysite materials showed lower efficiency than the raw LDH; however, the clay presence has several benefits in terms of future applications: (i) it significantly reduces the pH, especially in contrast to the calcined LDH, which enables the reuse or safe disposal of purified water; (ii) it reduces swelling of the composite, which opens the possibility for applications in column adsorption; (iii) it induces dual adsorption properties through additional cation adsorption; and (iv) it substantially lowers the price of the adsorbent.

The f-Ratio Quantification Method for X-ray Microanalysis Applied to Mg-Al-Zn Alloys.

The f-ratio quantitative X-ray microanalysis method has been recently developed for binary systems based on a scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) system. This method incorporates traditional EDS experiments and Monte Carlo simulations, and calibration factors are calculated with standard samples to evaluate the differences between them. In this work, the f-ratio method was extended to Mg-Al-Zn multi-element systems using a cold field emission SEM and a tungsten emission SEM. Results show that the stability of the beam current does not influence the f-ratio quantification accuracy. Thus, the f-ratio method is suitable for quantitative X-ray mapping with a long-time acquisition or even an unstable beam current. Comparing with other quantitative techniques including the routine standardless analysis and the standard-based k-ratio method, the f-ratio method is a simple and accurate quantification method.

Phase-field model simulations of alloy directional solidification and seaweed-like microstructure evolution based on adaptive finite element method

Based on the multi-grain growth phase field model of multi-element single-phase system, the adaptive finite element method using non-uniform grid is studied to solve the problem. The Al-4wt.%Cu binary alloy is taken as an example to study the planar solidification process and morphological evolution during the initial transition phase of solidification were studied under the condition of large computational domain and thin interfacial layer thickness. The effects of disturbance and anisotropy intensity on the microstructure of the solidification, the influence of physical parameters such as temperature gradient and cooling rate on the interface morphology growth and evolution were quantitatively analyzed. The growth mechanism of the interface morphology during directional solidification and the transformation mechanism of seaweed tissue were discussed. The results show that under the condition of low temperature gradient and high cooling rate, the flat interface is unstable and forms cell or dendrites, and then the tip is continuously split to form seaweed structure morphology. The adaptive finite element method is one order of magnitude lower in computing time and storage space comparing to the finite difference method. When the system size is larger, the superiority of the adaptive finite element method can be better reflected, which facilitates the simulation of the large-scale multi-field coupled phase field model.

Multitribe evolutionary search for stable Cu-Pd-Ag nanoparticles using neural network models.

We present an approach based on two bio-inspired algorithms to accelerate the identification of nanoparticle ground states. We show that a symbiotic co-evolution of nanoclusters across a range of sizes improves the search efficiency considerably, while a neural network constructed with a recently introduced stratified training scheme delivers an accurate description of interactions in multielement systems. The method's performance has been examined in extensive searches for stable elemental (30-80 atoms), binary (50, 55, and 80 atoms), and ternary (50, 55, and 80 atoms) Cu-Pd-Ag clusters. The best candidate structures identified with the neural network model have consistently lower energy at the density functional theory level compared with those found with traditional interatomic potentials.

A 1 MV AMS system for analysis of actinides

HVE has designed a new high-energy side mass spectrometer with two detection beamlines for its 1 MV multi-element AMS system, supporting analysis of rare isotopes ranging from 10Be to 244Pu. The beam line that is used for actinide measurements features two high-resolution analyzing magnets with a spherical electrostatic analyzer (ESA) in between and is designed for minimizing measurement background from interfering masses. The mass-energy product of the analyzing magnets of nominal 100 (max 108) AMU × MeV supports measurement of 129I2+ or 244Pu3+ from PuO− at 1 MV terminal voltage. The radius of the magnets was chosen to be 1.2 m to keep its nominal field at a relatively low 1.2 T, avoiding degradation of ion optical quality by saturation effects.For the analysis of actinides like Pu, typically up to 5 isotopes are measured in a cyclic fashion. For this, both high-energy side analyzing magnets are equipped with bouncing capability to direct the various isotopes into suitable Faraday cups or into the final gas ionization detector. Average switching times of the high-energy magnets during bouncing are below 10 ms, and 8 isotopes can be measured at a cycle frequency of more than 1 Hz. Because the various isotopes have a small, but noticeable energy difference in the high-energy spectrometer, a deflector with bouncing capability is incorporated in the mid-plane of the ESA. Minor adjustment of the deflector voltage is incorporated in the isotope cycling, thereby optimizing the transmission of every individual isotope.

Kinetics of Gas–Solid Reactions in the Solar System and Beyond

Research Article| November 01, 2018 Kinetics of Gas–Solid Reactions in the Solar System and Beyond Hiroko Nagahara Hiroko Nagahara Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE−19 Ookayama, Meguro, 152−8550 Tokyo, Japan Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Hiroko Nagahara Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-IE−19 Ookayama, Meguro, 152−8550 Tokyo, Japan Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America First Online: 09 Nov 2018 Copyright © 2018 by the Mineralogical Society of AmericaMineralogical Society of America Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry (2018) 84 (1): 461–497. https://doi.org/10.2138/rmg.2018.84.12 Article history First Online: 09 Nov 2018 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Hiroko Nagahara; Kinetics of Gas–Solid Reactions in the Solar System and Beyond. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 2018;; 84 (1): 461–497. doi: https://doi.org/10.2138/rmg.2018.84.12 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyReviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry Search Advanced Search Evaporation and condensation of crystalline or amorphous materials at high temperature are the fundamental processes at low pressure in circumstellar environments such as protoplanetary disks and outflows around evolved stars and supernovae, where liquid is basically unstable. Condensation or evaporation of various dust species in a multi-elemental system causes elemental and/or isotopic fractionation, which are commonly found in astronomical observations or in presolar grains included in chondrites derived from late stage stars. Evaporation and condensation in the high temperature region of a protoplanetary disk may be related to chemical diversity of planets and planetesimals including asteroids. Evaporation and condensation are... You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Investigation of instabilities of photomultiplier tubes for multi-element detector systems

This paper presents an investigation into response of instabilities of EJ-309 liquid scintillator detectors. A brief review of common instabilities associated with the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) is presented. The energy response, energy linearity and warm-up duration of sixteen EJ-309 detectors coupled to PMTs tested is presented. A single-channel mixed-field analyser digitiser system was used for data acquisition. Furthermore, timing information of the common instability behaviours is presented alongside suggestions on how to correct for such instabilities. The results show that a single-energy energy calibration is sufficient to ensure energy linearity; the detectors must be warmed-up by ∼45 minutes before stable response is achieved; the re-warm-up duration depends on the duration of the high voltage supplied to the PMT being switched off. The results indicate that the PMTs take approximately 2 hours to reach “cold” state, where a full warm-up duration must be applied. The reported instability effects will be taken into account when developing a sophisticated auto-calibration methodology for a multi-element scintillator detector system.

Deployment and Shape Change of a Tensegrity Structure Using Path-Planning and Feedback Control

Tensegrity structures are pin-jointed assemblies of struts and cables that are held together in a stable state of stress. Shape control is a combination of control-commands with measurements to achieve a desired form. Applying shape control to a near-full-scale deployable tensegrity structure presents a rare opportunity to analytically and experimentally study and control the effects of large shape changes on a closely coupled multi-element system. Simulated cable-length changes provide an initial activation plan to reach an effective sequence for self-stress. Controlling internal forces is more sensitive than controlling movements through cable-length changes; internal force-control is thus a better objective than movement-control for small adjustments to the structure. The deployment of a tensegrity structure in previous work was carried out using predetermined commands. In this paper, two deployment methods and a method for self-stress are presented. The first method uses feedback cycles to increase speed of deployment compared with implementation of empirically predetermined control-commands. The second method consists of three parts starting with a path-planning algorithm that generates search trees at the initial point and the target point using a greedy algorithm to create a deployment trajectory. Collision and overstress avoidance for the deployment trajectory involve checks of boundaries defined by positions of struts and cables. Even actuator deployment followed by commands obtained from a search algorithm results in the successful connection of the structure at midspan. Once deployment at midspan is achieved by either method, a self-stress algorithm is implemented to correct the position and element forces in the structure to the design configuration prior to in-service loading. Modification of deployment control-commands using the feedback method (with twenty cycles) compared with empirically predetermined control-commands successfully provides a more efficient deployment trajectory prior to midspan connection with up to 50% reduction in deployment time. The path-planning method successfully enables deployment and connection at midspan with a further time reduction of 68% compared with the feedback method (with twenty cycles). The feedback control, the path-planning method and the soft-constraint algorithm successfully lead to efficient deployment and preparation for service loading. Advanced computing algorithms have potential to improve the efficiency of complex deployment.

Control Systems and Effort Direction: Exploratory Evidence from the Public Sector

One of the main themes in the current management control literature is the study of ‘systems’ of control practices. While several studies have examined pairwise complementarities in control practices to investigate whether a control system exists, a system may also be comprised of a combination of more than two control practices. We provide an illustration of how such a multi-element control system can be modeled and empirically examined. Using data from 162 organizational units in the public sector, we examine how organizations design and use their control systems to mitigate the control problem of effort direction in contexts of low and high contractibility. We find that operational, incentive-oriented, and exploratory uses of performance information are interrelated and combine in a single system of controls in a low contractibility setting. This system of control is significantly associated with effort direction effectiveness. In a second analysis, we expand our examination to encompass a broader system of control practices. We find that action, cultural, and personnel controls, jointly with the use of performance measurement information, are interrelated and form a broader system of control practices that is associated with effort direction effectiveness in conditions of low contractibility. In contrast, and consistent with our theory, we find no evidence that organizations choose to rely on a system of controls when contractibility is high. Jointly, our results suggest that organizations select individual control system practices in relative isolation to effectively manage effort direction when contractibility is high, yet choose to use a system of control practices when contractibility is low.

Results of Ukrainian Architecture Study of Hetman Period

The article is devoted to the results of the study of Architecture in Ukraine of XVII–XVIІI centuries, conducted over the last century. The relevance of the study is conditioned by the necessity of forming the history of the national architecture and monumentology on modern methodological principles, according to which all phenomena and processes of the corresponding age within the current territory of the state are studied, regardless of the ethnic, confessional or state origin of those or other phenomena and artifacts. The main objective of the study is to synthesize the results of the study of the historical and architectural process during the Hetmanate period, including clarifying the stages of the development of architecture; identification of regional peculiarities; the establishment of the role and place of the architectural heritage of the Hetmanate period in the further development of Ukrainian architecture and urbanism and its place in the context of the development of European architecture. The methodology of the research is to apply the methods of theoretical research, namely, the historical method in the systematic approach, when the object of study is the architecture of a certain period is considered in the occurrence and development. The system approach consists in complex studying of the object as a certain unity of the multi element system, for studying which methods of structural-genetic analysis and synthesis with decomposition of the system on the subsystems, which are studied autonomously, with their subsequent coordination, are applied. The scientific novelty consists in revealing the regularities of the formation and development of Ukraine's architecture of Hetmanate period, determining the nature and basic features of these processes, more thoroughly clarifying regional differences, defining the European and Eurasian context of the development of architecture in that time in Ukraine. The findings and conclusions of the study allow us to consider the architecture of Ukraine as an independent phenomenon, and not as a derivative of the architecture of the Moscow kingdom, the Russian Empire or the marginal phenomenon of theCentral European architectural process. The high level of self-sufficiency of Ukrainian architecture is proved on the basis of the development and transformation of autochthonous traditions and selective learning of the experience of other cultures. Examined in science are incorrect ideas about defining the dominant style of architecture as a baroque. The simultaneous existence of two stylistic currents, namely Baroque, Western origin, and Renaissance-Baroque synthesis, which became the result of the development of autochthonous architectural traditions, was proved.

Applying multi-criteria analysis for preliminary assessment of the properties of alginate immobilized Myriophyllum spicatum in lake water samples

The preliminary assessment of the properties of alginate immobilized aquatic weed Myriophyllum spicatum beads–MsAlg in a multi-element system of nine Serbian lakes water samples was done. Herein, the results obtained in the biosorption experiment with MsAlg contents of twenty-two elements analysed by inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry, biosorption capacity, element removal efficiency, total hardness (TH) and quality index of water (WQI) are presented. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was used for the characterization of M. spicatum and its beads. The study showed that aluminium, magnesium and strontium were adsorbed by MsAlg in the water samples from all examined lakes; barium and iron in the water samples from six lakes. The overall average efficiency of MsAlg in biosorption of elements was in the following order: Al > Ba > Sr > Fe > Mg (58.6, 51.7, 48.2, 23.9 and 17.7%, respectively). The increase of TH and WQI values after the biosorption was noticed in all studied lake water samples. The most significant correlations for pH were regarding the contents of B, Mg and Ca, whereas WQI was highly correlated to the contents of B and Mg, and pH. The complexity of the obtained data was explained by Cluster Analysis and Principal Component Analysis, which showed good discrimination capabilities between the water samples taken from different locations. Considering that the invasive M. spicatum is natural, widespread and that its immobilization is cheap and eco-friendly, presented findings could be helpful in further assessment of MsAlg beads for its potential use as biofilter.

A new large solid angle multi-element silicon drift detector system for low energy X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

Low-energy X-ray fluorescence (LEXRF) is an essential tool for bio-related research of organic samples, whose composition is dominated by light elements. Working at energies below 2 keV and being able to detect fluorescence photons of lightweight elements such as carbon (277 eV) is still a challenge, since it requires in-vacuum operations to avoid in-air photon absorption. Moreover, the detectors must have a thin entrance window and collect photons at an angle of incidence near 90 degrees to minimize the absorption by the protective coating. Considering the low fluorescence yield of light elements, it is important to cover a substantial part of the solid angle detecting ideally all emitted X-ray fluorescence (XRF) photons. Furthermore, the energy resolution of the detection system should be close to the Fano limit in order to discriminate elements whose XRF emission lines are often very close within the energy spectra. To ensure all these features, a system consisting of four monolithic multi-element silicon drift detectors was developed. The use of four separate detector units allows optimizing the incidence angle on all the sensor elements. The multi-element approach in turn provides a lower leakage current on each anode, which, in combination with ultra-low noise preamplifiers, is necessary to achieve an energy resolution close to the Fano limit. The potential of the new detection system and its applicability for typical LEXRF applications has been proved on the Elettra TwinMic beamline.

Electrospun Nb-doped LiNi0.4Co0.2Mn0.4O2 nanobelts for lithium-ion batteries

Nb-Doped LiNi0.4Co0.2Mn0.2O2 nanobelts have been fabricated by an electrospinning method and used in lithium-ion batteries, which exhibit superior electrochemical performances. It is highly expected that this facile method may lead to further developments for other 1D multi-element oxide systems.

A Novel Experimental Setup for Rare Events Selection and Its Potential Application to Super-heavy Elements Search

The paper presents a novel instrumentation for rare events selection which was tested in our research of short lived super heavy elements production and detection. The instrumentation includes an active catcher multi elements system and dedicated electronics. The active catcher located in the forward hemisphere is composed of 63 scintillator detection modules. Reaction products of damped collisions between heavy ion projectiles and heavy target nuclei are implanted in the fast plastic scintillators of the active catcher modules. The acquisition system trigger delivered by logical branch of the electronics allows to record the reaction products which decay via the alpha particle emissions or spontaneous fission which take place between beam bursts. One microsecond wave form signal from FADCs contains information on heavy implanted nucleus as well as its decays.

Electrochemical Pourbaix diagrams of Ni[sbnd]Ti alloys from first-principles calculations and experimental aqueous states

Pourbaix diagrams (electrode potential-pH diagrams) for pure metals systems are studied completely, whereas researches on diagrams for binary or ternary alloys systems are lagging behind. In this work, we provide a complete procedure for simulations of Pourbaix diagrams of binary and multielement systems. With this scheme, Pourbaix diagrams of NiTi alloys with different Ni/Ti molar ratios in aqueous solutions at 25 °C have been constructed based on first-principles chemical potentials of solids and experimental chemical potentials of ions. The corrosion behaviors of different NiTi alloys including NiTi, Ti2Ni, and Ni3Ti are discussed and compared based on the obtained Pourbaix diagrams. The corrosion resistance of Ti2Ni is comparable to or even better than that of NiTi while the corrosion resistance of Ni3Ti is worse than that of NiTi. In addition, the electrochemical corrosion behaviors of NiTi alloys under Ti-rich and Ni-rich conditions are also investigated; it is found that the precipitations of Ti2Ni in Ti-rich NiTi alloys and Ni3Ti in Ni-rich NiTi alloys deteriorate the pitting corrosion resistance.

Modular matrix design for large-scale membrane distillation system via Aspen simulations

Membrane distillation (MD) is emerging as a promising technology for treating the reverse osmosis brines. However, limited cases were reported on the design of a large-scale direct contact MD (DCMD) system. The practical scale-up options for modular matrix design in a multi-element MD system and a multi-subsystem MD train were explored by commercial flowsheet simulator Aspen Plus. Compared to the benchmark single module system, which showed drastically deteriorating membrane performance with increasing membrane area, the multi-element DCMD system with modules in parallel matrix was found to perform better with water production improved slightly but specific power consumption (SPC) greatly reduced down to 0.5% of the single module system. The optimal matrix was obtained at module number of eight for a 20m2 module due to trade-off relationship between module specifications and effective process driving force in MD. Supported by theoretical analysis, it was found that the matrix array pattern had no influence on the performance of the multi-subsystem DCMD train. Further investigation showed that an 18-subsystem MD train with a membrane area of 200m2 achieved a 16 times water production rate with only 10% of the SPC, as compared to that of single system with the same membrane area.

A New Low Complexity Angle of Arrival Algorithm for 1D and 2D Direction Estimation in MIMO Smart Antenna Systems.

This paper proposes a new low complexity angle of arrival (AOA) method for signal direction estimation in multi-element smart wireless communication systems. The new method estimates the AOAs of the received signals directly from the received signals with significantly reduced complexity since it does not need to construct the correlation matrix, invert the matrix or apply eigen-decomposition, which are computationally expensive. A mathematical model of the proposed method is illustrated and then verified using extensive computer simulations. Both linear and circular sensors arrays are studied using various numerical examples. The method is systematically compared with other common and recently introduced AOA methods over a wide range of scenarios. The simulated results show that the new method has several advantages in terms of reduced complexity and improved accuracy under the assumptions of correlated signals and limited numbers of snapshots.