Steam Iron Research Articles

Hierarchical fuzzy neural network‐based serviceability evaluation

The ability to economically and effectively service products provides an avenue for extending the product’s useful life. Quantifying approaches are needed to assist in the serviceability evaluation. In this study, the serviceability characteristics of a product are categorized into three groups: disassembly, reassembly, and handling. Often, many of the serviceability characteristics of a product cannot be defined completely or properly using crisp design data. Moreover, the serviceability analysis is an imprecise science characterized by ill‐structured and subjective evaluation criteria. A formal methodology for representing and processing the design information of an artifact using a hierarchical fuzzy neural network (FNN) model is presented. First, three FNNs are used to compute the disassembly, reassembly, and handling indices. Second, the output of the three FNNs is fed into a separate FNN to compute the serviceability index. The designer can use the proposed model to rank alternate designs by computing the serviceability indices of each candidate design. The working of the proposed model is demonstrated by using two designs for a steam iron.

Hydrogen production by steam–iron process

The steam–iron process is one of the oldest methods of producing hydrogen. It is a cyclic process for water cleavage, whereby coal is consumed. Coal is gassified to a lean reducing gas, containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen. This gas reacts with iron oxides (haematite Fe 2O 3, magnetite Fe 3O 4, wuestite FeO) to produce a reduced form of iron oxide (wuestite FeO, iron Fe). The reduced iron oxide is re-oxidised with steam to form magnetite and hydrogen. After studies concerning theoretical limitations, the subsequent practical realisation by construction of a suitable laboratory prototype reactor was performed. Further, the investigation and optimisation of process variables, accompanied by respective chemical analyses, and finally the simulation of the whole process and the design of a demonstration plant for electricity generation system in the range of 10 MW were carried out. The resulting overall efficiency (heat and electricity) of the respective power plant was calculated as 35% and the electrical efficiency at about 25%. The operation of the small scale “Sponge Iron Reactor” (SIR) showed that the hydrogen produced is sufficiently pure for use in any kind of fuel cell (CO <10 ppm).

Setting behavior of wool treated with butyl and phenyl isocyanates evaluated by three methods.

Wool fabrics were treated with butyl and phenyl isocyanates (designated as BI and PI, respectively) in N, N-dimethylformamide and the setting properties were studied by the IWS crease angle test with a Hoffman press or by a similar but handy method with a home steam iron. The results obtained by the two set methods agreed well when the fabrics were set without a reducing agent: both BI- and PI- treated fabrics gave temporary set values much higher than those of the control, but only a PI-treated fabric with a high add-on of 14% gave a high permanent set value and other samples were not permanently set. When fabrics were set under reducing conditions, all the fabrics gave high permanent set values with a Hoffman press, while BI- and PI- treated wool samples gave lower permanent set values than that of the control, when set with a home steam iron. Lincoln wool fibers were treated with BI and PI and the extention set with boiling water was also studied with the treated samples. The results of set experiments with the three different methods indicated that the introduction of hydrophobic groups by treatment with isocyanates, especially with PI, gave two different effects on the set values: the treated samples became more resistant to the diffusion of a reducing agent so that mercaptan/disulfide interchange reaction during setting was not enhanced as much as the interchange in the control, while the hydrophobic groups made the set of the samples more stable in hot water. Depending on the setting conditions under reducing conditions, the set values of the treated samples varied with the balance of the two adverse effects.

Mercurius en de Muzen

In this article some comments are made on research into business communication as a new vogue in applied linguistics (instead of as enrichment in text linguistics). Critical remarks are also made, in terms of cost-benefit analysis, about the difficulties that liberal arts students have in finding a job within a business setting. The main part of this article is devoted to the writing and rewriting of instruction texts, with an example of the instruction for use of a steam iron. The rewriting techniques for clarifying this text are reduced to the suitability principle and maxims like the maxim of motivation and the maxim of disambiguity. Within this theoretical framework the (re)writing of business texts can be more than an activity for the Muses and will be of benefit to Mercury in enhancing the effectivity of instruction manuals and other texts.

Collaborative Study of Accelerated Development of Latent Fingerprint Images on Paper by Application of Steam

Nine latent fingerprint examiners participated in a collaborative study in the use of a steam iron to accelerate chemical development of latent images on bond and newsprint papers treated with a 0.5% solution of ninhydrin in acetone. Four latent images were placed on each paper by the Associate Referee during an 8 hr period. The papers were paired and numbered 1, 2, and 3. Three pairs were mailed to each collaborator who treated Pair 1 by dipping, Pair 2 by brushing or swabbing, and Pair 3 by spraying. After air-drying, the papers were subjected to heat and steam from a household steam iron until the images developed. The average time for developing all images was 5.8 min/paper. Of the total images available, 92.1% were developed to some degree; 47.9% of these images or 43.5% of all images were identified by the collaborators. The method has been adopted as offical first action.