Linear description of electrical networks for computer analysis

A parentheses-free code is suggested for the description of two-terminal electrical networks for computer analysis.

Demonstrating the Usefulness of CAELinux for Computer Aided Engineering using an Example of the Three Dimensional Reconstruction of a Pig Liver

CAELinux is a Linux distribution which is bundled with free software packages related to Computer Aided Engineering (CAE). The free software packages include software that can build a three dimensional solid model, programs that can mesh a geometry, software for carrying out Finite Element Analysis (FEA), programs that can carry out image processing etc. Present work has two goals: 1) To give a brief description of CAELinux 2) To demonstrate that CAELinux could be useful for Computer Aided Engineering, using an example of the three dimensional reconstruction of a pig liver from a stack of CT-scan images. One can note that instead of using CAELinux, using commercial software for reconstructing the liver would cost a lot of money. One can also note that CAELinux is a free and open source operating system and all software packages that are included in the operating system are also free. Hence one can conclude that CAELinux could be a very useful tool in application areas like surgical simulation which require three dimensional reconstructions of biological organs. Also, one can see that CAELinux could be a very useful tool for Computer Aided Engineering, in general.

Fast matrix transposition computer implementation

Eklundh's (1972) algorithm to transpose a large matrix stored on an external device such as a disc has been programmed and tested. A simple description of computer implementation is given in this note.

Computer-aided analysis of high-speed protective relays

Most of the modern distance relays are designed to avoid overreaching due to the transient d.c. component of the fault current, whereas a more likely source of transients in e.h.v. systems is the oscillatory discharge of the system charging current into the fault. Until now attempts have not been made to reproduce these transients in the laboratory. This paper describes an analogue and an accurate digital simulation of these harmonic transients. The dynamic behaviour of a typical polarised mho-type relay is analysed, and results are presented. The paper also advocates the use of active filters for filtering the harmonics associated with e.h.v. system, and hence, to improve the speed of response and accuracy of the protective relays.

Error, Confidence, and Cost in Engineering Computations

The questions that one should answer in engineering computations - deterministic, probabilistic/randomized, as well as heuristic - are (i) how good the computed results/outputs are and (ii) how much the cost in terms of amount of computation and the amount of storage utilized in getting the outputs is. The absolutely errorfree quantities as well as the completely errorless computations done in a natural process can never be captured by any means that we have at our disposal. While the computations including the input real quantities in nature/natural processes are exact, all the computations that we do using a digital computer or are carried out in an embedded form are never exact. The input data for such computations are also never exact because any measuring instrument has inherent error of a fixed order associated with it and this error, as a matter of hypothesis and not as a matter of assumption, is not less than 0.005 per cent. Here by error we imply relative error bounds. The fact that exact error is never known under any circumstances and any context implies that the term error is nothing but error-bounds. Further, in engineering computations, it is the relative error or, equivalently, the relative error-bounds (and not the absolute error) which is supremely important in providing us the information regarding the quality of the results/outputs. Another important fact is that inconsistency and/or near-consistency in nature, i.e., in problems created from nature is completely nonexistent while in our modelling of the natural problems we may introduce inconsistency or near-inconsistency due to human error or due to inherent non-removable error associated with any measuring device or due to assumptions introduced to make the problem solvable or more easily solvable in practice. Thus if we discover any inconsistency or possibly any near-inconsistency in a mathematical model, it is certainly due to any or all of the three foregoing factors. We do, however, go ahead to solve such inconsistent/near-consistent problems and do get results that could be useful in real-world situations. The talk considers several deterministic, probabilistic, and heuristic algorithms in numerical optimisation, other numerical and statistical computations, and in PAC (probably approximately correct) learning models. It highlights the quality of the results/outputs through specifying relative error-bounds along with the associated confidence level, and the cost, viz., amount of computations and that of storage through complexity. It points out the limitation in error-free computations (wherever possible, i.e., where the number of arithmetic operations is finite and is known a priori) as well as in the usage of interval arithmetic. Further, the interdependence among the error, the confidence, and the cost is discussed.

Application of Qualitative Imaging Methods to Electrical Performance-Aware Package Board Design

Package-board co-design plays a crucial role in determining the performance of high-speed systems. Although there exist several commercial solutions for electromagnetic analysis and verification, lack of Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools for SI aware design and synthesis lead to longer design cycles and non-optimal package-board interconnect geometries. In this work, the functional similarities between package-board design and radio-frequency (RF) imaging are explored. Consequently, qualitative methods common to the imaging community, like Tikhonov Regularization (TR) and Landweber method are applied to solve multi-objective, multi-variable package design problems. In addition, a new hierarchical iterative piecewise linear algorithm is developed as a wrapper over LBP for an efficient solution in the design space.

Engineering nanostructured polymer blends with controlled nanoparticle location for excellent microwave absorption: a compartmentalized approach

In order to obtain better materials, control over the precise location of nanoparticles is indispensable. It is shown here that ordered arrangements of nanoparticles, possessing different characteristics (electrical/ magnetic dipoles), in the blend structure can result in excellent microwave absorption. This is manifested from a high reflection loss of ca. -67 dB for the best blend structure designed here. To attenuate electromagnetic radiation, the key parameters of high electrical conductivity and large dielectric/magnetic loss are targeted here by including a conductive material multiwall carbon nanotubes, MWNTs], ferroelectric nanostructured material with associated relaxations in the GHz frequency barium titanate, BT] and lossy ferromagnetic nanoparticles nickel ferrite, NF]. In this study, bi-continuous structures were designed using 50/50 (by wt) blends of polycarbonate (PC) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). The MWNTs were modified using an electron acceptor molecule, a derivative of perylenediimide, which facilitates p-p stacking with the nanotubes and stimulates efficient charge transport in the blends. The nanoscopic materials have specific affinity towards the PVDF phase. Hence, by introducing surface-active groups, an ordered arrangement can be tailored. To accomplish this, both BT and NF were first hydroxylated followed by the introduction of amine-terminal groups on the surface. The latter facilitated nucleophilic substitution reactions with PC and resulted in their precise location. In this study, we have shown for the first time that by a compartmentalized approach, superior EM attenuation can be achieved. For instance, when the nanoparticles were localized exclusively in the PVDF phase or in both the phases, the minimum reflection losses were ca. -18 dB (for the MWNT/BT mixture) and -29 dB (for the MWNT/NF mixture), and the shielding occurred primarily through reflection. Interestingly, by adopting the compartmentalized approach wherein the lossy materials were in the PC phase and the conductive materials (MWNT) were in the PVDF phase, outstanding reflection losses of ca. -57 dB (for the BT and MWNT combination) and -67 dB (for the NF and MWNT combination) were noted and the shielding occurred primarily through absorption. Thus, the approach demonstrates that nanoscopic structuring in the blends can be achieved under macroscopic processing conditions and this strategy can further be explored to design microwave absorbers.

Engineering Nanostructures by Decorating Magnetic Nanoparticles onto Graphene Oxide Sheets to Shield Electromagnetic Radiations

In this study, a minimum, reflection loss of 70 a was achieved, for a 6 mm thick shield (at 17.1 GHz frequency) employing a unique approach. This was accomplished by engineering nanostructures through decoration of magnetic nanopartides (nickel, Ni) onto graphene oxide (GO) sheets. Enhanced electromagnetic (EM) shielding was derived by selectively, localizing the nanoscopic particles in a specific phase of polyethylene (PE)/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) blends. By introduction of a conducting inclusion (like multiwall carbon nanotubes, MWNTs) together with the engineered nanostructures (nickel-decorated GO, (GO-Ni), the shielding efficiency can be enhanced significantly in contrast to physically mixing the particles in the blends. For instance, the composites showed a shielding efficiency >25 dB for a combination of MWNTS (3 wt %) and Ni nanoparticles (52 wt %) in PE/PEO blends. However, similar shielding effectiveness could be achieved for a combination of MWNTs (3 wt %) and 10 vol % of GO-Ni where in the effective concentration of Ni was only 19 wt %. The GO-Ni sheets facilitated in an efficient charge transfer as manifested from high electrical conductivity in the blends besides enhancing the permeability in the blends. It is envisioned that GO is simultaneously reduced in the process of synthesizing GO-Ni, and this facilitated in efficient charge transfer between the neighboring CNTs. More interestingly, the blends With MWNTs/GO-Ni attenuated the incoming EM radiation mostly by absorption. This study opens new avenues in designing polyolefin-based lightweight shielding materials by engineering nanostructures for numerous applications.