GB Patent: Method of manufacture of a Composite concrete article

This Invention relates to a method of manufacture of a composite concrete article, and in particular to a method of manufacture of a concrete article having textile structures integrated into the surface of the concrete to provide a novel aesthetic and/or functional surface finish

Integrated Low-Loss Passive SiGe Power Splitter and Combiner Operating Across 78-86 GHz Band

This paper describes the design, implementation, and characterization of a new type of passive power splitting and combining structure for use in a differential four-way power-combining amplifier operating at E-band. In order to achieve lowest insertion loss, input and output coils inductances are resonated with shunt capacitances. Simple C-L-C and L-C networks are proposed in order to compensate inductive loading due to routing line that would otherwise introduce mismatch and increase loss. Across 78-86 GHz band, measured insertion loss is about 7 dB. Measured return losses are >10 dB from 73 GHz to 94 GHz at the input port and >9 dB from 60 GHz to 94 GHz at the output port. When integrated with driver and power amplifier cells, the simulated complete circuit exhibits 18.2 dB gain and 20.3 dBm saturated output power.

Automated Methods for Aircraft Design Integrated with Manufacturing

Aircraft design is a complex, long and iterative process that requires the use of various specialties and optimization tools. However these tools and specialities do not include manufacturing, which is often considered later in the product development process leading to higher cost and time delays. This work focuses on the development of an automated design tool that accounts for manufacture during the design process focusing on early geometry definition which in turn informs assembly planning. To accomplish this task the design process needs to be open to any variation in structural configuration while maintaining the design intent. Redefining design intent as a map which links a set of requirements to a set of functions using a numerical approach enables the design process itself to be considered as a mathematical function. This definition enables the design process to utilise captured design knowledge and translate it into a set of mathematical equations that design the structure. This process is articulated in this paper using the structural design and definition for an aircraft fuselage section as an exemplar.

Low Noise Amplifier With Integrated Balanced Antenna for 60 GHz Wireless Communications

The implementation of a dipole antenna co-designed and monolithically integrated with a low noise amplifier (LNA) on low resistivity Si substrate (20 Omega . cm) manufactured in 0.35 mu m commercial SiGe HBT process with f(T)/f(max) of 170 GHz and 250 GHz is investigated theoretically and experimentally. An air gap is introduced between the chip and a reflective ground plane, leading to substantial improvements in efficiency and gain. Moreover, conjugate matching conditions between the antenna and the LNA are exploited, enhancing power transfer between without any additional matching circuit. A prototype is fabricated and tested to validate the performance. The measured 10-dB gain of the standalone LNA is centered at 58 GHz with a die size of 0.7 mm x 0.6 mm including all pads. The simulated results showed antenna directivity of 5.1 dBi with efficiency higher than 70%. After optimization, the co-designed LNA-Antenna chip with a die size of 3 mm x 2.8 mm was characterized in anechoic chamber environment. A maximum gain of higher than 12 dB was obtained.

An integrated approach for real-time model-based state-of-charge estimation of lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries have been widely adopted in electric vehicles (EVs), and accurate state of charge (SOC) estimation is of paramount importance for the EV battery management system. Though a number of methods have been proposed, the SOC estimation for Lithium-ion batteries, such as LiFePo4 battery, however, faces two key challenges: the flat open circuit voltage (OCV) vs SOC relationship for some SOC ranges and the hysteresis effect. To address these problems, an integrated approach for real-time model-based SOC estimation of Lithium-ion batteries is proposed in this paper. Firstly, an auto-regression model is adopted to reproduce the battery terminal behaviour, combined with a non-linear complementary model to capture the hysteresis effect. The model parameters, including linear parameters and non-linear parameters, are optimized off-line using a hybrid optimization method that combines a meta-heuristic method (i.e., the teaching learning based optimization method) and the least square method. Secondly, using the trained model, two real-time model-based SOC estimation methods are presented, one based on the real-time battery OCV regression model achieved through weighted recursive least square method, and the other based on the state estimation using the extended Kalman filter method (EKF). To tackle the problem caused by the flat OCV-vs-SOC segments when the OCV-based SOC estimation method is adopted, a method combining the coulombic counting and the OCV-based method is proposed. Finally, modelling results and SOC estimation results are presented and analysed using the data collected from LiFePo4 battery cell. The results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed approach, in particular the joint-EKF method.