THREE-DIMENSIONAL NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF MAGNETIZED WINDS OF SOLAR-LIKE STARS

By means of self-consistent three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) numerical simulations, we analyze magnetized solar-like stellar winds and their dependence on the plasma-beta parameter (the ratio between thermal and magnetic energy densities). This is the first study to perform such analysis solving the fully ideal three-dimensional MHD equations. We adopt in our simulations a heating parameter described by gamma, which is responsible for the thermal acceleration of the wind. We analyze winds with polar magnetic field intensities ranging from 1 to 20 G. We show that the wind structure presents characteristics that are similar to the solar coronal wind. The steady-state magnetic field topology for all cases is similar, presenting a configuration of helmet streamer-type, with zones of closed field lines and open field lines coexisting. Higher magnetic field intensities lead to faster and hotter winds. For the maximum magnetic intensity simulated of 20 G and solar coronal base density, the wind velocity reaches values of similar to 1000 km s(-1) at r similar to 20r(0) and a maximum temperature of similar to 6 x 10(6) K at r similar to 6r(0). The increase of the field intensity generates a larger ""dead zone"" in the wind, i.e., the closed loops that inhibit matter to escape from latitudes lower than similar to 45 degrees extend farther away from the star. The Lorentz force leads naturally to a latitude-dependent wind. We show that by increasing the density and maintaining B(0) = 20 G the system recover back to slower and cooler winds. For a fixed gamma, we show that the key parameter in determining the wind velocity profile is the beta-parameter at the coronal base. Therefore, there is a group of magnetized flows that would present the same terminal velocity despite its thermal and magnetic energy densities, as long as the plasma-beta parameter is the same. This degeneracy, however, can be removed if we compare other physical parameters of the wind, such as the mass-loss rate. We analyze the influence of gamma in our results and we show that it is also important in determining the wind structure.

Searching for convergence in phylogenetic Markov chain Monte Carlo

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is a methodology that is gaining widespread use in the phylogenetics community and is central to phylogenetic software packages such as MrBayes. An important issue for users of MCMC methods is how to select appropriate values for adjustable parameters such as the length of the Markov chain or chains, the sampling density, the proposal mechanism, and, if Metropolis-coupled MCMC is being used, the number of heated chains and their temperatures. Although some parameter settings have been examined in detail in the literature, others are frequently chosen with more regard to computational time or personal experience with other data sets. Such choices may lead to inadequate sampling of tree space or an inefficient use of computational resources. We performed a detailed study of convergence and mixing for 70 randomly selected, putatively orthologous protein sets with different sizes and taxonomic compositions. Replicated runs from multiple random starting points permit a more rigorous assessment of convergence, and we developed two novel statistics, delta and epsilon, for this purpose. Although likelihood values invariably stabilized quickly, adequate sampling of the posterior distribution of tree topologies took considerably longer. Our results suggest that multimodality is common for data sets with 30 or more taxa and that this results in slow convergence and mixing. However, we also found that the pragmatic approach of combining data from several short, replicated runs into a metachain to estimate bipartition posterior probabilities provided good approximations, and that such estimates were no worse in approximating a reference posterior distribution than those obtained using a single long run of the same length as the metachain. Precision appears to be best when heated Markov chains have low temperatures, whereas chains with high temperatures appear to sample trees with high posterior probabilities only rarely. [Bayesian phylogenetic inference; heating parameter; Markov chain Monte Carlo; replicated chains.]

Comparison of the R-70 self-heating rate of New Zealand and Australian coals to Suggate rank parameter

Samples from New Zealand and Australia have been tested in an adiabatic oven to assess the effect of rank on the R-70 selfheating rate of coal. A non-linear relationship can be defined for coals from both countries using the revised Suggate rank (S-r) parameter. Subbituminous coals have the highest R-70 self-heating rate values, which are 20 times that of high volatile A bituminous coals on a dry mineral matter free basis (similar to 1 cf. 20 degrees C h(-1)). However, the moderating effects of moisture and mineral matter can reduce this difference to only 2-3 times for coal in-situ. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

Experimentation on Wind Powered Hydraulic Heating System

It is common knowledge of the world’s dependency on fossil fuel for energy, its unsustainability on the long run and the changing trend towards renewable energy as an alternative energy source. This aims to cut down greenhouse gas emission and its impact on the rate of ecological and climatic change. Quite remarkably, wind energy has been one of many focus areas of renewable energy sources and has attracted lots of investment and technological advancement. The objective of this research is to explore wind energy and its application in household heating. This research aims at applying experimental approach in real time to study and verify a virtually simulated wind powered hydraulic house heating system. The hardware components comprise of an integrated hydraulic pump, flow control valve, hydraulic fluid and other hydraulic components. The system design and control applies hardware in-the-loop (HIL) simulation setup. Output signal from the semi-empirical turbine modelling controls the integrated motor to generate flow. Throttling the volume flow creates pressure drop across the valve and subsequently thermal power in the system to be outputted using a heat exchanger. Maximum thermal power is achieved by regulating valve orifice to achieve optimum system parameter. Savonius rotor is preferred for its low inertia, high starting torque and ease of design and maintenance characteristics, but lags in power efficiency. A prototype turbine design is used; with power output in range of practical Savonius turbine. The physical mechanism of the prototype turbine’s augmentation design is not known and will not be a focus in this study.

Implementation of microprocessor based self-tuning control on a heating system

This paper describes the implementation, using a microprocessor, of a self-tuning control algorithm on a heating system. The algorithm is based on recursive least squares parameter estimation with a state-space, pole placement design criterion and shows how the controller behaves when applied to an actual system.

High-density nanoparticle ceramic bodies: A study of heating rates in the sinterization of Gadolinium-doped Ceria

An investigation on the sinterization of Gd:CeO2 (Ce 0.85Gd0.15O1.9-δ ceramic system) 3-10 nm nanoparticles in pressed bodies was done. The heating rate was taken as a key parameter and two competing sinterization processes were identified, associated with different diffusional mechanisms. Using heating rates of 113 C min -1, a high-final density (98 % of the theoretical) was obtained by superposing the two aforementioned mechanisms, resulting in a homogeneous microstructure at lower temperatures. © 2012 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary.

Study of silicon-on-insulator multiple-gate MOS structures including band-gap engineering and self heating effects

The progresses of electron devices integration have proceeded for more than 40 years following the well–known Moore’s law, which states that the transistors density on chip doubles every 24 months. This trend has been possible due to the downsizing of the MOSFET dimensions (scaling); however, new issues and new challenges are arising, and the conventional ”bulk” architecture is becoming inadequate in order to face them. In order to overcome the limitations related to conventional structures, the researchers community is preparing different solutions, that need to be assessed. Possible solutions currently under scrutiny are represented by: • devices incorporating materials with properties different from those of silicon, for the channel and the source/drain regions; • new architectures as Silicon–On–Insulator (SOI) transistors: the body thickness of Ultra-Thin-Body SOI devices is a new design parameter, and it permits to keep under control Short–Channel–Effects without adopting high doping level in the channel. Among the solutions proposed in order to overcome the difficulties related to scaling, we can highlight heterojunctions at the channel edge, obtained by adopting for the source/drain regions materials with band–gap different from that of the channel material. This solution allows to increase the injection velocity of the particles travelling from the source into the channel, and therefore increase the performance of the transistor in terms of provided drain current. The first part of this thesis work addresses the use of heterojunctions in SOI transistors: chapter 3 outlines the basics of the heterojunctions theory and the adoption of such approach in older technologies as the heterojunction–bipolar–transistors; moreover the modifications introduced in the Monte Carlo code in order to simulate conduction band discontinuities are described, and the simulations performed on unidimensional simplified structures in order to validate them as well. Chapter 4 presents the results obtained from the Monte Carlo simulations performed on double–gate SOI transistors featuring conduction band offsets between the source and drain regions and the channel. In particular, attention has been focused on the drain current and to internal quantities as inversion charge, potential energy and carrier velocities. Both graded and abrupt discontinuities have been considered. The scaling of devices dimensions and the adoption of innovative architectures have consequences on the power dissipation as well. In SOI technologies the channel is thermally insulated from the underlying substrate by a SiO2 buried–oxide layer; this SiO2 layer features a thermal conductivity that is two orders of magnitude lower than the silicon one, and it impedes the dissipation of the heat generated in the active region. Moreover, the thermal conductivity of thin semiconductor films is much lower than that of silicon bulk, due to phonon confinement and boundary scattering. All these aspects cause severe self–heating effects, that detrimentally impact the carrier mobility and therefore the saturation drive current for high–performance transistors; as a consequence, thermal device design is becoming a fundamental part of integrated circuit engineering. The second part of this thesis discusses the problem of self–heating in SOI transistors. Chapter 5 describes the causes of heat generation and dissipation in SOI devices, and it provides a brief overview on the methods that have been proposed in order to model these phenomena. In order to understand how this problem impacts the performance of different SOI architectures, three–dimensional electro–thermal simulations have been applied to the analysis of SHE in planar single and double–gate SOI transistors as well as FinFET, featuring the same isothermal electrical characteristics. In chapter 6 the same simulation approach is extensively employed to study the impact of SHE on the performance of a FinFET representative of the high–performance transistor of the 45 nm technology node. Its effects on the ON–current, the maximum temperatures reached inside the device and the thermal resistance associated to the device itself, as well as the dependence of SHE on the main geometrical parameters have been analyzed. Furthermore, the consequences on self–heating of technological solutions such as raised S/D extensions regions or reduction of fin height are explored as well. Finally, conclusions are drawn in chapter 7.

Joule heating in ferromagnetic nanostripes with a notch

The temperature in a ferromagnetic nanostripe with a notch subject to Joule heating has been studied in detail. We first performed an experimental real-time calibration of the temperature versus time as a 100 ns current pulse was injected into a Permalloy nanostripe. This calibration was repeated for different pulse amplitudes and stripe dimensions and the set of experimental curves were fitted with a computer simulation using the Fourier thermal conduction equation. The best fit of these experimental curves was obtained by including the temperature-dependent behavior of the electrical resistivity of the Permalloy and of the thermal conductivity of thesubstrate(SiO2). Notably, a nonzero interface thermal resistance between the metallic nanostripe and thesubstrate was also necessary to fit the experimental curves. We found this parameter pivotal to understand ourresults and the results from previous works. The higher current density in the notch, together with the interface thermal resistance, allows a considerable increase of the temperature in the notch, creating a large horizontal thermal gradient. This gradient, together with the high temperature in the notch and the larger current density close to the edges of the notch, can be very influential in experiments studying the current assisted domain wall motion.

Geochemistry and Fe/(Ti + Ti), x, Curie temperature, and oxidation parameter z at DSDP Hole 597C

Electron microprobe and thermomagnetic analyses of selected basalt samples from Hole 597C were performed. The main purpose of this work was to investigate and estimate the degree of oxidation of the samples using the ratios of Fe to Ti and the Curie temperatures obtained from thermomagnetic curves. The results show that the magnetic properties of samples from Hole 597C change at a sub-bottom depth of 100 m, and that low-temperature and high-temperature oxidation processes prevailed above and below 100 m, respectively.

Testing Wavefunction Collapse Models using Parametric Heating of a Trapped Nanosphere

We propose a mechanism for testing the theory of collapse models such as continuous spontaneous localization (CSL) by examining the parametric heating rate of a trapped nanosphere. The random localizations of the center-of-mass for a given particle predicted by the CSL model can be understood as a stochastic force embodying a source of heating for the nanosphere. We show that by utilising a Paul trap to levitate the particle and optical cooling, it is possible to reduce environmental decoher- ence to such a level that CSL dominates the dynamics and contributes the main source of heating. We show that this approach allows measurements to be made on the timescale of seconds, and that the free parameter λcsl which characterises the model ought to be testable to values as low as 10^{−12} Hz.

Development and validation of a computationally efficient pseudo 3D model for planar SOFC integrated with a heating furnace

Efficient numerical models facilitate the study and design of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), stacks, and systems. Whilst the accuracy and reliability of the computed results are usually sought by researchers, the corresponding modelling complexities could result in practical difficulties regarding the implementation flexibility and computational costs. The main objective of this article is to adapt a simple but viable numerical tool for evaluation of our experimental rig. Accordingly, a model for a multi-layer SOFC surrounded by a constant temperature furnace is presented, trained and validated against experimental data. The model consists of a four-layer structure including stand, two interconnects, and PEN (Positive electrode-Electrolyte-Negative electrode); each being approximated by a lumped parameter model. The heating process through the surrounding chamber is also considered. We used a set of V-I characteristics data for parameter adjustment followed by model verification against two independent sets of data. The model results show a good agreement with practical data, offering a significant improvement compared to reduced models in which the impact of external heat loss is neglected. Furthermore, thermal analysis for adiabatic and non-adiabatic process is carried out to capture the thermal behaviour of a single cell followed by a polarisation loss assessment. Finally, model-based design of experiment is demonstrated for a case study.

Wettability, Shrinkage and Color Changes of Araucaria angustifolia After Heating Treatment

The effects of thermal treatment on the wettability and shrink resistance of Araucaria angustifolia (Parana pine) were studied from 20 to 200 °C. The contact angles of water droplets on untreated and heat-treated samples were measured by the sessile drop method in the grain of heartwood and sapwood cut in the radial, longitudinal, and tangential directions. A significant increase of the contact angles was verified for the samples from room temperature to 120 °C, in particular in the radial and tangential directions; at higher temperatures, the contact angles assumed almost constant values. From 120 to 200 °C, the sapwood of Araucaria angustifolia showed better dimensional stability and lower thermal resistance when compared to the heartwood. Variations of color were also studied by using the CIELab system, which showed to be capable of accurately distinguishing samples treated at different temperatures.

The viscosity parameter's dependence on the profile of the disk scale height

It is shown that, for accretion disks, the height scale is a constant whenever hydrostatic equilibrium and the subsonic turbulence regime hold in the disk. In order to have a variable height scale, processes are needed that contribute an extra term to the continuity equation. This contribution makes the viscosity parameter much greater in the outer region and much smaller in the inner region. Under these circumstances, turbulence is the presumable source of viscosity in the disk.