Franklin Collinear Antenna 2 Levels Different Sides using Array Method 4 Stacking Units 360ᵒ with Integrated Reflector and Power Combiner for ADS-B S-Receiver Mode

In this study, an antenna system that could cover the 360ᵒ detection area using the microstrip method was created. The antenna design proposed uses the franklin collinear method with the addition of an array of arms to the left and right of the antenna and the addition of reflectors as a gain enhancer. The four antenna array units are combined using a power divider (combiner) as a unifying antenna. Antenna design with end fire radiation pattern cannot be used in receiving the ADS-B antenna system, because it works only in certain sectors with certain beamwidth, so it needs to be modified by adding an array of 4 units that make up 360◦ radiation of directional diagrams. The addition of the reflector is done by testing the optimum width. The most optimum width is obtained by the width of the side addition on the side of the antenna aperture cross section width of 80 mm. Based on the results of experiments that have been carried out for the design of receiver antennas for ADS-B applications that are required in the form of a radiation pattern in all directions using the reflector technique, the most appropriate gain increase is to use a phase difference for the antennas that are closest both left and right by 90o in ¼ λ conditions in the integration process using a 4 way power combiner. Response return loss at frequency 1.0752 GHz and 1.109 GHz is -15 dB, it means antenna has 33.8 MHz bandwidth with maximum response return loss at -23.22 dB and gain of 7.586 dBi, this antenna design is very suitable for use in the ADS-B application. Design and simulation at this antenna used CST software.

Modeling of a Passive-Valve Piezoelectric Micro-Pump: A Parametric Study

Piezoelectric micro-pumps offer many applications and could provide considerable flow rates in miniature systems. This study parametrically investigates the effects of major parameters, namely the length, width and attack angle of valves, piezoelectric length, and applied voltage. The results show that these parameters significantly affect the performance of the designed micro-pump. Even though increasing the piezoelectric length and operating voltage raise the flow rate, the modification of valve dimensions is more efficient since these parameters do not rely on any external power. According to the obtained results, as the length of the working valves increases, the provided flow rate becomes larger. There is an optimum condition for the width and attack angle of the valves. This optimum width is not dependent on the flow rate. With the use of the attack angle and the length of the valves as design parameters, the studied design shows promising results.

Effect of ballast retaining walls on the lateral resistance of railway tracks

In this study, the application of a retaining wall was proposed as a solution for reducing the lateral displacement of the ballast layer, particularly in sharp curves and bridges. In this regard, a series of single tie push tests were performed on panels with shoulder ballast widths of 300 mm, 400 mm, 500 mm with and without the presence of L-shaped and T-shaped retaining walls. Overall, it was proven that the application of an L-shaped wall led to a 15.8% increase in the lateral resistance, and that T-shaped walls have a higher impact on the stability of the track. A shoulder width of 400 mm was proposed as the optimum width for ballasted tracks with retaining walls.

Study on New Bolted T-Stub Connection with Inserted Plates under Axial and Cyclic Loads

The bolted T-stub connection joining beam with column is being widely applied. To enhance the energy dissipation capacity of conventional T-stub connections, two rectangular plates are proposed to be inserted between the T-stub and column, so that the T-stub flange can yield both under tensile and compressive loads. This study put forward a mechanical model of a new T-stub connection with inserted plates and investigated important factors that could affect its mechanical behavior through experimental tests. Thirty specimens were designed with different configurations that differed according to the existence or absence of inserted plates, the fabrication method and the width of inserted plates. These configurations were tested under axial and cyclic loading conditions, and results showed that the proposal aiming to improve the energy dissipation capacity was feasible. The mechanical model presented coincided with the test observation and data. The advent of two inserted plates elevated the load bearing capacity, stiffness and ductility of connections under compression, whereas in tension the properties were not substantially enhanced. The welded T-stub connections outperformed those cut from standard section steel. The energy dissipated by connections with inserted plates was about 150% of that by traditional connections without inserted plates. Only within a reasonable range can the increment of plate width promote the energy dissipation capacity of T-stub connections. The optimum width of plates in terms of energy consumption accounted for around 31% of the overall width of connections.

Electrically actuated valves for gas compression installations located in potentially explosive atmospheres

Using electric energy in a potentially explosive atmosphere raises several problems that must be solved when designing, manufacturing and during the operation of electric equipment. Their approach requires special attention, considering the multiple technical, economical and labour safety aspects. The ingress protection for the electrical part of the valves is ensured by the capsulation assembly, comprising the protection measures applied for preventing the ignition of the surrounding atmosphere. The labyrinth seal through which the gas flow passes is designed so as to confine a potential ignition inside actuator’s flameproof enclosure. Numerical simulations were conducted for determining the combustion behaviour and the optimum width and geometry of the labyrinth canals.

Analysis of Resolution in Feedback Signals for Hardware-in-the-Loop Models of Power Converters

One of the main techniques for debugging power converters is hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), which is used for real-time emulation. Field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) are the most common design platforms due to their acceleration capability. In this case, the widths of the signals have to be carefully chosen to optimize the area and speed. For this purpose, fixed-point arithmetic is one of the best options because although the design time is high, it allows the personalization of the number of bits in every signal. The representation of state variables in power converters has been previously studied, however other signals, such as feedback signals, can also have a big influence because they transmit the value of one state variable to the rest, and vice versa. This paper presents an analysis of the number of bits in the feedback signals of a boost converter, but the conclusions can be extended to other power converters. The purpose of this work is to study how many bits are necessary in order to avoid the loss of information, but also without wasting bits. Errors of the state variables are obtained with different sizes of feedback signals. These show that the errors in each state variable have similar patterns. When the number of bits increases, the error decreases down to a certain number of bits, where an almost constant error appears. However, when the bits decrease, the error increases linearly. Furthermore, the results show that there is a direct relation between the number of bits in feedback signals and the inputs of the converter in the global error. Finally, a design criterion is given to choose the optimum width for each feedback signal, without wasting bits.

A new formula for the optimum width of Substrate Integrated Waveguide

A new formula for calculating the optimum width of a Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) corresponding to the first mode is presented in this paper. Finite Difference Frequency Domain (FDFD) method is applied to analyze the waveguide structure where geometrical parameters of the SIW are iteratively varied in order to minimize the gap between cutoff frequencies of SIW structure and that of an equivalent conventional rectangular waveguide. Adequate parameters are used to derive the new formula. To verify the accuracy of the new formula, several waveguides are designed and analyzed using the commercial software HFSS. The calculated propagation constants are compared with experimental measurements from literature, a very good conformity is obtained.

Development and Performance Evaluation of Light Shelves Using Width-Adjustable Reflectors

In recent years, there has been an increase in the consumption of energy for lighting purposes, which has led to an increase in the number of studies being conducted on this subject. Most studies have focused on light shelves, which are daylighting systems used for reducing the lighting energy required for the interiors of buildings. However, the existing light shelves cannot actively deal with external environmental factors, which often lead to an infringement of the right to light during the night when the performance of the light shelf deteriorates. Therefore, in this study, we propose a light shelf with a width-adjustable reflector and verify its validity using a testbed. The reflector of the proposed light shelf system is modularized so that the length can be adjusted in stages. The optimum width of the light shelf is calculated in terms of the energy reduction and uniformity ratio improvement, and the obtained optimum width is varied depending on the season. We find that the width-adjustable reflector can save 20% and 21.6% more lighting energy than light shelves with fixed reflector widths of 0.3 m and 0.6 m, respectively.