Gold Open Access- Erstveröffentlichung in einem/als Open-Access-Medium
Refine
Year of publication
- 2022 (27) (remove)
Document Type
Language
- English (27) (remove)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (27)
Keywords
- magnetoactive elastomer (2)
- piezoelectric polymer (2)
- 3D printer (1)
- 3ω-method (1)
- ASSEMBLY-LINE (1)
- Antike (1)
- Architektur (1)
- Artificial Intelligence (1)
- BPI Technique (1)
- Business Process (1)
Institute
- Fakultät Maschinenbau (9)
- Fakultät Informatik und Mathematik (7)
- Fakultät Elektro- und Informationstechnik (5)
- Labor Intelligente Materialien und Strukturen (5)
- Regensburg Center of Biomedical Engineering - RCBE (3)
- Fakultät Angewandte Natur- und Kulturwissenschaften (2)
- Regensburg Center of Health Sciences and Technology - RCHST (2)
- Regensburg Medical Image Computing (ReMIC) (2)
- Combustion Engines and Emissions Control Laboratory (CEEC) (1)
- Fakultät Angewandte Sozial- und Gesundheitswissenschaften (1)
Begutachtungsstatus
- peer-reviewed (25)
Business process improvement (BPI) is of high priority for practitioners. But especially the most value-adding phase in a BPI project, namely the “act of improvement”, is insufficiently supported despite the many existing methods and techniques. Until now, it is largely unclear as to what degree existing BPI techniques support each other and are interrelated with one another. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the functional interdependencies between BPI techniques to get a better understanding for the beneficial synergies between the BPI techniques and to provide a basis for purposefully combining them within projects. Based on the functional interdependencies, a graphical “Functional Interdependency Map” is developed and its usability demonstrated in an experiment. The paper is valuable for academics and practitioners alike because the impact of BPI on organizational performance is high.
Steps on Steps
(2022)
This work aims at investigating the kinetic mechanisms of the reduction/oxidation (redox) reactions of iron oxide/iron pellets under different operating conditions. The reaction principle is the basis of a thermochemical hydrogen storage system. To simulate the charging phase, a single pellet consisting of iron oxide (90% Fe2O3, 10% stabilising cement) is reduced with different hydrogen (H2) concentrations at temperatures between 600 and 800 °C. The discharge phase is initiated by the oxidation of the previously reduced pellet by water vapour (H2O) at different concentrations in the same temperature range. In both reactions, nitrogen (N2) is used as a carrier gas. The redox reactions have been experimentally measured in a thermogravimetric analyser (TGA) at a flow rate of 250 mL/min. An extensive literature review has been conducted on the existing reactions’ kinetic mechanisms along with their applicability to describe the obtained results. It turned out that the measured kinetic results can be excellently described with the so-called shrinking core model. Using the geometrical contracting sphere reaction mechanism model, the concentration- and temperature-dependent reduction and oxidation rates can be reproduced with a maximum deviation of less than 5%. In contrast to the reduction process, the temperature has a smaller effect on the oxidation reaction kinetics, which is attributed to 71% less activation energy (Ea,Re=56.9 kJ/mol versus Ea,Ox=16.0 kJ/mol). The concentration of the reacting gas showed, however, an opposite trend: namely, to have an almost twofold impact on the oxidation reaction rate constant compared to the reduction rate constant.
Background:
Reliable, time- and cost-effective, and clinician-friendly diagnostic tools are cornerstones in facial palsy (FP) patient management. Different automated FP grading systems have been developed but revealed persisting downsides such as insufficient accuracy and cost-intensive hardware. We aimed to overcome these barriers and programmed an automated grading system for FP patients utilizing the House and Brackmann scale (HBS).
Methods:
Image datasets of 86 patients seen at the Department of Plastic, Hand, and Reconstructive Surgery at the University Hospital Regensburg, Germany, between June 2017 and May 2021, were used to train the neural network and evaluate its accuracy. Nine facial poses per patient were analyzed by the algorithm.
Results:
The algorithm showed an accuracy of 100%. Oversampling did not result in altered outcomes, while the direct form displayed superior accuracy levels when compared to the modular classification form (n = 86; 100% vs. 99%). The Early Fusion technique was linked to improved accuracy outcomes in comparison to the Late Fusion and sequential method (n = 86; 100% vs. 96% vs. 97%).
Conclusions:
Our automated FP grading system combines high-level accuracy with cost- and time-effectiveness. Our algorithm may accelerate the grading process in FP patients and facilitate the FP surgeon’s workflow.
With steadily rising CO2 concentrations in the ambient air and fast-changing concretecompositions with reduced clinker contents, the availability of reliable and accelerated concrete car-bonation tests is of crucial importance to design durable structures. This paper focuses on the effectsof moisture under accelerated conditions and the effects of different CO2 exposure conditions. Mor-tar prisms incorporating three different cement types were cured and stored at either 50% or 65%relative humidity (RH). Afterwards, the prisms were carbonated at different ambient humidities(50, 57 and 65%), different CO2 concentrations (0.04, 1 and 3 vol.%) and complemented by a seriesof tests at increased gas pressure (2 barg). High-resolution test methods were used to explain theunderlying carbonation mechanisms. The results show that pre-conditioning for two weeks—ascurrently suggested by the European Standard—seems to be too short because the initial inner mois-ture content severely affects the carbonation rate. Relative humidity during carbonation of 57% ledto higher carbonation rates compared to 50% and 65%. In addition, climate data needs to be period-ically (preferably permanently) recorded in research experiments and in laboratory testing to ensurefair interpretation of experimental results.
The good availability and the large content of adult stem cells in adipose tissue has made it one of the most interesting tissues in regenerative medicine. Although lipofilling is one of the most frequent procedures in plastic surgery, the method still struggles with high absorption rates and volume losses of up to 70%. Therefore, many efforts have been made to optimize liposuction and to process the harvested tissue in order to increase fat graft retention. Because of their immunomodulatory properties, their cytokine secretory activity, and their differentiation potential, enrichment with adipose tissue-derived stem cells was identified as a promising tool to promote transplant survival. Here, we review the important parameters for lipofilling optimization. Finally, we present a new method for the enrichment of lipoaspirate with adipose tissue-derived stem cells and discuss the parameters that contribute to fat graft survival.
Non-road sectors, such as agriculture and construction machinery, require high energy densities and flexibility in use, which is why diesel engines are mainly used. The use of climate-neutral fuels, produced from renewable energies, such as Oxymethylene Ether (OME) as a diesel substitute, can significantly reduce CO2 and pollutant emissions in these sectors. In addition to CO2 neutrality, OME also offers improved combustion characteristics compared to diesel fuel, eliminating the soot–NOx trade-off and thus enabling new opportunities in engine design and calibration. In this paper, the combustion of pure OME on a close-to-production, single-cylinder non-road diesel engine with a pump–line–nozzle injection system is analyzed. A variation of the center of combustion at constant power output was performed for diesel and OME at different operating points. Two injectors were investigated with OME. A study on ignition delay and a detailed thermodynamic analysis was carried out. In addition, the exhaust emissions CO, NOx, VOC, as well as particulate-matter, -number and -size distributions were measured. With OME, a significantly shorter ignition delay as well as a shortened combustion duration could be observed, despite a longer injection duration. In addition, the maximum injection pressure increases. VOC and CO emissions are reduced. Particulate matter was reduced by more than 99% and particle number (>10 nm) was reduced by multiple orders of magnitude. The median of the particle size distribution shifts from 60 to 85 nm (diesel) into a diameter range of sub 23 nm (OME). A significant reduction of NOx emissions with OME enables new degrees of freedom in engine calibration and an efficiency advantage without hardware adaption.
We demonstrate the control of wettability of non-structured and microstructured magnetoactive elastomers (MAEs) by magnetic field. The synthesized composite materials have a concentration of carbonyl iron particles of 75 wt.% (≈27 vol.%) and three different stiffnesses of the elastomer matrix. A new method of fabrication of MAE coatings on plastic substrates is presented, which allows one to enhance the response of the apparent contact angle to the magnetic field by exposing the particle-enriched side of MAEs to water. A magnetic field is not applied during crosslinking. The highest variation of the contact angle from (113 ± 1)° in zero field up to (156 ± 2)° at about 400 mT is achieved in the MAE sample with the softest matrix. Several lamellar and pillared MAE structures are fabricated by laser micromachining. The lateral dimension of surface structures is about 50 µm and the depth varies between 3 µm and 60 µm. A systematic investigation of the effects of parameters of laser processing (laser power and the number of passages of the laser beam) on the wetting behavior of these structures in the absence and presence of a magnetic field is performed. In particular, strong anisotropy of the wetting behavior of lamellar structures is observed. The results are qualitatively discussed in the framework of the Wenzel and Cassie-Baxter models. Finally, directions of further research on magnetically controlled wettability of microstructured MAE surfaces are outlined. The obtained results may be useful for the development of magnetically controlled smart surfaces for droplet-based microfluidics.
Theoretical Modeling of Magnetoactive Elastomers on Different Scales: A State-of-the-Art Review
(2022)
A review of the latest theoretical advances in the description of magnetomechanical effects and phenomena observed in magnetoactive elastomers (MAEs), i.e., polymer networks filled with magnetic micro- and/or nanoparticles, under the action of external magnetic fields is presented. Theoretical modeling of magnetomechanical coupling is considered on various spatial scales: from the behavior of individual magnetic particles constrained in an elastic medium to the mechanical properties of an MAE sample as a whole. It is demonstrated how theoretical models enable qualitative and quantitative interpretation of experimental results. The limitations and challenges of current approaches are discussed and some information about the most promising lines of research in this area is provided. The review is aimed at specialists involved in the study of not only the magnetomechanical properties of MAEs, but also a wide range of other physical phenomena occurring in magnetic polymer composites in external magnetic fields.
Purpose:
Total body irradiation (TBI) in extended source surface distance (SSD) is a common treatment technique before hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The lungs are organs at risk, which often are treated with a lower dose than the whole body.
Methods:
This can be achieved by the application of blocks. Three-dimensional (3D) printers are a modern tool to be used in the production process of these blocks.
Results:
We demonstrate the applicability of a specific printer and printing material, describe the process, and evaluate the accuracy of the product.
Conclusion:
The blocks and apertures were found to be applicable in clinical routine.
Sustainable production includes economic, environmental, and social aspects. However, social sustainability has received less attention, especially compared to the economic aspects. Next to technical and organizational measures, social improvements within supply chains can also be achieved through suitable production planning. Within production planning, production programs are determined, and the assignment of available resources (e.g., employees) is specified. Thus, the utilization and workload of employees are defined. This systematic literature review investigates to what extent such employee-related social aspects are reflected in production planning and discusses whether economic aspects dominate them. For this, a Scopus database search was carried out and 76 identified approaches were analyzed and categorized regarding the occurring employee-related social aspects and their implementation. Thus far, the approaches mainly consider single aspects on single planning levels. A consideration of a broad set of aspects along the entire production planning has rarely been studied. In particular, health and safety aspects are considered on the levels of assembly line balancing and job rotation. However, their impact is primarily determined by the specific settings of the decision-maker. To support decision-makers, only a few studies have investigated the effects based on real application scenarios. Further potential might be an extended modeling of social and economic interdependencies and a consideration of employee-related social aspects in medium- to long-term production planning.
Autologous lipotransfer is a promising method for tissue regeneration, because white adipose tissue contains a heterogeneous cell population, including mesenchymal stem cells, endothelial cells, immune cells, and adipocytes. In order to improve the outcome, adipose tissue can be processed before application. In this study, we investigated changes caused by mechanical processing.
Lipoaspirates were processed using sedimentation, first-time centrifugation, shear-force homogenization, and second-time centrifugation. The average adipocyte size, stromal vascular cell count, and adipocyte depot size were examined histologically at every processing step. In addition, the adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) were isolated and differentiated osteogenically and adipogenically. While homogenization causes a disruption of adipocyte depots, the shape of the remaining adipocytes is not changed. On average, these adipocytes are smaller than the depot adipocytes, they are surrounded by the ECM, and therefore mechanically more stable. The volume loss of adipocyte depots leads to a significant enrichment of stromal vascular cells such as ADSCs. However, the mechanical processing does not change the potential of the ADSCs to differentiate adipogenically or steogenically. It thus appears that mechanically processed lipoaspirates are promising for the reparation of even mechanically stressed tissue as that found in nasolabial folds. The changes resulting from the processing correspond more to a filtration of mechanically less stable components than to a manipulation of the tissue.
Hot pressing of pure Ti and cast iron under vacuum formed a ~15 μm wide TiC-layer through the thermoreactive diffusion process. Nanoindentation testing of the TiC-layer revealed average hardness and elastic
modulus values of ~35 GPa and ~400 GPa, respectively. High-resolution indentation mapping indicated hardness change across the boundary with peak values observed within the TiC-layer. Solid state high temperature diffusion holds significant potential for developing uniform hard coatings on pure Ti/Ti-alloys.
Physical Education with Eduball Stimulates Non-Native Language Learning in Primary School Students
(2022)
Although the neuronal mechanisms of action and cognition are related, the division of intellectual and physical lessons is standard in schools. This is surprising, because numerous studies show that integrating physical education (PE) with teaching content stimulates critical skills. For example, several experiments indicate that Eduball-based PE (i.e., lessons in a sports hall during which students play team mini-games with educational balls with printed letters, numbers, and other signs) develops mathematical and language competencies. At the same time, the Eduball method does not slow down learners' physical development. However, we have little knowledge about the effects of such techniques on non-native language learning. Consequently, the absence of incorporating core academic subjects into PE in dual-language schools or during foreign language education is exceptionally high. Here, we replicated the Eduball experiment, but with the goal of testing this method for non-native language learning. Thus, the intervention occurred in a dual-language primary school and we evaluated second language (L2) learning. As before, we used the technique of parallel groups (experimental and control); in both groups, there were three 45-min PE classes per week. In the experimental class, two of them were held using Eduball. After a half-year experiment, children from the experimental group (one second-grade, N = 14) improved their non-native language skills significantly more than their peers from the control group (one second-grade, N = 12). These findings demonstrate that Eduball-type intervention stimulates non-native language learning in children. Hence, our report suggests that specific body training forms can support L2 learning.
In recent years, the Tuned Mass Damper with inerter (TMDI) has received significant attention. The inerter is defined to exert a force that is in proportion to the relative acceleration of the two inerter terminals. Here, two TMDI topologies are investigated. The conventional topology is given by the inerter being in parallel to the spring and viscous damper of the TMDI. The other topology is the serial arrangement of spring, inerter and viscous damper being in parallel to the stiffness of the mass spring oscillator of the TMDI. While the first topology intends to increase the inertial force of the TMDI, the second topology aims at producing an additional degree of freedom. The considered TMDI concepts are simulated for harmonic and random excitations, with parameters set according to those described in the literature and with numerically optimized parameters which minimize the primary structure displacement response. The classical TMD is used as a benchmark. The findings are twofold. The conventional TMDI with typical inertance ratio of 1% and the very small value of 0.02% performs significantly worse than the classical TMD with the same mass ratio. In contrast, the TMDI with an additional degree of freedom can improve the mitigation of the primary structure if the inertance ratio is set very small and if the TMDI parameters are numerically optimized.
The endoscopic features associated with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) may be missed during routine endoscopy. We aimed to develop and evaluate an Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm for detecting and quantifying the endoscopic features of EoE in white light images, supplemented by the EoE Endoscopic Reference Score (EREFS). An AI algorithm (AI-EoE) was constructed and trained to differentiate between EoE and normal esophagus using endoscopic white light images extracted from the database of the University Hospital Augsburg. In addition to binary classification, a second algorithm was trained with specific auxiliary branches for each EREFS feature (AI-EoE-EREFS). The AI algorithms were evaluated on an external data set from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC), and compared with the performance of human endoscopists with varying levels of experience. The overall sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of AI-EoE were 0.93 for all measures, while the AUC was 0.986. With additional auxiliary branches for the EREFS categories, the AI algorithm (AI-EoEEREFS) performance improved to 0.96, 0.94, 0.95, and 0.992 for sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and AUC, respectively. AI-EoE and AI-EoE-EREFS performed significantly better than endoscopy beginners and senior fellows on the same set of images. An AI algorithm can be trained to detect and quantify endoscopic features of EoE with excellent performance scores. The addition of the EREFS criteria improved the performance of the AI algorithm, which performed significantly better than endoscopists with a lower or medium experience level.
In primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), a neurodegenerative disease of the optic nerve (ON) and leading cause of blindness, the optic nerve head (ONH) undergoes marked structural extracellular matrix (ECM) changes, which contribute to its permanent deformation and to degeneration of ON axons. The remodeling process of the ECM causes changes in the biomechanical properties of the ONH and the peripapillary sclera, which is accompanied by an increased reactivity of the resident astrocytes. The molecular factors involved in the remodeling process belong to the Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily, especially TGF-β2. In previous publications we showed that TGF-β2 induced ECM alterations are mediated by Cellular Communication Network Factor (CCN)2/Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) and recently we showed that CCN2/CTGF is expressed by astrocytes of the ON under normal conditions. In this study we wanted to get a better understanding of the function of CCN2/CTGF under normal and pathologic conditions. To this end, we analyzed the glial lamina and peripapillary sclera of CCN2/CTGF overexpressing mice and studied the effect of CCN2/CTGF and increasing substratum stiffness on murine ON astrocytes in vitro. We observed enhanced astrocyte reactivity in the ONH, increased ECM protein synthesis in the peripapillary sclera and increased Ccn2/Ctgf expression in the ONH during the pathologic development in situ. CCN2/CTGF treatment of primary murine ON astrocytes induced a higher migration rate, and increase of ECM proteins including fibronectin, elastin and collagen type III. Furthermore, the astrocytes responded to stiffer substratum with increased glial fibrillary acidic protein, vimentin, actin and CCN2/CTGF synthesis. Finally, we observed the reinforced appearance of CCN2/CTGF in the lamina cribrosa of glaucomatous patients. We conclude that reactive changes in ONH astrocytes, induced by the altered biomechanical characteristics of the region, give rise to a self-amplifying process that includes increased TGF-β2/CCN2/CTGF signaling and leads to the synthesis of ECM molecules and cytoskeleton proteins, a process that in turn augments the stiffness at the ONH. Such a scenario may finally result in a vicious circle in the pathogenesis of POAG. The transgenic CTGF-overexpressing mouse model might be an optimal model to study the chronic pathological POAG changes in the ONH.
In this work, multiferroic cantilevers comprise a layer of a magnetoactive elastomer (MAE) and a commercially available piezoelectric polymer-based vibration sensor. The structures are fixed at one end in the horizontal plane and the magnetic field is applied vertically. First, the magnetoelectric (ME) response to uniform, triangle-wave magnetic fields with five different slew rates is investigated experimentally. Time and field dependences of the generated voltage, electric charge, and observed mechanical deflection are obtained and compared for four different thicknesses of the MAE layer. The ME responses to triangular and sinusoidal wave excitations are examined in contrast. Second, the ME response at low frequencies (≤3 Hz) is studied by the standard method of harmonic magnetic field modulation. The highest ME coupling coefficient is observed in the bias magnetic field strength of ≈73 kA/m and it is estimated to be about 3.3 ns/m (ME voltage coefficient ≈ 25 V/A) at theoretically vanishing modulation frequency (f→0 Hz). Presented results demonstrate that the investigated heterostructures are promising for applications as magnetic-field sensors and energy harvesting devices.
Successful transfer of photoacoustic gas sensors from laboratory to real-life applications requires knowledge about potential cross-sensitivities towards environmental and gas matrix changes. Multi-dimensional calibration in case of cross-sensitivities can become very complex or even unfeasible. To address this challenge, we present a novel algorithm to compute the collision based non-radiative efficiency and phase lag of energy relaxation on a molecular level (CoNRad) for photoacoustic signal calculation. This algorithmic approach allows to calculate the entire elaxation cascade of arbitrarily complex systems, yielding a theoretical photoacoustic signal. In this work the influence of varying bulk compositions, i.e. nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2) and water (H2O) on the photoacoustic signal during methane (CH4) detection is demonstrated. The applicability of the algorithm to other photoacoustic setups is shown exemplary by applying it to the relaxational system investigated in [1]. Hayden et al. examined the effect of water on photoacoustic carbon monoxide (CO) detection.
In Germany, midwives are involved in extensive antenatal and postnatal care. As health professionals, they can play a key role in strengthening health literacy (HL) of parents on how to prevent chronic allergic diseases in their children. The objective of this study is to explore midwives’ perspectives regarding HL-sensitive counselling in early childhood allergy prevention (ECAP). Twenty-four qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with midwives, and data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Only a small number of study participants were aware of HL as a concept. However, most of these use screening and counselling strategies which consider individual information needs and which support parental HL. HL sensitivity in counselling is largely based on the midwives’ “gut feelings” and counselling experience, rather than on formal education. The midwives were largely aware of evidence-based ECAP recommendations; however, allergy prevention was not seen as a stand-alone topic but as part of their general counselling on infant feeding and hygiene. They found parents to be more open to receiving complex prevention information during antenatal counselling. In order to strengthen midwives’ roles in HL-sensitive ECAP counselling, their formal education should provide them with explicit HL knowledge and counselling skills. ECAP should be an inherent part of antenatal care.
In recent years, particulate filters have become mandatory in almost all gasoline-powered vehicles to comply with emission standards regarding particulate number. In contrast to diesel applications, monitoring gasoline particulate filters (GPFs) by differential pressure sensors is challenging due to lower soot masses to be deposited in the GPFs. A different approach to determine the soot loading of GPFs is a radio frequency-based sensor (RF sensor). To facilitate sensor development, in previous work, a simulation model was created to determine the RF signal at arbitrary engine operating points. To ensure accuracy, the exact dielectric properties of the soot need to be known. This work has shown how small samples of soot-loaded filter are sufficient to determine the dielectric properties of soot itself using the microwave cavity perturbation method. For this purpose, mixing rules were determined through simulation and measurement, allowing the air and substrate fraction of the sample to be considered. Due to the different geometry of filter substrates compared to crushed soot samples, a different mixing rule had to be derived to calculate the effective filter properties required for the simulation model. The accuracy of the determined mixing rules and the underlying simulation model could be verified by comparative measurements on an engine test bench.
In this paper, we consider the problem of feature reconstruction from incomplete X-ray CT data. Such incomplete data problems occur when the number of measured X-rays is restricted either due to limit radiation exposure or due to practical constraints, making the detection of certain rays challenging. Since image reconstruction from incomplete data is a severely ill-posed (unstable) problem, the reconstructed images may suffer from characteristic artefacts or missing features, thus significantly complicating subsequent image processing tasks (e.g., edge detection or segmentation).
In this paper, we introduce a framework for the robust reconstruction of convolutional image features directly from CT data without the need of computing a reconstructed image first. Within our framework, we use non-linear variational regularization methods that can be adapted to a variety of feature reconstruction tasks and to several limited data situations. The proposed variational regularization method minimizes an energy functional being the sum of a feature dependent datafitting term and an additional penalty accounting for specific properties of the features. In our numerical experiments, we consider instances of edge reconstructions from angular under-sampled data and show that our approach is able to reliably reconstruct feature maps in this case.
Final assembly at Krones AG must make the best possible use of its production space and meeting the specified customer due dates is critical. Via a self developed simulation tool, the present scheduling procedure is compared with the one by priority rule shortest slack. As a consequence slack should have a higher importance in the planning
This paper introduces the results of an experimental study on the adsorption and desorption kinetics of a commercially available, open-structured asymmetric plate heat exchanger adapted to act as an adsorber/desorber for the application in adsorption heat transformation processes. In addition, a volumetric large temperature jump (V-LTJ) kinetic setup was applied to measure the adsorption and desorption kinetics of a small-scale adsorbent sample prepared dedicatedly to be representative for the adsorbent domain inside the investigated adsorber plate heat exchanger (APHE). All kinetic results of the small-scale adsorbent sample and the APHE were fitted into exponential forms with a single characteristic time constant (τ) with a coefficient of determination (R2) better than 0.9531. A very good matching between the small-scale and full-scale adsorption kinetic measurements was obtained, with an average relative deviation of 12.3% in the obtained τ-values. In addition, the kinetic data of the small-scale adsorbent sample were utilized for estimating the expected specific instantaneous and moving average powers of the evaporator/condenser heat exchanger. The average relative deviation (ARD) between the moving average specific evaporator powers obtained from the small-scale and the full-scale measurements amounts between 5.4 and 15.1%.
In this work, the resonance enhancement of magnetoelectric (ME) coupling at the two lowest bending resonance frequencies was investigated in layered cantilever structures comprising a magnetoactive elastomer (MAE) slab and a commercially available piezoelectric polymer multilayer. A cantilever was fixed at one end in the horizontal plane and the magnetic field was applied horizontally. Five composite structures, each containing an MAE layer of different thicknesses from 0.85 to 4 mm, were fabricated. The fundamental bending resonance frequency in the absence of a magnetic field varied between roughly 23 and 55 Hz. It decreased with the increasing thickness of the MAE layer, which was explained by a simple theory. The largest ME voltage coefficient of about 7.85 V/A was measured in a sample where the thickness of the MAE layer was ≈2 mm. A significant increase in the bending resonance frequencies in the applied DC magnetic field of 240 kA/m up to 200% was observed. The results were compared with alternative designs for layered multiferroic structures. Directions for future research were also discussed.
Gas concentration monitoring is essential in industrial or life science areas in order to address safety-relevant or process-related questions. Many of the sensors used in this context are based on the principle of thermal conductivity. The 3ω-method is a very accurate method to determine the thermal properties of materials. It has its origin in the thermal characterization of thin solid films. To date, there have been very few scientific investigations using this method to determine the thermal properties of gases and to apply it to gas measurement technology. In this article, we use two exemplary gases (H2 and CO2) for a systematical investigation of this method in the context of gas analysis. To perform our experiments, we use a robust, reliable sensing element that is already well established in vacuum measurement technology. This helix-shaped thin wire of tungsten exhibits high robustness against chemical and mechanical influences. Our setup features a compact measurement environment, where sensor operation and data acquisition are integrated into a single device. The experimental results show a good agreement with a simplified analytical model and FEM simulations. The sensor exhibits a lower detection limit of 0.62% in the case of CO2, and only 0.062% in case the of H2 at an excitation frequency of 1 Hz. This is one of the lowest values reported in literature for thermal conductivity H2 sensors.