No abstract available

[en] To obtain an homogeneous temperature in a cylindrical model during a heating process using Joule effect, it is shown that is necessary to introduce secondary electrodes. Neglecting the electrical and thermal resistances at the interface between these secondary electrodes and the sample, it is possible to find an analytical expression of the homogeneous fraction of the whole system. Then it is possible to solve the problem of the length of the secondary electrodes. To take the thermal and the electrical contact resistance into account, a numerical model is used and percent temperature deviations are calculated. Simulation show that secondary electrodes made of the same material as the sample are preferable to other secondary electrodes ant it is shown that is better to choose a high current intensity

[en] Electric radiant heating (ERH) technologies are now being installed in floors as a means of reducing heating costs. The radiant installations have seen a large increase in sales over the last decade, and are now being used in commercial applications. Sales of hydronic ERH systems have increased by 24 per cent over the last year. ERH systems are energy efficient and do not cause drafts. The systems consist of resistant heating cables installed within the floors of a room. The cables are supplied as loose cables and tracks with predetermined spacings or rugged, heavier cable that can be stapled onto wooden subfloors. Program temperature setbacks can be applied on a room-by-room basis. Electric thermal storage systems allow building owners to store heat in the floors and are ideal for use in combination with time-of-use electric metering. Some electric utilities are now promoting the use of electric thermal storage in order to reduce demand during peak times. Thermostats used with the systems should have floor sensors and ambient air sensors to control space heating in conjunction with the floor sensor. It was concluded that electrical contractors who gain knowledge in the application and installation of the systems will tap into a growing revenue stream. 5 figs

[en] We present calculations of thermal evolution of hot Jupiters with various masses and effective temperatures under ohmic dissipation. The resulting evolutionary sequences show a clear tendency toward inflated radii for effective temperatures that give rise to significant ionization of alkali metals in the atmosphere, compatible with the trend of the data. The degree of inflation shows that ohmic dissipation along with the likely variability in heavy element content can account for all of the currently detected radius anomalies. Furthermore, we find that in the absence of a massive core, low-mass hot Jupiters can overflow their Roche lobes and evaporate on Gyr timescales, possibly leaving behind small rocky cores.

[en] This paper investigated the current sensitivity of a resonant sensor based on a magnetically actuated piezoresistive microcantilever in different resonant modes, which were the first flexural mode and the first and second torsional modes. The sensor was based on the idea of measuring the electrothermally induced resonance frequency shift as a result of the Joule heating dissipated when the DC current flowed through the Wheatstone bridge on the microcantilever. Two theoretical models between the microcantilever’s resonance frequency and the square of the applied DC current for the sensor operating under the flexural and torsional modes were established. From the experimental results, it can be seen that the current sensitivity of the first torsional mode is an order of magnitude greater than the first flexural mode, but less than that of the second torsional mode. In addition, the effect of the DC current’s direction on the measured results should be taken into account before detecting the DC current. (paper)

[en] Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) requires the fast compression of hot, dense plasmas by a conducting liner. The authors have used two-dimensional MHD calculations to study the electromagnetic implosion of metallic liners driven by realistic current waveforms. Parametric studies have indicated that the liner should reach velocities of 3--20 km/s, depending on the magnetic field configuration, and reach convergence ratios (initial radius divided by final radius) of at least 10. These parameters are accessible with large capacitor bank power supplies such as SHIVA or ATLAS, or with magnetic flux compression generators. One issue with the high currents that are required to implode the liner is that Ohmic heating will melt or vaporize the outer part of the liner. Calculations have shown that this is a realistic concern. The authors are currently addressing questions of liner instability and flux diffusion under MTF conditions. Another issue is that the magnetic fields needed to inhibit thermal losses to the walls will also heat, melt, or vaporize the inner wall surfaces. For initial fields between 5--50 Tesla, the wall heating is significant but does not result in rapid melting. As the implosion evolves, flux compression leads to fields in excess of 100 Tesla. Calculations which include flux diffusion, Ohmic heating, and realistic materials properties show that a significant fraction of the inner surface of an aluminum liner will have melted and vaporized in the final microsecond of implosion. It is not clear at this time that such material mixes will the hot plasma. They are conducting studies to determine the extent of wall-plasma interaction under these conditions

[en] This paper presents our work on design, modeling, and characterization of a novel shape memory alloy (SMA)-actuated torsion actuator for meso-scale robots. Development of a miniature torsion actuator is challenging, but it can enhance the agility and enlarge the workspace of meso-scale robots. This torsion actuator comprises a pair of antagonistic SMA torsion springs, which bi-directionally actuate the actuator by Joule heating and natural cooling. First, the mechanical design of the torsion actuator is presented, followed by the fabrication of SMA torsion springs. Then, we present the constitutive model of the SMA torsion spring with an analysis of its strain change, and derive a quasi-static model with the Coulomb friction torque for this torsion actuator. Finally, a series of characterization experiments are conducted on the SMA torsion spring and the torsion actuator prototype to determine the values of all model parameters. This work shows that the properties of the SMA-actuated torsion actuator can be appropriately characterized by experiments and the actuator is feasible for robotics applications. (paper)

[en] Recent low-temperature scanning-force-microscopy experiments on narrow Hall bars, under the conditions of the integer quantum Hall effect (IQHE) and its breakdown, have revealed an interesting position dependence of the Hall potential, which changes drastically with the applied magnetic field and the strength of the imposed current through the sample. The present paper shows, that inclusion of Joule heating into an existing self-consistent theory of screening and magneto-transport, which assumes translation invariant Hall bars with a homogeneous background charge due to doping, can explain the experimental results on the breakdown of the IQHE in the so called edge-dominated regime.

[en] Joule heating (JH) is a ubiquitous phenomenon in electrokinetic microfluidic devices. Its effects on fluid and ionic species transport in capillary and microchip electrophoresis have been well studied. However, JH effects on the electrokinetic motion of microparticles in microchannels have been nearly unexplored in the literature. This paper presents an experimental investigation of JH effects on electrokinetic particle transport and manipulation in constriction microchannels under both pure dc and dc-biased ac electric fields. It is found that the JH effects reduce the dielectrophoretic focusing and trapping of particles, especially significant when dc-biased ac electric fields are used. These results are expected to provide a useful guidance for future designs of electrokinetic particle handling microdevices that will avoid JH effects or take advantage of them. (paper)

[en] The thermal ionization of a thick metal surface by pulsed multimegagauss magnetic field has been examined experimentally. Thick 6061-alloy Al rods with initial radii (R₀) from 1.00 to 0.25 mm, larger than the magnetic field skin depth, are pulsed to 1.0 MA peak current in 100 ns. Surface fields (B_s) rise at 30-80 MG/μs and reach 1.5 and 4 MG, respectively. For this range of parameters, plasma forms at a threshold level of B_s=2.2 MG. Novel load hardware ensures that plasma formation is thermal, by Ohmic or compression heating. Surface-plasma formation is conclusively indicated through radiometry, extreme ultraviolet spectroscopy, and gated imaging. When R₀=0.50 mm rods reach peak current, B_s=3 MG, the surface temperature is 20 eV, and Al³⁺ and Al⁴⁺ spectra and surface instabilities are observed. In contrast, R₀=1.00 mm rod surfaces [B_s(t)<2.2 MG] reach only 0.7 eV and remain extremely smooth, indicating that no plasma forms.