Liquid water produced in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell experiences a freeze/thaw cycle when the cell is switched off and on while operating at ambient temperatures below freezing. This freeze/thaw cycle permanently deforms the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell capillary structures and reduces both the cell life and its ability to generate electric power. The X-ray tomography fac...

We present a situation calculus-based account of multiplayers synchronous games in the style of general game playing. Such games can be represented as action theories of a special form, situation calculus synchronous game structures (SCSGSs), in which we have a single action tick whose effects depend on the combination of moves selected by the players. Then one can express properties of the gam...

In this semitutorial paper we discuss a general message passing algorithm, which we call the generalized distributive law (GDL). The GDL is a synthesis of the work of many authors in the information theory, digital communications, signal processing, statistics, and artificial intelligence communities. It includes as special cases the Baum–Welch algorithm, the fast Fourier transform (FFT) on any...

In an important recent paper, Yedidia, Freeman, and Weiss [7] showed that there is a close connection between the belief propagation algorithm for probabilistic inference and the Bethe-Kikuchi approximation to the variational free energy in statistical physics. In this paper, we will recast the YFW results in the context of the “generalized distributive law” [1] formulation of belief propagatio...

A protein concentrate (PC) was obtained from Grouper fish skin and it was used to prepare films with different amounts of sorbitol and glycerol as plasticizers. The best performing films regarding resistance were then modified with various concentrations of CaCl2, CaSO4 (calcium salts), and glucono-δ-lactone (GDL) with the purpose of improving their mechanical and barrier properties. These film...

2014 The influence of various pollutants on the ONERA CO2/N2/He mixing GDL is evaluated. Special attention is paid to those chemicals likely to appear in a combustion-driven system. For our plenum conditions (12 atm, 3 000 K), it is found that at most 5 % H2O, 10 % H2, or 15 % CO2 by volume can be tolerated among combustion products. It is also observed that CO has a large effect on gain due to...

In high-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells (HTPEFC) the quantity and concentration of phosphoric acid (PA) in the catalyst layer and, if wetted, in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) depends on operating conditions. The distribution, concentration and mobility of the PA relates to performance and durability of the HT-PEFC [1]. X-ray radiography (providing 2D information) has been developed f...

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are highly efficient power generators, being used recently in a clean hybrid power supply system. Comsol Multiphysics, a commercial solver based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) was used for developing a three dimensional model of a high temperature PEMFC in order to study operation mode and performance of the fuel cell. Cathode gas flow velocity in...

There is substantial evidence that driving skills improve during driver training, but the long-term safety benefit of such formal training remains unproven. Restricting the exposure of newly licensed drivers to more hazardous driving circumstances, as in graduated driver licensing (GDL) regimes, demonstrably reduces crash risk, but drivers remain at risk after the restrictions are eased. GDL an...

The aim of this work was to study the effect of xanthan gum (XG) on the gelation process of bovine sodium caseinate (NaCAS) induced by acidification with glucono-δ-lactone (GDL) and on the mixed acid gel microstructure. Before GDL addition, segregative phase separation was observed in all the NaCAS-XG mixtures evaluated. The gelation process was analyzed by using a fractional factorial experime...