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Inventions, Volume 1, Issue 2 (June 2016) – 5 articles

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2912 KiB  
Technical Note
Fully-Programmable, Low-Cost, “Do-It-Yourself” Pressure Source for General Purpose Use in the Microfluidic Laboratory
by Philipp Frank, Sebastian Haefner, Martin Elstner and Andreas Richter
Inventions 2016, 1(2), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/inventions1020013 - 22 Jun 2016
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 8210
Abstract
Microfluidics is still a fast growing field and an interesting market, which increasingly demands sophisticated equipment and specific engineering solutions. Aside from the widely discussed chip technology, the external equipment and machinery to operate such a microfluidic chip system comes into focus. A [...] Read more.
Microfluidics is still a fast growing field and an interesting market, which increasingly demands sophisticated equipment and specific engineering solutions. Aside from the widely discussed chip technology, the external equipment and machinery to operate such a microfluidic chip system comes into focus. A number of companies offer solutions to pursue the various requests made by the microfluidic community. Commercially available systems for pumping fluids are versatile but also highly expensive. Here, we present a fully-programmable pressure source, which is low-cost and can be utilized for pressure-controlled fluid driving, destructive bonding tests, and other pressure-relevant experiments. We evaluated our setup and compared the performance to a commercially available system. Furthermore, we demonstrated the use of the system in the field of droplet microfluidics as a possible application. Our development aims to lower the entrance threshold for microfluidic technology and make it more accessible to a broader audience. Full article
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3285 KiB  
Article
Case Study—Based Overview of Some Contemporary Challenges to Power Quality in Ship Systems
by Janusz Mindykowski
Inventions 2016, 1(2), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/inventions1020012 - 22 Jun 2016
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 8488
Abstract
The content of this paper consists of a presentation and discussion on a case study-based overview of some selected challenges dealing with a problem of power quality on ships. As a consequence, the theoretical considerations are aided by experimental results based mainly on [...] Read more.
The content of this paper consists of a presentation and discussion on a case study-based overview of some selected challenges dealing with a problem of power quality on ships. As a consequence, the theoretical considerations are aided by experimental results based mainly on the author’s research team experience and achievements. Two basic aspects, assessment and improvement of power quality are taken into account. In the process of power quality assessment, the existing ambiguities are analyzed and discussed, after that the undertaken measures and challenges to overcome them are presented. The ways of improving of power quality on ships are described and analyzed in two layers: technological solutions and the staff competences. Expectations and challenges for the future based on developments of both, legal and professional aspects are focused on the key question: how to reduce a risk of ship accidents. Finally, the future works as well as the concluding remarks are formulated and commented on. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Technologies for Maritime Power Systems)
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3379 KiB  
Article
Recycling and Refurbishing of Epoxy Packaging Mold Ports and Plungers
by Wan-Chiech Huang, Chao-Ming Hsu and Cheng-Fu Yang
Inventions 2016, 1(2), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/inventions1020011 - 06 Jun 2016
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 7373
Abstract
During the integrated circuit (IC) packaging process, acid or alkaline chemical ingredients in the packaging material and in the mold cleaning cake are the major contributor to the corrosion of mold ports and plungers. To prolong the service life of these parts, this [...] Read more.
During the integrated circuit (IC) packaging process, acid or alkaline chemical ingredients in the packaging material and in the mold cleaning cake are the major contributor to the corrosion of mold ports and plungers. To prolong the service life of these parts, this study concentrates of three aspects of the problem: First, after recycling and cleaning the plungers and ports, a special vacuum coating is applied to counteract corrosion and reduce abrasion. This coating is resistant to acid and alkali and has a hardness of up to HV4000. This makes it both resistant to abrasion and prolongs working life. Halogen-free packaging material has now been introduced to produce Green Electric Membership Corporations (EMC). However, this material is more viscous than the older, more polluting, plastic cake and this shortens the time between mold cleaning and subsequently reduces time for production as well. Also, most abrasion of the plunger occurs within 3 mm of the tip. We have developed a silver welding technique for this portion and a process in which several materials are used for the main body of the plunger. The procedure involves cutting off the tip and welding on a compound material, we have used DC53 + F10 Steel. These techniques allow recycling and refurbishment of the plungers and ports of packaging molds to prolong their service life to a considerable degree. Take Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. as an example, if each plant uses 1000 sets a month, 12 plants will use 144 thousand sets every year. The saving on each set is about NT$1600. This represents a saving of half the expenditure on mold ports and plungers. Full article
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5974 KiB  
Article
Novel Heat Exchangers with Cross-Runners for Air and Water Cooling
by Tzer-Ming Jeng, Sheng-Chung Tzeng, Ching-Wen Tseng, Chia-Hung Chang, Yi-Cheng Liu, Hsiao-Yun Peng and Huang-Han Chen
Inventions 2016, 1(2), 10; https://doi.org/10.3390/inventions1020010 - 23 May 2016
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 7531
Abstract
This work experimentally investigated the pressure drops and heat transfer characteristics of cross-runner heat exchangers. Three kinds of configurations employed were, (1) the aluminum alloy heat exchanger with a staggered rectangular-fin array (Model A); (2) the aluminum alloy heat exchanger with a staggered [...] Read more.
This work experimentally investigated the pressure drops and heat transfer characteristics of cross-runner heat exchangers. Three kinds of configurations employed were, (1) the aluminum alloy heat exchanger with a staggered rectangular-fin array (Model A); (2) the aluminum alloy heat exchanger with a staggered round pin fin array (Model B); and (3) the copper heat exchanger sintered by multiple copper sheets with rectangular punched holes forming cross-runners (Model C). The results indicate that increasing heat-transfer area (AHT) and decreasing porosity (ε) of the heat exchanger significantly enhanced the heat transfer capacity of the cross-runner heat exchanger, but also increased flow resistance. At the same pumping power for the air-cooled heat transfer experiment, the Nu of Model C was 2.27 and 1.67 times that of Models A and B respectively. Additionally, this study proposed the semi-empirical correlations of dimensionless pressure drop and Nusselt number in terms of Reynolds number for air-cooling measurements. Finally, the feasibility of using the present cross-runner heat exchangers for an instantaneous water heater was also investigated according to the water-cooled heat transfer experiment and the results showed great commercial potential of Model C. Full article
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3448 KiB  
Article
The Development of a Highly Sensitive Fiber-Optic Oxygen Sensor
by Cheng-Shane Chu and Jhih-Jheng Syu
Inventions 2016, 1(2), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/inventions1020009 - 03 May 2016
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6351
Abstract
This paper presents a highly sensitive fiber-optic oxygen sensor. The sensor was fabricated using palladium (II) meso-tetrakis (pentafluorophenyl) porphyrin (PdTFPP) and porous silica nanoparticles embedded in a tetraethylorthosilane (TEOS)/n-octyl-triethoxysilane (Octyl-triEOS) composite xerogel present as a coating on the end of the fiber. Sensitivity [...] Read more.
This paper presents a highly sensitive fiber-optic oxygen sensor. The sensor was fabricated using palladium (II) meso-tetrakis (pentafluorophenyl) porphyrin (PdTFPP) and porous silica nanoparticles embedded in a tetraethylorthosilane (TEOS)/n-octyl-triethoxysilane (Octyl-triEOS) composite xerogel present as a coating on the end of the fiber. Sensitivity is quantified in terms of the ratio IN2/IO2, where IN2 and IO2 represent the intensity of fluorescence detected in a pure nitrogen or pure oxygen environment. The experimental results reveal that this PdTFPP-doped oxygen sensor with porous silica nanoparticles has a sensitivity of IN2/I100O2 = 386. The results also show that this sensor has higher sensitivity than an oxygen sensor based on Pd(II) complex immobilized in a sol-gel matrix. Furthermore, the optical oxygen sensor yields a linear Stern–Volmer plot. The proposed optical sensor has the advantages of easy fabrication, low cost, and high sensitivity to oxygen. Full article
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