Andrei Koptioug

Reduced Amount of Conductive Ink with Gridded Printed Antennas

It becomes more and more common to print tag antennas using electrically conductive ink for mass-produced Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tags. Electrical properties of the ink are mostly determined by conductive (e.g. silver) particles mixed into the ink solution. Since silver is relatively expensive it is desirable to minimize the amount of ink used per antenna. This paper illustrates how the printed conductor area of the antenna can be reduced by applying a grid pattern to an existing antenna geometry and to what extent the gridding can be performed without significantly degrading of the antenna electrical properties. Two common antenna structures are used as an example. It is also shown that by slightly modifying the original antenna geometry it is possible to even further reduce the amount of used ink.

The "smart" diaper moisture detection system

Smart diaper moisture detection system described is a paper-based disposable moisture-activated RFID system that could be incorporated into the traditional cellulose-based diaper. The tag is semi-passive in the sense that it has no internal battery but incorporates a built-in energy conversion sensor (Action-Activated Tag). The tag with sensor unit is optimized for low-cost manufacturing, utilizes screen-printing with electrically conductive ink on paper-based substrates and inherits very low EM radiation. A discussion on the manufacturability and cost efficiency of the system is presented. A prototype system is shown and other possible application areas of the system are mentioned.

Stochastic mechanics in the context of the properties of living systems

Many features of living systems prevent the application of fundamental statistical mechanics (FSM) to study such systems. The present work focuses on some of these features. After discussing all the basic approaches of FSM, the work formulates an extension of the kinetic theory paradigm (based on the reduced one-particle distribution function) that exhibits all of the living-system properties considered. This extension appears to be a model within the generalized kinetic theory developed by N. Bellomo and his co-authors. In connection with this model, the work also stresses some other features necessary for making the model relevant to living systems. A mathematical formulation of homeorhesis is also derived. An example discussed in the work is a generalized kinetic equation coupled with a probability-density equation representing the varying component content of a living system. The work also suggests a few directions for future research.

Characterization of moisture sensor based on printed Carbon-Zinc energy cell

In this work we present a simple printed moisture sensor fabricated using electronic inks on a multilayer paper structure. The sensor is based on a Carbon-Zinc type energy cell and provides power to a readout electronic circuit when activated by moisture. The sensors are based on a number of our filed patents according to which the sensor is used for both event detection and as a power source for the processing electronics. Typical applications are moisture and leakage detection in buildings, water pipe lines, smart packages and health care systems such as smart incontinence sensors. As the detector is triggered, it powers up an electronic circuit (polymer based or silicon based) that starts communication with the alarm server. In the simplest systems a sound or a light alarm is started to alert the user. In this work we present a characterization of some critical parameters of the sensor such as power driving capability, linearity, internal memory effects and saturation. In addition, we examine a specific application, when sensor is used as defrosting alarm for surveillance of frozen articles during transport.

Surface modification of additive manufactured Ti6Al4V alloy with Ag nanoparticles: wettability and surface morphology study

In this work, the use of electrophoretic deposition to modify the surface of Ti6Al4V alloy fabricated via additive manufacturing technology is reported. Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP)-stabilized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) had a spherical shape with a diameter of the metallic core of 100±20 nm and ζ -potential -15 mV. The AgNPs- coated Ti6Al4V alloy was studied in respect with its chemical composition and surface morphology, water contact angle, hysteresis, and surface free energy. The results of SEM microphotography analysis showed that the AgNPs were homogeneously distributed over the surface. Hysteresis and water contact angle measurements revealed the effect of the deposited AgNPs layer, namely an increased water contact angle and decreased contact angle hysteresis. However, the average water contact angle was 125° for PVP-stabilized-AgNPs-coated surface, whereas ethylene glycol gave the average contact angle of 17°. A higher surface energy is observed for AgNPs-coated Ti6Al4V surface (70.17 mN/m) compared with the uncoated surface (49.07 mN/m).

Nonsearch Paradigm for Large-Scale Parameter-Identification Problems in Dynamical Systems Related to Oncogenic Hyperplasia

In many engineering and biomedical problems there is a need to identify parameters of the systems from experimental data. A typical example is the biochemical-kinetics systems describing oncogenic hyperplasia where the dynamical model is nonlinear and the number of the parameters to be identified can reach a few hundreds. Solving these large-scale identification problems by the local- or global-search methods can not be practical because of the complexity and prohibitive computing time. These difficulties can be overcome by application of the non-search techniques which are much less computation- demanding. The present work proposes key components of the corresponding mathematical formulation of the nonsearch paradigm. This new framework for the nonlinear large-scale parameter identification specifies and further develops the ideas of the well-known approach of A. Krasovskii. The issues are illustrated with a concise analytical example. The new results and a few directions for future research are summarized in a dedicated section.