Vlad Jinga

Using Noise and Fluctuations for In Situ Measurements of Nitrogen Diffusion Depth

In manufacturing processes involving diffusion (of C, N, S, etc.), the evolution of the layer depth is of the utmost importance: the success of the entire process depends on this parameter. Currently, nitriding is typically either calibrated using a “post process” method or controlled via indirect measurements (H2, O2, H2O + CO2). In the absence of “in situ” monitoring, any variation in the process parameters (gas concentration, temperature, steel composition, distance between sensors and furnace chamber) can cause expensive process inefficiency or failure. Indirect measurements can prevent process failure, but uncertainties and complications may arise in the relationship between the measured parameters and the actual diffusion process. In this paper, a method based on noise and fluctuation measurements is proposed that offers direct control of the layer depth evolution because the parameters of interest are measured in direct contact with the nitrided steel (represented by the active electrode). The paper addresses two related sets of experiments. The first set of experiments consisted of laboratory tests on nitrided samples using Barkhausen noise and yielded a linear relationship between the frequency exponent in the Hooge equation and the nitriding time. For the second set, a specific sensor based on conductivity noise (at the nitriding temperature) was built for shop-floor experiments. Although two different types of noise were measured in these two sets of experiments, the use of the frequency exponent to monitor the process evolution remained valid.

MODULARITY Applied to SMART HOME

Reducing energy demand in the residential sector is an important problem worldwide. This study is focused on the awareness of residents to energy conservation, potential of reducing energy and the implementation of a solution in the field of Intelligent House. This paper presents a newly designed integrated wireless modular monitoring system that supports real-time data acquisition from multiple wireless sensing units.

The Correlation Between Concepts of Resilience and Remote Experiment in Education

The role of virtual environment in relation with the resilience concept of has not yet been analyzed in depth. Educators cannot determine the resilience level of students as the trademark earned or inherited. But instead, they can create the educational conditions, enabling the resilience manifestation at higher level when the circumstances requires. The remote experiment, as a component brought in education by the virtual environment, are included in the present analyze, with them relevant benefits. The paper illustrates the fact that the problems, generated by the educational environment that aims at resilience education, are partly satisfied by the virtual environment qualities. Was succeeds to illustrate that the virtual environment (remote experiment) might contribute at resilience level increasing.

Correspondence between KOLBAS experiential learning and rigor-relevance framework

Today, many theories of learning work in parallel. Each of these theories contains valuables notions useful in knowledge transfer but, unification efforts are weaker than efforts to create new concepts of learning. Recently, the powerful involving of technology (Internet, remote experiment, learning platforms, etc.) in teaching and learning led to a regrouping of the concepts regarding the transfer and acquisition of knowledge. One point of view regarding this process is presented in this paper. It is speaking about an independent combination between Blooms taxonomy and applications and possible correlations with Kolb s learning model. Each theory contains irrefutable truths and simultaneously neglects important issues of the process. An attempt to build a correspondence between these two models shows that: • Teaching is a combination of theory and practical experiments, what usually are called courses for “knowledge transfer”. Today is generally accepted that the sum of courses contained in a curriculum adequately prepares the student for the future career; • Charts Rigor-Relevance however shows that the stage of “applications across disciplines” brings closer the student to the real life; • The same diagram shows that in teaching environment the applications located in unpredictable environment lead to the formation of skills closer to the real career problems; The question is whether the Kolbs experiential learning cycle has the same conclusions as Rigor-Relevance, especially since it considers learning starting from experiment not from knowledge. The paper reconsiders the cycle of Kolb theory content and shows that each of the four stages, which this cycle passes, contains obviously both elements from the taxonomy of Bloom and the possibility to organize experiments passing successively from those that are required for a single discipline towards the experiments across disciplines under predictable and unpredictable conditions.

Creative developments in LabVIEW student training: (Creativity laboratory — LabVIEW academy)

In Transylvanias University — Creativity Laboratory we try to do complex trainings of students and high school childrens — connected with the their preparation for LabVIEW (Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Engineering Workbench) Academy examinations. The graphical nature of LabVIEW makes it easier to develop working code faster — quickly drag and drop built-in functions to simplify acquisition, analysis, control, and data sharing so you can spend less time on syntax errors and more time on creative development of your application. In this paper we present how we put together: industrial cooperation (developed in cooperation with industry), complex system development and fast implementation, LabVIEW training and student/childrens creativity development (learning by doing). It is a good exercise to increase creativity starting from a concrete application that allows multiple solutions. This diversity allows students to compare, to do critically appreciation one another, to understand the role of communication and exchange of experience in creating new solutions and to have finally the satisfaction of one achievement, made by their own, under the guidance of professor and in collaboration with colleagues.

An Instrument for Creativity Potentiation - Remote Experiment

Kolb and Fry (1975) showed that experiment – based learning is a good way to improve the accumulation of knowledge. The concept succeeds to direct attention on the fact that education is a conservative system based on routines and habits. Creative thinking is not manifested in this environment, so the question is the following: is it necessary to renounce at these routines and habits? Ancient Greeks said that “…from nothing is born… nothing…” encouraging knowledge accumulation. The knowledge base is formed using convergent thinking which introduced learning routines and habits that eliminate possible variations and, step by step, to reach the final point of the demonstration. But creativity is based on divergent thinking. This paper does not aim to cover the entire educational landscape and principles, but wants to illustrate the manner in which a piece of technology, that began to support more and more learning by experience, can increase creativity potential. It is about remote experiment. Analysis of the relationship between remote experiment, as a tool to stimulate creativity, and the classic learning shows that this instrument represents a good connection with the real world in spite of the fact that it is manifested in the virtual environment. The effects of the experiments in virtual environment, positive in general, are limited by the problems of the Internet connectivity and by the laboratories unequally endowment.

The Future of “Hardware – Software Reconfigurable”

In the present paper we discuss some ideas about the evolution of “Hardware – Software reconfigurable” and from the teaching point of view to correlate these ideas with the new developments connected with the new compiler from LabVIEW to Raspberry PI.

Remote experiment and virtual sensors

The necessity to create virtual sensors derived from the fact that in the condition of the existence of millions of sensors, cloud computing becomes the compulsory layer between physical sensors which capture aspects of the external environment and the application interface. In fact a virtual sensor is able to measure indirectly, combining the data obtained from physical sensors, sizes that are not physically measurable. In this paper the authors analyze the implications of virtual sensors in the future development of the remote experiment. Virtual sensors will form a bridge between what is measured in the network and what learners will want to measure, using the existing sensors and an appropriate algorithm. Virtual sensors will convert data from multiple sensors into useful information that cannot be obtained from a single sensor, providing an indirect measurement of values that are not physically measurable. The introduction of the virtual sensors will multiply the communication manners, implying Machine to Machine (M2M), People to Machine (P2M) and People to People (P2P) [1].

Digital creativity peculiarities in the case of remote experiment

In the last two decades digital technology has become an important part of everyday life. More than that, “digital technologies” have gained the status of “social community.” This paper presents the remote experiment argument between the concepts of “technological determinism” - which considers that culture is a passive element and technology the active element, and of “socio-economic determinism” - which considers that culture is an active element and technology the passive element. From this dichotomy the concept of “embedded determinism” has emerged. In this landscape remote experimentation as a part of digital creativity has changed the philosophy of laboratory works from - “imposing rigid rules” - proper for the “face-to-face” labs towards “freedom to create.” Remote experimentation (RE) as a new tool for teaching and learning in the virtual space introduced some new characteristics in the e-culture environment: · RE has led the change in the learning environment, putting the existing rules to the test; · Due to the ability to compare one experiment with another experiment created in another part of the world, mistakes are discovered quickly by the students, putting applied education in a glass house; · RE has moved the individual work towards community and cooperation in the network; · RE is a part of an e-world, characterized by decentralization and quite out of control. This aspect contradicts existing teaching and learning systems which are centralized; · RE introduced the dynamics of Internet into the education system. Some considerations regarding these ideas will be presented in the paper.

Thin Films Based on Tungsten Carbide with Binary, Ternary and Quaternary Composition, Obtained by Magnetron Sputtering

Tungsten carbide is an anorganic compound with very interesting tribology features such as: the highest melting point and hardness values among the known compounds, high elasticity (Young) modulus, high thermal stability on a large temperature range, low chemical reactivity, etc. Magnetron sputtering is the most convenient deposition method for obtaining tribological coatings with binary/ternary/quaternary composition starting from WC commercially magnetron sputtering targets. Roughness and grain size of such coatings were investigated by Atomic Force Microscopy and electrical sheet resistance was investigated by using the Four Point Probe Method with ALESSI head and W electrodes.