Open Access

Soot particles emitted from a light duty (LD) Volkswagen diesel engine running at different operating points (speed and torque levels) are analyzed for mean size determination using a laser‐based three Wavelength Extinction Method (3‐WEM). For this reason, collected soot samples are suspended using an appropriate sample preparation technique with optimized conditions of sonication as it revealed its effect on the soot mean particle size measured by 3‐WEM. An online Scanning Mobility Particle Analyzer (SMPS) is also used to measure soot emission at identical engine operating points. Size values obtained from SMPS are lower than those of suspended soot samples obtained from 3‐WEM. The size discrepancies are mainly related to the required sample preparation procedure employed for 3‐WEM measurements. The engine operating points affect, differently, the size measurements obtained from SMPS and 3‐WEM. Sedimentation Field‐Flow Fractionation (SdFFF) is used for density determination of soot samples based on size measurements of fractions collected at peak maxima of fractograms using the off‐line hyphenation with 3‐WEM. It is assumed that a size dependent separation of soot particles occurred with a uniform particle density over the whole size distribution. An average density value is used for the conversion of soot fractograms to size distributions. Discrepancies are also found with size distribution profiles obtained from SMPS for the same engine operating points, due to the sample preparation procedure employed for SdFFF measurements.

This article presents an innovative code-division multiple access system architecture that is based on orthogonal complementary spreading codes and time-frequency domain spreading. The architecture has several advantages compared to conventional CDMA systems. Specifically, it offers multiple-access-interference-free operation in AWGN channels, reduces co-channel interference significantly, and has the potential for higher capacity and spectral efficiency than conventional CDMA systems. This is accomplished by using an "offset stacked" spreading modulation technique followed by quadrature amplitude modulation, which optimizes performance in a fading environment. This new spreading modulation scheme also simplifies the rate matching algorithms relevant for multimedia services and IP-based applications.

The Division Industrial Chemistry of the Swiss Chemical Society organizes periodically a two-day event for the post-graduate education of its members. This event is known as the Freiburger Symposium. This year it focussed on sustainable chemical production. The twelve talks covered the following aspects: ethical needs for sustainability standards, the required, attained, and yet to be attained sustainability goals in chemical industry. Diverse case studies showed the highly developed awareness about the sustainability issue within the chemical community.

Experimental and theoretical investigations of the time of equalization of the concentration of an impurity in a rectangular flow‐type chamber have been carried out. It has been shown that the process of equalization of the concentration with time is exponential in character. The characteristic equalization time has been computed using the theory of turbulent diffusion. Theoretical results describe experimental regularities with an accuracy of about 10%. The value of the coefficient of turbulent diffusion for different configurations of flows in the chamber has been obtained from a comparison of experimental and calculated results.