University of Wollongong

About: University of Wollongong is a education organization based out in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 15674 authors who have published 46658 publications receiving 1197471 citations. The organization is also known as: UOW & Wollongong University.

Including walnuts in a low-fat/modified-fat diet improves HDL cholesterol-to-total cholesterol ratios in patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract: OBJECTIVE —The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a moderate-fat diet inclusive of walnuts on blood lipid profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS —This was a parallel randomized controlled trial comparing three dietary advice groups each with 30% energy as fat: low fat, modified low fat, and modified low fat inclusive of 30 g of walnuts per day. Fifty-eight men and women, mean age 59.3 ± 8.1 years, started the trial. Dietary advice was given at baseline with monthly follow-up and fortnightly phone calls for support. Body weight, percent body fat, blood lipids, HbA1c, total antioxidant capacity, and erythrocyte fatty acid levels were measured at 0, 3, and 6 months. Data were assessed by repeated-measures ANOVA with an intention-to-treat model. RESULTS —The walnut group achieved a significantly greater increase in HDL cholesterol–to–total cholesterol ratio ( P = 0.049) and HDL ( P = 0.046) than the two other treatment groups. A 10% reduction in LDL cholesterol was also achieved in the walnut group, reflecting a significant effect by group ( P = 0.032) and time ( P = 0.036). There were no significant differences between groups for changes in body weight, percent body fat, total antioxidant capacity, or HbA1c levels. The higher dietary polyunsaturated fat–to–saturated fat ratio and intakes of ω-3 fatty acids in the walnut group were confirmed by erythrocyte biomarkers of dietary intake. CONCLUSIONS —Structured “whole of diet” advice that included 30 g of walnuts/day delivering substantial amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acid improved the lipid profile of patients with type 2 diabetes.

Adaptive Sliding Mode Control for Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Systems

Abstract: This paper is concerned with the adaptive sliding mode control problem of uncertain nonlinear systems. Interval type-2 Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy model is employed to represent uncertain nonlinear systems. The input matrices of the nonlinear systems are allowed to be different for the sliding mode controller design. The uncertain parameters are described by the lower and upper membership functions. An integral sliding mode surface is designed for analysis of sliding motion. Based on the sliding mode surface, a novel sliding mode controller is designed to guarantee that the closed-loop system is uniformly ultimately bounded. Some simulation results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the presented control scheme.

A Novel Approach for Ramp-Rate Control of Solar PV Using Energy Storage to Mitigate Output Fluctuations Caused by Cloud Passing

Abstract: The variability of solar irradiance with a high ramp-rate, caused by cloud passing, can create fluctuation in the PV output. In a weak distribution grid with a high PV penetration, this can create significant voltage fluctuations. Energy storage devices are used to smooth out the fluctuation using traditional moving average control. However, moving average does not control the ramp-rate directly; rather the ramp-rate depends on previous values of PV output. This paper proposes a strategy where the ramp-rate of PV panel output is used to control the PV inverter ramp-rate to a desired level by deploying energy storage (which can be available for other purposes, such as storing surplus power, countering voltage rise, etc.). During the ramping event, the desired ramp-rate is governed by controlling the energy storage based on an inverse relationship with the PV panel output ramp-rate to improve the fluctuation mitigation performance. In contrast to the moving average method, the proposed strategy is able to control the desired ramp-rate independent of the past history of the PV panel output. A dynamic model of the PV-storage integrated system is developed to verify the proposed strategy in the presence of physical device time lags. The proposed strategy is verified using simulation results based on an Australian distribution system. A laboratory experiment is also conducted to validate the concept of the proposed control strategy.

Amorphous Carbon Coated High Grain Boundary Density Dual Phase Li4Ti5O12‐TiO2: A Nanocomposite Anode Material for Li‐Ion Batteries

Abstract: This work introduces an effective, inexpensive, and large-scale production approach to the synthesis of a carbon coated, high grain boundary density, dual phase Li4Ti5O12-TiO2 nanocomposite anode material for use in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The microstructure and morphology of the Li4Ti5O12-TiO2-C product were characterized systematically. The Li4Ti5O12-TiO2-C nanocomposite electrode yielded good electrochemical performance in terms of high capacity (166 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.5 C), good cycling stability, and excellent rate capability (110 mAh g−1 at a current density of 10 C up to 100 cycles). The likely contributing factors to the excellent electrochemical performance of the Li4Ti5O12-TiO2-C nanocomposite could be related to the improved morphology, including the presence of high grain boundary density among the nanoparticles, carbon layering on each nanocrystal, and grain boundary interface areas embedded in a carbon matrix, where electronic transport properties were tuned by interfacial design and by varying the spacing of interfaces down to the nanoscale regime, in which the grain boundary interface embedded carbon matrix can store electrolyte and allows more channels for the Li+ ion insertion/extraction reaction. This research suggests that carbon-coated dual phase Li4Ti5O12-TiO2 nanocomposites could be suitable for use as a high rate performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries.

Investigation on magnetorheological elastomers based on natural rubber

Abstract: Magnetorheological Elastomers (MR Elastomers or MREs) are a kind of novel smart material, whose mechanical, electrical, magnetic properties are controllable under applied magnetic fields. They have attracted increasing attentions and broad application prospects. But conventional MREs are limited to wide applications because their MR effects and mechanical performances are not high enough. This paper aims to optimize the fabrication method and to fabricate good natural rubber based MREs with high modulus by investigating the influences of a variety of fabrication conditions on the MREs performances, such as matrix type, external magnetic flux density, and temperature, plasticizer and iron particles. Among these factors, the content of iron particles plays a most important contribution in shear modulus. When the iron particle weight fraction is 80% and the external magnetic flux density is 1 T, the field-induced increment of shear modulus reaches 3.6 MPa, and the relative MR effect is 133%. If the iron weight fraction increases to 90%, the field-induced increment of shear modulus is 4.5 MPa. This result has exceeded the best report in the literatures researching the MREs on the same kind of matrix. The dynamic performances of MREs were also experimentally characterized by using a modified Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA) system. The effects of strain amplitude and driving frequency on viscoelastic properties of MREs were analyzed.