Structural,Mechanical and Dielectric Properties of Microwave-Assisted High-Energy Ball Milling Synthesis of Hydroxyapatite

Abstract

In the present work, the effect of high-energy ball milling (HEBM) of starting precursors of hydroxyapatite (Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂)/HA system on the processing temperature, morphological, mechanical, and electrical properties are highlighted. Calcination and sintering of HA system were carried out in microwave furnace. XRD study confirmed the evolution of HA phase and EDX analysis confirmed Ca/P ratio ～1.65. Grain size of HA samples, synthesized by using microwave-assisted HEBM technique was found to be in the order of 54–75?nm. Enhanced dielectric and mechanical properties were obtained in HA samples.     

Adaptive enhancement of compressed SAR images

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery is an important global all-weather surveillance and mapping satellite imagery system. As space-borne systems have a limited storage capacity, it is imperative to heavily compress SAR images, possible with lossy compression schemes. As a result, SAR images need to be enhanced in earth stations. The work reported in this paper aims to address the issue of compression artefact removal of SAR images in an adaptive manner. The SAR images, compressed using the JPEG utility at significantly low bit rates, are enhanced by adaptively removing coding artefacts and speckle noise. As edges carry significant information in satellite imagery, a significant edge image is used for edge enhancement with selective removal of noisy edges. Further, an image sharpness metric is proposed in this work to serve as an objective no-reference metric for measuring the sharpness of SAR images.     

Synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles by electron irradiation at 5-15 keV energy

Thin coatings (～10?μm) made from a mixture of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and HAuCl(4) or PVA and AgNO(3) on quartz plates were irradiated with 5-15?keV electrons, at room temperature. The electron energy was varied from coating to coating in the range of 5-15?keV, but electron fluence was kept constant at ～10(15)?e?cm(-2). Samples were characterized by the UV-vis, XRD, SEM and TEM techniques. The plasmon absorption peaks at ～511 and ～442?nm confirmed the formation of gold and silver nanoparticles in the respective electron-irradiated coatings. The XRD, SEM and TEM measurements reveal that the average size of the particles could be tailored in the range of 130-50?nm for gold and from 150-40?nm for silver by varying the electron energy in the range of 5-15?keV. These particles of gold and silver embedded in the polymer could also be separated by dissolving the coatings in distilled water.     

Radiation transfer in participating medium interacting with variable property natural convection subjected to collimated/diffused irradiation at boundary—A critical appraisal

The current study addresses the interaction phenomenon of combined natural convection with radiation in the presence of radiatively active gray medium inside a two‐dimensional enclosure. The left wall is radiatively considered to be semitransparent and is subjected to collimated irradiation. All gray walls of the enclosure are assumed to diffuse, except the semitransparent wall which is considered to be specular in nature. Investigation is done for the flow which is considered to be steady, laminar, and two‐dimensional. The variation of properties (k, ρ, μ) with temperature has been taken into consideration to make the investigation realistic. The radiation modeling has been done with the higher order discrete ordinate radiation method (DOM). The finite volume discretization has been adopted for numerical simulation. The effect of varying properties has been delineated and its due consideration while modeling has been realized. The results are depicted through isotherm and streamline patterns. The effects of influencing parameters on the Nusselt number have also been illustrated. A critical appraisal is made examining the suitability of the radiation models starting from S₄ to S₃₂, for different situations. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20403     

Synthesis and characterization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized with hyperbranched poly(urea-urethane)

Two types of hyperbranched poly(urea-urethane)-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (GHPU) have been synthesized in the presence of bis- and tris-hydroxy terminated carbon nanotubes (MWNT-OH). For comparison of the grafting efficiency on carbon nanotubes, pure hyper-branched poly(urea-urethane)s (HPUs) were also synthesized to prepare pristine carbon nanotubes-reinforced nanocomposites (HPNTs). Better MWNT dispersion in the polymer matrix was obtained for GHPU than for HPNT, and the effect was superior in the case of highly branched GHPU from tris-hydroxy-functionalized MWNTs, compared to GHPU from bis-hydroxy-functionalized MWNTs. TEM measurements for GHPUs clearly showed hyperbranched polymer-wrapped MWNT structures. Crystallization of hyperbranched polymers in GHPU was more developed than that of the HPNT nanocomposites, although MWNT-induced crystallization was observed for both the GHPU and HPNT samples. The hyperbranched polymer-grafting effect on MWNTs resulted in greater enhancement of the mechanical properties of GHPU at the same nanotube loading, compared to the case of HPNT nanocomposites. However, a too highly branched structure was found to lower the crystallization and mechanical properties of both the GHPUs and HPNTs.     

Influence of Coating Granulation Process on Iron Ore Sinter Quality and Productivity

For better blast furnace performance, there has always been a need for better quality raw materials like sinter, lump ore, and pellets. Among these raw materials the usage of sinter in blast furnace is at higher side compared to other iron bearing materials. As the quality of sinter product improves, its usage in blast furnaces also increases. Iron ore fines are the main source for sinter making. To improve the sinter properties it is necessary to provide good quality of iron ore fines. Due to depletion of high grade iron ore resources, goethite and limonitic ore content in iron ore fines is expected to increase gradually. Usually limonitic and goethite ore are associated with higher alumina and LOI. The conventional sintering process is one of the well established processes for high quality hematite ore. It does not fully respond to the low grade iron ore associated with goethite and limonite. This has led to deterioration in sinter properties and productivity. In recent years the improvement in the quasi‐particle structure with the granulation process is an effective method for improving sinter quality and productivity. To improve the sinter quality and productivity for low grade iron ore fines, different granulation processes like the conventional one, and other two advanced granulation processes like coke breeze, and flux & coke breeze coating granulation were studied in detail by conducting laboratory pot grate sintering experiments. From the test results it was found that sinter productivity, physical and metallurgical properties of the sinter improved with flux & coke breeze coating granulation process compared to conventional and coke breeze coating granulation process. Proper selection of the granulation time is very important to achieve the desired sinter properties. In the present work detailed laboratory experiments have been carried out by varying the coating time from 30s to 110s to study the influence of flux & coke breeze coating granulation time on mineralogy, productivity, physical, and metallurgical properties of sinter. With a coating granulation time of 50s, higher productivity, higher yield, and stronger sinter (higher T.I) with lower RDI and ‐5mm size sinter were achieved.     

利用人工神经网络模型预测球团矿还原粉化指数

印度JSW钢铁公司是一家年产钢700万t的联合钢铁企业,其炼铁单元由2座COREX和3座高炉组成。COREX和高炉用球团由一个年产420万t的带式焙烧机球团厂供给。作为一项重要的冶金性能指标,球团的还原粉化指数(RDI)要求满足COREX和高炉冶炼的要求。通过建立神经元网络模型和敏感度分析,研究了给料率、料层高度、焙烧温度、干透点温度、COREX煤气单耗、膨润土的添加量、生球水分、生球碳含量、以及成品球的MgO、Al2O3含量和碱度等12个因素对球团RDI指标的影响,并对焙烧机生产球团的RDI(-6.3mm)和RDI(-0.5mm)进行了预测。结果表明,球团中MgO、CaO/SiO2,生球碳含量和Al2O3含量对球团RDI指标影响较大。预测结果与实际的数据误差低于4%。研究得出:①生球的MgO、氧化铝和碳含量以及二元碱度对球团RDI有重要影响。②随着球团MgO含量和球团二元碱度的升高,球团RDI(-6.3mm)和RDI(-0.5mm)得到改善。③随着生球中氧化铝含量的增加,球团RDI升高,因此应尽量使用低氧化铝含量的铁矿粉来降低球团中的氧化铝。随着生球中氧化铝和碳含量的增加,球团RDI(-6.3mm)和RDI(-0.5mm)有所降低。④提高球团二元碱度和MgO含量的同时,降低生球碳含量可以改善球团的RDI。因此需要对它们的配比进行优化。⑤二元碱度0.50～0.55,MgO质量分数0.35%～0.45%,生球碳质量分数1.15%～1.20%,焙烧球氧化铝质量分数低于2.5%,FeO质量分数低于0.60%时,可望得到较低的RDI。⑥相对于球团中的碳和CaO含量,最优的焙烧温度可以改善球团的RDI(-6.3mm)和RDI(-0.5mm)。⑦高给料率和较高的料层高度会使球团的RDI(-6.3mm)和RDI(-0.5mm)升高。     

Corex风口破损分析

Corex是一种使用非炼焦煤及纯氧代替焦炭和空气的熔融还原炼铁新工艺。与高炉工艺相比,Corex风口区域的温度更高,风口的使用寿命是一项重大挑战。在JSW公司,更换烧坏的风口所造成的休风几乎占工厂休风时间的15%。详细分析了风口破损及生产操作参数对破损的影响,以了解破损机理和根源。所有形式的风口破损不可能用一种普遍的原因来解释,但主要的原因集中在:入炉煤粉(6.3mm)过多、煤的平均粒度偏小、渣铁倒灌、关闭风口、结瘤脱落及滑料等。     

Food and nutrition security in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region

The status of food and nutrition security and its underlying factors in the Hindu‐Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is investigated. In this region, one third to a half of children (<5 years of age) suffer from stunting, with the incidence of wasting and under‐weight also being very high. The prevalence of stunting, wasting and under‐weight in children is particularly high in some mountain areas such as Meghalaya state in India, the western mountains and far‐western hills of Nepal, Balochistan province in Pakistan, eastern Afghanistan, and Chin state in Myanmar. Food habits in the HKH region are changing. This has led to a deterioration in traditional mountain food systems with a decline in agrobiodiversity. Factors such as high poverty and low dietary energy intakes, a lack of hygienic environments, inadequate nutritional knowledge, and climate change and environmental degradation are also influencing food and nutrition security in the HKH region. To achieve sustainable food and nutrition security in the mountains, this study suggests a multi‐sectoral integrated approach with consideration of nutritional aspects in all development processes dealing with economic, social, agricultural and public health issues. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry     

Microstructure characterization and charpy toughness of P91 weldment for as-welded,post-weld heat treatment and normalizing &amp; tempering heat treatment

The effect of weld groove design and heat treatment on microstructure evolution and Charpy toughness of P91 pipe weldments was studied. The P91 pipe weldments were subjected to subcritical post weld heat treatment (760 °C-2 h) and normalizing/tempering conditions (normalized-1040 °C/40 min, air cooled; tempered 760 °C/2 h, air cooled) were employed. The influence of subsequent PWHT and N&T treatment on the microstructure of various zone of P91 pipe weldments were also investigated. The present investigation also described the effect of PWHT and N&T treatment on hardness, grain size, precipitate size, inter-particle spacing and fraction area of precipitates present in each zone of P91 pipe weldments. The result indicated great impact of heat treatment on the Charpy toughness and microstructure evolution of P91 weldments. The N&T treatment was found to be more effective heat treatment compared to subsequent PWHT. Charpy toughness value was found to be higher for narrow-groove design as compared to conventional V-groove design.