Effect of fibre content and alkali treatment on mechanical properties of Roystonea regia-reinforced epoxy partially biodegradable composites

The present paper investigates the effect of fibre content and alkali treatment on tensile, flexural and impact properties of unidirectional Roystonea regia natural-fibre-reinforced epoxy composites which are partially biodegradable. The reinforcement Roystonea regia (royal palm) fibre was collected from the foliage of locally available royal palm tree through the process of water retting and mechanical extraction. The poor adhesion between fibre and matrix is commonly encountered problem in natural-fibre-reinforced composites. To overcome this problem, specific physical and chemical treatments were suggested for surface modification of fibres by investigators. Alkali treatment is one of the simple and effective surface modification techniques which is widely used in natural fibre composites. In the present study both untreated and alkali-treated fibres were used as reinforcement in Roystonea regia epoxy composites and the tensile, flexural and impact properties were determined at different fibre contents. The alkali treatment found to be effective in improving the tensile and flexural properties while the impact strength decreased.     

Treatment of refractory organics from membrane rejects using ozonation

The reject water or retentate generated from membrane application for recovery of water from tannery wastewater treatment contains certain refractory organics. These refractory organics are present in substantial quantity in the condensate of reject water also. Hence the treatment of rejects using conventional methods is rather difficult. In this paper, an attempt has been made to treat the reject water from the reverse osmosis (RO) and nano filtration (NF) operation on tannery wastewater using ozonation treatment technique. Ozonation studies on RO and NF rejects indicate that ozone dose of 80 and 100mg/min for 60 and 70 min contact time achieves 59 and 78% chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction, respectively. The mass balance in ozone indicates the ozone consumption for RO and NF rejects varies from 2.4 to 3.4 and 2.8 to 4.5 g/g of COD removed respectively. The results suggest that ozonation of RO and NF rejects would significantly reduce the refractory organic pollutant loading into the environment from wastewater reuse facility.     

Tensile deformation behavior of nano-sized Mo particles reinforced SnAgCu solders

In this work, tensile deformation of Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu (SAC387) solder and composite of SAC387 reinforced with nano-sized Mo particles have been studied with strain rates from 10⁻⁵ to 10⁻¹ s⁻¹ and temperatures of 25, 75 and 125 °C. It is found that the yield strength (σ_Y.S) and strain hardening exponent (n) are increased with the strain rate, but the n values decrease with increasing temperatures. The n values of the composite solder are also increased with the percentage of the Mo nano-particles (up to 1 wt.%) and thereafter decrease with further increasing of the Mo particle. The strain rate dependence of the Hollomon parameters is found to be stronger at higher temperatures for SAC387 solder, but it is weaker for the composite solders. Empirical equations for σ_Y.S and Hollomon parameters with strain rate and temperatures have been found for both SAC387 and composite solders. Finally, the fracture surfaces of the solders are examined.     

Infrared photodetectors based on reduced graphene oxide and graphene nanoribbons

The use of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) as infrared photodetectors is explored, based on recent results dealing with solar cells, light-emitting devices, photodetectors, and ultrafast lasers. IR detection is demonstrated by both RGO and GNRs in terms of the time-resolved photocurrent and photoresponse. The responsivity of the detectors and their functioning are presented.     

并列型静电纺丝法制备扭曲螺旋结构的复合微/纳米纤维与表征

采用并列型静电纺丝法成功制备出新型的扭曲螺旋结构的复合微/纳米纤维.主要使用扫描电镜、Smile View图像分析软件对样品的微观形貌及结构进行了表征和分析.分析结果表明,高收缩性聚酯弹性体TPEE和相对收缩率较低的PBT,在并列型电纺过程中因断裂伸长率不同产生不同程度的收缩,从而形成三维扭曲螺旋结构的复合纤维.所得纤...     

Si-Sb-Te materials for phase change memory applications

Si-Sb-Te materials including Te-rich Si?Sb?Te? and Si(x)Sb?Te? with different Si contents have been systemically studied with the aim of finding the most suitable Si-Sb-Te composition for phase change random access memory (PCRAM) use. Si(x)Sb?Te? shows better thermal stability than Ge?Sb?Te? or Si?Sb?Te? in that Si(x)Sb?Te? does not have serious Te separation under high annealing temperature. As Si content increases, the data retention ability of Si(x)Sb?Te? improves. The 10 years retention temperature for Si?Sb?Te? film is ~393 K, which meets the long-term data storage requirements of automotive electronics. In addition, Si richer Si(x)Sb?Te? films also show improvement on thickness change upon annealing and adhesion on SiO? substrate compared to those of Ge?Sb?Te? or Si?Sb?Te? films. However, the electrical performance of PCRAM cells based on Si(x)Sb?Te? films with x > 3.5 becomes worse in terms of stable and long-term operations. Si(x)Sb?Te? materials with 3 < x < 3.5 are proved to be suitable for PCRAM use to ensure good overall performance.     

Induced albumin secretion from HepG2 spheroids prepared using poly(ethylene glycol) derivative with oleyl groups

We developed a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) derivative with oleyl groups, so-called “cell adhesive”, for the promotion of human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cell spheroids. Our approach was based on crosslinking of the cell membrane with a cell adhesive via a hydrophobic interaction. A cell adhesive, PEG derivative with hydrophobic oleyl groups at both ends was synthesized and characterized. HepG2 spheroids formed when the adhesive was added to cell suspensions. The size of the spheroids increased with time in culture. In addition, Ammonia elimination of HepG2 spheroid with cell adhesive was 3.4 times higher than that without cell adhesive. Furthermore, albumin secretion from HeG2 spheroids grown with the cell adhesive for 7 days was 3.3 times that from HepG2 spheroids grown without cell adhesive. Fluorescence microscopy showed greater albumin staining in spheroids grown with cell adhesive compared with spheroids grown without adhesive. This cell adhesive may be useful not only for single type of cells but also for multi types of cells to form artificial organs. This cell adhesive will be a key material for liver tissue engineering when it will apply to primary hepatocytes.     

Analysis and simulation of a solar water pump for lift irrigation

A solar water pump for lift irrigation, which was shown to be economically viable, was proposed by Rao and Rao [5]. A “modified pump” is suggested, which is suitable for village water supply. The thermodynamic analysis of the pumps is presented. Though the solar water pump is intended to be operated with flat-plate collectors, it is analysed whether the pump could be run more efficiently when coupled with concentrating collectors. The analysis is also applicable for bellow actuated solar water pumps.Preliminary experimental studies showed that the heat losses are 2–3 times the theoretical energy requirement and the losses to the water tank shell accounted for a major part of the total heat losses. To reduce these losses, it is proposed that the inner surface of the water tank shell be lined with a resin bonded cork insulation. A method to evaluate the heat losses to the shell with insulation by solving the unsteady state heat conduction equation for a composite cylindrical body with time varying convective boundary conditions is presented. The heat losses are reduced to 5–15 per cent of the theoretical energy requirement with the use of the internal insulation. The major problem encountered in operating the pump was the inadequate condensation of the working fluid, which resulted in failure of the suction of water into the water tank. To ensure proper suction of water, the conditions to be maintained are analysed. The presence of water vapor and air in the spent vapor has to be taken into consideration while designing the condenser.An algorithm to evaluate the year round performance of the water-cooled pump for any location, given the lift and collector area, is presented. The cost of the water-cooled pump is compared with the costs of other types of solar water pumps and it is shown that the pump under consideration costs several times less than the other ones. The conditions at which the pump will be economical vis-a-vis diesel and electrical pumps are presented.     

Domestic fuel energy consumption in an Indian urban ecosystem

Berhampur is one of the oldest and biggest towns of Orissa State where 93% of people earn their living from non-primary economic activities. The fuel consumption structure reveals an element of rural bias since the domestic sector derives 49% of its energy used for cooking and heating from biomass sources. Firewood is the only fuel used by all income groups and almost all occupations. Other traditional fuels such as dungcake, agricultural waste and leaf litter are used in the town with different degrees of dominance in various occupation groups and income classes. The inequality of income distribution is reflected in the fuel consumption structure of the rich and poor with greater dependence on non-biomass in the high income group and biomass in the low income group. Family size is an important determinant of biomass fuel use. For the urban poor, there is a relationship between income and fuel consumption. There exists scope for enlarging the biomass base by utilising the available bio-wastes and developing a green belt around the town. This requires some rural features in the urban area using new technologies.