Flank wear detection of cutting tool inserts in turning operation: application of nonlinear time series analysis

It has been established that turning process on a lathe exhibits low dimensional chaos. This study reports the results of nonlinear time series analysis applied to sensor signals captured real time. The purpose of this chaos analysis is to differentiate three levels of flank wears on cutting tool inserts—fresh, partially worn and fully worn—utilizing the single value index extracted from the reconstructed chaotic attractor; the correlation dimension. The analysis reveals distinguishable dynamics of cutting characterized by different values for the dimension of the attractor when different quality tool inserts are used. This dependence can be effectively utilized as one of the indicators in tool condition monitoring in a lathe. This paper presents the experimental results and shows that tool vibration signals can transmit tool wear conditions reliably.     

Structural, electrical and optical properties of Bi2Se3 and Bi2Se(3−x)Tex thin films

Thin films of Bi₂Se₃, Bi₂Se_2.9Te_0.1, Bi₂Se_2.7Te_0.3 and Bi₂Se_2.6Te_0.4 are prepared by compound evaporation. Micro structural, optical and electrical measurements are carried out on these films. X-ray diffraction pattern indicates that the as-prepared films are polycrystalline in nature with exact matching of standard pattern. The composition and morphology are determined using energy dispersive X-ray analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optical band gap, which is direct allowed, is 0.67 eV for Bi₂Se₃ thin films and the activation energy is 53 meV. Tellurium doped thin films also show strong optical absorption corresponding to a band gap of 0.70-0.78 eV. Absolute value of electrical conductivity in the case of tellurium doped thin film shows a decreasing trend with respect to parent structure.     

Formation and properties of AgInSe2 thin films by co-evaporation

The electrical and optical properties of silver indium selenide thin films prepared by co-evaporation have been studied. X-ray diffraction indicates that the as prepared films were polycrystalline in nature. The lattice parameters were calculated to be a=0.6137 and b=1.1816 nm. Composition was determined from energy dispersive analysis of X-ray. Silver indium selenide thin films were also prepared by bulk evaporation of powdered sample for comparative study. They have an optical band gap (E_g) of 1.25 eV and it is a direct allowed transition. Refractive index (n) and extinction coefficient (k) were calculated from absorption and reflection spectra. Steady-state photoconductivity was measured from 300 to 400 K. Carrier lifetime was calculated from transient photoconductivity measurements at room temperature at different intensities of illumination.     

Spectroscopic properties and high-power laser operation of Yb0.14:Y0.77Gd0.09Ca4O(BO3)3 mixed crystal

We report, for the first time to our knowledge, on the spectroscopic properties and continuous-wave laser performance of Yb_0.14:Y_0.77Gd_0.09Ca₄O(BO₃)₃, a mixed rare earth calcium oxyborate Yb-ion crystal. Under simple end-pumping conditions with a 976-nm diode, efficient CW laser operation was demonstrated at room temperature, producing an output power of 14.1 W at 1084.4 nm with an optical-to-optical efficiency of 48%; while operating around 1045 nm, the laser could generate an output power as high as 23.0 W, with optical-to-optical and slope efficiencies amounting, respectively, to 57% and 70% with respect to incident pump power. The polarized absorption and emission cross sections are also presented. The impressive results demonstrated reveal the great potential of these mixed oxyborates in developing new promising Yb-ion laser crystals.     

Spectroscopic characterizations of Er doped LaPO4 submicron phosphors prepared by homogeneous precipitation method

Hexagonal shaped LaPO₄ submicron particles doped with various concentrations of Er were successfully prepared by homogenous precipitation method using metal nitrates and ammonium phosphate. Particles of approximate particle size 125 nm and size distribution of 85 nm are obtained with good crystallinity. After heat treatment at 1200 °C for 2 h, the particles are characterized for their various optical properties such as absorption, emission, fluorescence decay and optical band gap. Optical absorption and emission data are numerically analyzed with the help of Judd–Ofelt model to evaluate various radiative spectral properties such as radiative decay rates, radiative quantum yield, emission cross-section and fluorescence branching ratios of various emission transitions. Though the radiative quantum yield of 1554 nm emission approaches the theoretical limit of 100%, the experimentally measured quantum yield is only 11% at 12 W/cm² at 980 nm excitation power density in 2% Er doped LaPO₄.     

Changes of the local magnetic properties of the optically excited Nd3+ ions and their manifestation in the near IR spectra of the Nd0.5Gd0.5Fe3(BO3)4 crystal

Polarized absorption spectra of f–f transitions ⁴I_9/2 → ⁴F_3/2 and (²H_9/2 + ⁴F_5/2) in the Nd³⁺ ion in the Nd_0.5Gd_0.5Fe₃(BO₃)₄ single crystal were studied as a function of temperature in the range of 2–40 K and as a function of magnetic field in the range of 0–65 kOe at 2 K. It was found out that the selection rules for f–f electron transitions substantially changed in the magnetically ordered state of the crystal, and they strongly depended on the orientation of the Fe and Nd ions magnetic moments relative to the light polarization. The splitting of the ground and excited states of the Nd³⁺ ion in the exchange field of the Fe sublattice were determined. It was revealed that the value of the exchange splitting (the exchange interaction) in the excited states did not correlate with the theoretical Landé factors. The Landé factors of the excited states were experimentally found. In general, the local magnetic properties in the vicinity of the excited ion depend substantially on its electron state. In particular: (1) in one of the excited states a weak ferromagnetic moment appears, (2) the changes of type of the local magnetic anisotropy take place in some excited states, and (3) in some excited states the energetically favorable orientation of the Nd³⁺ ion magnetic moment is opposite to that in the ground state. In some excited states the nonequivalent Nd³⁺ centers were found out.     

Application of fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process algorithm and fuzzy load profile for load shedding in power systems

In an electrical competitive market, load shedding decision support systems are needed to find the ways to process load shedding to satisfy both economic and technical conditions. This paper proposed the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process algorithm (Fuzzy-AHP) and fuzzy logic for load profile approach to determine the weight of the load nodes of the system and select the control strategy when the system operates at various load levels. Weights of the load nodes were calculated by triangular fuzzy numbers in the pair comparison. These results combined with the fuzzy logic for load profile to draw out the suitable control strategies for various load levels in case of emergency. The effectiveness of the algorithm was demonstrated through the experiment of load shedding of IEEE 37 bus compared with traditional AHP algorithm.     

High efficiency panchromatic photopolymer recording material for holographic data storage systems

Studies carried out to gauge the potential of a metal-ion doped panchromatic photopolymer recording material for application in real-time holographic data storage is presented. The photopolymer films are spin coated on glass plates to ensure better surface uniformity. Volume holographic transmission gratings with peak diffraction efficiency of 80% could be stored in the photopolymer films of 100 μm thickness. An efficiency of 70% is achievable even for gratings recorded with exposure energy as low as 10 mJ/cm². A checkerboard pattern data page recorded in the photopolymer film using a defocused 4-f recording geometry could be reconstructed with good image quality. The experimental results illustrate the competency of the developed photopolymer for holographic data storage applications.     

A UWB CMOS low-noise amplifier with noise reduction and linearity improvement techniques

In this paper, a highly linear CMOS low noise amplifier (LNA) for ultra-wideband applications is presented. The proposed LNA improves both input second- and third-order intercept points (IIP2 and IIP3) by canceling the common-mode part of all intermodulation components from the output current. The proposed LNA structure creates equal common-mode currents with the opposite sign by cascading two differential pairs with a cross-connected output. These currents eliminate each other at the output and improve the linearity. Also, the proposed LNA improves the noise performance by canceling the thermal noise of the input and auxiliary transistors at the output. Detailed analysis is provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed LNA structure. Post-layout circuit level simulation results using a 90 nm RF CMOS process with Spectre-RF reveal 9.5 dB power gain, -3 dB bandwidth (BW_−3dB) of 8 GHz from 2.4 GHz to 10.4 GHz, and mean IIP3 and IIP2 of +13.1 dBm and +42.8 dBm, respectively. The simulated S₁₁ is less than −11 dB in whole frequency range while the LNA consumes 14.8 mW from a single 1.2 V power supply.     

Green Nanocomposites of Natural Rubber/ Olivine Nanosilica: Viscoelastic,Mechanical, Transport and Thermal Characterizations

Silicon - Nanosilica was synthesized from a low cost raw material, olivine by a more sustainable and cost effective method. The pure nanosilica obtained was amorphous in nature with a surface area...