Influence of accelerated curing on the compressive strength of polymer-modified concrete

In recent building practice, rapid construction is one of the principal requisites. Furthermore, in designing concrete structures, compressive strength is the most significant of all parameters. While 3-d and 7-d compressive strength reflects the strengths at early phases, the ultimate strength is paramount. An effort has been made in this study to develop mathematical models for predicting compressive strength of concrete incorporating ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) at the later phases. Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) goodness-of-fit test was used to examine distribution of the data. The compressive strength of EVA-modified concrete was studied by incorporating various concentrations of EVA as an admixture and by testing at ages of 28, 56, 90, 120, 210, and 365 d. An accelerated compressive strength at 3.5 hours was considered as a reference strength on the basis of which all the specified strengths were predicted by means of linear regression fit. Based on the results of KS goodness-of-fit test, it was concluded that KS test statistics value (D) in each case was lower than the critical value 0.521 for a significance level of 0.05, which demonstrated that the data was normally distributed. Based on the results of compressive strength test, it was concluded that the strength of EVA-modified specimens increased at all ages and the optimum dosage of EVA was achieved at 16% concentration. Furthermore, it was concluded that predicted compressive strength values lies within a 6% difference from the actual strength values for all the mixes, which indicates the practicability of the regression equations. This research work may help in understanding the role of EVA as a viable material in polymer-based cement composites.     

Effects of Gamma Irradiation on Proteins and Fatty Acids of Soybean

Two hundred grams of soybean seeds (moisture contents of 7.4, 15.3, 22.5, and 30.5%) were irradiated at dose levels of 0, 1, 5, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 KGy using Cobalt-60 source. Radiation dose of 100 KGy caused a decrease in the percentage of nitrogen solubility from 80.3 to 67.2, 80.3 to 57.8, and 68.1 to 48.8 when deionized H₂O, 0.6M NaCl, and 0.2M Cacl₂ were used as solvents, respectively. Inhibition of 71% of lipoxygenase activities, 25.4% trypsin inhibitor activities, and 16.7% chymotrypsin inhibitor activities were found when the soybean seeds were irradiated at 100 KGy.     

3，4-二氢吡咯[2，1-c][1，4]噘嗪-1-酮及其7-芳酰基衍生物的设计与合成

以2-吡咯基三氯乙酮为主要原料,经过乙二醇单酯化、羟基氯取代、环合三步反应制得了3,4-二氢吡咯[2,1-c][1,4]噁嗪-1-酮;又经过Friedel—Crafts酰基化和环合反应制得了未见文献报道的7-芳酰基-3,4-二氢吡咯[2,1-c][1,4]噁嗪-1-酮它们及其某些重要中间体的结构分别采用红外光谱、质谱、核磁共振氢谱、核磁共振碳谱以及高分辨率质谱进行了表征．     

哈尔滨地区汛期径流量变化趋势与复杂性分析

区域水文要素复杂性研究是当今的热点问题,为了研究哈尔滨地区汛期径流量的复杂性特征及变化趋势,将R/S分析法和等概率粗粒化LZC算法引入到区域径流复杂性分析与变化趋势预测中,对地区内10个水文站点的汛期径流序列的复杂性进行诊断并对其变化趋势进行分析。研究结果表明:哈尔滨、通河、阿城、依兰、烟囱山各站未来的汛期径流量呈减少趋势,岔林河、莲花、西北河、延寿、四平山各站未来的汛期径流量呈增长趋势;各站点汛期径流序列的复杂度由高到低依次为:四平山、烟囱山、岔林河、阿城、西北河、依兰、莲花、通河、哈尔滨、延寿;从河流集水面积对其径流长程相关性和复杂性的影响可以看出,站点的河流集水面积越大,其径流量的长程相关性越强,复杂性指数越小。研究成果揭示了本地区汛期径流量的变化趋势以及复杂性演变特征,该特征可为区域径流预测及水资源优化配置提供科学依据。     

First-principles study of the double perovskites Sr<Subscript>2</Subscript>XOsO<Subscript>6</Subscript> (X = Li,Na, Ca) for spintronics applications

We investigated double perovskite compounds of the form Sr ₂ XOsO ₆ (X = Li, Na, Ca) using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. For the exchange-correlation energy, Wu and Cohen generalized gradient approximation (WC-GGA), Perdew, Burke and Ernzerhof GGA (PBE-GGA), Engel and Vosko GGA (EV-GGA), and GGA plus Hubbard U-parameter (GGA + U) were used. The calculated structural parameters are in good agreement with the existing experimental results. Calculation of different elastic constants and elastic moduli reveals that these compounds are elastically stable and possess ductile nature. The GGA + U approach yields quite accurate results of the bandgap as compared with the simple GGA schemes. The density of states plot shows that Sr-4d, Os-5d and O-2p states predominantly contribute to the conduction and valence bands. Further, our results regarding to the magnetic properties of these compounds reveal their ferromagnetic nature. In addition, these compounds seem to possess half-metallic properties, making them useful candidates for applications in spintronics devices.     

Selective extraction and detection of noble metal based on ionic liquid immobilized silica gel surface using ICP-OES

In this study, an efficiently employed ionic liquid combined with commercially available silica gel (SG–ClPrNTf₂) was developed for selective detection of gold(III) by use of inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The selectivity of SG–ClPrNTf₂ was evaluated towards seven metal ions, including Y(III), Mn(II), Zr(IV), Pb(II), Mg(II), Pd(II) and Au(III). Based on pH study and distribution coefficient values, the SG–ClPrNTf₂ phase was found to be the most selective towards Au(III) at pH 2 as compared to other metal ions. The adsorption isotherm of Au(III) on the SG–ClPrNTf₂ phase followed the Langmuir model with adsorption capacity of 59.48 mg g^?1, which was highly in agreement with experimental data of adsorption isotherm study. The kinetics study indicated that Au(III) adsorption kinetics data were well fit with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model on the basis of correlation coefficient fitting (0.996) and adsorption capacity agreement (62.26 mg g^?1). Furthermore, SG–ClPrNTf₂ phase was effectively performed for the determination of Au(III) in real water samples with satisfactory results.     

Influence of pulse electrodeposition parameters on microhardness,grain size and surface morphology of Ni–Co/SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanocomposite coating

Ni–Co/SiO ₂ nanocomposite coatings and Ni–Co alloy coatings were prepared on steel substrate using direct and pulse electrodeposition methods. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray map and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were employed to investigate the phase structure, surface morphology, and elemental analysis of coatings, respectively. In high discharge rates, the surface morphology was rough, disordered and gross globular; on the contrary, in the low rates, it was smoother, more ordered and fine globular. Also, effect of electrodeposition parameters such as average current density, pulse frequency and duty cycle on the microhardness and grain size of nanocomposite coatings that produced through the pulse current electrodeposition method have been investigated. By amplifying both duty cycles up to 50% and average current density from 2 to 6 A dm^?2, microhardness increased, while the grain size decreased. But when duty cycle mounted on more than 50% and the average current density went up to 8 A dm^?2, microhardness lessened, while the grain size rose. The optimum value for pulse frequency was about 25 Hz. Results showed that microhardness of nanocomposite coatings which were produced by pulse current method was higher than that of produced by direct current method.     

Fuzzy linear programming approach for solving transportation problems with interval-valued trapezoidal fuzzy numbers

Transportation problem (TP) is an important network structured linear programming problem that arises in several contexts and has deservedly received a great deal of attention in the literature. The central concept in this problem is to find the least total transportation cost of a commodity in order to satisfy demands at destinations using available supplies at origins in a crisp environment. In real life situations, the decision maker may not be sure about the precise values of the coefficients belonging to the transportation problem. The aim of this paper is to introduce a formulation of TP involving interval-valued trapezoidal fuzzy numbers for the transportation costs and values of supplies and demands. We propose a fuzzy linear programming approach for solving interval-valued trapezoidal fuzzy numbers transportation problem based on comparison of interval-valued fuzzy numbers by the help of signed distance ranking. To illustrate the proposed approach an application example is solved. It is demonstrated that study of interval-valued trapezoidal fuzzy numbers transportation problem gives rise to the same expected results as those obtained for TP with trapezoidal fuzzy numbers.     

Cu<Superscript>2+</Superscript> and Al<Superscript>3+</Superscript> co-substituted cobalt ferrite: structural analysis,morphology and magnetic properties

Cu–Al substituted Co ferrite nanopowders, Co_1?x Cu _x Fe_2?x Al _x O₄ (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.8) were synthesized by the co-precipitation method. The effect of Cu–Al substitution on the structural and magnetic properties have been investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) are used for studying the effect of variation in the Cu–Al substitution and its impact on particle size, magnetic properties such as M _s and H _c . Cu–Al substitution occurs and produce a secondary phase, α-Fe ₂ O ₃. The crystallite size of the powder calcined at 800 ^°C was in the range of 19–26 nm. The lattice parameter decreases with increasing Cu–Al content. The nanostructural features were examined by FESEM images. Infrared absorption (IR) spectra shows two vibrational bands; at around 600 (v ₁) and 400 cm ^?1 (v ₂). They are attributed to the tetrahedral and octahedral group complexes of the spinel lattice, respectively. It was found that the physical and magnetic properties have changed with Cu–Al contents. The saturation magnetization decreases with the increase in Cu–Al substitution. The reduction of coercive force, saturation magnetization and magnetic moments are may be due to dilution of the magnetic interaction.