Experimental investigation on effects of dielectric mediums in near-dry electric discharge machining

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - A dielectric fluid plays a significant role on the machining efficiency of Electric discharge machining (EDM). Two phase (liquid-air) dielectric...     

Polarity effect in electrovibration for tactile display

Electrovibration is the tactile sensation of an alternating potential between the human body and a smooth conducing surface when the skin slides over the surface and where the current is too small to stimulate sensory nerves directly. It has been proposed as a high-density tactile display method, for example to display pictographic information to persons who are blind. Previous models for the electrovibration transduction mechanism are based on a parallel-plate capacitor in which the electrostatic force is insensitive to polarity. We present experimental data showing that electrovibratory perceptual sensitivity to positive pulses is less than that for negative or biphasic pulses and propose that this disparity may be due to the asymmetric electrical properties of human skin. We furthermore propose using negative pulses for insulated tactile displays based on electrovibration because their sensory thresholds were found to be more stable than for waveforms incorporating positive pulses.     

Effect of H2 flow rate and stand-off distance on the formation of phases in plasma-sprayed Al2O3 coatings

Plasma-sprayed Al₂O₃ coatings contain both metastable and stable phases of Al₂O₃. The formation of these phases is influenced by various process parameters, such as stand-off distance (SOD), gas flow rates, nozzle diameter and is also dependent on the melting and solidification behaviour of feedstock particles, as these help in controlling the weight fraction of different phases formed in the coating. The present work reports the investigation on the effect of two major plasma spray parameters, namely secondary gas (H₂) flow rate and SOD, on the formation of phases in plasma-sprayed Al₂O₃ coating. The phases were identified by X-ray diffraction analysis and to quantify those phases, the Rietveld refinement method was used. The influence of α-phase on the mechanical properties of the Al₂O₃ coatings was evaluated, and it has been observed that α-phase content decreases with the increase in secondary gas flow rate. With the increase in SOD, the α-Al₂O₃ phase content first decreases and then increases.     

Heterogeneity in aerosol characteristics at the semi-arid and island AERONET observing sites in India and Maldives

ABSTRACT

Multi-year Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) direct Sun retrieved and inversion algorithm derived aerosol products at a semi-arid, urban site, Jaipur (26.90° N, 75.80° E) and island observing site, Maldives Climate Observatory-Hanimaadhoo (MCO-Hanimaadhoo, 6.74° N, 73.17° E) are analysed to investigate heterogeneity in aerosol optical and microphysical properties. Results reveal the existence of a large seasonal diversity in the frequency distributions of aerosol optical depth (AOD_500 nm, AOD_1020 nm) and Ångström exponent (AE_{440–870 nm}) during different seasons at Jaipur and MCO-Hanimaadhoo. These are indicative of the advection of different aerosol types (viz., black carbon (BC) aerosol, organic aerosol, sulfate particle, dust, sea salt, nitrate particle, and mixtures thereof) from a variety of production mechanisms influenced by strong seasonal changes of anthropogenic activities as well as modulations induced by the climatic condition. The cumulative frequency analysis of the single scattering albedo (SSA) difference (i.e. ΔSSA = SSA_440 nm – SSA_1020 nm) shows that at Jaipur ΔSSA is predominantly negative (around 88% days) while at MCO-Hanimaadhoo it is positive (around 74% days). The positive and negative values of ΔSSA are respectively linked to a stronger absorption by BC mixed anthropogenic pollution aerosols at 1020 nm and to a stronger absorption by mineral dust containing iron oxide at 440 nm. The spectral behaviour of SSA, thus, facilitates investigation of the existence of iron oxide or BC in aerosols. The ‘Bivariate Kernel density’ plots of SSA versus fine-mode fraction (FMF) of AOD_440 nm/AE_{440–870 nm} reveal that at Jaipur the aerosol ensemble consists of coarse-mode particles (AE and FMF cluster in the range 0.2–0.4), a dominant category along with significant fine-mode and much less mixed category. At MCO-Hanimaadhoo fine-mode particle category (with FMF and AE cluster in the range 0.90–0.95 and 1.2–1.6 respectively) is the only dominant category. The persisting log-normal bimodal feature in aerosol volume size distribution (AVSD) is observed both at Jaipur and MCO-Hanimaadhoo. The modal volume concentration of coarse-mode aerosol decreases from FMF of AOD_675 nm = 0.25 (inherently belonging to the coarse-mode regime) to FMF of AOD_675 nm = 0.95 (inherently belonging to the fine-mode regime). This transformation in coarse-to fine-mode volume concentration is associated with a steady rise in AE_{440–874 nm} supporting this changeover.     

Parametric Evaluation on Near-Dry Electric Discharge Machining

Near-dry electric discharge machining (EDM) is an eco-friendly process. It does not produce toxic fumes and consequent health hazards. The near-dry EDM generally utilizes a mixture of two phase (liquid and air) dielectric for machining. This investigation reports the influence of four processing parameters, viz. current, flushing pressure, duty factor, and lift on three responses. The responses measured were material removal rate (MRR), tool wear rate (TWR), and surface roughness (SR). The work material chosen was high speed steel (HSS). Mathematical models have been proposed herein for evaluation of the effect of processing parameters in near-dry EDM. These models were developed using response surface methodology (RSM). The experimental results reveal that the process parameters taken into consideration were significant for MRR. The TWR was negligible in near-dry EDM. This process gives a finer surface finish with thinner recast layer even at higher discharge energies as compared to conventional EDM.     

Traffic Congestion Identification and Reduction

Wireless Personal Communications - Historical data is increasingly becoming more purposeful in the field of intelligent traffic systems. Traffic congestion is one of the major challenges in most...     

Membrane stability and enrichment of nickel in the liquid emulsion membrane process

The parameters affecting the stability of a liquid emulsion membrane (LEM) for enrichment of nickel were studied. The liquid membrane is made up of a carrier (di‐2‐ethylhexylphosphoric acid), organic diluent and an emulsifying agent (sorbitan monooleate). Swelling of the internal phase during extraction results in breakage of the emulsion. The role of pH is very important in the LEM process for extraction of nickel. A significant decrease in swelling was observed by maintaining the pH of the feed phase constant during extraction. A lower osmotic pressure difference between the external and internal phase brings about lower changes in the swelling and membrane breakdown. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

e-Science, caGrid, and Translational Biomedical Research

Translational research projects target a wide variety of diseases, test many different kinds of biomedical hypotheses, and employ a large assortment of experimental methodologies. Diverse data, complex execution environments, and demanding security and reliability requirements make the implementation of these projects extremely challenging and require novel e-Science technologies.     

Measuring mechanical properties of plasma-sprayed alumina coatings by nanoindentation technique

AISI 1020 steel substrate is coated with alumina as feedstock material using plasma spraying process in order to correlate the microstructural features with mechanical properties of coating. The present work focuses on the effects of microstructural inhomogeneity on mechanical properties of alumina coating through nanoindentation technique. Young’s modulus and hardness of the alumina coating are analytically evaluated. Indentation stress–strain curves are generated from the experimentally obtained load–displacement curves to characterise the mechanical properties of the coating. The results have shown large variation in hardness and Young’s modulus of alumina due to microstructural inhomogeneity of the coating.     

Linear reciprocating wear behaviour of plasma-sprayed Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–Cr<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> coatings at different loading and sliding conditions

Linear reciprocating wear test is carried out on atmospheric plasma-sprayed Al₂O₃–Cr₂O₃ coatings applied on steel substrates. Linear bi-directional sliding wear test of the coatings is performed at different loading and sliding conditions such as load (10, 20 and 30 N), reciprocating amplitude (1.5, 3 and 6 mm) and frequency (5, 10, 15 and 20 Hz) using ball on flat linear reciprocating tribometer. The patterns of tribological behaviour of the coatings, as manifested at the tribo-contact surface, are judged. Results have shown that the wear rate increases with increasing applied load and frequency and that decreases with increasing reciprocating amplitude. Plastic deformation, detachments of unmelted core, reattachments, delamination and adhesive wear dominate the main failure mechanism of coating.