Sensitivity of Viscosity on Molten Ti Infusion into a B4C-Packed Bed at the Microscale

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - The effect of the surface tension–viscosity dissipation driving liquid Ti flow into a B4C packed bed was analyzed at 1941 K and 2573 K. The model...     

Co-evolutionary immuno-particle swarm optimization with penetrated hyper-mutation for distributed inventory replenishment

This article is betrothed to serve as a continuation of the emerging swarm techniques to solve supply chain problems. Our aim is to map some of the pressing research challenges contributed by the artificial intelligence community and to develop an improved algorithm: Co-evolutionary immuno-particle swarm optimisation with penetrated hyper-mutation (COIPSO-PHM). In this paper, we proposed a new algorithm which uses clonal selection approach in particle swarm optimisation by embedding co-evolutionary theory to solve the problem of inventory replenishment in distributed plant–warehouse–retailer system. Constraint handling is explicitly taken care by implanting augmented lagrangian concept. To demonstrate the efficiency of the algorithm, its performance are evaluated and compared on 10 benchmarked problems (made constrained problem via random initialisation in the infeasible zone) including functions with uni-modalities as well as multi-modalities. The result follows shows superior performance of the algorithm in every respect.     

Above ground standing biomass and carbon storage in village bamboos in North East India

Bamboo forms an important component in the traditional landscape of North East India. For biomass estimation of village bamboos of Barak Valley, North East India, allometric relationships were developed by harvest method describing leaf, branch and culm biomass with DBH as an independent variable using a log linear model. The culm density of the stand was 8950 culms ha⁻¹ during 2005 of which 67% of growing stock was represented by Bambusa cacharensis, 17.88% by Bambusa vulgaris and 15.12% by Bambusa balcooa. Above ground stand biomass was 121.51 t ha⁻¹ of which 86% was contributed by culm component followed by branch (10%) and leaf (4%). With respect to species, B. cacharensis made up to 46% of total stand biomass followed by B. vulgaris (28%) and B. balcooa (26%). Carbon storage in the above ground biomass was 61.05 t ha⁻¹. Allocation of C was more in culm components (53.05 t ha⁻¹) than in branch (5.81 t ha⁻¹) and leaf (2.19 t ha⁻¹). Carbon storage in the litter floor mass was 2.40 t ha⁻¹, of which leaf litter made up the highest amount (1.37 t ha⁻¹) followed by sheath (0.86 t ha⁻¹) and branch (0.17 t ha⁻¹). Carbon stock in the soil up to 30 cm depth was 57.3 t ha⁻¹. Gross C stock in the plantation was estimated to be 120.75 t ha⁻¹. Carbon storage estimated in the bamboo stand of present study offers insights into the opportunity of village bamboos in the rural landscape for carbon storage through carbon sequestration. Management and utilization of village bamboos as a potential source of carbon sink by smallholder farmers are discussed in the context of their livelihood security and the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations.     

On Composite Leakage Current Maximization

Sub-threshold, gate and reverse biased junction band-to-band tunneling leakage currents depend on the logic inputs of a CMOS circuit. In this paper, we consider all leakage currents together and generate pattern with the objective of maximizing the overall leakage current to avoid any optimism in leakage current estimation. The computation involves Boolean reasoning on a pre-characterized set of interconnected gates. This problem is known to be computationally intractable. We propose a heuristic with reduced complexity by looking for a lower and an upper bound instead. The bounds tighten progressively with computation and converge asymptotically on a provably exact solution. By appropriately setting the objective function, the same algorithm may also be applied to find the pattern that minimizes the leakage power in the system idle state, which is considered to be ∼50% of the total power consumed in the current technology generations.

Experimental research on heat transfer coefficients for cryogenic cross-counter-flow coiled finned-tube heat exchangers

The aim of present experimental research is to find out the suitable correlations for designing the coiled finned-tube heat exchangers used in cryogenic applications. In order to conduct above experimental study, cross-counter-flow coiled finned-tube heat exchangers were developed in our lab and used in actual refrigeration cycle. The experiments were conducted in the range of effective Reynolds number 500–1900. The effect of diametrical clearance on the prediction of overall heat transfer coefficient is also investigated experimentally. The results from present study were compared in the form of overall heat transfer coefficient. Results of present experimental research indicate that different correlations selected in the study can be used with reasonable accuracy for designing the coiled finned-tube heat exchangers, if they are applied with suitable method of calculation of free-flow cross-sectional area. A more accurate new correlation has also been proposed that fitted experimental data within ±10% error band.     

Characterization of V-groove coupled microshield line

A new membrane supported air-filled V-groove coupled microshield has been investigated using finite element method. The even- and odd-mode characteristic impedances and the effective dielectric constants have been computed. The dependence on various dimensions has been studied. The crosstalk levels between adjacent lines have been compared with that in coupled microstrip lines, coupled microstrip lines with lateral ground planes, and V-groove structures with and without metallization in the groove.     

Rheology of polyaniline-dinonylnaphthalene disulfonic acid (DNNDSA) montmorillonite clay nanocomposites in the sol state: shear thinning versus pseudo-solid behavior

The melt rheology of polyaniline (PANI)-dinonylnaphthalenedisulfonic acid (DNNDSA) gel nanocomposites (GNCs) with organically modified (modified with cetyl trimethylammonium bromide)-montmorillonite (om-MMT) clay has been studied for three different clay concentrations at the temperature range 120-160 degrees C. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dc-conductivity data (approximately 10(-3) S/cm) indicate that the PANI-DNNDSA melt is in sol state and it is not de-doped at that condition. The WAXS data indicate that in GNC-1 sol clay tactoids are in exfoliated state but in the other sols they are in intercalated state. The zero shear viscosity (eta0), storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G") increase than that of pure gel in the GNCs. The pure sol and the sols of gel nanocomposites (GNCs) exhibit Newtonian behavior for low shear rate (< 6 x 10(-3) s(-1)) and power law variation for the higher shear rate region. The characteristic time (A) increase with increasing clay concentration and the power law index (n) decreases with increase in clay concentration in the GNCs indicating increased shear thinning for the clay addition. Thus the sols of om-clay nanocomposites of PANI-DNNDSA system are easily processible. The storage modulus (G') of GNC sols are higher than that of pure PANI-DNNDSA sol, GNC1 sol shows a maximum of 733% increase in storage modulus and the percent increase decreases with increase in temperature. Exfoliated nature of clay tactoids has been attributed for the above dramatic increase of G'. The PANI-DNNDSA sol nanocomposites behave as a pseudo-solid at higher frequency where G' and loss modulus (G") show a crossover point in the frequency sweep experiment at a fixed temperature. The crossover frequency decreases with increase in clay concentration and it increases with increase in temperature for GNC sols. The pseudo-solid behavior has been explained from jamming or network formation of clay tactoids under shear. A probable explanation of the two apparently contradictory phenomena of shear thinning versus pseudo-solid behavior of the nanocomposite sols is discussed.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotube/polyaniline thermoreversible gel composites

Composites of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in a dinonylnaphthalene disulphonic acid (DNNDSA)-doped polyaniline (PANI) thermoreversible gel were prepared from a formic acid medium. A three-dimensional fibrillar network and a reversible first order phase transition characterize the systems as thermoreversible gels. Transmission electron micrographs indicate that the MWCNTs are well dispersed in the gel and PANI-DNNDSA wraps the MWCNT surface unevenly. π–π, CH–π and acid–base interactions are evident from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Thermal stability increases with increasing MWCNT content and the storage modulus of the composites increases dramatically. Photoluminescence increases significantly in the composites showing a red shift of the emission peak with increasing MWCNT content. The π band-polaron band transitions show a red shift and the dc conductivity increases two orders of magnitude over that of the PANI-DNNDSA gel with the addition of MWCNTs. The current–voltage characteristic curves are Ohmic in nature and the current increases appreciably with increasing MWCNT concentration.