Glass transition and the rigid amorphous phase in semicrystalline blends of bacterial polyhydroxybutyrate PHB with low molecular mass atactic R, S-PHB-diol

The glass transition and the crystallinity of blends of isotactic bacterial PHB and low molecular mass atactic R, S-PHB-diols was investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), temperature-modulated DSC and dielectric spectroscopy. It was found that (i) T_g of crystallized blends is much lower than T_g of quenched blends, (ii) the semi-crystalline blends can only be described with a three-phase model. From the experimental results the amount of the oligomer component in the mobile amorphous as well as in the rigid amorphous phase was determined. It could be shown that the low molecular mass atactic R, S-PHB-diol is enriched in the mobile amorphous phase of the semi-crystalline blends, but 5-15% oligomer remains, however, in the rigid amorphous phase.     

Design of a multimicroprocessor-controlled PABX: Continuing decreases in component costs mean that systems such as telephone branch exchanges can handle large data traffic relatively cheaply.

Problems encountered in the design of a multimicroprocessor-controlled private automatic branch exchange (PABX) using space division analogue switching concepts are discussed. The design organization includes pairs of groups of subscribers. Each group is controlled by a microprocessor with a private memory; the system also includes a common memory accessible by all the microprocessors. The maximum number of subscribers is 256 in each pair of groups; this is governed by the 8-bit word length of the microprocessors used. If the word length of the processor is doubled, the maximum number may reach 6000 subscribers per pair of groups; this is limited by the available addressing space because memory-mapped I/O control is used. A further increase in the number of subscribers per pair of groups may be achieved if memory space is not an obstacle, since the processor speed does not pose any limitation on the organization used for up to 110 000 subscribers per pair of groups. Expansion of such an organization scheme by adding more group pairs is possible; however, this makes hardware interfacing in the system slightly more complex.A complete design for a pair of groups controlled by two microprocessors and servicing 256 subscribers is described. The implementation of this design in the laboratory is discussed. The main requirements of multiprocessing were applied to the proposed PABX with regard to the logic, software and hardware design. The design of all the microprocessor circuits is given. All external circuits responsible for counting and storing dialled digits, generating telephone tones and interfacing are described in detail. The main programs and accompanying subroutines are discussed and their flowcharts are given. The complete design provided a satisfactory telephone service when realized in the laboratory. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of the system are discussed.     

Analysis and optimization of the ball burnishing process through the Taguchi technique

In the present study, the analysis and optimization of the ball burnishing process has been studied. The Taguchi technique is employed to identify the effect of burnishing parameters, i.e., burnishing speed, burnishing feed, burnishing force and number of passes, on surface roughness, surface micro-hardness, improvement ratio of surface roughness, and improvement ratio of surface micro-hardness. Taguchi tools such as analysis of variance (ANOVA), signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and additive model have been used to analyse, obtain the significant parameters and evaluate the optimum combination levels of ball burnishing process parameters. The analysis of results shows that the burnishing force with a contribution percent of 39.87% for surface roughness and 42.85% for surface micro-hardness had the dominant effect on both surface roughness and micro-hardness followed by burnishing feed, burnishing speed and then by number of passes.     

Modelling and analysis of hybrid electrochemical turning-magnetic abrasive finishing of 6061 Al/Al2O3 composite

This paper integrates the electrochemical turning (ECT) process and magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) to produce a combined process that improves the material removal rate (MRR) and reduces surface roughness (SR). The present study emphasizes the features of the development of comprehensive mathematical models based on response surface methodology (RSM) for correlating the interactive and higher-order influences of major machining parameters, i.e. magnetic flux density, applied voltage, tool feed rate and workpiece rotational speed on MRR and SR of 6061 Al/Al₂O₃ (10% wt) composite. The paper also highlights the various test results that also confirm the validity and correctness of the established mathematical models for in-depth analysis of the effects of hybrid ECT- MAF process parameters on metal removal rate and surface roughness. Further, optimal combination of these parameters has been evaluated and it can be used in order to maximize MRR and minimize SR. The results demonstrate that assisting ECT with MAF leads to an increase machining efficiency and resultant surface quality significantly, as compared to that achieved with the traditional ECT of some 147.6% and 33%, respectively.     

Nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of PLA/nanosized YVO4 composites as a novel nucleating agent

The influence of nanosized YVO₄ particles as a novel and efficient nucleating agent on the nonisothermal crystallization behaviors of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was studied. A modified Avrami model was utilized to describe the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of pure PLA and PLA nanocomposites. The differential isoconversional Friedmann formula was employed to calculate the effective activation energies (E_X(t) ) of nonisothermal crystallization from the glass state. The results showed that modified Avrami methods describe the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of pure PLA and PLA nanocomposites well. The crystallization rate of PLA/1 mass% YVO₄ was faster than that of pure PLA sample by factor 5 × 10³ at a heating rate of 1 K min⁻¹. While the values of Lauritzen–Hoffman parameters (K_g and U*) of the PLA/YVO₄ nanocomposites were lower than those of pure PLA, indicating the nucleation efficiency of nanosized YVO₄ particles for PLA. Scanning electron microscopy images reflect the uniform dispersion of 1 mass% YVO₄ in PLA matrix. Thermogravimetric analysis results revealed that the thermal degradation parameters are slightly lowered by 7 °C on increasing the mass percentage of YVO₄ in the PLA nanocomposites. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48340.     

明晰汽车转向节锻件结构类型的初步建议

对构成转向节锻件的轴、孔、盘、耳、筒、臂等主要形体要素进行了比较系统的描述,基于工艺设计实践体验和对转向节锻件结构的归纳分析,建议按卧锻、立锻两种锻造方位,结合锻件主要形体要素的不同组合,将常见转向节锻件划分为8类,并提供了各类典型结构转向节锻件实例,列出了应用车型,以期为锻造工艺设计等工作提供一定的参考.     

基于粒子滤波与局部搜索的视频目标跟踪

为了提高视频目标跟踪的鲁棒性和准确性,本文提出了基于局部搜索(Local Search)和粒子滤波(Particle Filter)相结合的视频目标跟踪方法——LSPF(Local Search Particle Filter)算法.利用粒子滤波得到样本的权值后,将局部搜索用于每一个粒子,使权值小的粒子收敛于邻近的权值较大的粒子处,有效克服了传统PF算法的粒子退化问题.实验结果表明,传统PF算法平均跟踪误差为10.89,而本文提出的LSPF算法平均跟踪误差仅为3.49,在跟踪性能上有了很大改善.尤其当目标受到干扰时,LSPF算法仍能实现对目标的准确跟踪,为稳定跟踪提供了有利保障.     

配电网重构的自适应和声搜索算法

采用和声搜索算法（ＨＳＡ）搜索最优方案进行配电网重构时,会受初始参数值的影响。为此,提出自适应和声搜索算法（ＡＨＳＡ）。在和声搜索算法中加入局部搜索进行改进,增强了算法的寻优性能。建立以降低网络的有功和无功功率损耗为目标的配电网重构的数学模型,采用基于节点分层的前推回代法对网络结构进行潮流计算和分析。对IEEE69节点配电网进行仿真,与和声搜索算法,遗传算法（ＧＡ）的结果进行对比分析,表明该算法的迭代次数少,有较好的收敛效果。在配电网重构的算例应用中,证明了自适应和声搜索算法是可行的。     

Effect of hybrid electrochemical smoothing–roller burnishing process parameters on roundness error and micro-hardness

In this paper, a novel finishing process, which integrates the merits of electrochemical smoothing (ECS) and roller burnishing (RB) for minimizing the roundness error and increasing surface micro-hardness of cylindrical parts, is proposed. Through simple equipment attachments, electrochemical smoothing–roller burnishing (ECS–RB) can follow the turning process on the same machine. To explore the optimum combinations of the ECS–RB process parameters in an efficient and quantitative manner, the experiments were designed on the basis of the response surface methodology technique. The effect of ECS–RB parameters, namely, burnishing force, applied voltage, inter-electrode gap, and workpiece rotational speed on the roundness error and surface micro-hardness was studied. From the multi-objective optimization, the optimal combination of parameter settings are burnishing force of 350 N, applied voltage of 8.2 V, inter-electrode gap of 2.75 mm, and rotational speed of 970 rpm for achieving the required lower roundness error and higher surface micro-hardness. Surface micro-hardness considerably increases about 31.5% compared to the initial surface micro-hardness, and about 2.32 μm roundness error can be achieved using the optimum combination of process parameters. Therefore, the combination of ECS and RB is a feasible process by which it potentially reduces roundness error and surface micro-hardness of axis-symmetric parts improving their reliability and wear resistance.