Three-dimensional face recognition in the presence of facial expressions: an annotated deformable model approach

In this paper, we present the computational tools and a hardware prototype for 3D face recognition. Full automation is provided through the use of advanced multistage alignment algorithms, resilience to facial expressions by employing a deformable model framework, and invariance to 3D capture devices through suitable preprocessing steps. In addition, scalability in both time and space is achieved by converting 3D facial scans into compact metadata. We present our results on the largest known, and now publicly available, face recognition grand challenge 3D facial database consisting of several thousand scans. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest performance reported on the FRGC v2 database for the 3D modality     

The root cause of black pad failure of solder joints with electroless Ni/Immersion gold plating

This paper reports on a study of the reaction of solder with the electrolessnickel with immersion gold (ENIG) plating system, and the resulting interfacial structures. Aforcused-ion beam (FIB) was used to polish the cross sections to reveal details of the microstructure of the ENIG-plated pad with and without soldering. High-speed pull testing of solder joints was performed to expose the pad surface. Results of scanning-electron microscopy/energy-dispersive x-ray analysis of the cross sections and fractured pad surfaces support the suggestion that black pad is the result of galvanic hyper-corosion of the plated electroless nickel by the gold plating bath. Criteria are proposed for diagnosing black pad of ENIG plating.     

Effect of tube size on performance of a fixed-film tubular bioreactor for conversion of hydrogen sulfide to elemental sulfur

A fixed-film continuous-flow photobioreactor was used for the removal of hydrogen sulfide from synthetic industrial wastewater and conversion of it to elemental sulfur using sixteen 150 mm length Tygon tubes as the active part of the reactor. Three different tube sizes (internal diameters (ID) 6.4, 3.2, and 1.6mm) were used to investigate the effect of tube size on reactor performance. The reactor with 1.6mm tube attained a higher sulfide loading (1451 mg/Lh) than previously reported in the literature. High bacterial concentration, light to volume ratio and intimate contact between attached bacteria and influent sulfide resulted in excellent performance of the 1.6mm tube reactor.     

Development of environmentally friendly high‐density polyethylene and turmeric spent composites: Physicomechanical,thermal, and morphological studies

High‐density polyethylene (HDPE)/turmeric spent (TS) composites were prepared by the extrusion of an HDPE resin with 5, 10, 15, or 20 wt % TS. HDPE granules and TS master‐batch flakes were compounded on a corotating and intermeshing twin‐screw extruder. The extrudate strands were cut into pellets and injection‐molded to make test specimens. These specimens were tested for physicomechanical properties such as the tensile, flexural, and impact strengths, surface hardness, abrasion resistance, density, and water absorption and thermal characteristics such as the heat distortion temperature (HDT) and melt flow index (MFI). Test results revealed that the incorporation of TS affected the tensile, flexural, and Izod impact strengths of the HDPE/TS composites to some extent, whereas the tensile modulus increased from 606.9 to 752.0 N/mm² and the HDT increased from 61 to 65°C. Furthermore, the addition of TS yielded only marginal variations in the surface hardness, abrasion resistance, density, water absorption, and MFI values of the composites. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Investigation on physicomechanical and wear properties of new green thermoplastic composites

This study was aimed at fabrication of green composites of polypropylene (PP) matrix 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt% of saw palmetto spent (SPS) (a spent of nutraceuticals) as filler material. Two wt% organically modified montmorillonite clay (MMT) was used as a co‐filler in all formulations and composites were fabricated by melt blending. The fabricated PP/SPS/MMT composites were characterized for physicomechanical and tribological properties. Improvement in tensile modulus of the composites was noticed with increase in SPS content. The tensile strength of composites was decreased by 14% with increase in filler content from 5 to 20 wt%. Flexural strength of the composites increased from 31.3 to 37.8 MPa (21% improvement) and also flexural modulus improved from 956 to 1383 MPa (45% improvement) with increased SPS content. Composites were subjected to three‐body abrasion with different loads and abrading distances. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) study revealed that the predominant wear mechanisms of composite material sliding against continuous flowing sand were microploughing and filler detachment from the polymer matrix. POLYM. COMPOS., 37:2306–2312, 2016. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Studies on the physico‐mechanical,thermal, and morphological behaviors of high density polyethylene/coleus spent green composites

This study is aimed at utilizing nutraceutical industrial waste and reducing carbon footprints of plastics. Eco‐friendly “green composites” of high density polyethylene (HDPE) were fabricated using coleus spent (CS)—a nutraceutical industrial waste as reinforcing filler and maleic anhydride‐graft‐polyethylene (MA‐g‐PE) as compatibilizer. Composites were fabricated with 5, 10, 15, and 20% (w/w) of CS by extrusion method. The fabricated HDPE/CS composites were evaluated for mechanical and thermal behavior. A slight improvement of about 5% in tensile strength and marked improvement of about 25% in tensile modulus for 20 wt % CS filled HDPE composites was noticed. The effect of CS content on rheological behavior was also studied. Thermal characteristics were performed using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). TGA thermogram indicated increased thermal stability of CS‐filled composites. From TGA curves the thermal degradation kinetic parameters of the composites have been calculated using Broido's method. The enthalpy of melting (ΔH_m) obtained from DSC curves was reduced with increase in CS content in HDPE matrix, due to decrease in HDPE content in composite systems. An increase in CS loading increased the water absorption behavior of the composites slightly. Morphological behavior of cryo‐fractured composites has been studied using scanning electron microscopy. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Effect of heat treatment on impact resistance of AU5GT and AS7G06 aluminum alloys

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - Impact strength is one of the major mechanical properties that a material should possess in order to absorb sudden changes in the load intensity. The...     

Online tuning of a steady state crude distillation unit model for real time applications

The steady state simulators, used for on-line performance prediction and for on-line optimization in crude distillation units are often sensitive to small variations in the feed composition, which is specified in terms of a True Boiling Point (TBP) vs volume percent distilled curve. The exact feed TBP is often not available during the plant operation. Also stratification of raw crude oil into layers in the large tank farm sections cause severe operating problems in terms of the stability of the column. If feed TBP can be predicted online, necessary feedforward action can considerably reduce the operating problems. A model has been developed for backcalculation of feed TBP using measured plant parameters. A heat balance is performed around an envelope encompassing the rectifying section of the fractionator and is followed by the calculation of Equilibrium Flash Vaporization (EFV) temperatures at six different locations of the column which are correlated with corresponding feed TBP temperatures. The second part of model tuning consists of calculating model parameters in the form of point efficiencies so as to minimize the discrepancy between the simulator predicted and measured column parameters which arises out of modelling approximations such as assumption of phase equilibria at each stage and use of imperfect thermodynamics correlations. The simulator results, after tuning, were found to match the plant measurements within two percent in all the cases investigated. The simulator output was used to predict various product properties using a Property Prediction package and these were also found to match well with those of laboratory measurements. Both the backcalculation of feed TBP and the efficiency tuning need to be implemented on-line for inferential control and supervisory optimization.