Experimental investigation on chilled cast iron tappet manufacturing processes parameters

Chilled cast iron tappet has a tendency microstructure of white, mottled and gray iron. The exact composition and other casting parameters, like pouring temperature, inoculation and coating, need to be determined for achieving the desired thickness of the chilled layer. Chilled cast iron finds applications in areas where improved hardness and wear resistance are required. Mottled cast iron has very poor machinability and high brittleness due to the presence of secondary cementite. These constitute the limitations for its use. The influence of inoculation, pouring temperature, coating thickness and chill plate on chilled depth was investigated. Taguchi design-of-experiments (DOE) are used for generating an optimal set of casting parameters to obtain a satisfactory chilled depth. Analysis of the effects of all the parameters on chilled depth has been carried out through a microstructure study.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes grafted chitosan nanobiocomposite: A prosperous functional nanomaterials for glucose biosensor application

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) grafted chitosan (CS) nanowire (NW) was prepared by phase separation method. Glucose oxidase (GOx) was sequentially immobilized into MWNT-CS-NW to obtain MWNT-CS-NW/GOx biosensor. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images of MWNT-CS-NW/GOx reveals the existence of MWNT and CS. Cyclic voltammetry and amperometry were used to evaluate the electrochemical determination of glucose. The MWNT-CS-NW/GOx biosensor shows an excellent performance for glucose at +0.34 V with a high sensitivity (5.03 μA/mM) and lower response time (3 s) in a wide concentration range of 1-10 mM (correlation coefficient of 0.9988). In addition, MWNT-CS-NW/GOx biosensor possesses better reproducibility, storage stability and there is negligible interference from other electroactive components.     

Making use of prognostics health management information for aerospace spare components logistics network optimisation

Although research has evolved significantly over the last decade, there are still a large number of Grand Challenges confronting modelling, model deployment, and model-based decision making of large-scale complex Discrete Event Logistics Systems (DELS) to be tackled, as identified and reviewed during a Dagstuhl workshop in March 2010. This paper illustrates how several of these challenges are already being addressed, based on a series of case studies from the Aerospace Spare Components Logistics domain, where consolidated operational Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) information can be used for tactical planning and optimisation of spare components logistics networks. In this setting, the growing potential of PHM technology to facilitate the maintenance and support of commercial and military aircraft emphasises the need for tools to determine the impacts and benefits of a PHM system. To achieve this, the prognostics parameters and related logistics policies were identified, modelled, and subsequently incorporated into a simulation-based decision support framework.     

Optimisation and comparative study on the addition of shrimp protein hydrolysate and shrimp powder on physicochemical properties of extruded snack

The effect of an addition of shrimp protein hydrolysate and shrimp powder on the physicochemical properties of extruded snack was studied. Rice flour and cornflour were used as base materials, and extrusion was done using corotating twin‐screw extruder. A mixture response surface methodology was used to study the effect of ingredient mixture on the physical, functional and sensory properties of extrudates. Linear and quadratic mixture response regression model was fitted to the response variables, and it was evaluated using R² values. Based on the desirability function score, the optimum combination of ingredient was 47.75% rice flour, 38.64% cornflour, 5.95% hydrolysate and 7.67% shrimp protein powder. It was observed that an addition of shrimp hydrolysate more than 5% (7.5%) improved the crispiness. Sensory evaluation revealed that shrimp hydrolysate and shrimp powder can be used at 5–7.5% level for developing protein‐rich extruded products without affecting sensory characteristics.     

Chemical kinetics of bean straw biofuel pyrolysis using maximum volatile release method

Maximum volatile release (MVR) methods, including single point (MVR-S) and multiple (MVR-M) points, are proposed to extract the kinetics used to predict the fuel bean straw pyrolysis process. The simulation results were compared to those of the distributed activation energy model (DAEM). For the TGA (thermogravimetric analysis) experiments, fuels were heated from ambient temperature to 1,173 K at the heating rates of 10, 20, 40, 60, 80 K min^?1, and the corresponding maximum volatile release points were obtained. For the MVR-S method, both the activation energy (E) and pre-exponential factor (B) increased with increasing heating rates. For the pyrolysis weight loss process, the DAEM showed best agreement with the experimental data, followed by the MVR-M, and then the MVR-S method. However, for weight loss rate prediction, MVR-S method had the best match with the experimental data, whereas the DAEM and MVR-M method generated more errors.     

2.12 Dielectric dispersion and polarization effects in thin transition metal oxide films

Dielectric properties of thin polycrystalline and amorphous films of NiO, NiO(Li), CoO, CoO(Li), Nb₂O₅ and TiO₂ in the thickness range 0.14–15 ωm were studied as a function of frequency, temperature, applied voltage and dopant concentration in the frequency range 3–10⁸ Hz. These films were prepared either by anodization or thermal oxidation and in some cases by reactive sputtering. Experimental data for the real ?₁ and imaginary ?₂ parts of the dielectric constant, ac conductivity σ(ω) and loss tangent tan δ indicate the existence of several dispersion mechanisms. Cole-Cole plots and the modified Debye relations were used to derive the values for relaxation times at low frequencies. The frequency dependence of σ(ω) in the frequency region 10³–10⁶ Hz where σ(ω)αωⁿ indicates that the dispersion mechanism is due to charge carriers hopping between sites with either correlated or non-correlated potentials. The observed quadratic dependence of σ(ω) on frequency in the frequency region 10⁶–10⁸ Hz is attributed to a Debye type loss resulting from thermally activated hopping. Polarization effects at lower frequencies <10³Hz indicate the existence of Schottky barriers at the metal-insulator interfaces in agreement with Simmons theory of MIM structures.     

Flow injection analysis of an ultratrace amount of arsenite using a Prussian blue-modified screen-printed electrode

We report here a new electrochemical method for the selective detection of ultratrace amount of arsenite (AsO(2)(-), As(3+)) using a Prussian blue-modified screen-printed electrode (designated as PBSPE) by flow injection analysis (FIA) in 0.1 M, pH 4 KCl/HCl carrier solution. The Prussian yellow/Prussian blue redox couple of the PBSPE was found to mediate the As(3+) oxidation. Various factors influencing the determination of As(3+) were thoroughly investigated in this study. Under the optimized FIA conditions, a linear calibration plot in the range of 50 nM-300 microM with a detection limit (S/N = 3) of 25 nM (i.e., 64.9 pg in 20-microL loop) was observed at an operation potential of +0.6 V vs Ag/AgCl. The sensitivity was good enough to detect arsenite at levels lower than the current EPA standard. This modified electrode showed good resistance to interference from common ions, especially Cl(-), which is generally considered as a major interference in the determination of As(3+) by ICPMS. The practical utility of the PBSPE to detect As(3+) was demonstrated in "blackfoot" disease endemic village groundwater from the southwestern coast area of Taiwan (Pei-Men).     

Numerical Investigation of the Effect of Vertical Load on the Lateral Response of Piles

The laboratory and field test data on the response of piles under the combined action of vertical and lateral loads is rather limited. The current practice for design of piles is to consider the vertical and lateral loads independent of each other. This paper presents some results from three-dimensional finite-element analyses that show the significant influence of vertical loads on a pile’s lateral response. The analyses were performed in both homogeneous clayey soils and homogeneous sandy soils. The results have shown that the influence of vertical loads on the lateral response of piles is to significantly increase the capacity in sandy soils and marginally decrease the capacity in clayey soils. In general, it was found that the effect of vertical loads in sandy soils is significant even for long piles, which are as long as 30 times the pile width, while in the case of clayey soils, the effect is not significant for piles beyond a length of 15 times the width of the pile. The design bending moments in the laterally loaded piles were also found to be dependent on the level of vertical load on the piles.     

Harmonization of global third generation mobile systems

The International Telecommunication Union launched the third-generation project in 1986 with the aim to provide global personal communication using an inexpensive mobile terminal that can truly facilitate communication "anywhere, anytime". In previous years, standardization activities toward IMT-2000 have accelerated toward concrete specifications. By June 1998, a total of 15 proposals from around the world had been submitted to the ITU as radio transmission technology candidates. Since then, the 3G standardization landscape has seen many changes-a steady progression of the convergence process. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the worldwide harmonization efforts on the standardization of third-generation terrestrial mobile communication systems. The status, as of October 1999 when this article was written, of the technical specifications within 3G partnership projects are also summarized.     

A general method for calculating error probabilities over fading channels

Signal fading is a ubiquitous problem in mobile and wireless communications. In digital systems, fading results in bit errors, and evaluating the average error rate under fairly general fading models and multichannel reception is often required. Predominantly to date, most researchers perform the averaging using the probability density function method or the moment generating function (MGF) method. This paper presents a third method, called the characteristic function (CHF) method, for calculating the average error rates and outage performance of a broad class of coherent, differentially coherent, and noncoherent communication systems, with or without diversity reception, in a myriad of fading environments. Unlike the MGF technique, the proposed CHF method (based on Parseval's theorem) enables us to unify the average error-rate analysis of different modulation formats and all commonly used predetection diversity techniques (i.e., maximal-ratio combining, equal-gain combining, selection diversity, and switched diversity) within a single common framework. The CHF method also lends itself to the averaging of the conditional error probability involving the complementary incomplete Gamma function and the confluent hypergeometric function over fading amplitudes, which heretofore resisted to a simple form. As an aside, we show some previous results as special cases of our unified framework.