Processabilities and mechanical properties of surlyn-treated starch/LDPE blends

The esterification of the hydroxyl group of starch with DuPont Surlyn was considered as pretreatment method of starch before blending with polyolefins. In treating starch with Surlyn, two different raction conditions were taken to optimize reaction conditions. First, the esterification reaction was carried out in 110°C xylene with oleic acid as a catalyst. Second, the reaction out in a 90°C mixture of deionized water and xylene with ceric ammonium nitrate(CAN) as an initiator. Starch granules would be swollen above the gelatinization temperature in water. In both cases starch was midified by Surlyn to have good compatibility with low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The mechanical and theological properties were examined for blends of the treated starch and LDPE. This system may be one of the biodegradable polymer blends that sufficiently retain properties as a packaging film.     

Sodium molybdate—a possible alternate additive for sodium dichromate in the electrolytic production of sodium chlorate

Sodium dichromate is commonly used in sodium chlorate production to maintain high current efficiency; however, it is also a well documented carcinogen. To reduce the environmental impact, identification of a suitable alternative with similar buffering characteristics to dichromate and without adverse effect on the electrolytic performance of sodium chlorate production is important; sodium molybdate is a good candidate. Molybdate ion and its conjugated acid work as a buffer pair at pH 5–6, a lower and slightly narrower pH window than the typical buffer region of dichromate. Nonetheless, the molybdate buffer works effectively during the electrolytic process by maintaining pH at 5.9. Although the use of molybdate buffer will lower the overpotential of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by 100 mV, the average off-gas oxygen content is noticeably compromised at 3.6–4.6%, measured using a pilot cell operated at 3 kA m⁻²and 80 °C during a 3-day trial. The resulting current efficiency of 91 92% is significantly lower than when dichromate is employed as the process additive (> 96%). Mixtures of different dichromate and molybdate ratio were also investigated in terms of the resulting cathode surface potential.     

Degradation of a textile azo dye by pulsed arc discharge to the surface of wastewater

The pulsed arc discharge to the surface of wastewater was applied to the degradation of a textile azo dye (Acid Red 27). A high-voltage electrode (discharging electrode) was vertically placed above the surface of the wastewater while the wastewater itself was grounded. The pulsed arc discharge occurred between the tip of the discharging electrode and the surface of the wastewater, producing various oxidative species. Oxygen was used as the working gas instead of air to prevent nitrogen oxides from forming. The effect of several parameters on the chromaticity and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was examined. The results obtained showed that the chromaticity of the wastewater was completely removed by this process and the COD also decreased significantly. It has been found that ozone formed in the gas phase mainly affects the removal of the dye. The contribution of other effects such as ultraviolet light emission and OH radical formation during the arc discharge to the degradation of the dye was found to be less than 15%. For the present reactor system, the optimum pH, pulse repetition rate and agitation speed were found to be 3.0, 110 Hz and 300 rpm, respectively.     

Enhancement of antireflection property of silicon using nanostructured surface combined with a polymer deposition

Silicon (Si) nanostructures that exhibit a significantly low reflectance in ultraviolet (UV) and visible light wavelength regions are fabricated using a hydrogen etching process. The fabricated Si nanostructures have aperiodic subwavelength structures with pyramid-like morphologies. The detailed morphologies of the nanostructures can be controlled by changing the etching condition. The nanostructured Si exhibited much more reduced reflectance than a flat Si surface: an average reflectance of the nanostructured Si was approximately 6.8% in visible light region and a slight high reflectance of approximately 17% in UV region. The reflectance was further reduced in both UV and visible light region through the deposition of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) layer with a rough surface on the Si nanostructure: the reflectance can be decreased down to 2.5%. The enhancement of the antireflection properties was analyzed with a finite difference time domain simulation method.     

Multibody dynamic analysis of a duplicate bimodal tram

This study aimed to dynamically analyze a simulated bimodal tram by determining the motion equations for computer-aided analysis with Newton-Euler equations of motion, which algebraically represent motion. We utilized the multi-body dynamics analysis program, MSC.Adams, to evaluate the equations of motion, running stability, curving performance, and ride comfort of the simulated bimodal tram in comparison with single fleet and double fleet trams. For the double fleet tram, the characteristic equation was deduced to control the all-wheel steering mechanism by independently moving all the wheels characterizing an articulated vehicle. Our study aimed to design a double fleet bimodal tram. We confirmed that domestic and international standards were satisfied via the design and analysis of the simulation. Steering control equations are the significant preliminary data for coupling device research and development for double fleet bimodal trams.     

A PLC programming environment based on a virtual plant

This paper proposes the architecture of a PLC programming environment that enables a visual verification of PLC programs that integrates a PLC program with a corresponding plant model, so that users can intuitively verify the PLC program in a 3D graphic environment. The plant model includes all manufacturing devices of a production system as well as corresponding device programs to perform their tasks in the production system, and a PLC program contains the control logic for the plant model. For the implementation of the proposed PLC programming environment, it is essential to develop an efficient methodology to construct a virtual device model as well as a virtual plant model. The proposed PLC programming environment provides an efficient construction method for a plant model based on the DEVS (Discrete Event Systems Specifications) formalism, which supports the specification of discrete event models in a hierarchical, modular manner.     

Vector-magneto-optical generalized ellipsometry

We present the setup of a variable-angle vector-magneto-optical generalized ellipsometer (VMOGE) in the spectral range from 300 to 1100 nm using an octupole magnet, and demonstrate VMOGE measurements of the upper 3 × 4 submatrix of the Mueller matrix in a magnetic field of arbitrary orientation and magnitude up to 0.4 T at room temperature. New "field orbit" measurements can be performed without physically moving the sample, which is useful to study magnetic multilayer or nanostructure samples. A 4 × 4 matrix formalism is employed to model the experimental VMOGE data. Searching the best match model between experimental and calculated VMOGE data, the magneto-optical dielectric tensor ?(MO) of each layer in a multilayer sample system can be determined. In this work, we assume that the nonsymmetric terms of ?(MO) are induced by an external magnetic field and depend linearly on the sample magnetization. Comparison with vector magnetometer measurements can provide the anisotropic magneto-optical coupling constants Q(x), Q(y), Q(z).     

Process parameters selection for laser polishing DF2 (AISI O1) by Nd:YAG pulsed laser using orthogonal design

Mechanisms of laser polishing metals in a continuous scanning mode, as envisaged and analyzed in this paper, are rather complex, and experimental optimization of laser polishing metallic material is very time-consuming and difficult. Aiming at shortening the experimental time in achieving a better surface finishing of DF2 (AISI 01) tool steel by pulse Nd:YAG laser, we used the orthogonal experimental design for selecting the laser operational parameters. The results showed that the orthogonal design (OD) allowed the optimum technological parameters for the laser polishing to be obtained quickly and effectively. According to the OD analysis and experimental data, the attainable optimum laser smoothening/polishing parameters from this study are pulse energy (P)?=?1?J, feed rate?=?300–400?mm/min, pulse duration?=?3?ms, and pulse frequency (f)?=?20–25?Hz. The work in this paper demonstrates the relative superiority of orthogonal design in saving experimental times and providing good laser polishing surface in surface texturing and the smoothening process.     

Surface modification of polyethersulfone hollow-fiber membranes by γ-ray irradiation

The fouling of ultrafiltration membrane is often caused by gel formation on the membrane surface. This gel layer arises due to concentration polarization or macromolecular adsorption on the membrane surface. The gel layer affects both the hydraulic permeability and the rejection properties of the membrane. In this report, the adsorption of porcine albumin and the concentration polarization effect on modified and unmodified polyethersulfone (PES) hollow-fiber membrane is studied. PES ultrafiltration hollow-fiber membranes were modified by the grafting of polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer on the internal surface using γ-ray irradiation method. The modified hollow fibers were less susceptible to fouling than were the unmodified fiber. The performance of both modified and unmodified hollow fibers was tested as a function of feed flow rates and protein concentrations. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The development and validation of the Self-directed Learning Scales (SLS)

This article describes the development and validation of the Self-directed Learning Scales (SLS) using data from 14,846 secondary students. Self-directed learning refers to a process whereby the learner consciously and actively directs his/her actions in the learning process. The SLS comprised a battery of subscales measuring students' goal setting, planning, academic motivation, academic self-efficacy, inquiry and information processing, strategic help-seeking, management of learning resources, and self-monitoring. Rasch analysis following factor analyses provided evidence in support of the validity of SLS for use with secondary students. Two original subscales were merged with other subscales on the basis of the analyses, resulting in 19 subscales with strong psychometric properties in the Self-directed Learning Scales.