Comparative study on stress–strain hysteresis response of SAC solder joints under thermal cycles

The present study attempts to evaluate the stress-strain hysteresis responses of SAC solder joints in Resistor and FleXBGA144 packages subjected to thermal cyclic loading using several constitutive models. The total deformation of the solder material consists of elastic, rate-independent plastic and rate-dependent creep components. The constitutive models discussed in this study each weighted elastic, plastic and creep deformations differently. At low stresses SAC solder alloys were found to be creep resistant, where at higher stresses, the influence of different microstructures disappears as matrix-creep dominates in this region. Thus, the proper constitutive model requires all the three ingredients of the elastic, the creep, and the time-independent plastic data for different stress levels to effectively predict the hysteresis behavior of the SAC solder alloys. The hysteresis loops predicted by constitutive models were also found in close agreement with the loops generated by FEM for the SAC solder joint subjected to thermal cycling.     

Preparation and characterization of foamed polyurethane/silicone rubber/graphite nanocomposite as radio frequency wave absorbing material: The role of interfacial compatibilization

A novel method for the preparation of radio frequency (RF) wave absorber polyurethane foam (PU) has been developed by impregnation of PU foam in n-hexane solution of room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone rubber (SR) hybridized with graphite nanosheets (GNs) called doping solution. Extent of the GNs dispersion was optimized by the incorporation of a specific type of bifunctional compatibilizer. Insulator to conductive transition threshold as well as electromagnetic wave absorption characteristics of the fabricated nanocomposites was shown to be dependent upon the compatibilizer functionality. All PU/SR/GN nanocomposites generated from bifunctional compatibilizer exhibited higher electrical conductivity with enhanced permittivity implying enhanced formation of conductive networks by GN platelets. Permittivity of the PU/SR/GN nanocomposite based on bifunctional compatibilizer showed to be higher than uncompatibilized counterpart. Electromagnetic reflection loss behavior of the PU/SR/GN nanocomposites exhibited a non-linear correlation with the electrical conductivity. Although all PU/SR/GN prepared nanocomposites exhibited electromagnetic wave reflection loss behavior, but this revealed to be affected by the GN level as well as the size and dispersion state of the graphite nanosheets.     

Association between antiinflammatory cytokine,IL‐10, and sleep quality in patients on maintenance hemodialysis

Elevated proinflammatory cytokines have been attributed to poor sleep quality in patients receiving hemodialysis. This is the first investigation about the relationship between sleep quality and circulating levels of antiinflammatory markers in these patients. A total of 72 patients who were receiving maintenance hemodialysis were enrolled in this cross‐sectional study. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to measure sleep quality. Patients were divided into two groups: good sleepers (PSQI score < 5) and poor sleepers (PSQI score ≥ 5). Assessments were made for serum biochemical parameters (albumin, parathyroid hormone), inflammatory (interleukin [IL]‐6, tumor necrosis factor‐alpha [TNF‐α], and high‐sensitivity c‐reactive protein [hs‐CRP] ) and antiinflammatory (IL‐10) markers. Fifty‐four patients (75%) were classified as poor sleepers. Poor sleepers showed significantly lower levels of serum IL‐10 and higher serum triglyceride and parathyroid hormone concentrations. These patients were more likely to have more comorbidities. The global PSQI score was significantly correlated with serum IL‐10 (p = 0.03) and triglyceride levels (p = 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a direct correlation between PSQI and having comorbidities (p = 0.011, odds ratio [OR] = 3.918; confidence interval 95% [CI] = 2.742–19.031), between PSQI and serum triglyceride (p = 0.027, OR = 1.027 [95% CI = 1.007–1.048] ), and an inverse correlation between PSQI and serum IL‐10 level (p = 0.021, OR = 0.424 [95% CI = 0.195–0.922]). Reduced circulating levels of the antiinflammatory cytokine IL‐10 were significantly associated with poor sleep quality in hemodialysis patients. Factors including serum IL‐10 and triglyceride concentrations and having comorbidities may predict patients prone to poor sleep quality.     

Experimental investigation of the flow-induced motion of a square-section cylinder

The flow-induced motion(FIM)of an elastically mounted square-section cylinder is experimentally investigated over a wide range of Reynolds numbers(1.5×104＜Re＜7....     

Optimal design of laser solid freeform fabrication system and real-time prediction of melt pool geometry using intelligent evolutionary algorithms

With the rapid growth of laser applications and the introduction of high efficiency lasers (e.g. fiber lasers), laser material processing has gained increasing importance in a variety of industries. Among the applications of laser technology, laser cladding has received significant attention due to its high potential for material processing such as metallic coating, high value component repair, prototyping, and even low-volume manufacturing. In this paper, two optimization methods have been applied to obtain optimal operating parameters of Laser Solid Freeform Fabrication Process (LSFF) as a real world engineering problem. First, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm was implemented for real-time prediction of melt pool geometry. Then, a hybrid evolutionary algorithm called Self-organizing Pareto based Evolutionary Algorithm (SOPEA) was proposed to find the optimal process parameters. For further assurance on the performance of the proposed optimization technique, it was compared to some well-known vector optimization algorithms such as Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) and Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm (SPEA 2). Thereafter, it was applied for simultaneous optimization of clad height and melt pool depth in LSFF process. Since there is no exact mathematical model for the clad height (deposited layer thickness) and the melt pool depth, the authors developed two Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS) to estimate these two process parameters. Optimization procedure being done, the archived non-dominated solutions were surveyed to find the appropriate ranges of process parameters with acceptable dilutions. Finally, the selected optimal ranges were used to find a case with the minimum rapid prototyping time. The results indicate the acceptable potential of evolutionary strategies for controlling and optimization of LSFF process as a complicated engineering problem.     

Continuous size-based focusing and bifurcating microparticle streams using a negative dielectrophoretic system

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is an electrokinetic phenomenon which is used for manipulating micro- and nanoparticles in micron-sized devices with high sensitivity. In recent years, electrode-based DEP by patterning narrow oblique electrodes in microchannels has been used for particle manipulation. In this theoretic study, a microchannel with triangular electrodes is presented and a detailed comparison with oblique electrodes is made. For each shape, the behavior of particles is compared for three different configurations of applied voltages. Electric field, resultant DEP force, and particle trajectories for configurations are computed by means of Rayan native code. The separation efficiency of the two systems is assessed and compared afterward. The results demonstrate higher lateral DEP force, responsible for particle separation, distributed wider across the channel width for triangular shape electrodes in comparison with the oblique ones. The proposed electrode shape also shows the ability of particle separation by attracting negative DEP particles to or propelling them from the flow centerline, according to the configuration of applied voltages. A major deficiency of the oblique electrodes, which is the streamwise variation of the lateral DEP force direction near the electrodes, is also eliminated in the proposed electrode shape. In addition, with a proper voltages configuration, the triangular electrodes require lower voltages for particle focusing in comparison with the oblique ones.     

Production and radiochemical separation of no-carrier-added <Superscript>88</Superscript>Y by liquid-liquid extraction

A method was suggested for the cyclotron production of ⁸⁸Y with liquid-liquid extraction. The sedimented ^natSrCO₃ target was irradiated with 18-MeV protons at current of 20 μA for 10 h. The ⁸⁸Y yields of about 1.326 MBq μA⁻¹ h⁻¹ were experimentally obtained. Solvent extraction of no-carrier-added ⁸⁸Y from irradiated strontium carbonate target in the hydrochloric acid solution was studied using di(2-ethylhexyl) hydrogen phosphate (HDEHP). The optimum separation was achieved in the system n-hexane/10% HDEHP-0.1 M HCl. Yttrium radionuclides were recovered from the HDEHP phase by stripping with 60 ml of 9 M HC1. Also, excitation functions of the proton, deuteron, and α-particle induced reactions of ⁸⁹Y, ⁸⁸Sr, ^natSr, and natRb were determined using computer codes and compared to the existing data.     

Solving the stochastic support vector regression with probabilistic constraints by a high-performance neural network model

This paper offers a recurrent neural network to support vector machine (SVM) learning in stochastic support vector regression with probabilistic constraints. The SVM is first converted into an equivalent quadratic programming (QP) formulation in linear and nonlinear cases. An artificial neural network for SVM learning is then proposed. The presented neural network framework guarantees obtaining the optimal solution of the SVM problem. The existence and convergence of the trajectories of the network are studied. The Lyapunov stability for the considered neural network is also shown. The efficiency of the proposed method is shown by three illustrative examples.