Characterization of friction stir welded joint of low nickel austenitic stainless steel and modified ferritic stainless steel

Friction stir welding (FSW) of dissimilar stainless steels, low nickel austenitic stainless steel and 409M ferritic stainless steel, is experimentally investigated. Process responses during FSW and the microstructures of the resultant dissimilar joints are evaluated. Material flow in the stir zone is investigated in detail by elemental mapping. Elemental mapping of the dissimilar joints clearly indicates that the material flow pattern during FSW depends on the process parameter combination. Dynamic recrystallization and recovery are also observed in the dissimilar joints. Among the two different stainless steels selected in the present study, the ferritic stainless steels shows more severe dynamic recrystallization, resulting in a very fine microstructure, probably due to the higher stacking fault energy.     

Lattice Boltzmann Method Applied to the Solution of Energy Equation of a Radiation and Non-Fourier Heat Conduction Problem

This article concerns the application of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) to solve the energy equation of a combined radiation and non-Fourier conduction heat transfer problem. The finite propagation speed of the thermal wave front is accounted by non-Fourier heat conduction equation. The governing energy equation is solved using the LBM. The finite-volume method (FVM) is used to compute the radiative information. The formulation is validated by taking test cases in 1-D planar absorbing, emitting, and scattering medium whose west boundary experiences a sudden rise in temperature, or, with adiabatic boundaries, the medium is subjected to a sudden localized energy source. Results are analyzed for the various values of parameters like the extinction coefficient, the scattering albedo, the conduction-radiation parameter, etc., on temperature distributions in the medium. Radiation has been found to help in facilitating faster distribution of energy in the medium. Unlike Fourier conduction, wave fronts have been found to reflect from the boundaries. The LBM-FVM combination has been found to provide accurate results.     

Load Forecasting Technique for System Expansion in Isolated Area Using Time Invariant Socio-Economic Factors of Identical Agglomerations

Load forecasting is a critical issue for operational planning as well as grid expansion to ensure an uninterruptable electric power system. Being a small but densely populated country in South Asia, Bangladesh has many isolated places which are not connected to national grid yet. If concern authority opts to expand grid to those areas, they need reliable demand data for designing and dimensioning of different power system entities, e.g., capacity, overhead line capacity, tie line capacity, spinning reserve, load-shedding scheduling, etc., for reliable operation and to prevent possible obligatory redesigning. This paper represents an analysis to forecast the electricity demand of an isolated island in Bangladesh where past history of electrical load demand is not available. The analysis is based on the identification of factors, e.g., population, literacy rate, per capita income, occupation, communication, etc., on which electrical load growth of an area depends. Data has been collected from the targeted isolated area and form a grid connected area which is similar to target area from social and geographical perspective. Weights of those factors on load have been calculated by matrix inversion. Demand of the new area is forecasted using these weights factors by matrix multiplication.     

Microstructure and water vapor transport properties of functionalized carbon nanotube‐reinforced dense‐segmented polyurethane composite membranes

This work investigates the influence of functionalized multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT) on microstructure and water vapor transport properties of segmented polyurethane (SPU) membranes. SPUs were reinforced with four different concentration of MWNT viz. 0.25, 0.50, 1.0, and 2.5 wt%. Presence of the microcrystals in all SPU‐MWNT composite membranes was detected by wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD). The percent crystallinity of SPU‐MWNT at 0.25 wt% content of MWNT was increased slightly when compared with the pristine SPU sample. However, further increase of MWNT decreases the order structure. Glass transition temperature was increases with increasing MWNT content in the SPUs, which signifies that MWNT could also affect the amorphous region of SPU. WAXD and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results evidenced the interaction between SPUs and MWNT. In comparing the water vapor transport properties of MWNT‐SPU composite membranes, it was observed that at 0.25 wt% of MWNT in SPU, water vapor transport property increases slightly at soft segment crystal melting temperature. Further increase of MWNT content has no significant influence on the water vapor transport properties. However, at 2.5 wt% of MWNT in SPU matrix, water vapor transport was decreases due to the increase of stiffness in the polymer chains. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Significant physical attributes affecting quality of Indian black (CTC) tea

In this research work, an attempt was made to discriminate different grades of black crush-tear-curl (CTC) tea based upon their physical attributes such as color of brewed liquor, texture, size and shape of the tea granules obtained by machine vision technique. The principal component analysis (PCA) was applied over two types of data. First, tea samples with seven different quality grades but same mechanical grading and second, samples with same quality grade but nine different mechanical grades (Brokens, Fannings and Dust) were considered for analysis, respectively. The results of PCA showed that best discrimination (100%) in both types of data was given by color attributes only. Correlations among tea samples and physical attributes were determined. Based upon these results it may be concluded that color only attributes are the most significant and sufficient for quantification of tea quality whereas other physical attributes contribute so little to quality estimation that they may be ignored.     

Colloid transport in dolomite rock fractures: effects of fracture characteristics, specific discharge, and ionic strength

The effects of fracture characteristics, specific discharge, and ionic strength on microsphere transport in variable-aperture dolomite rock fractures were studied in a laboratory-scale system. Fractures with different aperture distributions and mineral compositions were artificially created in two dolomite rock blocks. Transport tests were conducted with bromide and carboxylate-modified latex microspheres (20, 200, and 500 nm diameter). Under overall unfavorable attachment conditions, there was significant retention of the 20 nm microsphere and minimal retention of the 500 nm microsphere for all conditions examined. Aperture variability produced significant spatial variation in colloid transport. Flushing with low ionic strength solution (1 mM) following microsphere transport at 12 mM ionic strength solution produced a spike in effluent microsphere concentrations, consistent with retention of colloids in secondary energy minima. Surface roughness and charge heterogeneity effects may have also contributed to the effect of microsphere size on retention. Matrix diffusion influenced bromide transport but was not a dominant factor in transport for any microsphere size. Calibrated one-dimensional, two-site kinetic model parameters for colloid transport in fractured dolomite were sensitive to the physical and chemical properties of both the fractured dolomite and the colloids, indicating the need for mechanistic modeling for accurate prediction.     

Carbazole and benzimidazole/oxadiazole hybrids as bipolar host materials for sky blue,green, and red PhOLEDs

Two novel bipolar host materials (CBzIm and COxaPh) comprising of a hole-transport (HT) carbazole core functionalized with electron-transport (ET) moieties (benzimidazole/oxadiazole) at C3 and C6 positions have been synthesized. Their thermal, photophysical, electrochemical properties, and carrier mobilities were characterized. Theoretical calculations revealed that the HOMO orbitals were generally delocalized over the hole- and electron-transport moieties for both CBzIm and COxaPh, whereas the LUMO orbitals distribution only involved one benzimidazole moiety in CBzIm instead of fully delocalization over the whole polar moieties for COxaPh, which is consistent with the observation of good hole mobilities for both hosts and better electron mobility for COxaPh over CBzIm. CBzIm with high E_T (2.76 eV) is suitable to serve as a blue phosphor host, where a sky blue phosphor (DFPPM)₂Irpic exhibiting superior properties than those of popular blue emitter FIrpic was used to give highly efficient phosphorescent OLEDs, achieving a maximum external quantum efficiency (η_ext) of 15.7%. The better π-delocalization of COxaPh led to a lower triplet energy (E_T = 2.65 eV), which can be used to accommodate green and red phosphors, providing excellent device performance with η_ext as high as 17.7% for green [(ppy)₂Ir(acac)] and 20.6% for red [Os(bpftz)₂(PPh₂Me)₂], respectively.     

Computational Fluid Dynamics Approaches in Quality and Hygienic Production of Semisolid Low‐Moisture Foods: A Review of Critical Factors

Low‐moisture foods have been responsible for a number of salmonellosis outbreaks worldwide over the last few decades, with cross contamination from contaminated equipment being the most predominant source. To date, actions have been focused on stringent hygienic practices prior to production, namely periodical sanitization of the processing equipment and lines. Not only does optimum sanitization require in‐depth knowledge on the type and source of contaminants, but also the heat resistance of microorganisms is unique and often dependent on the heat transfer characteristics of the low‐moisture foods. Rheological properties, including viscosity, degree of turbulence, and flow characteristics (for example, Newtonian or non‐Newtonian) of both liquid and semisolid foods are critical factors impacting the flow behavior that consequently interferes heat transfer and related control elements. The demand for progressively more accurate prediction of complex fluid phenomena has called for the employment of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model mass and heat transfer during processing of various food products, ranging from drying to baking. With the aim of improving the quality and safety of low‐moisture foods, this article critically reviewed the published literature concerning microbial survival in semisolid low‐moisture foods, including chocolate, honey, and peanut butter. Critical rheological properties and state‐of‐the‐art CFD application relevant to quality production of those products were also addressed. It is anticipated that adequate prediction of specific transport properties during optimum sanitization through CFD could be used to solve current and future food safety challenges.