Wideband radar cross section reduction using a novel design of artificial magnetic conductor structure with a triple‐layer chessboard configuration

A novel wideband three‐layer chessboard‐like structure is proposed to reduce the radar cross section (RCS) of the radar target. This configuration is composed of two artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) cells formed by two crossed ellipses with different sizes in two cells. A desired 180° ± 37° phase difference is achieved by combining these unit cells and the measured 10 dB RCS‐reduction bandwidth is extensively broadened to more than 96% (from 8.11 to 23.32 GHz, covering X, Ku, and K bands for different radars) in comparison with the other works. This characteristic is obtained by carefully adjusting the positions of all resonances using the proper sizes for the ellipses and the proper dielectric constants and thicknesses for the three layers. Although, the proposed design has three layers with the overall thickness of 2 mm, it is still thinner than most of the recent related works. This low‐profile structure is also cost‐effective due to the fact that 60% of the overall thickness is formed by an air substrate. The proposed cells are designed, simulated, and fabricated in a chessboard‐like configuration for both monostatic and bistatic RCSs. Simulations and measurements are in a good agreement, which shows the capabilities of the design.     

Fabrication and characterization of novel nanofibers from cress seed mucilage for food applications

Cress seed mucilage (CSM) as a new source of biomacromolecule has gained attraction in food science due to its biodegradability and biocompatibility. In this research CSM–poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibers were produced under different conditions by electrospinning technique. Viscosity and electrical conductivity of the produced biopolymers were analyzed. The effect of CSM to PVA volume ratio and applied electrical field were evaluated on nanofiber morphology by scanning electron spectroscopy. The optimum nanofibers showed smooth and uniform surfaces with diameter size range of 95–278 nm. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of CSM–PVA nanofiber with volume ratio of 60:40 showed characteristic peaks of CSM and PVA. X‐ray diffractometer data clearly revealed the amorphous structure of the electrospun nanofibers. Thermogravimetric and derivative thermogravimetric analysis indicated that thermal stability of electrospun nanofibers increased in comparison to CSM and PVA. The results of this study indicated that CSM can be applied as a new source of biopolymer for production of nanofibers that could be used for different applications such as delivery systems and packaging film fabrication. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45811.     

Prediction of limiting drawing ratio considering the effective parameters of die arc region

In this paper an improved analytical method for estimating the limiting drawing ratio (LDR) for the first drawing stage is presented. In this method, the effects of parameters such as the geometry and the material properties of die arc region are taken into account for a more accurate determination of LDR. The results are compared to experiments and some other analytical methods reported in the literature. It is shown that the presented method is in good agreement with the experimental results and more accurate compared with other analytical methods. Using the presented method, the effect of some process parameters such as, coefficient of friction, strain hardening exponent, normal plastic anisotropy ratio, ratio of die arc radius to blank thickness and ratio of blank thickness to diameter on LDR is investigated.     

Tool path accuracy enhancement through geometrical error compensation

Kinematic and geometric errors of CNC machine tools, introduce large deviations in the real path traveled by the cutting tool. Tool path deviation reduces geometrical and dimensional accuracy of the machined features of the component. Tool path modification is an effective strategy to increase accuracy of the machined features. An improved error estimation model based on kinematic transformation concepts has been developed and used to calculate the volumetric overall error. These calculations are applicable for each arbitrary target positions of the machine's work space. Also a NC Program editor software has been developed in order to manage the calculations, modifications and to generate the new compensated NC program. The compensation procedure includes: fragmentation of nominal tool path to small linear elements, translating nominal position of elements to real positions using the Kinematics error model, finding compensated positions using the error compensation algorithm, converting newly generated elements to new tool paths using the packing algorithms and finally editing old NC program using NC code generator algorithm. Experimental tests showed 4-8 times accuracy improvement for linear, and S-pline tool paths deviations.     

Atomically Precise Prediction of 2D Self‐Assembly of Weakly Bonded Nanostructures: STM Insight into Concentration‐Dependent Architectures

A joint experimental and computational study is reported on the concentration‐dependant self‐assembly of a flat C₃‐symmetric molecule on a graphite surface. As a model system a tripodal molecule, 1,3,5‐tris(pyridin‐3‐ylethynyl)benzene, has been chosen, which can adopt either C_3h or C_s symmetry when planar, as a result of pyridyl rotation along the alkynyl spacers. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations of 2D nanopatterns with different surface coverage reveal that the molecule can generate different types of self‐assembled motifs. The stability of fourteen 2D patterns and the influence of concentration are analyzed. It is found that ordered, densely packed monolayers and 2D porous networks are obtained at high and low concentrations, respectively. A concentration‐dependent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) investigation of this molecular self‐assembly system at a solution/graphite interface reveals four supramolecular motifs, which are in perfect agreement with those predicted by simulations. Therefore, this DFT method represents a key step forward toward the atomically precise prediction of molecular self‐assembly on surfaces and at interfaces.     

Load‐balanced data gathering in Internet of Things using an energy‐aware cuckoo‐search algorithm

This paper deals with the lifetime problem in the Internet of Things. We first propose an efficient cluster‐based scheme named “Cuckoo‐search Clustering with Two‐hop Routing Tree (CC‐TRT)” to develop a two‐hop load‐balanced data aggregation routing tree in the network. CC‐TRT uses a modified energy‐aware cuckoo‐search algorithm to fairly select the best cluster head (CH) for each cluster. The applied cuckoo‐search algorithm makes the CH role to rotate between different sensors round by round. Subsequently, we extend the CC‐TRT scheme to present two methods for constructing multi‐hop data aggregation routing trees, named “Cuckoo‐search Clustering with Multi‐Hop Routing Tree (CC‐MRT)” and “Cuckoo‐search Clustering with Weighted Multi‐hop Routing Tree (CC‐WMRT).” Both CC‐MRT and CC‐WMRT rely on a two‐level structure; they not only use an energy‐aware cuckoo‐search algorithm to fairly select the best CHs but also adopt a load‐balanced high‐level routing tree to route the aggregated data of CHs to the sink node. However, CC‐WMRT slightly has a better performance thanks to its low‐level routing strategy. As an advantage, the proposed schemes balance the energy consumption among different sensors. Numerical results show the efficiency of the CC‐TRT, CC‐MRT, and CC‐WMRT algorithms in terms of the number of transmissions, remaining energy, energy consumption variance, and network lifetime.     

The role of dimensions of perceived risk in adoption of corporate internet banking by customers in Iran

During the recent years, one of the issues considered by the banks in the field of internet banking is the adoption of corporate internet banking (CIB) by corporate clients. The present article tried to examine the factors affecting adoption of CIB by corporate clients based on the perceived risk theory. The research hypotheses were tested using confirmatory factor analysis and the results showed that there was a significant relationship between all the risks and intent to adopt CIB by the corporate clients of the banks. The major factors decreasing the intent to adopt internet banking include performance, privacy, security, financial, time, and social risks respectively. Based on the findings of the present study and similar studies, a comparison was made between the importance of the dimensions of perceived risk in personal and CIB and suggestions were made for decreasing the effects of these significant risks for the corporate clients to adopt CIB.     

Clean treatment of rejected brine by zero liquid discharge thermal desalination in Persian Gulf countries

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - In this study, four zero liquid discharge thermal desalination processes were technoeconomically investigated to select the most efficient and economic...