Filariasis

Filariasis is found in many tropical and subtropical countries. Approximately 10% of patients with filariasis enter the end stage of the disease known as elephantiasis. The obstruction of the lymphatic system leads to massive swelling and ulceration, especially of the legs, causing deformity and difficulty in movement and function. The condition is preventable with control of the vector and early drug therapy.     

Structural and magnetic properties of room temperature milled Co0.2Zn0.8Fe2O4 spinel oxide

We report the nanoparticle Co_0.2Zn_0.8Fe₂O₄ spinel oxide, synthesized by room temperature mechanical milling. The system is stabilized mainly in spinel oxide phase after 78 hrs milling time and no other phases have been observed from the XRD spectra of the 100 hrs milled sample. We have studied the particle size effects on structural as well as on magnetic properties by annealing the 100 hrs as milled sample at different temperatures for 12 hours. The XRD and TEM data show that the particle size decreases with increasing milling time upto 60 hrs and then show an increasing trend with milling time. The particle size also increases with annealing the 100 hrs as milled sample with better crystalline structure. It is observed that the magnetic properties of the annealed samples can be correlated with the structural change without breaking the crystal symmetry of the cubic spinel phase of Co_0.2Zn_0.8Fe₂O₄ spinel oxide. The change in the crystal structural as revealed by the XRD spectra can be associated with the non-equilibrium to equilibrium cationic distribution between tetrahedral (A) and octahedral (B) sites of the spinel structure.     

Development of an in-fiber white-light interferometric distance sensor for absolute measurement of arbitrary small distances

The fabrication, implementation, and evaluation of an in-fiber white-light interferometric distance sensor that is capable of measuring the absolute value of an arbitrary small distance are presented. Taking advantage of the mode-coupling effect of a long-period fiber grating, an additional cavity distance is added to the optical path difference of the distance sensor; therefore, it can generate a sufficient number of fringes for distance demodulation even if the free-space cavity distance is very small. It is experimentally verified that the distance sensor is capable of measuring small distances that are beyond the capability of a Fabry-Perot interferometric distance sensor.     

Development of lightweight high‐performance polymeric composites with functionalized nanotubes

In this article, we highlight the various properties of an ultralightweight poly(ether ketone) (PEK) composite. In this study, special emphases were laid on the preparation of low‐density, high‐performance polymeric foams with foaming agents and activators. PEK, foamed PEK, and carbon nanotube (CNT)–reinforced foamed PEK composites were considered for this study. The density of the polymer decreased with the reinforcement of the foaming agent. We also noted that with the reinforcement of the modified CNT in the foamed PEK, there were marginal increases in the density and hardness of the composites. We also noted that the mechanical properties of the CNT‐reinforced foamed PEK was on par with those of basic PEK. Thermogravimetric analysis gave us a clear indication that the thermal stability of the composites was not affected by the reinforcing foaming agent and nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy clearly indicated the formation of foams and also the dispersion of nanoparticles in the composite structure. We also observed that because of the reinforcement of multiwalled CNTs in the composite, there was an improvement in the hardness of the composite. An increase in the specific strength was observed in the foamed PEK composites. The CNT‐reinforced foamed PEK showed a marginal decrease in the specific strength without a compromise in the impact strength. The impact strength of the CNT‐reinforced foamed PEK composite was found to be similar to that of the basic PEK. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43471.     

Burning Rate – Pressure Relationship of NG‐PE‐PCP‐based High Energy Propellants

Nitramines are known to produce lower burning rates and higher pressure exponent (η) values. Studies on the burning rate and combustion behavior of advanced high‐energy NG/PE‐PCP/HMX/AP/Al based solid propellant processed by slurry cast route were carried out using varying percentages of HMX and AP. It was observed that propellant compositions containing only AP and Al loaded (total solids 75 %) in NG plasticized PE‐PCP binder produce comparatively lower pressure exponent (η) values similar to AP‐Al filled HTPB based composite propellants. However, energetic propellants containing high level of nitramine (40–60 %) produce high pressure exponent (0.8–0.9) values in the same pressure range. Incorporation of fine particle size AP (ca. 6 μm) and change in its concentration in the propellant composition reduces η value marginally and influences the burning rate. However, such compositions have higher friction sensitivity.     

Evolution of Grain-Boundary Microstructure and Texture in Interstitial-Free Steel Processed by Equal-Channel Angular Extrusion

The equal-channel angular extrusion (ECAE) of Ti-bearing interstitial-free (IF) steel was performed following two different routes, up to four passes, at a temperature of 300 °C. The ECAE led to a grain refinement to submicron size. After the second pass, the grain size attained saturation thereafter. The microstructural analysis indicated the presence of coincident-site lattice (CSL) boundaries in significant fraction, in addition to a high volume fraction of high-angle random boundaries and some low-angle boundaries after the deformation. Among the special boundaries, Σ3 and Σ13 were the most prominent ones and their fraction depended on the processing route followed. A deviation in the misorientation angle distribution from the Mackenzie distribution was noticed. The crystallographic texture after the first pass resembled that of simple shear, with the {112}, {110}, and {123} aligned to the macroscopic shear plane.     

High-gain W-band-printed antenna on flexible substrate

This article demonstrates a novel type of series-fed planar antenna array for a W-band (70 GHz) application. The proposed architecture is a 5-element antenna array with 10 numbers of gap-coupled parasitic patches in microstrip configuration over a thin, flexible and bio-compatible substrate named LCP (liquid crystal polymer). A detailed design methodology with all fabrication constraints has been elaborated on here. Full wave analysis of the whole structure has been carried out in the FEM-based 3D electromagnetic (EM) solver ANSYS HFSS Suite V.19.2. Parametric simulations were studied to achieve the optimized values of all design parameters. Further, an empirical electrical equivalent circuit model is proposed for the antenna array, and it was validated with the simulation results obtained from the FEM solver. Two prototypes have been fabricated, and measurements were carried out to fetch all the designed antenna parameters. The proto version of the antenna offers peak directive gain of about 19 dBi with better than 22 dB of return loss and 80% radiation efficiency for the frequency range of 67–85 GHz. Experimental and simulated results closely match each other. Small deviations are attributed to practical imperfections incurred by fabrication tolerances, measurement inaccuracies, testing, assembly-related issues and so forth. Finally, the current research work is compared with the recently reported literature.