Computer aids for reliability

Hydraulic structures are coming up fast in India to meet the growing needs of irrigation, power for modern development, and multi-story buildings for a growing population. These structures are being located in the Himalayas and new techniques are being increasingly used in construction. The geological features of the weak rocks in the Himalayas present special problems for the foundations in housing, roads, irrigation structures etc. including tunnels. Additional instruments were fabricated together with new techniques and computer aids, affording reliability in the construction works in these regions. Equipment costs were controlled by current modern methods, new techniques of graphical coordination of Plant usage were carried out and close coordination was affected in speeding up the construction. The use of interactive graphics for simulating construction by computer aids was adopted.     

BE-SONOS flash memory along with metal gate and high-k dielectrics in tunnel barrier and its impact on charge retention dynamics

We investigate the effect of a high-k dielectric in the tunnel layer to improve the erase speed-retention trade-off. Here, the proposed stack in the tunnel layer is AlLaO₃/HfAlO/SiO₂. These proposed materials possess low valence band offset with high permittivity to improve both the erase speed and retention time in barrier engineered silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon(BE-SONOS). In the proposed structure HfAlO and AlLaO₃ replace Si₃N₄ and the top SiO₂ layer in a conventional oxide/nitride/oxide(ONO) tunnel stack. Due to the lower conduction band offset(CBO) and high permittivity of the proposed material in the tunnel layer, it offers better program/erase(P/E) speed and retention time. In this work the gate length is also scaled down from 220 to 55 nm to observe the effect of high-k materials while scaling, for the same equivalent oxide thickness(EOT). We found that the scaling down of the gate length has a negligible impact on the memory window of the devices. Hence, various investigated tunnel oxide stacks possess a good memory window with a charge retained up to 87.4%(at room temperature) after a period of ten years. We also examine the use of a metal gate instead of a polysilicon gate, which shows improved P/E speed and retention time.     

Highly Sensitive Detection of Polarized Light Using Anisotropic 2D ReS2

Due to the novel optical and optoelectronic properties, 2D materials have received increasing interests for optoelectronics applications. Discovering new properties and functionalities of 2D materials is challenging yet promising. Here broadband polarization sensitive photodetectors based on few layer ReS₂ are demonstrated. The transistor based on few layer ReS₂ shows an n‐type behavior with the mobility of about 40 cm² V^?1 s^?1 and on/off ratio of 10⁵. The polarization dependence of photoresponse is ascribed to the unique anisotropic in‐plane crystal structure, consistent with the optical absorption anisotropy. The linear dichroic photodetection with a high photoresponsivity reported here demonstrates a route to exploit the intrinsic anisotropy of 2D materials and the possibility to open up new ways for the applications of 2D materials for light polarization detection.     

Enhanced laser weldability of an aerospace superalloy by thermal treatment

ABSTRACT

Weldability improvement of the Inconel 738 alloy, subjected to different pre-weld heat treatments and, thermomechanical fatigue of the unwelded and welded alloy is investigated. A new pre-weld heat treatment is found to significantly reduce the susceptibility of the extremely difficult-to-weld alloy to weld cracking. The heat treatment also produces welded material with enhanced resistance to thermomechanical fatigue failure at high mechanical strain ranges, in comparison to the unwelded alloy. Furthermore, by comparing polycrystalline and single crystal materials, without altering the chemistry/microstructure of the superalloy, the presence of grain boundaries in the alloy is found to aid damage mechanisms during in-phase thermomechanical fatigue.     

Identification of cocaine and its metabolites in urban wastewater and comparison with the human excretion profile in urine

The most relevant human urinary metabolites of cocaine (nine metabolites) were measured in urban wastewater in Italy and USA. A novel analytical method based on liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry allowed the identification of ecgonine, ecgonine methyl ester and the pyrolytic derivatives of cocaine in untreated wastewater. The aim of this study was to verify whether the pattern of cocaine metabolites in wastewater reflected the human excretion profile in urine. The performance of the method was good, with recoveries higher than 60% and limits of quantifications in the low ng/L range. The stability in untreated wastewater was assessed for all metabolites and the best storage condition resulted freezing samples immediately after collection and keep them frozen until analysis. All the selected compounds were measured in wastewater at concentrations up to 1.5 μg/L and their weekly loads were calculated during a five weeks monitoring campaign in Milan (Italy). The profiles of cocaine metabolites in wastewater matched with those in human urine reported in the literature, suggesting that measures in wastewater reflect the real human excretion and that wastewater analysis is suitable for assessing drug consumption. Benzoylecgonine was confirmed as the best target for estimating cocaine use by wastewater analysis, while cocaine itself should not be considered because its amount in wastewater is affected by other environmental sources such as transport, handling and consumption. Results suggested that the measurement of other metabolites in combination with benzoylecgonine might reflect 60% of an administered dose of cocaine providing also information on different patterns of use.     

Few-layer graphene synthesis on a dielectric substrate

We report on few-layer graphene synthesis on fused silica, with the help of pre-deposited copper films with thickness of few hundred nanometers, by using chemical vapor deposition technique. Depending on the copper film thickness, the deposited graphene samples on copper/silica interface were either micron sized graphene flakes or uniform graphene films of a sub-millimeter width. The quality of graphene grown beneath the pre-deposited copper film was found to be comparable with that of graphene grown on bulk copper. The developed technique opens new route towards the space-selective CVD graphene growth on dielectric substrates.     

Transmission planning for Indian power grid: a mixed integer programming approach

The paper presents a modeling framework to analyze some important issues associated with operation planning of a power system. Major activities involved in operations planning of large integrated power systems are considered simultaneously to ensure optimal utilization of generation and transmission capacity. The model also examines optimal transmission expansion plans vis-à-vis fuel supply issues. A mixed integer programming model is developed for this purpose and the Indian power system considered. Specific emphasis is on spatial transmission expansion plan for the existing Indian inter-state transmission grid and new transmission links, coordinated operation of the isolated regional grids and system benefits accruing from transmission expansion, enhanced fuel production and supply rescheduling to ensure efficient operation of various generating stations.     

Selectivity sequences and sorption capacities of phosphatic clay and humus rich soil towards the heavy metals present in zinc mine tailing

Sorption efficacy of phosphatic clay and humus rich soil alone and on combination were tested towards heavy metals present in zinc mine tailing (Zawar Zinc Mine), Udaipur (India). Characterization of the zinc mine tailing sample indicated the presence of Pb, Cu, Zn and Mn in the concentration of 637, 186, 720 and 577microg(-1), respectively. For sorption efficacy, the zinc mine tailing soil were properly amended with phosphatic clay and humus rich soil separately and in combination and leachability study was performed by batch experiment at different pH range from 3 to 9. The data showed that the percent leachability of heavy metal in non-amended soil was 75-90%. After amendment with phosphatic clay percent leachability of heavy metals became 35-45%. Further, the addition of humus soil to phosphatic clay decreased the percent leachability up to 5-15% at all tested pH. Column leachability experiment was performed to evaluate the rate of leachability. The shape of cumulative curves of Pb, Cu, Zn and Mn showed an increase in its concavity in following order: PbCu>Zn>Mn. Further, Langmuir isotherms applied for the sorption studies indicated that phosphatic clay in the presence of humus soil had high affinity for Pb followed by Cu, Zn and Mn, with sorption capacities (b) 139.94, 97.02, 83.32 and 67.58microgg(-1), respectively.     

A comprehensive review of the effect of different kinetic promoters on methane hydrate formation

Gas hydrates have recently emerged as a better alternative for the production, storage, and transportation of natural gases. However, factors like slow formation rate and limited storage capacity obstruct the pos-sible industrial application of this technique. Different types of promoters and synergists have been developed that can improve the kinetics and storage capacity of gas hydrates. This review focuses on dif-ferent kinetic promoters and synergists that can be utilized to enhance the storage capacity of hydrates. The main characteristics, structure and the possible limitations of the use of these promoters are likewise portrayed in detail. The relationship between structure and storage capacity of hydrates have also been discussed in the review. Current status of production of gas from hydrates, their restrictions, and future difficulties have additionally been addressed in the ensuing areas of the review.