Investigation effects of environmental and operating factors on PV panel efficiency using by multivariate linear regression

The aim of this study is to show the investigation effects of environmental and operating factors on photovoltaic (PV) panel efficiency using by multivariate linear regression. Also in this study, the relationship between PV panel efficiency and some environmental and operating factors (solar radiation, open‐circuit voltage, short circuit current (I_sc), power, fill factor, outside temperature, humidity, wind speed, and voltage) were investigated using multivariate linear regression. The effect of binary parameter interactions on panel performance was investigated using the backward elimination (or deletion) method. The data used in the analysis were obtained from monocrystal and polycrystal panels in December in the winter season. In all analyzes, the regression values are close to 1, which indicates that the compatibility between binary parameters and performance characteristics is perfect. In addition, the three most effective parameters on panel efficiency were found to be solar radiation, maximum power (P_max), and I_sc, respectively.     

Design and implementation of Type-2 fuzzy neural system controller for PWM rectifiers

It is necessary to convert AC to DC for the systems that do not work with AC sources. For this reason, diode and thyristor rectifiers were developed and designed. However, these rectifiers are not well suited for industrial applications requiring high performance. With the advances in power electronics and semiconductor technology, Pulse width modulation (PWM) rectifiers have been successfully employed in various industrial applications including variable-speed drives and uninterruptible power supplies. PWM rectifiers have the advantages of being low input current harmonic, adjustable input power factor, and controllable DC voltage and bidirectional energy flow. Because of all these features of the PWM rectifiers, the control and design of these rectifiers are very important topic. The aim of this paper is to control DC-link voltage of PWM rectifier with type-2 fuzzy neural system (T2FNS) instead of PI controller. For this aim, three-phase PWM rectifier with proposed controller is designed and simulated for four scenarios in this paper. A simulation model of the PWM rectifier is designed in MATLAB/Simulink and the performance of PWM rectifier with proposed controller is analyzed.     

Magnetism of 3d Transition Metals Doped 2H, 4H and 6H-GaN Polytypes

We present spin-polarized density-functional theory study of substitutional 3d transition metal (TM) atoms (Sc → Ni) in various host polytypes of GaN. For the structural parameters, we found that a(c) decreases (increases) from Sc to Ni. Additionally, calculations reveal decreasing (increasing) of the lattice constants a (c/a ratio) with increasing hexagonality h. In spite of the small cell used, TM atoms doped GaN polytypes with Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni show ferromagnetic character; whereas Sc and V dopant systems show, respectively, semiconducting and metallic behavior. The origin behind magnetism in 3d transition metal atoms doped 2H, 4H, and 6H-GaN polytypes is clarified through the ordering of spin-up (t+, e+) and spin-down (t-, e-) states.     

Microstructure–permeability relation of porous β-Si3N4 ceramics

Porous β-Si₃N₄ ceramics with two distinct structures were produced by using two different Si₃N₄ sources to investigate the relationship between microstructure and permeability. Results showed that regardless of pore amount, size of pore channels, shape-distribution of β-Si₃N₄ grains are more effective on permeability of porous Si₃N₄ ceramics. Higher permeability and lower contribution of inertial forces was obtained by microstructure consists of coarse and equiaxed grains even at lower porosity amount. Calculated Forchheimer number (F_o) and measured the local breadth of a pore also supported the effect of microstructure on permeability.     

The Shear Stress-Strain Behaviour of Low-modulus Structural Adhesives

The shear stress-strain behaviour of two low-modulus structural adhesives has been measured using the butt-torsion test. The Nadai correction for non-linear shear behaviour is explained as it is necessary to understand how this correction can be applied to butt joints. The results for one adhesive were accurately used to predict the strength of a lap joint, and it was shown that the strength of such a joint can approach that of a conventional, modern, structural epoxy. Structural adhesives are usually reckoned to be those with a high strength (50 MPa and upwards) and (these days), a strain to failure of at least 10% in tension, and which usually have a tensile modulus of 2 GPa or so. However, adhesives which are significantly less stiff, less strong, but much more ductile are entering the 'structural' arena. In order to evaluate their effectiveness and use in design, it is necessary to be able to measure accurately their stress-strain behaviour. Two such materials are 3M 9245 Structural Bonding Tape (SBT) and 3M 7838 B/A.     

The effects of deposition parameters on surface morphology and crystallographic orientation of electroless Ni-B coatings

Electroless Ni-B coatings were deposited on AISI 304 stainless steels by electroless deposition method, which was performed for nine different test conditions at various levels of temperature, concentration of NaBH₄, concentration of NiCl₂, and time, using the Taguchi L₉(3⁴) experimental method. The effects of deposition parameters on the crystallographic orientation of electroless Ni-B coatings were investigated using SEM and XRD equipment. SEM analysis revealed that the Ni-B coatings developed six types (pea-like, maize-like, primary nodular, blackberry-like or grapes-like, broccoli-like, and cauliflower-like) of morphological structures depending on the deposition parameters. XRD results also showed that these structures exhibited different levels of amorphous character. The concentration of NaBH₄ had the most dominant effect on the morphological and crystallographic development of electroless Ni-B coatings.     

Preparation and characterisation of thickness dependent nano-structured ZnS thin films by sol–gel technique

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films of different thickness were coated on glass substrates by the sol–gel dip-coating technique. Thickness dependent structural and optical properties of the films were studied in detail. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that the films had mixture of cubic (β) and hexagonal (α) phases with cubic (β) phase being predominant. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that the film surfaces were smooth and crack free. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) measurement showed no impurity in the ZnS compound with elemental concentration of Zn/S being 50.38/49.62. Optical measurements showed that optical transmittance of the films were decreased in the visible range as the film thickness increased and band gap of the thin films were estimated to be about 3.61, 3.56, and 3.39?eV for the films with thickness of 100, 220, and 360?nm, respectively. Reactive indices and extinction coefficients of the films were measured by Spectroscopic Ellipsometer. Both the refractive index (n) and extinction coefficient (k) of the films were increased as the film thickness decreased. Electrical measurements showed that the resistivity of the films were decreased as the substrate temperature and film thickness increased.     

Cytocompatibility property evaluation of gas pressure sintered SiAlON-SiC composites with L929 fibroblast cells and Saos-2 osteoblast-like cells

Although the oxide ceramics have widely been investigated for their biocompatibility, non-oxide ceramics, such as SiAlON and SiC are yet to be explored in detail. Lack of understanding of the biocompatibility restricts the use of these ceramics in clinical trials. It is hence, essential to carry out proper and thorough study to assess cell adhesion, cytocompatibility and cell viability on the non-oxide ceramics for the potential applications. In this perspective, the present research work reports the cytocompatibility of gas pressure sintered SiAlON monolith and SiAlON-SiC composites with varying amount of SiC, using connective tissue cells (L929) and bone cells (Saos-2). The quantification of cell viability using MTT assay reveals the non-cytotoxic response. The cell viability has been found to be cell type dependent. An attempt has been made to discuss the cytocompatibility of the developed composites in the light of SiC content and type of sinter additives.     

Magnetism and Half-Metallicity in the Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>ZrP Heusler Alloy

The electronic structure and magnetic properties of the Fe₂ZrP full-Heusler compound has been investigated by using ab initio calculations with the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW) method. The exchange-correlation functionals are taken into account within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). Energetically, the AlCu₂Mn-type structure of the full-Heusler Fe₂ZrP is energetically more preferable than that of the CuHg₂Ti-type structure and it exhibits half-metallic ferrimagnet. The calculated total spin moment is found as 1 μ _B at the equilibrium lattice constant a ₀=5.90Å which remarkably agrees with the Slater-Pauling rule of M _t = Z _t ?24. While the spin-up band is metallic, the spin-down band has a semiconductor behavior with a gap of 0.593 eV and the spin-flip gap is 0.129 eV. The negative formation energy is shown as an evidence of the thermodynamic stability of alloy. The dependencies of the magnetic and electronic properties on the lattice constant are also discussed. The estimated Curie temperature is 752 K in the mean field approximation.     

Evaluation of the NDVI in plant community composition mapping: a case study of Tersakan Valley,Amasya County,Turkey

Mapping the composition of plant community types requires reliable spatial data obtained from field surveys and satellite‐derived indices. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is the simplest and most frequently used index in plant applications. If relationships between the NDVI and plant cover abundance are determined, this information can be used in the mapping process. In this study, we investigated these possible connections for mapping the plant community composition of Tersakan Valley in Turkey. We collected georeferenced cover‐abundance (Braun‐Blanquet, BB) data from 1077 quadrats in the field, and derived an NDVI raster map from a Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) image. Then we classified this NDVI map by using various methods and class numbers. Using bivariate correlation analysis, we explored the relationships between 26 classified NDVI maps and BB, and chose the classified NDVI map with the strongest correlation. We further examined this relationship by using scatter plots, histograms and paired samples t‐tests. According to the results, the NDVI (equal‐interval 15) classes between 4 and 8 corresponded with the BB classes between 1 and 5, respectively. Using this relationship, the spatial distribution of 43 different plant community compositions were determined in geographic information systems (GIS). The results indicate that the NDVI has the potential to map plant community composition reliably.