Approximate analysis of n-unit cold-standby systems

In this paper, a n-unit cold-standby system with a single repair facility is analysed using two approximate methods namely, cutting and clustering the state space. It has been assumed that the failure rate is constant and the repair time is arbitrarily distributed. A mathematical model is developed using semi-regenerative phenomena and systems of convolution integral equations satisfied by various state probabilities corresponding to different initial conditions are obtained. Explicit expressions for the expected number of failures and expected number of repair completions in an interval [0, t] are obtained. An iterative numerical method is used to solve the systems of integral equations obtained and a comparative study has been carried out between exact and approximate solutions.     

Polymerization of N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide initiated by CEIV-thiourea redox system

The kinetics of polymerization of the symmetrical non-conjugated divinyl monomer N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide has been studied using Ce^IV-thiourea redox system as initiator. The rate of polymerization, R_p is proportional to $\text{[}\text{Ce}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>IV</mtext>}}\text{]}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$, $\text{[}\text{thiourea}\text{]}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ and $\text{[}\text{monomer}\text{]}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$. A cyclopolymerization mechanism fits in with the experimental results.     

A twin unidirectional impulse turbine topology for OWC based wave energy plants

Experimental results from near shore bottom standing OWC based wave energy plants in Japan and India have now been available for about a decade. Historically the weakest link in the conversion efficiency of OWC based wave energy plants built so far has been the bidirectional turbine. This is possibly because a single turbine has been required to deliver power when the plant is exposed to random incident wave excitation varying by a factor of 10. A new topology that uses twin unidirectional turbines (which features a high efficiency spanning a broad range) is proposed. Using the Indian Wave Energy plant as a case study, it is shown that the power output from such a module considerably exceeds existing optimal configurations including those based on a fixed guide vane impulse turbine, linked guide vane impulse turbine or a Well's turbine. A wave to wire efficiency of the order of 50% over the incident range is shown to be feasible in a credible manner by showing the output at all stages of the conversion process. A frequency domain technique is used to compute the OWC efficiency and a time domain approach used for the power module with the turbine pressure being the pivotal variable.     

Simultaneous plasticization and blending of isolate soy protein with poly[(butylene succinate)‐co‐adipate] by one‐step extrusion process

This article focuses on the preparation of isolated soy protein plasticized by a glycerol and water mixture/poly[(butylene succinate)‐co‐adipate] blends by an original single step extrusion process. Prepared blends were injection‐molded and characterized for their molecular interaction, morphology, rheological, thermal, dynamic mechanical, and mechanical properties. The comparison of these results with those obtained using a more regular two‐step compounding process validates the technical efficiency of this cost‐effective one‐step approach. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46442.     

Combining hierarchical and associative gene ontology relations with textual evidence in estimating gene and gene product similarity

Two approaches have recently emerged where the similarity between two genes or gene products is obtained by comparing Gene Ontology (GO) annotations associated with the genes or gene products. One approach captures GO-based similarity in terms of hierarchical relations within each gene subontology, while the other relies on associative relations across the three gene subontologies. We propose a novel methodology where the two approaches can be merged and enriched by textual evidence extracted from biomedical literature with ensuing benefits in coverage and stronger correlation with sequence-based similarity     

A TRIBAND SWASTIKA SHAPED PATCH ANTENNA WITH REDUCED MUTUAL COUPLING FOR WIRELESS MIMO SYSTEMS

A novel compact Swastika shaped patch antenna is designed in the present work,which can be used for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems.The proposed two element MIMO system resonates at a tri...     

Synthesis and characterization of polyaniline grafted multiwalled carbon nanotube loaded Nafion-silica nanocomposite membrane

The preparation and characterization results of a new nanocomposite, polyaniline (PANI) grafted multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) loaded Nafion-silica, (designated as Nafion-silica/MWNT-g-PANI), are reported in this paper. The preparation involves the formation of a silica network in a Nafion membrane and the subsequent loading of polyaniline-grafted multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT-g-PANI) onto the Nafion-silica nanocomposite. The new nanocomposite, Nafion-silica/ MWNT-g-PANI, was characterized as to its morphology, structure and properties. The conductivity and methanol permeability of the nanocomposite membranes were evaluated.     

Atomic Level 1D Structural Modulations at the Negatively Charged Domain Walls in BiFeO3 Films

Charged domain walls (CDWs) show great potentials to mediate the properties of ferroelectrics. Direct mapping of these domain walls at an atomic scale is of critical importance for understanding the domain wall dominated properties. Here, based on aberration‐corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, tail‐to‐tail CDWs at 71°, 109°, and 180° domains in BiFeO₃ thin films have been identified. 2D mappings demonstrate 1D structural modulations with alternate lattice expansions and clockwise/counterclockwise lattice rotations at these CDWs. Such behaviors of CDWs reveal a remarkable contrast to the uncharged domain walls and imply delicate interactions between bound charges and structural compensations of domain wall. These results are expected to provide new information on domain wall structures and shed some light on the understanding of domain wall properties in ferroelectrics.     

Convection of 3D MHD non-Newtonian couple stress nanofluid flow via stretching surface

This study involvesthe numerical modeling of steady thermal radiation and chemical reaction on non-Newtonian fluid motion via a bidirectional stretching surface. We have taken convective boundary conditions, and heat sources on the stretching surface. The working fluid of the present study is Casson fluid (“non-Newtonian”) with couple stress. The self-similarity forms of the nonlinear thermal radiative flow model are obtained by using similarity variables. Furthermore, the numerical results are computed with the help of fourth-order Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg method with a shooting algorithm after reducing nonlinear partial differential equations have been translated into strong ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Impacts of the various flow physical parameters especially Biot number, nonlinear thermal radiation, and heat source parameters containing nonlinear ODEs are discussed in detail for distinct numerical values. A comparison of calculated results with the known numerical results made with the previously published literature is mentioned and obtained a good agreement. Finally, we found that the $R{e}_x^{1/2}{C}_{fx}$ (“coefficient of skin friction”) declines along $x*,y*$ directions, respectively, with $\beta$ via $\lambda$ while the opposite direction follows $M$ with respect to $\lambda$ and the $R{e}_x^{-1/2}N{u}_x$ (“heat transfer rate”), $R{e}_x^{-1/2}Sh$ (“mass transfer rate”) increase with $\Gamma$ via ${\gamma }_1$ while opposite direction follows ${\gamma }_1$ with respect to ${\gamma }_2$.