Development of a new analytical tool to design hierarchical truss beams for natural frequency

A set of recursive equations are introduced for optimum design of a wide range of hierarchical truss beams to satisfy a minimum required natural frequency. The design equations are based on a general analytical solution, which are derived based on a critical dimensional analysis. A practical example is examined in both 2D and 3D spaces, which promises substantial mass reduction, as much as 99%, when using high order hierarchical truss beams. The results are verified by numerical evaluation of three case studies. The approach looks also very promising to design nanostructures when it comes to the problems associated with vibration.     

Fast Separation of Capsaicinoids from Peppers by Reversed Phase Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography: Comparation with Traditional High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Methods

A new chromatographic method for the separation of major capsaicinoids in peppers has been developed. Nordihydrocapsaicin, capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, homocapsaicin, and homodihydrocapsaicin have been separated by reversed-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography. A gradient method has been developed using two solvents: 0.1% acetic acid in water and 0.1% acetic acid in methanol. The developed method allows the full separation of capsaicinoids in less than 3 min, with high reproducibility (relative standard deviation < 4.3%) and repeatability (relative standard deviation < 3.6%). Robustness regarding the total amount of methanol in the sample was determined. Comparison with previous reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography methods using both monolithic and conventional columns was also studied. Finally, the method was applied in the determination of major capsaicinoids in 16 hot pepper samples produced in Spain.     

Preparation of silver nanostructure from silver(I) coordination polymer and fabrication of nano silver(I) bromide by reverse micelles technique

A new one-dimensional silver(I) coordination polymer, [Ag(μ-bpfb)(NO₃)]_n (1); bpfb = N,N′-bis(4-pyridylformamide)-1,4-benzene, has been synthesized and characterized by IR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The single crystal X-ray data show that the silver(I) 1D coordination polymer grows into a three-dimensional network by hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking interactions. Compound 1 with nanorod morphology was also prepared by sonochemical method. The cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a cationic surfactant was used in reverse micelles technique to obtain spongy silver(I) bromide nanoparticles from compound 1. Also, different silver nanoparticles have been prepared via direct calcination at 673 K and thermal decomposition in oleic acid from compound 1. The nanostructures of [Ag(μ-bpfb)(NO₃)]_n (1), silver and silver(I) bromide were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis. Thermal stability of compound 1 in both bulk and nano-sized form was studied by thermal gravimetric (TG) and differential thermal (DT) analyses.     

An adaptive and efficient buffer management scheme for resource-constrained delay tolerant networks

Provisioning buffer management mechanism is especially crucial in resource-constrained delay tolerant networks (DTNs) as maximum data delivery ratio with minimum overhead is expected in highly congested environments. However, most DTN protocols do not consider resource limitations (e.g., buffer, bandwidth) and hence, results in performance degradation. To strangle and mitigate the impact of frequent buffer overflows, this paper presents an adaptive and efficient buffer management scheme called size-aware drop (SAD) that strives to improve buffer utilization and avoid unnecessary message drops. To improve data delivery ratio, SAD exactly determines the requirement based on differential of newly arrived message(s) and available space. To vacate inevitable space from a congested buffer, SAD strives to avoid redundant message drops and deliberate to pick and discard most appropriate message(s) to minimize overhead. The performance of SAD is validated through extensive simulations in realistic environments (i.e., resource-constrained and congested) with different mobility models (i.e., Random Waypoint and disaster). Simulation results demonstrate the performance supremacy of SAD in terms of delivery probability and overhead ratio besides other metrics when compared to contemporary schemes based on Epidemic (DOA and DLA) and PRoPHET (SHLI and MOFO).     

Fabrication of self-ordered nanoporous alumina with 500–750 nm interpore distances using hard anodization in phosphoric/oxalic acid mixtures

A hard anodization (HA) technique is employed using different mixtures of phosphoric/oxalic acid for fast fabrication of alumina nanopore arrays in voltages higher than 200 V. The mixtures enable to avoid the breakdown of porous anodic alumina (PAA) in the high voltages. It is revealed for the first time that continuously tunable pore intervals (D_int) from 500 to 750 nm can be controlled by varying the concentrations of oxalic acid at anodization voltages (U_anod) from 230 to 360 V, far beyond the U_anod in the single electrolyte of phosphoric acid or oxalic acid. The ratios of interpore distance, pore diameter and barrier layer thickness to anodization voltage are in the range of conventional HA process for each acid mixture. In this approach, the PAA film growth rate is 26 µm/h, being 7 times larger than that in typical mild anodization.     

Kinetic Model for Invertase‐Induced Sucrose Hydrolysis: Initial Time Lag

The kinetics of sucrose hydrolysis by invertase was studied in order to find a comprehensive model for the reaction pathway and mechanism. First, three common models of Michaelis‐Menten (MM), substrate inhibition (S²), and substrate clusters' inhibition (S³(I)) were investigated. The third model was found to better predict the initial sucrose concentration. Then, the S³(I) model was modified to cover the remaining pathway (S³(II)). Finally, a new comprehensive model (S³(III)) was evaluated, which in addition to what is considered in the two previously mentioned models (S³(I) and S³(II)) also involved the initial time lag. The model predictions showed an excellent agreement with the experimental data. The mean absolute error for the MM model is significantly reduced for the S³(III) model.     

Electronic and optical properties of (Al x Ga1−x )1−y Mn y As single crystal: a new candidate for integrated optical isolators and spintronics

We have explored the electronic and optical properties of cubic (Al _x Ga_1?x )_1?y Mn _y As system using the FP-LAPW method. The unit cell has 64 atoms, so that one manganese (Mn) atom is placed in the position of gallium site, which corresponds to 3.125 % doping concentration with x = 12.5 %. Our calculations, using local density approximation + U (Hubbard parameter) scheme, predict that the ferromagnetic state for AlGaMnAs, with a magnetic moment of about 4.014 μ_B per Mn dopant is more favorable. Despite its electronic properties being strongly affected by inducing small amounts of Mn substitutional atoms in the cationic sublattice of AlGaAs, (Al _x Ga_1?x )_1?y Mn _y As possesses optical properties strictly less than those of Al _x Ga_1?x As, especially its optical conductivity at the peak 1.256 eV. The results indicate that AlGaMnAs may be a good candidate for optoelectronics when exploited in optical fiber networks, and it can still be of great interest because of its promising potential when used for spintronics.     

Energy and exergy analyses of five conventional liquefied natural gas processes

In this paper, five conventional LNG processes were investigated by energy and exergy analysis methods. On the basis of the energy analysis, three‐stage process of Linde AG and Stat oil (mixed fluid cascade [MFC]) has less energy consumption than the other ones (0.254 kWh/kg liquefied natural gas). Also, coefficient of performance of the cycles of this process is higher compared with the other ones. Exergy analysis results showed that the maximum exergy efficiency is related to the MFC process (51.82%). However, performance of the MFC process in terms of quality and quantity of energy consumption is considerable. But using three cycles in this process needs more components and consequently more fixed costs. In this study, sensitivity of coefficient of performance, specific energy consumption, and indexes of exergy analysis were also analyzed versus important operating variables for all cases. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.