Tensile deformation behaviour of a dissimilar metal weldment of P91 and 347H steels

Deformation of a weldment is governed by the mechanical properties of its base metals and fusion zone. In a weldment, the base metals and fusion zone exhibit changing microstructural features with various phases present along the weldment. Specifically, the heat affected zone of a base metal exhibits a heterogeneous microstructure generated during weld thermal cycles and by post-weld heat treatment. As a result, the mechanical properties in a weldment are often non-uniformly distributed. In this study, tensile tests combined with digital image correlation were performed to obtain the non-uniform distributions of the mechanical properties of a weldment composed of P91 and 347H steels. From the experimental tensile tests, it was found that the 347H base metal had significantly distinct mechanical properties compared to the other zones of the weldment. Furthermore, the 347H base metal had the lowest yield stress but the highest strain hardening exponent. Because of its lowest yield stress, the 347H base metal had the highest plastic strain accumulation at any stage of global deformation. However, the strain hardening rate of the P91 base metal enabled it to accumulate the necessary plastic strain to activate its necking first. Therefore, the failure location of the P91-347H weldment was expected to occur at the P91 base metal. A 3D finite element simulation of the tensile deformation of P91-347H weldment also suggested the same. However, from the present experimental observations, one weldment out of three was found to fail unexpectedly at the heat affected zone of the P91 base metal. The reason for this unexpected failure was determined by microscopic analysis to be the presence of a large defect.     

Local map fusion for real‐time indoor simultaneous localization and mapping

Among the solutions to the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem with probabilistic techniques, the extended Kalman filter (EKF) is a very common approach. There are several approaches to deal with its computational cost, usually based on an adequate selection of features to be updated in real time, while the whole map update is delayed or processed in a background task, allowing one to map larger environments or to carry out multirobot experiments. Although these solutions are theoretically sound, there is a great lack of real experiments in large indoor environments due to several previously unknown problems derived from the geometric model of the map features and the inconsistency of the SLAM‐EKF algorithm. For the first time, these problems are described and solved, and the implementation of the algorithms and solutions presented in this paper achieve excellent results in experiments in different real large indoor environments. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Talc functionality as lubricant: texture, mean diameter, and specific surface area influence

Talc is widely used as a glidant (flow regulator) for powders. This study highlights the characteristics that confer to talcs new end use properties in improving the lubrication function during compression. We studied the contribution of texture, mean diameter (D50), and specific surface area on the residual die pressure, the ejection pressure, the lubrication index, and the tablet hardness. Different textures were studied: microcrystalline, macrocrystalline, and moderately macrocrystalline talc grade. The compression parameters were improved according to the texture. D50 varies from 0.62 to 15 µm. As D50 decreases, the lubrication performance is improved. Finally, the specific surface area of talcs was studied. This last characteristic of talcs was shown as the most relevant parameter in determining lubrication ability.     

A microchip-based multianalyte assay system for the assessment of cardiac risk

The development of a novel chip-based multianalyte detection system with a cardiac theme is reported. This work follows the initial reports of "electronic taste chips" whereby multiple solution-phase analytes such as acids, bases, metal cations, and biological cofactors were detected and quantitated. The newly fashioned "cardiac chip" exploits a geometry that allows for isolation and entrapment of single polymeric spheres in micromachined pits while providing to each bead the rapid introduction of a series of reagents/washes through microfluidic structures. The combination of these miniaturized components fosters the completion of complex assays with short analysis times using small sample volumes. Optical signals derived from single beads are used to complete immunological tests that yield outstanding assay characteristics. The power and utility of this new methodology is demonstrated here for the simultaneous detection of the cardiac risk factors, C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, in human serum samples. This demonstration represents the first important step toward the development of a useful cardiac chip that targets numerous risk factors concurrently and one that can be customized readily for specific clinical settings.     

Real‐Time Label‐Free Monitoring of Nanoparticle Cell Uptake

The surface plasmon resonance technique in combination with whole cell sensing is used for the first time for real‐time label‐free monitoring of nanoparticle cell uptake. The uptake kinetics of several types of nanoparticles relevant to drug delivery applications into HeLa cells is determined. The cell uptake of the nanoparticles is confirmed by confocal microscopy. The cell uptake of silica nanoparticles and polyethylenimine–plasmid DNA polyplexes is studied as a function of temperature, and the uptake energies are determined by Arrhenius plots. The phase transition temperature of the HeLa cell membrane is detected when monitoring cell uptake of silica nanoparticles at different temperatures. The HeLa cell uptake of the mesoporous silica nanoparticles is energy‐independent at temperatures slightly higher than the phase transition temperature of the HeLa cell membrane, while the uptake of polyethylenimine–DNA polyplexes is energy‐dependent and linear as a function of temperature with an activation energy of Ea = 62 ± 7 kJ mol^?1 = 15 ± 2 kcal mol^?1. The HeLa cell uptake of red blood cell derived extracellular vesicles is also studied as a function of the extracellular vesicle concentration. The results show a concentration dependent behavior reaching a saturation level of the extracellular vesicle uptake by HeLa cells.     

Synthetic Transient Crosslinks Program the Mechanics of Soft,Biopolymer‐Based Materials

Actin networks are adaptive materials enabling dynamic and static functions of living cells. A central element for tuning their underlying structural and mechanical properties is the ability to reversibly connect, i.e., transiently crosslink, filaments within the networks. Natural crosslinkers, however, vary across many parameters. Therefore, systematically studying the impact of their fundamental properties like size and binding strength is unfeasible since their structural parameters cannot be independently tuned. Herein, this problem is circumvented by employing a modular strategy to construct purely synthetic actin crosslinkers from DNA and peptides. These crosslinkers mimic both intuitive and noncanonical mechanical properties of their natural counterparts. By isolating binding affinity as the primary control parameter, effects on structural and dynamic behaviors of actin networks are characterized. A concentration‐dependent triphasic behavior arises from both strong and weak crosslinkers due to emergent structural polymorphism. Beyond a certain threshold, strong binding leads to a nonmonotonic elastic pulse, which is a consequence of self‐destruction of the mechanical structure of the underlying network. The modular design also facilitates an orthogonal regulatory mechanism based on enzymatic cleaving. This approach can be used to guide the rational design of further biomimetic components for programmable modulation of the properties of biomaterials and cells.     

Following the Kinetics of Barium Titanate Nanocrystal Formation in Benzyl Alcohol Under Near‐Ambient Conditions

In complex chemical syntheses (e.g., coprecipitation reactions), nucleation, growth, and coarsening often occur concurrently, obscuring the individual processes. Improved knowledge of these processes will help to better understand and optimize the reaction protocol. Here, a form‐free and model independent approach, based on a combination of time‐resolved small/wide‐angle X‐ray scattering, is employed to elucidate the effect of reaction parameters (such as precursor concentration, reactant stoichiometry, and temperature) on the nucleation, crystallization, and growth phenomena during the formation of nanocrystalline barium titanate. The strength of this approach is that it relies solely on the total scattered intensity (i.e., scattering invariant) of the investigated system, and no prior knowledge is required. As such, it can be widely applied to other synthesis protocols and material's systems. Through the scattering invariant, it is found that the amorphous‐to‐crystalline transformation of barium titanate is predominantly determined by the total amount of water released from the gel‐like barium hydroxide octahydrate precursor, and three rate‐limiting regimes are established. As a result of this improved understanding of the effect of varying reaction conditions, elementary boundary conditions can be set up for a better control of the barium titanate nanocrystal synthesis.     

Simultaneous optimization of production planning and inventory management of polyurethane foam plant

In this work, the management of a polyurethane foam plant is tackled through a mixed integer linear programming model that simultaneously solves production and inventory planning problems. The production process considers the foaming stage where large polyurethane blocks are produced as well as the curing step where the blocks are dried. The proposed formulation takes into account several tradeoffs involved in the overall production process. The daily production planning is tightly related to production requirements, available space for the curing and stored elements. Moreover, the required time to dry blocks introduces a delay that must be appropriately considered in order to allow an adequate operation of downstream operations. Thus, an integrated approach where all these problems are jointly addressed is proposed using a mathematical programming model. Several study cases provided by a local company are tested to demonstrate the model performance.