Degradation of a textile azo dye by pulsed arc discharge to the surface of wastewater

The pulsed arc discharge to the surface of wastewater was applied to the degradation of a textile azo dye (Acid Red 27). A high-voltage electrode (discharging electrode) was vertically placed above the surface of the wastewater while the wastewater itself was grounded. The pulsed arc discharge occurred between the tip of the discharging electrode and the surface of the wastewater, producing various oxidative species. Oxygen was used as the working gas instead of air to prevent nitrogen oxides from forming. The effect of several parameters on the chromaticity and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was examined. The results obtained showed that the chromaticity of the wastewater was completely removed by this process and the COD also decreased significantly. It has been found that ozone formed in the gas phase mainly affects the removal of the dye. The contribution of other effects such as ultraviolet light emission and OH radical formation during the arc discharge to the degradation of the dye was found to be less than 15%. For the present reactor system, the optimum pH, pulse repetition rate and agitation speed were found to be 3.0, 110 Hz and 300 rpm, respectively.     

Irregular Depth Tiles: Automatically Generated Data Used for Network-based Robotic Grasping in 2D Dense Clutter

Recent advances in deep learning have enabled robots to grasp objects even in complex environments. However, a large amount of data is required to train the deep-learning network, which leads to a high cost in acquiring the learning data owing to the use of an actual robot or simulator. This paper presents a new form of grasp data that can be generated automatically to minimize the data-collection cost. The depth image is converted into simplified grasp data called an irregular depth tile that can be used to estimate the optimal grasp pose. Additionally, we propose a new grasping algorithm that employs different methods according to the amount of free space in the bounding box of the target object. This algorithm exhibited a significantly higher success rate than the existing grasping methods in grasping experiments in complex environments.

     

Transmission electron microscopy study of extended defect evolution and amorphization in SiC under Si ion irradiation

The damage induced in 3C-SiC epilayers on a silicon wafer by 2.3-MeV Si ion irradiation for fluences of 10¹⁴, 10¹⁵, and 10¹⁶ cm⁻², was studied by conventional and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM/HRTEM). The evolution of extended defects and lattice disorder is followed in both the 3C-SiC film and Si substrate as a function of ion fluence, with reference to previous FTIR spectroscopy data. The likelihood of athermal unfaulting of native stacking faults by point defect migration to the native stacking faults is discussed in relation to damage recovery. Threshold energy densities and irradiation doses for dislocation loop formation and amorphous phase transformation are deduced from the damage depth profile by nuclear collisions. The role of electronic excitations on the damage recovery at high fluence is also addressed for both SiC and Si.     

Near infrared light-induced disassembly of polymeric micelles based on methylene blue conjugated polyethylene glycol

Light-sensitive drug delivery systems are considered ideal for applications in the biomedical fields for their ability to release the payload in an on-demand spatiotemporal controlled manner through the manipulation of the light source. Among the broad radiation spectrum, near infrared (NIR) light is considered advantageous compared to UV and visible light, due to its inherently lower photodamage to normal tissues and deeper penetration to lesion areas. In this study, we report a successful synthesis of a polymer capable of undergoing partial degradation upon irradiation with NIR light by conjugating 10-N-carbamoyl linkage methylene blue (MB) moiety, a NIR photocleavable ligand, with polyethylene glycol (PEG). Through effective coupling of MB, a hydrophobic moiety, to the hydrophilic PEG molecule, an amphiphilic polymer was synthesized, as demonstrated by a lowered surface tension (55 mN/m at 0.1% wt/vol). Subsequently, photo-induced reversal of surface activity associated with self-assembled structure disruption, was displayed by surface tension measurements, size distribution analysis, and burst release profile of paclitaxel (PTX) from polymeric micelles upon the exposure to NIR irradiation.     

Extension-dominated improved dispersive mixing in single-screw extrusion. Part 2: Comparative analysis with twin-screw extruder

In Part 1 of this work, the possibility of improving single-screw extruders (SSE) better dispersive mixer was explored by harnessing extensional flows provided by the hyperbolic contracting–diverging channels of extensional mixing elements (EME). Addition of the EME to the pin screw generated enhanced breakup for polymer blends and nanocomposite systems without significant penalty in flow rate. In Part 2, experiments are performed on immiscible polymer blends (low-viscosity ratio and high-viscosity ratio) and nanocomposites on both SSE and twin-screw extruder (TSE) with the same rotation speed and throughput. Morphological results show tremendous improvement in dispersive mixing capability of SSE when equipped with EME that are mainly comparable to conventional TSE that is, with kneading blocks as mixing sections, although not as good as TSEs equipped with EMEs. Mechanical results also show enhanced modulus when EME is used in SSE operations.     

Effects of iron catalyst on the formation of crystalline domain during carbonization of electrospun acrylic nanofiber

To investigate the effects of introducing the iron compound on the carbonization behavior polyacrylonitile (PAN)-based electrospun nanofibers were carbonized with or without iron(III) acetylacetonate (AAI) over the temperature range of 900–1500 °C in nitrogen atmosphere. The morphological characteristics of the carbon nanofibers were investigated using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The electrical conductivity of the carbon nanofiber web was measured by four-point probe method. The iron catalyst had a profound effect on the crystal structure of the carbonized nanofiber. In the presence of AAI the nanofibers carbonized at 1300 °C developed graphite structure, which could be obtained at the temperature higher than 2000 °C in the absence of the catalyst. The in-plane size of the graphite crystals (L_a) was measured to be about 6.5 nm by Raman spectroscopy and the (0 0 2) spacing by XRD was 0.341 nm.     

Micro-end-milling of single-crystal silicon

Ductile-regime machining of silicon using micro-end-mill is almost impossible because of the brittle properties of silicon, crystal orientation effects, edge radius of the cutter and the hardness of tool materials. Micro-end-milling can potentially be used to create desired three dimensional (3D) free form surface features using the ductile machining technology for single-crystal silicon. There is still a lack of fundamental understanding of micro-end-milling of single-crystal silicon using diamond-coated tool, specifically basic understanding of material removal mechanism, cutting forces and machined surface integrity in micro-scale machining of silicon. In this paper, further research to understand the chip formation mechanism was conducted. An analysis was performed to discover how the chips are removed during the milling process. Brittle and ductile cutting regimes corresponding to machined surfaces and chips are discussed. Experiments have shown that single-crystal silicon can be ductile machined using micro-end-milling process. Forces generated when micro-end-milling single-crystal silicon are used to determine the performance of the milling process. Experimental results show that the dependence of the cutting force on the uncut chip thickness can be well described by a polynomial function order n. As cutting regime becomes more brittle, the cutting force has more complex function.     

Single-view-based 3D facial reconstruction method robust against pose variations

The 3D Morphable Model (3DMM) and the Structure from Motion (SfM) methods are widely used for 3D facial reconstruction from 2D single-view or multiple-view images. However, model-based methods suffer from disadvantages such as high computational costs and vulnerability to local minima and head pose variations. The SfM-based methods require multiple facial images in various poses. To overcome these disadvantages, we propose a single-view-based 3D facial reconstruction method that is person-specific and robust to pose variations. Our proposed method combines the simplified 3DMM and the SfM methods. First, 2D initial frontal Facial Feature Points (FFPs) are estimated from a preliminary 3D facial image that is reconstructed by the simplified 3DMM. Second, a bilateral symmetric facial image and its corresponding FFPs are obtained from the original side-view image and corresponding FFPs by using the mirroring technique. Finally, a more accurate the 3D facial shape is reconstructed by the SfM using the frontal, original, and bilateral symmetric FFPs. We evaluated the proposed method using facial images in 35 different poses. The reconstructed facial images and the ground-truth 3D facial shapes obtained from the scanner were compared. The proposed method proved more robust to pose variations than 3DMM. The average 3D Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) between the reconstructed and ground-truth 3D faces was less than 2.6 mm when 2D FFPs were manually annotated, and less than 3.5 mm when automatically annotated.     

Output feedback of Markov jump linear systems with no mode observation: An automotive throttle application

The note presents an output feedback control strategy for Markov jump linear systems with no mode observation. Based on minimizing a finite‐time quadratic cost, we derive an algorithm that generates output feedback gains that satisfy a necessary optimality condition. These gains can be computed off‐line relying only on the initial condition of the system. This result expands a previous one from the literature that considered state‐feedback only. To illustrate the usefulness of the approach, real‐time laboratory experiments were performed to control an automotive electronic throttle valve subject to Markov‐driven voltage fluctuations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.