Synthesis and Processing of Graft Copolymers from Cornstarch and Methyl Acrylate: Physical and Mechanical Properties

Starch-g-poly(methyl acrylate) (S-g-PMA), containing 40-65% PMA, was prepared with ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) initiation in a 2-gallon reactor. CAN initiator was added either in one portion or portionwise. Graft copolymers were characterized with respect to % acetone-extractable polymer (largely PMA homopolymer), PMA content of the graft copolymer, and M_w of PMA grafts. Normal cornstarch as well as waxy and high amylose cornstarches were used in the grafting reaction. Conversions of monomer to polymer were nearly quantitative. Continuous plastic ribbons for tensile testing were prepared by extrusion processing. Tensile properties varied with the method used for CAN addition (i. e., single portion vs. portion-wise) and depended upon the particular starch variety used in the graft polymerization reaction. Since water acts as a plasticizer for starch, samples extruded at high moisture content exhibit higher % elongation (%E) values than the same polymers extruded at low moisture. Values for %E also increase with higher percentages of PMA in the graft copolymer.     

New approach to model nonquasi-static (NQS) effects for MOSFETs. Part I: Large-signal analysis

This paper presents a new nonquasi-static (NQS) model for the MOSFET. The model is derived from physics and only relies on the very basic approximation needed for a charge-based model. To derive the model, a popular variational technique named Galerkin's Method has been used. The model proves to be very accurate even for extremely fast changes in the bias voltages. Simulation results show a very good match even when the rise time of the applied signal is smaller than the transit time of the device.     

Stability and throughput analysis of unslotted CDMA‐ALOHA with finite number of users and code sharing

We consider a system comprising a finite number of nodes, with infinite packet buffers, that use unslotted ALOHA with Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) to share a channel for transmitting packetised data. We propose a simple model for packet transmission and retransmission at each node, and show that saturation throughput in this model yields a sufficient condition for the stability of the packet buffers; we interpret this as the capacity of the access method. We calculate and compare the capacities of CDMA‐ALOHA (with and without code sharing) and TDMA‐ALOHA; we also consider carrier sensing and collision detection versions of these protocols. In each case, saturation throughput can be obtained via analysis of a continuous time Markov chain. Our results show how saturation throughput degrades with code‐sharing. Finally, we also present some simulation results for mean packet delay. Our work is motivated by optical CDMA in which “chips” can be optically generated, and hence the achievable chip rate can exceed the achievable TDMA bit rate which is limited by electronics. Code sharing may be useful in the optical CDMA context as it reduces the number of optical correlators at the receivers. Our throughput results help to quantify by how much the CDMA chip rate should exceed the TDMA bit rate so that CDMA‐ALOHA yields better capacity than TDMA‐ALOHA. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Load Balancing Technique for Congestion Control Multipath Routing Protocol in MANETs

A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a collection of wireless mobile nodes that can communicate without a central controller or fixed infrastructure. Due to node mobility, designing a routing protocol to provide an efficient and suitable method to route the data with less energy consumption, packet drop and to prolong the network lifetime has become a challenging issue in MANETs. In MANETs, reducing energy consumption and packet loss involves congestion control and load balancing techniques. Thus, this paper introduces an efficient routing technique called the multipath load balancing technique for congestion control (MLBCC) in MANETs to efficiently balance the load among multiple paths by reducing the congestion. MLBCC introduces a congestion control mechanism and a load balancing mechanism during the data transmission process. The congestion control mechanism detects the congestion by using an arrival rate and an outgoing rate at a particular time interval T. The load balancing mechanism selects a gateway node by using the link cost and the path cost to efficiently distribute the load by selecting the most desirable paths. For an efficient flow of distribution, a node availability degree standard deviation parameter is introduced. Simulation results of MLBCC show the performance improvements in terms of the control overhead, packet delivery ratio, average delay and packet drop ratio in comparison with Fibonacci sequence multipath load balancing, stable backbone-based multipath routing protocol and ad hoc on demand multipath distance vector routing. In addition, the results show that MLBCC efficiently balances the load of the nodes in the network.

     

A Consortium Blockchain Based Overseas Fund Transfer System

Domestic fund transfers are all the time immediate, handier and obtainable however in overseas fund transfer, funds are transferred from payers account to payees account through the correspondent banks, central bank and messaging network which involves intermediaries and allied charges. Blockchain Technology has grabbed the interest of financial systems due to its inventive benefits such as decentralised structure, faster speed, cost-effectiveness and more security over conventional approaches. Adopting Blockchain Technology for overseas fund transfer can overcome the transaction delays, intermediaries’ failures and recurring costs involved in the current system. In this paper, a Consortium Blockchain based overseas fund transfer process is proposed to achieve faster operations, security and transparency. Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain framework has been used for overseas fund transfer process and web-user interface is developed for the same. Simulation results demonstrate the significance of Blockchain as a promising technology for overseas fund transfer process to facilitate speed, security, transparency and efficiency for overseas fund transfer.

     

Acetamide‐modified hyper‐cross‐linked resin: Synthesis,characterization, and adsorption performance to phenol from aqueous solution

Acetamide‐modified hyper‐cross‐linked resin, HCP‐HMTA‐AA, was prepared and its adsorption performance was evaluated using phenol as the adsorbate. The prepared HCP–HMTA–AA owned predominant micro/mesopores and medium polarity, making it possess a superior adsorption to phenol as compared with polystyrene (PS), chloromethylated polystyrene (CMPS), hyper‐cross‐linked polymer (HCP) and amino‐modified hyper‐cross‐linked resin (HCP–HMTA). The adsorption enthalpy was ?99.56 kJ/mol at zero fractional loading, multiple hydrogen bonding contributed to such a great adsorption enthalpy and an approximately planar hexahydric ring was formed between acetamide of HCP–HMTA–AA and phenol. The dynamic capacity of phenol on HCP–HMTA–AA was 291.3 mg/g at a feed concentration of 946.2 mg/L and a flow rate of 48 mL/h and the resin column was almost regenerated by a mixed solvent including 50% of ethanol (v/v) and 0.01 mol/L of sodium hydroxide (w/v). HCP–HMTA–AA was repeatedly used for five times and the equilibrium adsorption capacity for the five time reached 94.2% of the equilibrium adsorption capacity for the first time. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41597.     

Concrete filled high strength steel box columns for tall buildings: Behaviour and design

This paper presents a study of the behaviour and design of concrete filled high strength steel fabricated box columns for use in tall buildings. The many advantages that can be attributed to the use of high strength steel in concrete filled steel box column constructions are presented and discussed. The paper deals with short composite columns and presents guidelines for plate slenderness and overall column slenderness to eliminate local and overall buckling. A proposed design model is developed to calculate the strength of short columns in bending and compression. A method for constructing the strength interaction diagram is presented. Furthermore, to study the ductility of this form of column construction a cross-sectional analysis computer program was developed to consider the moment-thrust-curvature response of such members. This has been undertaken using mild structural steel and high strength steel. The study also shows that, by the use of the method considered, savings can be made in the base column design of a tall building with a negligible penalty in ductility. Finally, recommendations are given for further research into this new method of column construction, which focuses on future experimental work.