Unsteady two-dimensional and axisymmetric MHD boundary-layer flows

Summary Nonsimilar solution of the unsteady laminar incompressible magneto-hydrodynamic boundary layer flow and heat transfer for an electrically conducting fluid over two-dimensional and axisymmetric bodies in the presence of an applied magnetic field has been obtained. The effects of surface mass transfer, Joule heating and viscous dissipation are included in the analysis. Numerical computation have been carried out for the flow over a circular cylinder and a sphere using an implicit finite difference scheme in combination with a quasi-linearization technique. It is observed that magnetic field and suction cause the location of vanishing skin friction to move downstream while, the effect of injection is just the opposite. The effect of magnetic field on the skin friction is more pronounced as compared to its effect on the heat transfer. On the other hand, the heat transfer is strongly affected by the viscous dissipation and the effect is more for larte times. However, heat transfer responds comparatively less to the fluctuations of the free stream than the skin friction.     

Development of pitch-based carbon–copper composites

Carbon–copper composites with varying copper to carbon ratio of 0.66–1.5 (by weight) were developed from coal-tar-pitch-derived green coke (as such or modified with natural graphite) as carbon source and electrolytic grade copper powder at different heat treatment temperatures (HTTs) of 1000–1400 °C. The physical, mechanical, and electrical properties differ depending upon the HTT and also on copper to carbon ratio (Cu/C). The composites prepared at HTT of 1100 °C having Cu/C ratio of 0.66 and 0.9 exhibited a high bending strength of 150 and 140 MPa, bulk density of 2.63 and 2.81 gm/cm³, electrical resistivity of 1.6 and 0.96 m Ω cm and shore hardness of 88 and 84, respectively, in spite of well-known inadequate wettability between copper and carbon. Increasing the temperature from 1100 °C for processing of the composites deteriorated the properties mainly due to the loss of copper through melting above 1100 °C as revealed by X-ray, scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis and EDAX studies.     

Study of Au, Ni-(n)ZnSe Thin Film Schottky Barrier Junctions

Schottky barrier junctions of Al-doped n-type Zinc selenide (ZnSe) thin films of doping concentrations up to 9.7 × 10¹⁴ cm ^?3 have been fabricated with Au and Ni electrodes on glass substrates by sequential thermal evaporation. All of the junctions of different doping concentrations exhibited rectifying current-voltage characteristics with a non-saturating reverse current. From the current-voltage characteristics, the different junction parameters such as ideality factor, saturation current density, series resistance, etc., were measured. Both types of junctions were found to possess a high ideality factor and a high series resistance. The barrier heights of the junctions were measured from Richardson plots and found to be around 0.8 eV. The structures were found to exhibit a poor photovoltaic effect with a fill factor not greater than 0.4. The diode quality as well as the photovoltaic performance of the diodes were improved following a short heat treatment in vacuum.     

Unsteady mixed convection flow of a thermomicropolar fluid on a long thin vertical cylinder

The unsteady laminar mixed convection boundary layer flow of a thermomicropolar fluid over a long thin vertical cylinder has been studied when the free stream velocity varies with time. The coupled nonlinear partial differential equations with three independent variables governing the flow have been solved numerically using an implicit finite difference scheme in combination with the quasilinearization technique. The results show that the buoyancy, curvature and suction parameters, in general, enhance the skin friction, heat transfer and gradient of microrotation, but the effect of injection is just opposite. The skin friction and heat transfer for the micropolar fluid are considerably less than those for the Newtonian fluids. The effect of microrotation parameter is appreciable only on the microrotation gradient. The effect of the Prandtl number is appreciable on the skin friction, heat transfer and gradient of microtation.     

Effect of Alumina Reactivity on the Densification and Properties of Al2O3–Cr2O3 Refractories

Alumina‐chrome (Al₂O₃–Cr₂O₃) refractories with Al₂O₃:Cr₂O₃ molar ratio 1:1 were synthesized in the temperature range of 1400–1700°C by conventional solid–oxide reaction route. The effect of different aluminas (viz., hydrated and calcined) on the densification, microstructure, and properties of Al₂O₃–Cr₂O₃ refractories was investigated without changing the Cr₂O₃ source. The starting materials were analyzed to determine the chemical composition, mineralogy, density, surface area, and particle size. Sintered materials were characterized in terms of densification, phase assemblage, and mechanical strength at room temperature and at higher temperatures. Microstructural evolution at different sintering temperature was correlated with sintering characteristics. It can be concluded that the Al₂O₃–Cr₂O₃ refractories prepared with hydrated alumina as Al₂O₃ source show better densification and hot mechanical strength than corresponding calcined variety.     

High‐strength biodegradable poly(vinyl alcohol)/fly ash composite films

We prepared biodegradable composite films of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and fly ash (FA) spanning 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 wt % concentrations by casting aqueous solutions. The tensile strengths of the composite films were increased proportionally via the addition of FA. The strength of the film was enhanced by 193% with 20% FA compared to the neat PVA control. Further addition of FA deviated from the linear trend. The moduli of the composites also increased proportionally with FA addition to 212% at 20 wt % FA addition compared to the control. The percentage strain at break exponentially decreased with the addition of FA. In the dynamic mechanical behavior, the storage and loss moduli both increased with FA content. The tan δ peaks corresponding to the glass‐transition temperature shifted 5–10°C higher above the control sample (73°C). This shift was attributed to a reduction in the mobility of PVA segments because they were anchored by the FA surface. The reductions in mobility manifested in strong interfacial interactions were indicative of hydrogen bonding. Broadening and reduction in the intensities of the stretching and bending peaks of ? OH, ? CH and ? C?O of PVA in the Fourier transform infrared spectra were observed. This suggested that hydrogen bonding was active between the functional groups in the FA and PVA chains. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Robust observer based control for plasma glucose regulation in type 1 diabetes patient using attractive ellipsoid method

This paper deals with the design of robust observer based output feedback control law for the stabilisation of an uncertain nonlinear system and subsequently apply the developed method for the regulation of plasma glucose concentration in Type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients. The principal objective behind the proposed design is to deal with the issues of intra‐patient parametric variation and non‐availability of all state variables for measurement. The proposed control technique for the T1D patient model is based on the attractive ellipsoid method (AEM). The observer and controller conditions are obtained in terms of linear matrix inequality (LMI), thus allowing to compute easily both the observer and controller gains. The closed‐loop response obtained using the designed controller avoids adverse situations of hypoglycemia and post‐prandial hyperglycemia under uncertain conditions. Further to validate the robustness of the design, closed‐loop simulations of random 200 virtual T1D patients considering parameters within the considered ranges are presented. The results indicate that hypoglycemia and post‐prandial hyperglycemia are significantly reduced in the presence of bounded (±30% ) parametric variability and uncertain exogenous meal disturbance.Inspec keywords: medical control systems, observers, uncertain systems, nonlinear control systems, robust control, control system synthesis, linear matrix inequalities, feedback, sugar, closed loop systems, diseasesOther keywords: virtual T1D patients, type 1 diabetes patients, closed‐loop simulations, uncertain conditions, post‐prandial hyperglycemia, designed controller, closed‐loop response, controller gains, linear matrix inequality, controller conditions, T1D patient model, control technique, intra‐patient parametric variation, principal objective, plasma glucose concentration, uncertain nonlinear system, robust observer based output feedback control law, attractive ellipsoid method, plasma glucose regulation     

Dynamic process modelling of iron ore sintering

A mathematical model was developed for the iron ore sintering process considering all the major thermochemical phenomena in the system, assuming both the static and moving bed configurations. The model predicted a large number of parameters pertinent to the sintering process including the temperatures of the gas and solid, concentration of various species, amount of solid melted etc. The results were tested against the data existing in literature, and a limited number of pot tests conducted in a pilot plant. Despite high complexity of the problem, the agreement between the experimental and simulated data was reasonably good.