A Finite Difference Method and Effective Modification of Gradient Descent Optimization Algorithm for MHD Fluid Flow Over a Linearly Stretching Surface

Present contribution is concerned with the construction and application of a numerical method for the fluid flow problem over a linearly stretching surface with the modification of standard Gradient descent Algorithm to solve the resulted difference equation. The flow problem is constructed using continuity, and Navier Stoke equations and these PDEs are further converted into boundary value problem by applying suitable similarity transformations. A central finite difference method is proposed that gives third-order accuracy using three grid points. The stability conditions of the present proposed method using a Gauss-Seidel iterative procedure is found using VonNeumann stability criteria and order of the finite difference method is proved by applying the Taylor series on the discretised equation. The comparison of the presently modified optimisation algorithm with the Gauss-Seidel iterative method and standard Newton’s method in optimisation is also made. It can be concluded that the presently modified optimisation Algorithm takes a few iterations to converge with a small value of the parameter contained in it compared with the standard descent algorithm that may take millions of iterations to converge. The present modification of the steepest descent method converges faster than Gauss-Seidel method and standard steepest descent method, and it may also overcome the deficiency of singular hessian arise in Newton’s method for some of the cases that may arise in optimisation problem(s).     

Recent developments in biochar as an effective tool for agricultural soil management: a review

In recent years biochar has been demonstrated to be a useful amendment to sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emission from the soil to the atmosphere. Hence it can help to mitigate global environment change. Some studies have shown that biochar addition to agricultural soils increases crop production. The mechanisms involved are: increased soil aeration and water‐holding capacity, enhanced microbial activity and plant nutrient status in soil, and alteration of some important soil chemical properties. This review provides an in‐depth consideration of the production, characterization and agricultural use of different biochars. Biochar is a complex organic material and its characteristics vary with production conditions and the feedstock used. The agronomic benefits of biochar solely depend upon the use of particular types of biochar with proper field application rate under appropriate soil types and conditions. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry     

Ten switched‐beams with 2 × 2 series‐fed 2.4 GHz array antenna and a simple beam‐switching network

This article presents a 2 × 2 series fed 2.4 GHz patch antenna array having multiple beam switching capabilities by using two simple 3 dB/90° couplers to achieve required amplitude and phase excitations for array elements with reduced complexity, cost and size. The beam switching performance with consistent gain and low side lobe levels (SLL) is achieved by exciting the array elements from orthogonally placed thin quarter‐wave (λ_g/4) feeds. The implemented array is capable to generate ten (10) switched‐beams in 2‐D space when series fed elements are excited from respective ports through 3 dB quadrature couplers. The dual polarized characteristics of presented array provide intrinsic interport isolation between perpendicularly placed ports through polarization diversity to achieve independent beam switching capabilities for intended directions. The implemented antenna array on 1.575 mm thick low loss (tan δ = 0.003) NH9450 substrate with ε_r = 4.5 ± 0.10 provides 10 dB return loss impedance bandwidth of more than 50 MHz. The measured beam switching loss is around 0.8 dB for beams switched at θ = ±20°, Ф = 0°, 90°, and 45° with average peak gain of 9.5 dBi and SLL ≤ ?10 dB in all cases. The novelty of this work is the capability of generating ten dual polarized switched‐beams by using only two 3 dB/90° couplers as beam controllers.     

Pinecone particles filled polybenzoxazine composites: Thermomechanical and mechanical properties

In the current study, 1 wt%, NaOH treated pine cone (ATPC) particles composites with bisphenol-A aniline based benzoxazine (BA-a) matrix were prepared by isothermal compression method. Ultimate impacts of ATPC reinforcement on the thermomechanical, tensile, flexural, and impact properties of the composites were studied by using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA), a Universal testing machine, and a Tinius-Olsen impact device, respectively. The thermal stability of ATPC particles was remarkably increased, TGA confirmed that particles will not be degraded during the curing. The DMA results of 30 wt% ATPC reinforced composites confirmed that the glass transition temperature, storage modulus, and loss modulus were 22 ° C, 2510, and 250 MPa higher than the neat matrix, respectively. In addition, the impact strength of the 30 wt% ATPC reinforced composites was nearly 3 times higher than the neat matrix, which confirmed that the matrix's brittleness is reduced, similar observation was confirmed by the Brostow and coworkers empirical model. Moreover, a gradual rise in the tensile and flexural properties was also recorded. We can easily conclude from the studied parameters that the ATPC particles can be used as a sustainable agro-waste in polymeric composites.     

Agarose Hydrogel Beads: An Effective Approach to Improve the Catalytic Activity,Stability and Reusability of Fungal Amyloglucosidase of GH15 Family

This study deals with the immobilization of amyloglucosidase within agarose using method of entrapment. Enzyme was produced from Aspergillus fumigatus KIBGE-IB33 and then partially purified using 40% ammonium sulphate saturation. Using 40 gl^?1 concentration of agarose and adjusting 3.0 mm size of hydrogels, maximum entrapment yield (78%) was obtained. The kinetic behavior was slightly changed after immobilization as reaction time and reaction temperature increases from 5.0 min (soluble) to 10.0 min (immobilized) and 60 °C (soluble) to 65 °C (immobilized), respectively while, pH optima remained same (pH 5.0). Substrate saturation kinetics revealed that K_m was increased from 1.47 to 4.215 mg ml^?1 while, the value of V_max decreased from 947 to 611 kU mg^?1 for soluble and entrapped amyloglucosidase, respectively. The stability profile of amyloglucosidase also significantly improved after entrapment in agarose hydrogels at 50, 60 and 70 °C for 120 min with retention of 77, 59 and 25% residual activity, respectively. Furthermore, the t_1/2 of soluble and immobilized amyloglucosidase at 60 °C was 167 and 375 min respectively. Due to increase in reusability for various subsequent cycles of entrapped amyloglucosidase, about 8.73 mg ml^?1 increase in glucose production was observed as compared to soluble enzyme.

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Synthesis,Characterization, and Application Studies of Polyurethane Acrylate Thermoset Coatings: Effect of Hard Segment

The waterborne polyurethane acrylate coatings are smart option to reduce the environmental hazards. To evaluate the structure–property relationship, polyurethane acrylate coating dispersions were synthesized with aromatic and aliphatic hard segments. Furthermore, to evaluate the performance, dispersions were used to finish the cotton fabric. The dispersions were prepared by prepolymer method followed by emulsion polymerization in aqueous medium. The characterization of dispersions was performed by Fourier transform infrared, dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. In general, aliphatic hard segment has shown more appreciable results. But, thermal stability of aromatic polyurethane acrylate was more pronounced as inherent rigidity of aromatic diisocyanate dominates.     

Vibration analysis of submerged thin FGM cylindrical shells

This study gives a brief work on vibration characteristics of cylindrical shells submerged in an incompressible fluid. The shell is presumed to be structured from functionally graded material. The effect of the fluid is introduced by using the acoustic wave equation. Love’s first order thin shell theory is utilized in the shell dynamical equations. The problem is framed by combining shell dynamical equations with the acoustic wave equation. Fluid-loaded terms are associated with Hankel function of second kind. Wave propagation approach is employed to solve the shell problem. Some comparisons of numerical results are performed for the natural frequencies of simply supported-simply supported, clamped-clamped and clamped-simply supported boundary conditions of isotropic as well as functionally graded cylindrical shells to check the validity of the present approach. The influence of fluid on the submerged functionally graded cylindrical shells is noticed to be very pronounced.     

On the assessment of various implants using 3D TCAD for FinFETs

This work deals with the junction and channel optimization on FinFET devices. The main objective was to show feasibility of a three-dimensional (3D) process simulation within the context of optimization of the device design and the underlying fabrication processes. The 3D simulation process flow is based on the development of the SOI based FinFET devices at Infineon. Similar to real devices, important 3D geometrical features, such as corner roundings and 3D facets have been introduced into the simulation setup, which is based on commercially available 3D process simulation software (Taurus 3D). The influence of various unit process steps, such as channel implant, and LDD implant on the electrical performance of the devices have been evaluated. Beside the successful demonstration of a functional 3D process simulation flow, detailed issues of process and device simulation methodology such as the usage of different dopant diffusion and mobility models are assessed. Finally, a comparison of the simulation results with electrical measurement data is performed which fairly shows excellent agreement.