Tensile testing and fracture mechanism analysis of polyvinyl alcohol nanofibrous webs

A tensile properties testing study was conducted to understand the influence of thickness, cross-head speed (speed of testing), gauge length (GL; specimen test length), and sample shape on important tensile properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofiber webs. The effects of each testing parameter on load at break, extension at break, Young's modulus, and tensile stress–strain curve of PVA nanofiber webs are analyzed. The Welch two sample t-tests show the significant difference among tested data. Using interaction plots, two-way analysis of variance, and margin mean plots, the interaction effects among testing parameters have been analyzed. Of all the factors, cross-head speed, the interaction among GL, and sample thickness (GL: Thickness) and the interaction among GL, testing speed and sample thickness (GL: Speed: Thickness) have significant influence on the tensile properties of PVA nanofiber webs. Moreover, the hypothesized model of mechanism of tensile strain–stress curve of PVA nanofiber webs has been proposed. Based on the model, the tensile strain–stress curve can be split into three stages: linear elastic, partial break up, and complete breakage. This study will provide a better understanding of tensile testing parameters' effects and their interaction effects on the tensile properties of nanowebs.     

Rotational abrasive flow finishing (R-AFF) process and its effects on finished surface topography

The present study focus on abrasive flow finishing (AFF), a process that finishes complex internal and external geometries with the help of viscoelastic abrasive medium, while keeping in mind its low finish and material removal rates (MRR). Researchers have often strived to improve finishing rate and MRR. As an attempt to overcome the said limitations, this paper discusses rotational abrasive flow finishing (R-AFF) process wherein complete tooling is externally rotated and the medium reciprocates with the help of hydraulic actuators. In this study, preliminary experiments are conducted on Al alloy and Al alloy/SiC metal matrix composites (MMCs) at different extrusion pressures, and medium compositions are employed for finding optimum conditions of the same for higher change in roughness (ΔR_a). The same optimum conditions are used to study the effect of workpiece rotational speed on (ΔR_a), material removal (MR), change in workpiece hardness and surface topology. It is noted that as the workpiece rotational speed increases from 2 to 10 RPM, the experimental helix angle decreases from 22° to 9° and the helical path length increases from 67 to 160 mm. Based on these findings the mechanism of material removal of matrix and reinforcement in MMC using R-AFF have been proposed. Here the matrix material is removed by micro-cutting and three methods of material removal mechanisms for reinforcement are also explained. The scientific logic behind finishing mechanism of matrix and reinforcement, cross hatch patterns, helical path directions, micro-scratch (μ-scratch) width and depth variation with size, orientation and support that active abrasive grain obtains from neighboring abrasives is derived from scanning electron microscopy micrographs. Finally this study establishes that R-AFF can produce 44% better ΔR_a and 81.8% more MR compared to the AFF process. Accordingly, R-AFF generates micro cross hatch pattern on the finished surface that can improve lubricant holding capabilities.     

Atomization and combustion of canola methyl ester biofuel spray

The spray atomization and combustion characteristics of canola methyl ester (CME) biofuel are compared to those of petroleum based No. 2 diesel fuel in this paper. The spray flame was contained in an optically accessible combustor which was operated at atmospheric pressure with a co-flow of heated air. Fuel was delivered through a swirl-type air-blast atomizer with an injector orifice diameter of 300 μm. A two-component phase Doppler particle analyzer was used to measure the spray droplet size, axial velocity, and radial velocity distributions. Radial and axial distributions of NO, CO, CO₂ and O₂ concentrations were also obtained. Axial and radial distributions of flame temperature were recorded with a Pt–Pt/13%Rh (type R) thermocouple. The volumetric flow rates of fuel, atomization air and co-flow air were kept constant for both fuels. The droplet Sauter mean diameter (SMD) at the nozzle exit for CME biofuel spray was smaller than that of the No. 2 diesel fuel spray, implying faster vaporization rates for the former. The flame temperature decreased more rapidly for the CME biofuel spray flame than for the No. 2 diesel fuel spray flame in both axial and radial directions. CME biofuel spray flames produced lower in-flame NO and CO peak concentrations than No. 2 diesel fuel spray flames.     

Hierarchical delineation and multivariate statistical discrimination of chemozones of the Cauvery Basin,south India: Implications on spatio-temporal scales of stratigraphic correlation

Success in locating oil pools in the Cauvery Basin, south India had been found to be based on the ability to delineate precisely the stratigraphic traps resulting from frequent sea level changes. However, recognition and delineation of them in terms of depositional units through conventional stratigraphic methods have been elusive owing to the limitations of such methods and lack of unified stratigraphic markers that could be traced at regional and basinal scale. This paper attempts to recognize depositional units in terms of chemozones, chronologic and lithostratigraphic units by assigning distinct geochemical signatures. Geochemical signatures were assigned through hierarchical delineation and discriminant function analysis. It is observed that individual depositional units could be recognized statistically with whole-rock geochemical composition. The strata under study show two second order chemozones comprising six major chemozones that in turn correspond to third order sea level cycles and minor chemozones at the scale of fourth order and/or further shorter sea level cycles. The geochemical signatures showed 100% distinctness between sample populations categorized according to chronostratigraphy and lithostratigraphy. The durations of these stratigraphic units range from 18 million years to less than a million years and indicate distinct geochemical compositional change at different time slices. By implication and also due to the close correspondence between sea level variations reported from this basin and global sea level cycles, it is suggested that recognition and correlation of individual depositional units with distal counterparts could be made accurately. Implication of these results is that stratigraphic units, at varying scales either temporally or spatially, could be assigned with unique geochemical signature, with which accurate prediction and correlation of similar units elsewhere is possible with measurable accuracy.     

Variability of mesopause temperature derived from two independent methods using meteor radar and its comparison with SABER and EOS MLS and a collocated multi-wavelength dayglow photometer over an equatorial station,Thumba (8.5° N, 76.5° E)

Two independent methods for deriving mesopause temperature using meteor radar installed at an equatorial station, Thumba (8.5° N, 76.5° E), are discussed in this article. This meteor radar-derived mesopause temperature is then compared with two different types of spaceborne measurement, namely (i) Sounding the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) and (ii) the Earth Observing System Microwave Limb Sounder (EOS MLS), and a collocated multi-wavelength dayglow photometer (DGPM). The meteor radar-derived temperature is in fairly good agreement with all the three measurement techniques, with an uncertainty of ±10°. This study focuses on a detailed evaluation and inter-comparison of mesopause temperature derived from different measurement techniques. An attempt is also made to compare the suitability of these observations to study planetary waves and other oscillation activities in the mesospheric region.     

Optimization of testing parameters for tensile property evaluation of poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers webs

An optimization study was conducted to understand the influence of thickness, speed of testing, and gauge length (specimen test length) on important mechanical properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofiber webs. Using orthogonal experimental design, experimental trials were optimized for the three testing parameters, which enabled to undertake 25 experiments involving the three variables at five different levels. Polynomial regression equations show that the three variables have interactive influence on the mechanical properties tested. Of the three variables, thickness of nanofiber webs seems to have maximum influence on tensile properties. This study showed that the optimal values for tensile testing of nanowebs are gauge length at 0.50 cm, thickness of nanowebs at 0.10 mm, and speed of testing at 25 mm·min⁻¹. This study will provide an opportunity to establish a standard method for the tensile evaluation of nanowebs involving gauge length, thickness, and speed of testing. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47159.     

Industrial scale synthesis of few-layer graphene nanosheets (FLGNSs): an exploration of electrochemical exfoliation approach

Journal of Applied Electrochemistry - Industrial scale manufacturing with tunable properties of graphene nano-sheets has been a practical concern in many applications. This study focuses on, a...     

Iterated fast local search algorithm for solving quadratic assignment problems

This paper concentrates on multi-row machine layout problems that can be accurately formulated as quadratic assignment problems (QAPs). A genetic algorithm-based local search approach is proposed for solving QAPs. In the proposed algorithm, three different mutation operators namely adjacent, pair-wise and insertion or sliding operators are separately combined with a local search method to form a mutation cycle. Effectiveness of introducing the mutation cycle in place of mutation is studied. Performance of the proposed iterated approach is analyzed and the solution qualities obtained are reported.     

Hafnium or zirconium high-k fab cross-contamination issues

Hf and Zr contamination during immersion in process solutions is most likely to occur in neutral and caustic solutions. Both Hf and Zr contamination are introduced onto the wafer surface if they are present in an ammonium hydroxide peroxide mixture solution (which is caustic), but such contamination is removed using existing acid cleans. Large amounts of wafer-to-wafer cross contamination occurs in plasma etch tools. Particles can cause cross contamination in a thermal reactor during high-temperature anneals of high-k dielectric layers. Residual surface cross contamination does not diffuse into the wafers during thermal processing. If contamination remains on a wafer, gate oxide integrity degradation is only observed at high concentrations. Near surface minority carrier lifetime is also affected, but bulk lifetime is not.