Magnetohydrodynamic mixed convection in a non-Newtonian third-grade fluid flowing through vertical parallel plates: A semianalytical study of flow and heat transfer

Buoyancy assisted and buoyancy opposed mixed convection of a third-grade fluid, which flows through vertically oriented parallel plates, subjected to uniform and constant wall heat fluxes, under the effect of an externally applied magnetic field, are investigated. The coupled, nonlinear conservation equations of momentum and energy are solved employing the collocation method (CM) and velocity and temperature distributions are solved semianalytically. The results produced by the CM and the results of exact solution are compared for the buoyancy assisted and buoyancy opposed flow of a Newtonian fluid through the vertically oriented parallel plates arrangement without the effect of the externally applied magnetic field. An excellent agreement is exhibited by demonstrating the efficacy of the CM. The effects of the third-grade fluid parameter, Hartmann number, and mixed convection parameter on the dimensionless velocity, temperature, and Nusselt number are studied. The results imply that in the case of buoyancy assisted flow, an increment in the non-Newtonian third-grade fluid parameter causes a decrease in the fluid velocity near the plate walls, which finally causes an increase in the velocity in the central core of the plates. In buoyancy opposed flow, the effect of the same parameter is to oppose the flow reversal near the walls and with higher values of this parameter, it can totally prevent the flow reversal near the walls. The results of the present study can be useful in the fields of flow and heat transfer of various grades of polymers, paints, and food processing.     

Effect of chemical composition and Co-core size on the magnetic and magneto-transport properties of CoyAg100−y core–shell nanocrystallites

This paper describes the applicability of a modified polyol process in conjunction with a transmetallation reaction in synthesis of Co_yAg_100?y nanocrystallites of a core–shell structure. The substitution Co → Ag is varied as 20 ≤ y ≤ 95 by tuning the microstructure with functional magnetic and giant magneto resistance properties. The existence of core–shell structures was confirmed through transmission electron microscope and the size of Co-core increased from 8 to 50 nm with decrease in Ag-content of the sample. The magnetic behaviour of the sample changed from a pseudo-superparamagnetic nature to ferromagnetic with increase in Co-core size. Normalised saturation magnetisation values increased from 89.5 to 128.6 emu/g with increase in size of Co-core; however, none of the ferromagnetic samples exhibited any magneto resistance (MR). A value of 2.0% MR was observed in case of Co_20.6Ag_79.4 which increased to a maximum of 3.6% MR for Co_36.6Ag_63.4 sample when measured at 5 K.     

Computational modeling of intravitreal drug delivery in the vitreous chamber with different vitreous substitutes

Intravitreal injection of drug is commonly used to treat vitreoretinal diseases. In order to assess the effectiveness of the injected drug, it is critical to know the drug distribution within the eye following the injection. This is particularly important when the vitreous medium has been replaced by fluid substitutes. The main objective of this paper is to characterize the spatio-temporal evolution of drug distribution following intravitreal injection into a vitreous substitute such as silicone oil. In addition, water is considered as an intravitreal fluid to represent the liquefaction of vitreous that occurs with aging. Both direct injection of drugs and injection of time-released drugs are studied. The results show that the concentration distribution depends on the properties of the vitreous substitute, the diffusion coefficient of the drug and the permeability of the retinal surface. For drugs with high diffusion coefficients, convection plays a small role in the drug transport. For drugs with low diffusion coefficients and in low viscosity vitreous fluids, convection is seen to play a more important role and can lead to high drug concentrations on the retina which can be potentially toxic. Time-released drug injection is shown to avoid conditions of retinal toxicity, and to provide lower drug concentrations with sustained residence times along the retinal surface. For drugs with high diffusivity and retinal permeability, uniform distribution of the drug is obtained along the surface of the retina, while for drugs with low diffusion coefficient and retinal permeability the concentration of drug is localized along the posterior surface of the retina.     

Graft copolymerization with new class of acidic peroxo salts as initiators. I. Grafting of acrylamide onto cotton–cellulose using potassium monopersulfate,catalyzed by co(II)

Graft copolymerization of acrylamide (AM) onto cotton–cellulose has been studied using a new class of acidic peroxo-salt “potassium monopersulfate” as initiator catalyzed by Co(II). It is observed that the graft yield is influenced by the reaction time, temperature, and concentrations of the monomer, catalyst, initiator, at fixed weight of the polymer. Maximum graft yield (30.8%) is obtained at 40°C under nitrogen atmosphere for the concentrations of monomer 1.2M; initiator 4.83 × 10^?3M; Co(II) 5 × 10^?4M for 4 h of reaction time. The graft copolymers after proper purification have been subjected to IR analysis, testing of their water-retention properties, rot resistance, tensile properties, and behavior towards acids and alkalies. The results of such analysis are compared with the base. Suitable mechanism for the graft copolymerization is suggested and grafting rate has been evaluated.     

Feasibility Evaluation of Pressurized Irrigation in Canal Commands

India has one of the largest and most ambitious irrigation programme in the world with net irrigated area exceeding 47 million hectares. However, the overall project efficiency from the headwork to the farmer’s field has been quite low which leads to not only poor utilization of irrigation potential created at huge cost, but also aggravates the degradation of soil and water resources and thereby endangers the sustainability of agricultural production system. As the cost of creating additional irrigation potential in terms of financial, human and environmental aspects has increased tremendously, need of the hour is to increase the irrigation efficiency of existing projects and use saved water for irrigating new areas or meeting the demand of non-agricultural sector. The contribution of application efficiency to poor irrigation efficiency is quite high and therefore increasing application efficiency by a shift in application method from surface to pressurized system has potential of vastly improving irrigation efficiency. To evaluate feasibility of this concept, a pilot study was initiated at Water Technology Centre for Eastern Region, Bhubaneswar, on one outlet of a minor irrigation command. The system has been designed in such a way that it provides pipe conveyance and surface irrigation for rice cultivation during monsoon season and pressurized irrigation during post monsoon period through a hybrid system of sprinkler and drip with four outlets for sprinkler irrigating 2.8 ha area and two outlets for drip irrigating 1.9 ha area. The system is also capable of providing irrigation through drip to part of a command during summer for third crop using water stored in service reservoir after the canal is closed in first week of April. To take care of sediment in the canal water, there are three stages of filtration: first by hydrocyclone filter which filters heavy suspended materials viz. sand, silt, etc., then by the sand filter and finally by the screen filter. The filtration at three stages reduces the turbidity to the desired level. It has been found that three-stage filtration reduced the turbidity to two NTU which is within permissible limit. Considering the cost of water saved, a benefit-cost ratio of the system was found out to be 1.126. This B: C ratio can be further increased by increasing the productivity of the fish and papaya in service reservoir area and better crop management during summer season.     

Semantic Sensor Web

Sensors are distributed across the globe leading to an avalanche of data about our environment. It is possible today to utilize networks of sensors to detect and identify a multitude of observations, from simple phenomena to complex events and situations. The lack of integration and communication between these networks, however, often isolates important data streams and intensifies the existing problem of too much data and not enough knowledge. With a view to addressing this problem, the Semantic Sensor Web (SSW) proposes that sensor data be annotated with semantic metadata that will both increase interoperability and provide contextual information essential for situational knowledge.     

Volume Conservation Controversy of the Variable Parameter Muskingum–Cunge Method

The study analyzes the volume conservation problem of the variable parameter Muskingum–Cunge (VPMC) method for which some remedial solutions have been advocated in recent literature. The limitation of the VPMC method to conserve volume is brought out by conducting a total of 6,400 routing experiments. These experiments consist of routing a set of given hypothetical discharge hydrographs for a specified reach length in uniform rectangular and trapezoidal channels using the VPMC method, and comparing the routed solutions with the corresponding benchmark solutions obtained using the full Saint-Venant equations. The study consisted of 3,200 routing experiments carried out each in uniform rectangular and trapezoidal channel reaches. Each experiment was characterized by a unique set of channel bed slope, Manning’s roughness coefficient, peak discharge, inflow hydrograph shape factor, and time to peak. A parallel study was carried out using an alternate physically based variable parameter Muskingum discharge hydrograph (VPMD) routing method proposed by Perumal in 1994 under the same routing conditions, and the ability of both the VPMC and VPMD methods to reproduce the benchmark solutions was studied. It is brought out that within its applicability limits, the VPMD method is able to conserve mass more accurately than the VPMC method. The reason for the better performance of the former over the latter method is attributed to the physical basis of its development. It is argued that adoption of artificial remedial measures to overcome the volume conservation problem makes the VPMC method semiempirical in nature, thereby losing the fully physically based characteristics of the method. The paper also dwells on the problems of negative initial outflow or dip in the beginning of the Muskingum solution, and the negative value of the Muskingum weighting parameter. Besides, the effect of incorporating the inertial terms in the estimation of Muskingum parameters and their impact on the overall Muskingum routing solutions is addressed by conducting another set of 6,400 numerical experiments using both the VPMC and VPMD methods.     

An improved output feedback controller design for linear discrete-time systems using a matrix decomposition method

This paper presents the design of output feedback controllers for discrete-time (DT) linear systems. New sufficient LMI conditions are derived for designing static $H_2$ and $H_{\infty }$ controllers using decomposition of an auxiliary matrix. The decomposition facilitates linearization of nonlinear term of reduced size to obtain linear matrix inequality criteria. This leads to less conservative results as shown in the numerical examples. In addition, the proposed static output feedback criteria is also used for designing dynamic output feedback controllers for DT systems. Furthermore, a comparative study is also made for the proposed design method with the results existing in the literature. Finally, a DT static output feedback $H_{\infty }$ controller is designed for a quarter-car suspension system. Simulation results are provided to show the efficacy of the proposed design method.