Effect of anions on the textural and catalytic activity of titania

An attempt has been made to review and studied the effect of ions (phosphate and sulfate) on titania samples. Surface area, average pore diameter and total pore volume increases however crystallite size decreases with increase in anion contents (both phosphate and sulfate case) up to 7.5 wt%, and thereafter decreases on further loading. TG-DTA and XRD patterns showed that phosphate stabilizes the anatase phase of TiO₂ up to 1173 K. FT-IR result showed that both phosphate and sulfate species strongly bound bidentately on TiO₂ support. Total acidity increases with increase in phosphate content up to 10.0 wt%, however, it increases up to 7.5 wt% in case of sulfated samples and thereafter decreases. Samples prepared at pH 3 and aqueous impregnation method exhibit higher acidity than the samples at pH 7 and solid-solid kneading method. Alkylation of benzene gives highest product (cumene) 70 mol% compared to others. Alkylation of aromatic compounds (benzene, toluene and chlorobenzene) with isopropanol is carried out in a fixed bed flow reactor over these catalysts as a function of benzene to isopropanol molar ratio, reaction temperature, percentage and source of sulfate ion.     

Structure of vacuum deposited SnSe films

Tin selenide (SnSe) thin films prepared on mica and glass substrates by vacuum sublimation technique and examined by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron diffraction techniques showed epitaxial and polycrystalline nature respectively irrespective of substrate temperature. Grain size of the films deposited on glass substrate increased with increase in substrate temperature.     

Electrophoretic deposition of alumina on stainless steel from non-aqueous suspension

Electrophoretic deposition of alumina on stainless steel has been investigated. The influence of different organic media and deposition parameters such as solid concentration, applied voltage and time of deposition on deposit yield has been evaluated. Maximum deposit yield was obtained for solvent media that imparts highest magnitude of surface charge on alumina in suspension. The deposit yield increased linearly with concentration of alumina powder in suspension, and applied voltage following Hamakers law. A similar linearity in yield was observed at short deposition times, but a deviation in linearity was observed at higher time of deposition, which is attributed to the shielding effect of the deposited layers and accumulation of ions at the electrode, and depletion of powder in the suspension with progress in deposition.     

Time?frequency transform approach for protection of parallel transmission lines

A new approach for protection of parallel transmission lines is presented using a time-frequency transform known as the S-transform that generates the S-matrix during fault conditions. The S-transform is an extension of the wavelet transform and provides excellent time localisation of voltage and current signals during fault conditions. The change in energy is calculated from the S-matrix of the current signal using signal samples for a period of one cycle. The change in energy in any of the phases of the two lines can be used to identify the faulty phase based on some threshold value. Once the faulty phase is identified the differences in magnitude and phase are utilised to identify the faulty line. For similar types of simultaneous faults on both the lines and external faults beyond the protected zone, where phasor comparison does not work, the impedance to the fault point is calculated from the estimated phasors. The computed phasors are then used to trip the circuit breakers in both lines. The proposed method for transmission-line protection includes all 11 types of shunt faults on one line and also simultaneous faults on both lines. The robustness of the proposed algorithm is tested by adding significant noise to the simulated voltage and current waveforms of a parallel transmission line. A laboratory power network simulator is used for testing the efficacy of the algorithm in a more realistic manner.     

Evaluation of antilock braking system with an integrated model of full vehicle system dynamics

Antilock braking system (ABS), traction control system, etc. are used in modern automobiles for enhanced safety and reliability. Autonomous ABS system can take over the traction control of the vehicle either completely or partially. An antilock braking system using an on–off control strategy to maintain the wheel slip within a predefined range is studied here. The controller design needs integration with the vehicle dynamics model. A single wheel or a bicycle vehicle model considers only constant normal loading on the wheels. On the other hand, a four wheel vehicle model that accounts for dynamic normal loading on the wheels and generates correct lateral forces is suitable for reliable brake system design. This paper describes an integrated vehicle braking system dynamics and control modeling procedure for a four wheel vehicle. The vehicle system comprises several energy domains. The interdisciplinary modeling technique called bond graph is used to integrate models in different energy domains and control systems. The bond graph model of the integrated vehicle dynamic system is developed in a modular and hierarchical modeling environment and is simulated to evaluate the performance of the ABS system under various operating conditions.     

A review of nanofluid preparation,stability, and thermo‐physical properties

This paper represents a comprehensive review on the preparation and stability of nanofluid, the convective heat transfer coefficient and different thermo‐physical properties such as thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, viscosity, and so on. Here, for each thermo‐physical property, measurement methods, enhancement mechanisms, and criticisms of different studies are also presented. However, based on the available literature, it is concluded that a nanofluid has, in general, better thermo‐physical properties even at a very low particle concentration (typically 1% or less) than conventional heat transfer fluids. The only drawback is high viscosity which leads to a higher pressure drop. At a very low particle concentration, this drawback can be minimized. Three tables are provided for three thermo‐physical properties namely thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and viscosity, which can be used as a ready reference for calculating the nanofluid properties.     

Organomodified montmorillonite as filler in natural and synthetic rubber

The filler action of dodecylamine (12C) intercalated montmorillonite (MNT) referred to as organomodified montmorillonite (12C‐MNT) up to 4 wt % on natural rubber (NR) and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) was studied and findings were compared with respect to the unmodified Na‐MNT. X‐ray analysis was used to calculate the interchain separation (R and R′), degree of crystallinity (X_c), and distortion factor (k). It is noted that R and R′ showed the opposite trend, whereas X_c as well as k showed overall increasing trend with an increasing amount of 12C‐MNT on both NR and SBR. For Na‐MNT (1 wt %) filled NR and SBR, the corresponding magnitude of R and R ′ and X_c showed nearly no change, whereas k_c increased significantly. The crosslinking density (v_c) does not show any significant changes in NR, whereas for SBR, it increases with increasing 12C‐MNT as filler. Interestingly, in the case of 1 wt % pure Na‐MNT used as filler for both NR and SBR, v_c was lower compared to the virgin rubbers. Both swelling index (s_i) and sol fraction (Q) do not show any significant variation for NR composites, whereas these decrease for SBR composites with increasing concentration of 12C‐MNT filler. On the contrary, NR and SBR with 1 wt % of Na‐MNT filler show greater magnitude of s_i and Q corresponding to the pure ones. Measurements of mechanical properties showed a significant increase in tensile strength and elongation at break for NR‐12C‐MNT (4 wt %) when compared with either virgin NR. In addition, modulus at the elongation at 100 and 200% in general increases with increasing loading of 12C‐MNT filler in NR. Similar observations were also noted in the case of SBR. Interestingly, when only pure Na‐MNT is used as filler, the strength of NR and SBR decreases drastically. Scanning electron microscopic studies were also to used support the mechanical behavior of NR‐12MNT and SBR‐12CMNT composites. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3583–3592, 2004     

Integrated modeling and simulation of vehicle and human multi-body dynamics for comfort assessment in railway vehicles

An integrated vehicle-biodynamic model is developed in this article by using multi-domain energy domain bond graph model simulation and multi-body simulation software ADAMS VI-Rail. These models are specifically used to evaluate passenger ride comfort in a railway vehicle where vertical and lateral excitations at the wheels arise out of the track irregularities. In the bond graph model, the carbody of the railway vehicle is treated as an Euler-Bernoulli beam and its first five modes are included in the model. Thereafter, a detailed model of the railway vehicle is created in ADAMS VI-Rail. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 2631 specification is used to determine the passenger comfort for different travel durations and track irregularities.     

X-ray,electron microscopy and photovoltaic studies on CdTe thin films deposited normally at different substrate temperatures

X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction studies were conducted on CdTe thin films deposited on glass substrates kept at different substrate temperatures. Variation of the different structural parameters, such as lattice constant, crystallite size, r.m.s. strain, dislocation density and stacking fault probability with substrate temperature, was investigated in the temperature range 300 to 498 K. An increase in the lattice constant and crystallite size values and a decrease in the other parameters with increase in temperature of the substrate was observed. A photovoltage was observed for CdTe film deposited normally on glass substrates kept at higher substrate temperatures. The development of photovoltage in the film is explained in the light of the formation of crystallites of variable structure.     

A modified fractal‐shaped slotted patch antenna with defected ground using metasurface for dual band applications

A novel modified fractal‐shaped slotted patch antenna employing metasurface at bottom plane along with partial ground has been proposed in this work for dual band applications with significant gain. A 4 × 5 order metasurface has been formed in the ground plane by introducing a periodic combination of two L‐type patches with centered C‐type shaped patch. The top conductor and the ground plane are designed on a 1.6 mm thick FR4 dielectric with the dimension of 28 × 28 mm². The antenna is designed in such a way that it operates over the dual frequency ranges viz., 1.80 to 5.70 GHz and 10.38 to 10.94 GHz. The maximum return loss of 21 dB has been achieved over 2.60 GHz while the maximum realized gain of 7.16 dBi has been obtained at 10.92 GHz. The designed antenna offers omnidirectional radiation characteristics in the first band while directional radiation characteristics have been observed in the second band. The proposed antenna can be utilized for WiMAX 3.5/5.5 GHz, mobile, radio astronomy, and microimaging in medical analysis.