Single mode waveguide properties of m-NA doped Au/PVA nano-composites: Synthesis, characterization and studies

Meta-nitroaniline (m-NA) doped gold/polyvinyl alcohol (Au/PVA) nano-composites are prepared via in-situ reduction of gold salt by employing hydrazine hydrate (HH). Effect of the NLO (non-linear optical) active m-nitroaniline (m-NA) on the photo-physical properties of nano-particles of gold is studied in the colloidal as well as self-supported film form. The UV-Visible absorption bands between 530 and 555 nm due to surface plasmon resonance in Au nano-particles are observed. The absorption values show a shift in the position due to variation in m-NA with respect to the gold concentration. Additional absorption bands are observed after m-NA doping that influences the original position of gold absorption bands. The solutions and the films are further characterized by photoluminescence (PL), FTIR spectroscopy, XRD, TEM and thermal analysis. The particle size as shown by TEM is found to be less than 10 nm. Spin cast nano-composite films show single mode waveguide properties.     

Effect of thermal ageing on Nylon 6,6 fibres

The residual effects of thermal ageing at various temperatures on fibres of the aliphatic polyamide Nylon 6,6 have been studied. Both crystal and macro structural characteristics manifest the residual effects. The former category includes changes in intensity, 2 values and half width. The macro changes include introduction of surface damages in the form of holes, material deposits etc. The fibre also undergoes reduction in weight. The structural changes suggest deterioration in the initial tensile characteristics which has been verified experimentally. A direct correlation between the tensile strength and the angular separation of the equatorial reflections has also been observed.     

Influence of machining parameters and new nano-coated tool on drilling performance of CFRP/Aluminium sandwich

Drilling and fastening of hybrid materials in one-shot operation reduces cycle time of assembly of aerospace structures. One of the most common problems encountered in automatic drilling and riveting of multimaterial is that the continuous chips curl up on the body of the tool. Drilling of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is manageable, but when the minute drill hits the aluminium (Al) or titanium (Ti), the hot and continuous chips produced during machining considerably damage the CFRP hole. This study aims to solve this problem by employing nano-coated drills on multimaterial made of CFRP and aluminium alloy. The influence of cutting parameters on the quality of the holes, chip formation and tool wear were also analyzed. Two types of tungsten carbide drills were used for the present study, one with nano-coating and the other, without nano coating. The experimental results indicated that the shape and the size of the chips are strongly influenced by feed rate. The thrust force generated during drilling of the composite plate with coated drills was 10–15% lesser when compared to that generated during drilling with uncoated drills; similarly, the thrust force in the aluminium alloy was 50% lesser with coated drills when compared to thrust force generated without coated drills. Thus, the use of nano-coated drills significantly reduced the surface roughness and thrust force when compared with uncoated tools.     

Growth by SR method and characterization of hippuric acid single crystals

The potential organic nonlinear optical material of hippuric acid (HA) has been grown by novel unidirectional solution growth method using dimethyl formamide (DMF) as the solvent. The crystal system has been identified and lattice dimensions have been measured from the single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The crystalline perfection has been evaluated by high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) technique and found that the crystal quality is reasonably good. However, it contains a low angle structural grain boundary. The relative second harmonic generation (SHG) has been tested using Kurtz powder technique and found to be 1.54 times higher than that of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) single crystal. Its optical character has been assessed by UV-Vis. analysis and found that there is no absorption in the entire visible region.     

Low temperature crystallographic data on Kevlar 49 fibres

Using X-ray diffraction data, the behaviour of Kevlar 49 fibres at low temperatures, up to –100°C, has been analysed. During cooling, the basal plane of the monoclinic unit cell shrinks whereas the c- (unique, chain axis) length is not significantly affected. In contrast, in the return heating cycle to ambient temperature, the basal plane expands and contraction occurs along the chain direction. The unit cell registers a reduction in volume in both the cooling and heating cycles. Conspicuously, after a cycle of cooling and heating, the unit cell does not return to its initial volume.     

X-ray studies on crystalline complexes involving amino acids and peptides XXXIV. Novel mode of aggregation, interaction patterns and chiral effects in the maleic acid complexes of DL- and L- arginine

Amino acid - carboxylic acid complexes provide useful information in relation to molecular interactions in present day biological systems and to prebiotic self-organisation. The crystal structures of the complexes of maleic acid with DL- arginine (orthorhombic; Pca2(1); a=15.9829, b=5.4127, c=16.1885; R=0.0522 for 956 reflections) and L- arginine (triclinic; P1; a=5.2641, b=8.0388, c=9.7860, alpha=106.197, beta=97.275, gamma=101.64; R=0.039 for 1749 reflections) have been determined. The complexes are made up of positively charged zwitterionic arginine molecules and negatively charged semi-maleate ions which contain an intramolecular symmetric O-H-O hydrogen bond. In both the structures, the amino acid molecules aggregate into layers. In each layer, S2 head-to-tail sequences are interconnected through specific intermolecular interactions between alpha-carboxylate and guanidyl groups, an arrangement observed for the first time in crystal structures involving arginine. The carboxylate-guanidyl interactions are of different types in the two complexes and consequently aggregation patterns in them exhibit substantial differences. Interactions between the amino acid layers involve the semi-maleate ions in both the complexes. In addition, water-bridges also exist in the L complex. The full potential of the guanidyl group for specific interactions is realized in both the structures. The L complex contains an array of water-mediated salt bridges. The structures demonstrate that the effect of chirality on molecular aggregation can span a wide range.     

Design of a simple setpoint filter for minimizing overshoot for low order processes

Setpoint filters are widely used along with a PID controller. The aim of the present paper is to reduce the peak overshoot to a desired/tolerable limit. To design a setpoint filter, numerous methods are available, which need extensive calculations. Moreover, the existing methods need information regarding the process parameters, values of controller settings and are laborious. But the proposed method is very simple and requires only the information about the peak overshoot and peak time of the system response regardless of type and order of the system with arbitrary PID parameters. Several examples are taken to show efficacy of the process.