Investigation of three steps of hot corrosion process in Y_2O_3 stabilized ZrO_2 coatings including nano zones

Phase transformation of tetragonal ZrO2 to monoclinic phase and also increment of bond coat oxidation kinetic（TGO thickening） can substantially restrict the life time of thermal barrier coating systems（TBCs）. So, nanostructured and conventional Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 coatings were evaluated in fused V2O5-Na2SO4 salts during thermal exposure in air. Microstructural characterization showed lower hot corrosion products（monoclinic zirconia, YVO4 crystals） formation and reduction of TGO thickness in thermal barrier coating system consisting of nanostructured Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2（YSZ） top coat. It was found that inhomogeneities, pores and micro-cracks played a principal role in the molten salts infiltration into the YSZ coating during three steps of hot corrosion process. In the nanostructured YSZ coating with tri-model structure, nano zones which surrounded by fully molten parts could fill the aforementioned defects and could act as barrier for the oxygen and corrosive molten salts penetration into the TBC.     

Automatic solver for non‐linear partial differential equations with implicit local laws: Application to unilateral contact

In general, non‐linear continuum mechanics combine global balance equations and local constitutive laws. In this work, frictionless contact between a rigid tool and a thin elastic shell is considered. This class of boundary value problems involves two non‐linear algebraic laws: the first one gives explicitly the stress field as a function of the strain throughout the continuum part, whereas the second one is a non‐linear equation relating the contact forces and the displacement at the boundary.Given the fact that classical computational approaches sometimes require significant effort in implementation of complex non‐linear problems, a computation technique based on automatic differentiation of constitutive laws is presented in this paper. The procedure enables to compute automatically the higher‐order derivatives of these constitutive laws and thereafter to define the Taylor series that are the basis of the continuation technique called asymptotic numerical method. The algorithm is about the same with an explicit or implicit constitutive relation. In the modelling of forming processes, many tool shapes can be encountered. The presented computational technique permits an easy implementation of these complex surfaces, for instance in a finite element code: the user is only required to define the tool geometry and the computer is able to obtain the higher‐order derivatives. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A distributed approximation approach for solving the sustainable supply chain network design problem

This paper introduces a comprehensive Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model for a sustainable supply chain network design problem, and an efficient Distributed Approximation Approach (DAA) to solve it approximately. We study a multi-echelon, multi-product and multi-modal supply chain with different transportation modes. Besides relevant costs in the supply chain such as procurement, production and distribution cost, we also explicitly consider the environmental footprint, represented by carbon emissions and water consumption from production and transportation. The approximation approach is a decomposition-based method. First, the original problem is divided into a partner selection sub-problem and a transportation planning sub-problem. Then multiple filter mechanisms are used to remove potentially infeasible solutions, and an approximate value of the objective function is calculated for each of the remaining solutions to perform a further selection. The one with the lowest approximation is chosen to be applied with a branch-and-bound method. Finally, the algorithm is paralleled and implemented in Apache Spark distributed computing framework to further improve efficiency. Experimental results show that the proposed DAA can provide high quality solutions compared to the optimal solutions of the MILP model with mostly a negligible relative gap and solve large instances in much shorter time than CPLEX. Moreover, in our numerical study, we also compare the results of our model with another version of the model that does not take the environmental footprint into consideration. The results show that explicitly incorporating environmental footprint results in a substantial decrease of CO₂ emissions and water consumption at a negligible cost increase. This insight may be of interest to managers and other decision makers and policy makers.     

Condition-based inspection scheme for condition-based maintenance

In condition-based maintenance (CBM) with periodic inspection, the item is preventively replaced if failure risk, which is calculated based on the information obtained from inspection, exceeds a pre-determined threshold. The determination of optimal replacement threshold is often based on minimisation of long-run average maintenance costs per unit time due to preventive and failure replacements. It is assumed that inspections are performed at equal time intervals and that the corresponding cost is negligible. However, in many practical situations where CBM is implemented, e.g. manufacturing processes, inspections require labours, specific test devices, and sometimes suspension of operations. Thus, when inspection cost is considerable, it is reasonable to inspect less frequently during the time the item is in healthier states, and, more frequently as time passes and/or the item degrades, namely, a condition-based inspection scheme. This paper proposes a novel two-phase approach for determination of replacement threshold and a condition-based inspection scheme for CBM. First, it takes into account failure and preventive replacement costs to determine the optimal replacement threshold assuming that inspections are performed at equal time intervals with no cost. This assumption is, then, relaxed and its consequences on total average cost are evaluated using a proposed iterative procedure to obtain a cost-effective condition-based inspection scheme. The proposed approach can be utilised in many CBM applications. For the sake of simplicity of presentation, the approach is illustrated through a simplified case study already reported by some researchers referenced in the paper.     

Electrocatalytic determination of dopamine in the presence of uric acid using an indenedione derivative and multiwall carbon nanotubes spiked in carbon paste electrode

In the present study, a modified carbon paste electrode (CPE) containing multi-wall carbon nanotubes and an indenedione derivative(IMWCNT?CPE) was constructed and was successfully used for dopamine(DA) electrocatalytic oxidation and simultaneous determination of DA and uric acid (UA). Cyclic voltammograms of the IMWCNT?CPE show a pair of well-defined and reversible redox. The obtained results indicate that the peak potential of DA oxidation at IMWCNT?CPE shifted by about 65 and 185 mV toward the negative values compared with that at a MWCNT and indenedione modified CPE, respectively. The electron transfer coefficient, α, and the heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant, k′, for the oxidation of DA at IMWCNT?CPE were calculated 0.4 ± 0.01 and (1.13 ± 0.03) × 10^? 3 cm s^? 1, respectively. Furthermore, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) exhibits two linear dynamic ranges of 1.9–79.4 μM, and 79.4–714.3 μM and a detection limit of 0.52 μM for DA determination. Then IMWCNT?CPE was applied to the simultaneous determination of DA and UA with DPV. Finally, the activity of the modified electrode was also investigated for determination of DA and UA in real samples, such as injection solution of DA and urine, with satisfactory results.     

IS-CORDIC: a fixed-point inverse recoded single iteration CORDIC architecture

This paper presents a novel modified Coordinate Rotation Digital Computer (CORDIC) architecture that computes values of sine and cosine in a single cycle. The proposed method utilises angle-recoding technique to design a modified CORDIC algorithm. Multiple iterations are merged in the modified algorithm using memory storage for initial iterations and employing inverse recoding to generate constant multiplication factors for the remaining iterations. Scale factor of the algorithm remains constant, as these factors are independent of intermediate directions of rotation. In addition, the architecture is mapped onto a single CORDIC computation element that requires only a single cycle to compute the result. These multiplications are implemented using dedicated hardware multipliers in Field Programmable Gate Arrays and customised fixed-point multiplication techniques for Application Specific Integrated Circuits. Implementation results show that the proposed IS-CORDIC architecture is 7.9 times more efficient than basic CORDIC and has reduced area-delay product than current state of the art implementations.     

Continuous devulcanization of waste tires by using a Co‐rotating twin screw extruder: Effects of screw configuration,temperature profile,and devulcanization agent concentration

Recently, for reasons both economical and environmental, recycling of waste tires based on (styrene butadiene rubber)/(natural rubber) (SBR/NR) has been widely considered. Response surface methodology (RSM) has been used to predict SBR/NR devulcanization behavior in a co‐rotating twin screw extruder. In this study, variable parameters were barrel temperature, screw configuration, and content of devulcanization agent. A Box‐Behnken design for the three variables, at three levels, was chosen. The sol fraction of devulcanized rubber, Δtorque (difference between maximum and minimum curing torque), and mechanical properties of revulcanizate samples were considered as the responses. The results indicated that an increase of devulcanization agent content at a certain temperature caused the sol fraction to increase. Samples including a higher sol fraction showed a lower cross‐link density. Sol fraction for high shear rate screw configuration was lower than that for other screw configurations. Tensile strength of revulcanized rubber showed a decrease with a rise of devulcanization temperature. Moreover, a relationship connecting the residence time in the extruder with stagger angle and length of different kneading blocks were obtained. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 19:65–72, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Three New Tetraorganodistannoxanes

An efficient method was developed for the preparation of three tetraorganodistannoxane complexes, (C₂H₅)₈Sn₄Cl₂(CH₃O)₂O₂ (1), (CH₃)₈Sn₄(C₃H₄N₃S)₂(CH₃O)₂O₂ (2) and (C₄H₉)₈Sn₄(C₃H₄N₃S)₂(CH₃O)₂O₂ (3). All prepared complexes were characterized by infrared, ¹H, ¹³C and ¹¹⁹Sn NMR spectroscopes and elemental analysis. The molecular structure of a representative complex (1) was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Results showed that 1 is a tetranuclear, centrosymmetric dimeric, and contains two endo-cyclic five-coordinated tin atoms and two exo-cyclic five-coordinated tin atoms. Compound 1 lies about a center of inversion and the tetranuclear molecule features a three-ring-staircase Sn₄O₄ core. The asymmetric unit of 1 contains two independent Sn(IV) atoms and a 2D infinite rigid chain structure forms via C–H···Cl interactions between tetranuclear units.     

Unmixed-dimensional Decomposition of a Finitely Generated Perfect Differential Ideal

We present an algorithm that computes an unmixed-dimensional decomposition of a finitely generated perfect differential ideal I. Each I_iin the decompositionI  = I₁ ∩   ∩ I_kis given by its characteristic set. This decomposition is a generalization of the differential case of Kalkbrener’s decomposition. We use a different approach. The basic operation in our algorithm is the computation of the inverse of an algebraic polynomial with respect to a finite set of algebraic polynomials. No factorization is needed. Some of the main problems in polynomial ideal theory can be solved by means of this decomposition: we show how the radical membership can be decided, a characteristic set of a prime differential ideal can be selected, and the differential dimension with a parametric set of a differential ideal can be read. The algorithm has been implemented in the computer algebra system MAPLE and has been tested successfully on many examples.