Microscopic and Spectroscopic Evaluation of Inactivation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Staphylococcus aureus</Emphasis> by Pulsed UV Light and Infrared Heating

Pulsed UV light and infrared heat-treated Staphylococcus aureus cells were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy to identify the cell damage due to the treatment process. A 5-s treatment with pulsed UV light resulted in complete inactivation of S. aureus even after enrichment. The temperature increase during the pulsed UV light treatment was insignificant, which suggested a nonthermal treatment. S. aureus was also infrared heat treated using an infrared heating system with six infrared lamps. Five milliliters of S. aureus cells in phosphate buffer was treated at 700°C lamp temperature for 20 min. The microscopic observation clearly indicated that there was cell wall damage, cytoplasmic membrane shrinkage, cellular content leakage, and mesosome disintegration after both pulsed UV light and infrared treatments. Fourier transform infrared microspectrometry was successfully used to classify the pulsed UV light and infrared heat-treated S. aureus by discriminant analysis.     

Variation of activation energy of hydrogen absorption of vanadium as a function of aluminum

Hydrogen absorption kinetics of vanadium–aluminum alloys in the temperature range of 624–924 K have been studied. These alloys were prepared by the aluminothermy process and refined by electron beam melting. The data of instantaneous reacted fractions at four different temperatures were obtained using the pressure drop method and these data were linearly fitted to a suitable reaction mechanism function. Three-dimensional diffusion appears to be the intrinsic rate limiting step of the hydrogen absorption. The rate constants were obtained from the slope of the linearly fitted curves. Apparent activation energies were calculated using the Arrhenius equation. The activation energies were increased linearly with aluminum content resulting in a decrease in the hydrogen absorption rate. The variation in standard entropies and enthalpies of vanadium–hydrogen solid solution has been studied as a function of aluminum content.     

Chemical etiology of nucleic acid structure: comparing pentopyranosyl-(2'-->4') oligonucleotides with RNA

All four members of the family of pentopyranosyl-(2'-->4') oligonucleotide systems that contain beta-ribo-, beta-xylo-, alpha-lyxo-, or alpha-arabinopyranosyl units as repeating sugar building blocks are found to be much stronger Watson-Crick base-pairing systems than RNA. The alpha-arabinopyranosyl system is the strongest of all and in fact belongs to the strongest oligonucleotide base-pairing systems known. Whatever the chemical determinants by which nature selected RNA as a genetic system, maximization of base-pairing strengths within the domain of pentose-derived oligonucleotide systems was not the critical selection criterion.     

Mechanical and Swelling Properties of Copolyurethanes based on Hydroxy-Terminated Polybutadiene and its hydrogenated analog

Copolyurethane networks based on Hydroxy-Terminated Polybutadiene (HTPB) and Hydrogenated HTPB (HHTPB) have been synthesized using toluene diisocyanate as curing agent. Addition of HHTPB results in enhancement of properties, such as tensile strength and modulus, at nearly the same elongation values. It is possible to generate urethane networks with similar modulus and tensile strength with widely varying elongation values and vice versa by jointly altering the comonomer ratio, and the r (NCO/OH equivalent ratio) value. Dynamic mechanical studies have been made to determine the storage and loss moduli, and their variations with temperature. Solid propellant formulations processed with the copolyurethanes have been characterized for their mechanical strengths and burn rates.     

Computational fluid dynamics analysis of MQL spray parameters and its influence on superalloy grinding

The application of emulsion for combined heat extraction and lubrication requires continuous monitoring of the quality of emulsion to sustain a desired grinding environment; this is applicable to other grinding fluids as well. To sustain a controlled grinding environment, it is necessary to adopt an effectively lubricated wheel–work interface. The present work aims to develop a numerical model to replicate the mist formation in minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) grinding using a fluent-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) flow solver. The MQL parameters considered for this study are air pressure and the mass flow rate. Simulation of the atomization under turbulent conditions was done in a discrete phase model (DPM) owing to the fact that oil mass flow rates are very low and oil acts as a discrete medium in air. Jet velocity and droplet diameters were also obtained under different input conditions to find the optimum value of air pressure and mass flow rate of oil to achieve the desired results (lower cutting force and surface roughness) in MQL grinding of superalloy (Inconel 751). It is seen that medium size (around 16.3 µm) of droplet plays a significant role in improved performance by the way of reduction in cutting force and surface roughness.     

Evaluation of Thermocyclic Oxidation Behavior of HVOF-Sprayed NiCrFeSiB Coatings on Boiler Tube Steels

High velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spray process has grown into a well-accepted industrial technology for obtaining coatings resistant to significant surface degradation processes. In the present study, HVOF process was used to deposit Ni-based hardfacing NiCrFeSiB alloy powder on kinds of boiler tube steels designated as SA210 grade-A1, SA213-T11, and SA213-T22. The microstructures and several properties of the as-sprayed coatings have been investigated. Thermocyclic oxidation studies were performed in static air at 900 °C. NiCrFeSiB-coated steels showed slow oxidation kinetics and considerably lower weight gains than that of uncoated steels. The superior performance of NiCrFeSiB coatings can be attributed to continuous and protective thin oxide scale of amorphous SiO₂ and Cr₂O₃ formed on the surface of the oxidized coatings. The combined technique of x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray analysis, and electron probe microanalysis are used to characterize reaction products of the oxidized surfaces.     

Automatic gap detection in friction stir butt welding operations

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a new solid-state welding technology that has been used successfully in many joining applications. A common problem that arises when welding two sheets is the presence of a gap between the sheets. Gaps may be due to improper fixturing, imprecision in the processes used to manufacture the sheets, etc. When the FSW tool encounters a gap, material can possibly escape from the processing zone and the welded part's effective cross-sectional area around the gap will decrease. Both of these effects can possibly cause an unsuitable weld. This paper develops a monitoring algorithm to detect gaps in friction stir butt welding operations in real time (i.e., during the operation). Experimental studies are conducted to determine how the process parameters (e.g., tool rotation rate and tool traverse speed) and the gap width affect the welding process; particularly, the plunge force (i.e., the force acting vertically down on the part). The proposed monitoring algorithm examines the filtered plunge force in the frequency domain to determine the presence of a gap. Several experimental studies are conducted for 2024 aluminum with a variety of process parameters and the monitoring algorithm is shown to be able to reliably detect the presence of gaps in friction stir butt welding operations for tool traverse speeds below 4.233 mm/s and gap sizes above 0.3048 mm.     

Compositional trend analysis on poly(phenylene ether) based thermoplastic elastomers

Detailed statistical trend analysis of thermoplastic elastomers based on poly (phenylene ether) (PPE), polystyrene (PS), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and styrene‐ethylene‐butylene‐styrene (SEBS) was done through Design Expert software by Stat‐Ease. D optimal crossed design was followed to capture the interaction with the parameters. Effect of blend ratio, vinyl acetate (VA) content of EVA, molecular weight (MW) of SEBS and intrinsic viscosity (IV) of PPE on the blend performance (response) was studied in detail. Design of Experiment (DOE) analysis showed the “optimized formulation” of the blend. Increase in PPE‐polystyrene (PS) content increased tensile strength and modulus of the blend, followed by a decrease in strain at break. However, EVA had a reverse effect on tensile strength and modulus. Strain at break increased significantly with increasing SEBS content in the blend. Graphical and numerical optimization showed that superior mechanical properties (tensile strength, strain at break and modulus) could be achieved at VA content ～ 50% at a particular loading of EVA. Low MW SEBS was found to be more compatible with the other components of the blend. Mechanical properties of the quaternary blend were marginally affected with change in IV of PPE in the range of 0.33 to 0.46. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007