Interplay among Coating Thickness,Strip Size,and Thermal and Solidification Characteristics in A356 Lost Foam Casting Alloy

The aim of this research was evaluation of the solidification parameters of A356 alloy, e.g., dendrite arm spacing (DAS), correlation between cooling rate (CR) and DAS, hot tearing, and microstructural analysis at different coating thicknesses and strip sizes during the lost foam casting process (LFC). To achieve this goal, the DAS was measured at six coating thicknesses and six different strip sizes. In addition, thermal characteristics, such as the CR, temperatures of start and finish points of solidification, recalescence undercooling, and hot tearing susceptibility (HCSC), at five coating thicknesses were recognized from the cooling curves and their first derivative and the solid fraction curves, which have been plotted through the thermal analysis technique. The pouring temperature and strip size were fixed at 1063 K (790 °C) and 12 mm, respectively. Besides, to derive a numerical equation to predict the CR by measuring the DAS in this alloy, a microstructural evaluation was carried out on samples cast through 12-mm strip size. The results showed that both coating thickness and strip size had similar influences on the DAS, in which, by retaining one parameter at a constant value and simultaneous enhancement in the other parameter, the DAS increased significantly. Furthermore, at thinner coating layer, the higher amount of the CR was observed, which caused reduction in the temperatures of both the start and finish points of solidification. Also, increasing the CR caused a nonlinear increase in both the recalescence undercooling and the HCSC.     

Thermodynamic optimization of combined power and refrigeration cycle using binary organic working fluid

A combined cycle has been proposed for the production of power and refrigeration simultaneously. The cycle can be driven by low grade heat sources such as solar, geothermal and waste heat sources. In the first part of this paper, a model has been developed to perform a parametric analysis to evaluate the effects of important parameters on the performance of the cycle, which is a combination of Rankine and absorption refrigeration cycle. Propane–decane has been used as an organic dual working fluid. In the second part, multi objective genetic algorithm is applied for Pareto approach optimization of the cycle. There are three important conflicting objectives namely, turbine work (W_t), cooling capacity (Q_c) and thermal efficiency (η_th) which have been selected to find the best possible combination of these performance parameters. Optimization has been carried out by varying turbine inlet pressure, superheated temperature and condenser temperature as design variables. Among optimum design parameters, a trade-off point is selected. Turbine inlet pressure, superheated temperature and condenser temperature are assumed to be 29.5 bar, 410 K and 386.6 K respectively as the values assigned to this point. Furthermore, it has been shown that some interesting and important relationships can be discovered among optimal objective functions and decision variables involved, consequently.     

A novel nanosensor based on Pt:Co nanoalloy ionic liquid carbon paste electrode for voltammetric determination of vitamin B9 in food samples

In this work we describe a novel nanoalloy (Pt:Co) room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) modified carbon paste electrode as a high sensitive sensor for voltammetric determination of vitamin B₉ in food samples. The sensor exhibits an enhanced effectiveness for the electro-oxidation of vitamin B₉ in aqueous solution. The oxidation peak potential for this matter at a surface of the ionic liquid (n-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluoro phosphate) Pt:Co carbon paste electrode (Pt:Co/IL/CPE) appeared at 685 mV that was about 110 mV lower than the oxidation peak potential at the surface of the traditional carbon paste electrode (CPE) under similar condition. The mechanism of the electro-oxidation process on the surface of the modified electrode was analyzed. Square wave voltammetry (SWV) was applied as a very sensitive electrochemical method for the determination of sub-micro-molar amounts of vitamin B₉. The linear response range and detection limit were found to be 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ to 5.0 × 10⁻⁴ M and 4.0 × 10⁻⁸ M, respectively. The prepared modified electrode shows several advantages such as simple preparation method, high stability, high sensitivity, and excellent catalytic activity, long-term stability and remarkable voltammetric reproducibility for eletrooxidation of vitamin B₉. The proposed sensor was successfully applied for the determination of vitamin B₉ in food samples.     

Comparison of microstructure and mechanical properties of plasma-sprayed nanostructured and conventional yttria stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coatings

The main goal of this paper was to evaluate and compare the microstructure and mechanical properties of plasma-sprayed nanostructured and conventional yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). To this end, NiCrAlY bond coat, nanostructured, and conventional YSZ coatings were deposited on Inconel 738LC substrate by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The mechanical properties of the coating were evaluated using nanoindentation and bonding strength tests. The microstructure and phase composition of the coating were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The nanostructured YSZ coating contained both nanosized particles retained from the powder and microcolumnar grains formed through the resolidification of the molten part of the powder, whereas the microstructure of the conventional YSZ coating consisted of columnar grain splats only. The phase composition of the as-sprayed nanostructured coating consisted of the non-transformable tetragonal phase, while the conventional coating showed the presence of both the monoclinic and non-transformable tetragonal phases. The results of nanoindentation and bonding strength tests indicated that the mechanical properties of the nanostructured coating were better than those of the conventional coating.     

Heavy metal accumulation in different varieties of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in soil amended with domestic sewage sludge

The concentrations of heavy metals (HMs) in plants served to indicate the metal contamination status of the site, and also revealed the abilities of various plant species to take up and accumulate them from the soil dressed with sewage sludge. A study to comprehend the mobility and transport of HMs from soil and soil amended with untreated sewage sludge to different newly breaded varieties of wheat (Anmol, TJ-83, Abadgar and Mehran-89) in Pakistan. A pot-culture experiment was conducted to study the transfer of HMs to wheat grains, grown in soil (control) and soil amended with sewage sludge (test samples). The total and ethylenediaminetetraaceticacid (EDTA)-extractable HMs in agricultural soil and soil amended with domestic sewage sludge (SDWS) and wheat grains were analysed by flame atomic absorption spectrometer/electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometer, prior to microwave-assisted wet acid digestion method. The edible part of wheat plants (grains) from test samples presented high concentration of all HMs understudy (mgkg(-1)). Significant correlations were found between metals in exchangeable fractions of soil and SDWS, with total metals in control and test samples of wheat grains. The bio-concentration factors of all HMs were high in grains of two wheat varieties, TJ-83 and Mehran-89, as compared to other varieties, Anmol and Abadgar grown in the same agricultural plots.     

Toxic metals distribution in different components of Pakistani and imported cigarettes by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometer

It was extensively investigated that a significant flux of toxic metals, along with other toxins, reaches the lungs through smoking. In present study toxic metals (TMs) (Al, Cd, Ni and Pb) were determined in different components of Pakistani local branded and imported cigarettes, including filler tobacco (FT), filter (before and after normal smoking by a single volunteer) and ash by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometer (ETAAS). Microwave-assisted digestion method was employed. The validity and accuracy of methodology were checked by using certified sample of Virginia tobacco leaves (ICHTJ-cta-VTL-2). The percentages (%) of TMs in different components of cigarette were calculated with respect to their total contents in FT of all branded cigarettes before smoking, while smoke concentration has been calculated by subtracting the filter and ash contents from the filler tobacco content of each branded cigarette. The highest percentage (%) of Al was observed in ash of all cigarettes, with range 97.3-99.0%, while in the case of Cd, a reverse behaviour was observed, as a range of 15.0-31.3% of total contents were left in the ash of all branded cigarettes understudy.     

Design and analysis of simple irregular LDPC codes with finite‐lengths and their application in CDMA systems

In this paper, we design and optimize simple irregular low‐density parity‐check (LDPC) codes for finite‐length applications where the asymptotic noise threshold of the channel cannot play as a dominant optimization factor. Our design procedure is based on some observations resulted from analytical study of these codes. Although we present our design procedure for some specified rates but it can generally be used for any rate. Specifically, we design a simple irregular LDPC code for IS‐95 and compare its performance with the other reported codes 1 - 3 for this application. Our results show a 3.7‐fold increase in the capacity at bit error rate (BER) equal to 10⁻⁵ compared to the low‐rate orthogonal convolutional codes and 1.2 times increase compared to a high performance LDPC code of Reference 3 . Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of electrothermal and hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of total arsenic in broiler chicken

The purpose of this study was to estimate total arsenic concentration in different tissues (leg, breast, liver and heart) of broiler chicken by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS) and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS), prior to microwave assisted acid digestion. The accuracy of the techniques was evaluated by using certified reference material DORM-2. The percentage recoveries of total As were observed as 100.6% and 99.4% for HGAAS and GFAAS, respectively. The precision of the techniques, expressed as relative standard deviation, was observed as 1.71% and 4.18% for HGAAS and GFAAS measurements, respectively. The limits of detection for HGAAS and GFAAS were 0.025 μg/g and 0.052 μg/g, respectively. The concentrations of total arsenic in different tissues of broiler chicken were found in the range of 2.19–5.28, 2.15–5.22, 2.97–7.17 and 2.68–6.36 μg/g for leg, breast, liver and heart tissues, respectively. At a mean level of chicken consumption (60 g/person/day), people may ingest in the range of 72.0–85.1 μg arsenic/person/day from chicken alone.     

Evaluation of an ultrasonic acid digestion procedure for total heavy metals determination in environmental and biological samples

In this study, a sample preparation method based on ultrasonic assisted acid digestion (UAD) has been evaluated for total heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb) determination in different environmental (soil, sediment and sewage sludge), and biological (fish muscles, vegetables and grains) samples, using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). The investigated parameters influencing UAD such as presonication time, sonication time, temperature of ultrasonic bath, and different acid mixtures were fully optimized, whereas power was maintained constant at 100% of nominal power of ultrasonic bath. Six different sets of above parameters were applied on six certified reference materials (CRMs) having different matrices. The accuracy of the method was also tested by comparing the results with those obtained from conventional hot plate assisted acid digestion method on same CRMs. Analytical results for HMs by both methods showed no significant difference at 95% confidence limit (p<0.05). Recoveries of HMs ranging from 96.2% to 102% and 96.3% to 98.6% were obtained from biological and environmental samples, respectively. The average relative standard deviation of UAD method varied between 3.5% and 8.2%, depending on the analyte.