Gas Tungsten Arc Surface Alloying of T1-6A1-4V with Carbon

Ti-6A1-4V was surface alloyed with carbon using gas tungsten arc. Microstructural studies on scanning electron microscope showed that in the alloyed layer a cellular/dendritic phase was distributed in the matrix having an acicular structure. Analysis of the alloyed layer showed an average overall increase of 1.45 wt% in the carbon content. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the presence of TiC in the alloyed zone. Electron probe microanalysis revealed that the cellular/dendritic phase was rich in carbon and had about 15 wt% carbon, whereas the matrix was depleted in carbon. We concluded from the detailed studies that the alloyed zone matrix was supersaturated with carbon in which TiC was distributed. As a result of this surface treatment, the alloyed layer hardness increased from 350 to 640 HV.     

Thermal performance and embodied energy analysis of a passive house – Case study of vault roof mud-house in India

This paper investigates thermal performance of an existing eco-friendly and low embodied energy vault roof passive house (or mud-house) located at Solar Energy Park of IIT Delhi, New Delhi (India). Based on embodied energy analysis, the energy payback time for the mud-house was determined as 18 years. The embodied energy per unit floor area of R.C.C. building (3702.3 MJ/m²) is quiet high as compared to the mud-house (2298.8 MJ/m²). The mud-house has three rooms with inverted U-shape roof and remaining three rooms with dome shape roof. A thermal model of the house consisting of six interconnected rooms was developed based on energy balance equations which were solved by using fourth order Runge Kutta numerical method. The predicted six room air temperatures were found in good agreement with the experimental observed data on hourly basis in each month for one year. The annual heating and cooling energy saving potential of the mud-house was determined as 1481 kW h/year and 1813 kW h/year respectively for New Delhi composite climate. The total mitigation of CO₂ emissions due to both heating and cooling energy saving potential was determined as 5.2 metric tons/year. The annual carbon credit potential of mud-house was determined as € 52/year. Similar results were obtained for the different climatic locations in India.     

Deep defect determination by the constant photocurrent method (CPM) in annealed or light soaked amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H)

We present systematic measurements of CPM on two independent series of slightly phosphorous and boron doped films. For “n-type” samples of both series, the CPM deep defect absorption is proportional to the square root of the gas dopant ratio. For these samples we discuss the influence of Fermi level on the CPM spectra. For slightly “p-type” samples, CPM deep defect absorption as evaluated by CPM becomes higher than the corresponding PDS-values. This fundamental problem can be traced back to the violation of two basic conditions necessary for a correct evaluation of the absorption from CPM measurements: (1) the power law exponent γ (Rose factor) of the photoconductivity must be spectrally independent, and (2) the generation rate G, which corresponds to the CPM photocurrent, also has to be spectrally independent. Further, we compare the annealed and the “saturated” light soaked states of selected slightly doped samples and an undoped sample: the variations in the CPM deep defect absorption and in photoconductivity due to light-soaking are discussed.     

A compact uniplanar ACS fed multi band low cost printed antenna for modern 2.4/3.5/5 GHz applications

Microsystem Technologies - A uniplanar compact triple operating band asymmetric coplanar strip (ACS) fed printed antenna loaded with multiple L-shaped branches and the asymmetric rectangular ground...     

Comparative Analysis of Double Gate Junction Less (DG JL) and Gate Stacked Double Gate Junction Less (GS DG JL) MOSFETs

Semiconductors - The quest for downscaling of devices has led to novel configurations with better performance parameters of which Junction Less (JL) MOSFET is an important configuration regarding...     

Acrylic Homo- and Co-polymers Based on 2, 4-dichlorophenyl Methacrylate and 8-quinolinyl Methacrylate

The monomer 2, 4-dichlorophenyl methacrylate (2,4-DMA) was synthesized from 2, 4-dichlorophenol and characterized by conventional methods. The homopolymers of 2,4-dichlorophenyl methacrylate and its copolymers with 8-quinolinyl methacrylate (8-QMA) in different feed ratio were prepared by free radical polymerization using dimethyl formamide (DMF) as a solvent and 2,2-azobis iso butyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator. The resulting polymers were characterized by using IR spectroscopy. Reactivity ratios of monomer were evaluated using UV-spectroscopy. Average molecular weights and polydispersity were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Solution viscosity was also obtained. The thermal analysis was carried out using TGA and DSC. The homo- and co-polymers were also tested for their antimicrobial properties against selected microorganism. The metal ion uptake capacity of synthesized copolymers was estimated by batch equilibration method using different metal ion solution under different experimental conditions. It is observed that due to the presence of pendant ester bound quinoline group, the copolymers are capable of adsorbing cations from their aqueous solution.     

Extraction and characterization of soluble protein fractions from Phaseolus lunatus L seeds

Legume proteins as a potential source of valuable nutrients, are the object of several studies in order to obtain the best use. A basic knowledge becomes more important for those proteins from species not wholly utilized, before using them as food ingredients. The objective of this work was to determine several structural and nutritional characteristics of the protein fractions from Phaseolus lunatus, separated in different solvents. The relative amount of extraction for the albumins (ALB), globulins (GLB), prolamines (PRL), and glutelins (GLT) was 62.3, 34.8, 1.4 and 1.5%, respectively. The SDS-PAGE electrophoretic profile of both ALB and GLB, showed seven common bands in intervals from 10 to 95 kDa, and 14 to 99 kDa, respectively; the amino acids profile showed that PRL was the rich fraction in sulfurated amino acids (11.5 g/100 g protein); the content of lysine in the fraction of ALB was smaller than expected but the requirement of the FAO in the fractions of GLB and GLT was covered. In general, the fraction of GLB had the best balance of amino acids and digestibility (80%); however, it had a relationship of calculated protein efficiency ratio (C-PER) of 0.11, smaller than the ratio in ALB (0.97). The calorimetric analysis showed denatured temperatures around 90 degrees C for the ALB, GLB, and GLU fractions. The PRL fraction probably did not present a thermal transition because the proteins were denaturalized by the extraction conditions.     

Synthesis and characterization of organo‐soluble poly(ether ether ketone)s and poly(ether ether ketone ketone)s containing pendant pentadecyl chains

Poly(ether ether ketone)s and poly(ether ether ketone ketone)s containing pendant pentadecyl chains were synthesized by polycondensation of each of the two bisphenol monomers viz, 1,1,1‐[bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐4′‐pentadecylphenyl]ethane and 1,1‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐3‐pentadecyl cyclohexane with activated aromatic dihalides namely, 4,4′‐difluorobenzophenone, and 1,3‐bis(4‐fluorobenzoyl)benzene in a solvent mixture of N,N‐dimethylacetamide and toluene, in the presence of anhydrous potassium carbonate. Polymers were isolated as white fibrous materials with inherent viscosities and number average molecular weights in the range 0.70–1.27 dL g^?1 and 76,620–1,36,720, respectively. Poly(ether ether ketone)s and poly(ether ether ketone ketone)s were found to be soluble at room temperature in organic solvents such as chloroform, dichloromethane, tetrahydrofuran, and pyridine and could be cast into tough, transparent, and flexible films from their solutions in chloroform. Wide angle X‐ray diffraction patterns exhibited a broad halo at around 2θ = ～ 19° indicating that the polymers containing pentadecyl chains were amorphous in nature. In the small‐angle region, diffuse reflections of a typically layered structures resulting from the packing of pentadecyl side chains were observed. The temperature at 10% weight loss, obtained from TG curves, for poly(ether ether ketone)s and poly(ether ether ketone ketone)s were in the range 416–459°C, indicating their good thermal stability. A substantial drop in glass transition temperatures (68–78°C) was observed for poly(ether ether ketone)s and poly(ether ether ketone ketone)s due to “internal plasticization” effect of flexible pendant pentadecyl chains. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Traction Energy Cost Reduction of the WMATA Metrorail System

An energy cost reduction study was conducted on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrorail system. Its primary objectives were to classify primary energy end uses and identify conservation methods which have the highest potential for reducing the electric bill. The effort involved analyzing present energy costs, developing cost- effective conservation strategies, determining the savings associated with the strategies by simulation, recommending appropriate strategies for implementation and outlining a program for executing the recommendations. Although the effort involved both traction and support energy, only the traction energy aspects of the study are reported. It is the first time that the energy management model developed for the transit industry by the Rail Systems Center at Carnegie-Mellon University was comprehensively applied to a rapid transit property. The application was verified by comparing the simulated results to actual data. For anl practical purposes, the simulated results agree to within three percent of the actual energy consumption. Four traction energy conservation strategies were recommended for implementation based on high benefit and low cost. These are coasting, passenger load factor improvement, planned catch-up operation, and regeneration of braking energy. All of these strategies have payback periods of less than three years.     

Effect of Halloysite Nanotubes as Novel Nanofiller on Peroxide- and Electron Beam Radiation-Initiated Polyphosphazene Elastomer

A tubelike, naturally occurring halloysite clay mineral (HNTs) incorporated polyphosphazene (PPZ) elastomeric nanocomposites had been electron beam radiated and thermally treated for certain applications. To improve the dispersion of raw HNTs (H), an organosilane modifier had been exploited. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique were utilized for plausible interaction and intercalation. The efficiency of electron beam radiation over chemical initiation for intra and inter chain network formation within the resin was substantiated through oil and solvent resistance studies. Effective delay in mass transport as compared to the virgin elastomer was observed through thermal analysis.