Short jute fiber‐reinforced polypropylene composites: Dynamic mechanical study

Short jute fiber‐reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites were prepared using a high‐speed thermokinetic mixer. A compatibilizer was used to improve the molecular interaction between jute and PP. Both the percent weight fraction of the jute fiber and compatibilizer were varied to study the dynamic mechanical thermal (DMT) properties. Dynamic parameters such as storage flexural modulus (E′), loss flexural modulus (E″), storage shear modulus (G′), loss shear modulus (G″), and loss factor or damping efficiency (tan δ) were determined in a resonant frequency mode. The transition peak nature, amplitude, and temperature of E′, E″, G′, G″, and tan δ of different compositions were shown to indicate possible improvements of molecular interaction in the presence of a compatibilizer. The modulus retention term, a plot of the reduced modulus with the weight fraction of the jute fiber, also indicate its improvement. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 71: 531–539, 1999     

Logistics cost analysis of rice straw for biomass power generation in Thailand

The logistics of the fuel supply have a large impact on the economy of a biomass power generation facility, especially for low density biomass fuels like straw. A detailed cost analysis of a typical rice straw logistics process for two baling options in three regions of Thailand shows that the costs for all logistics operations vary from a minimum of 18.75 USD/t for small rectangular bales in the Northern region of Thailand to maximum 19.89 USD/t for large rectangular bales in the North-eastern region. The difference in costs is not very significant due to the higher ownership and operating costs of the equipment for using large rectangular bales; however, the specific fuel consumption cost is substantially lower by around 17.5% and a total transport cost reduction is about 31.5%. Analysis of the logistics economies of scale for projected power plant capacities of 2-35 MW_e showed that each doubling the capacity of the energy facility increases the specific costs of the logistics operations only by around 4% in all regions.     

Combining continuous catalytic regenerative naphtha reformer with thermally coupled concept for improving the process yield

Advancements in the catalytic naphtha reforming process, as one of the main processes in petrochemical industry, contributed to development of continuous catalytic regenerative naphtha reformer units. Increasing the yield of aromatic and hydrogen as well as saving the energy in this process through the application of thermal coupling technique is a potentially interesting idea. This novel idea has been assessed in this paper. In the proposed configuration, continuous catalyst regeneration naphtha reforming process is coupled with hydrogenation of nitrobenzene in a two co-axial reactor separated by a solid wall, where the generated heat in nitrobenzene hydrogenation reaction transfers to naphtha reforming reaction medium through the surface of the tube. A steady-state, homogeneous, two-dimensional model is used to describe the performance of this configuration and a kinetic model including 32 pseudo-components with 84 reactions is considered for naphtha reforming reaction. After validating the model with the commercial data of a domestic plant, the obtained results of coupled reactor are compared by the conventional one. The obtained results show the superiority of CCR coupled reactor against the conventional one.     

NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF MIXED CONVECTION HEAT TRANSFER IN A HORIZONTAL CHANNEL WITH A BUILT-IN SQUARE CYLINDER

Structures of laminar wakes and heat transfer in the presence of thermal buoyancy art investigated from the numerical solution of complete Navier-Stokes and energy equations in a two-dimensional horizontal channel with a built-in square cylinder. Results show that mixed convection can initiate periodicity and asymmetry in the wake at lower Reynolds numbers than forced convection alone. For a given Reynolds number, the heating of the fluid in the channel is improved by mixed convection up to a certain Grashof number and deteriorates if the Grashof number is further increased.     

Characterization of CdS Nanowires Self-Assembled in a Nanoporous Alumina Template

CdS nanowires were self-assembled in a thin film (～200 nm) anodic aluminum oxide template on an indium tin oxide-coated glass substrate via dc electrodeposition. Raman spectral studies were done to probe the vibrational properties of scattering CdS phonons. Strong 1 longitudinal optical (LO), 2 LO, and 3 LO peaks were observed at 302 cm^?1, 603 cm^?1, and 906 cm^?1 having an energy separation of 37 meV, which is in accordance with the CdS bulk values. The photoluminescence spectra showed improved intensity of emission on annealing of the CdS nanowires. Field-emission scanning microscopy confirms the growth of nanowires of diameters ranging from 10 nm to 25 nm for these templates. These diameters agreed with those extracted from the luminescence emission energies.     

Quantized UWB Transmitted Reference Systems

Digital implementation of ultra-wideband receivers requires analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) at an extremely high speed, thereby limiting the available bit resolution. Herein, the effect of low bit resolution quantization on the performance of UWB transmitted reference receivers is investigated. It is verified that the gain of the automatic-gain-control (AGC) has a significant effect on the achievable performance. Because of the considerable performance loss of conventional transmitted reference receivers in the presence of a low resolution ADC a new family of receiver structures optimized and tailored to quantized observations is presented. In particular, the generalized- likelihood ratio test (GLRT) based on the quantized samples is derived and shown to provide modest performance gains relative to the infinite resolution GLRT rule employed on the quantized received signal suggesting that conventional receiver structures can also be employed in the presence of a low resolution ADC. Results reveal that four bits of resolution in combination with an optimal choice for the AGC gain are sufficient to closely approach the performance of an infinite resolution receiver.     

Bio-heat transfer analysis during short pulse laser irradiation of tissues

The objective of this paper is to analyze the temperature distributions and heat affected zone in skin tissue medium when irradiated with either a collimated or a focused laser beam from a short pulse laser source. Experiments are performed on multi-layer tissue phantoms simulating skin tissue with embedded inhomogeneities simulating subsurface tumors and as well as on freshly excised mouse skin tissue samples. Two types of lasers have been used in this study – namely a Q-switched pulsed 1064 nm Nd:YAG short pulse laser having a pulse width of 200 ns and a 1552 nm diode short pulsed laser having a pulse width of 1.3 ps. Experimental measurements of axial and radial temperature distribution in the tissue medium are compared with the numerical modeling results. For numerical modeling, the transient radiative transport equation is first solved using a discrete ordinates method for obtaining the intensity distribution and radiative heat flux inside the tissue medium. Then the temperature distribution is obtained by coupling the bio-heat transfer equation with either hyperbolic non-Fourier or parabolic Fourier heat conduction model. The hyperbolic heat conduction equation is solved using MacCormack’s scheme with error terms correction. It is observed that experimentally measured temperature distribution is in good agreement with that predicted by hyperbolic heat conduction model. The experimental measurements demonstrate that converging laser beam focused directly at the subsurface location can produce desired high temperature at that location compared to that produced by collimated laser beam for the same laser parameters. Finally the ablated tissue removal is characterized using histological studies as a function of laser parameters.     

An automated high-level topology generation procedure for continuous-time ΣΔ modulator

This paper presents an automated procedure for generation of high-level topologies for continuous-time ΣΔ modulator system. A functional topology of the system is generated from the given transfer function model of the modulator. Mathematical transformation technique is applied iteratively over the initial topology to generate a functional topology which is optimized for modulator sensitivity, hardware complexity and relative power consumption. This is then implemented using behavioral models of operational transconductance amplifiers and capacitors. The generated high-level topology is ensured to work with reasonable accuracy under non-ideal conditions. The entire procedure has been implemented in Matlab/Simulink environment. Numerical results have been provided to demonstrate the procedure.     

Microstructural evolution and hardness of in situ Al-4.5Cu-5TiB2 composite processed by multiple roll passes in mushy state

In situ Al-4.5Cu-5TiB₂ composite has been processed through stir casting method, in which, the TiB₂ particles have been precipitated in situ by mixed salt route involving reactions between K₂TiF₆ and KBF₄.The as-cast specimens containing 20 volume percent liquid content have been subjected to three mushy state roll passes, each leading to 5 percent reduction in thickness. The grain structure has been found to be globular in the mushy state rolled composites. Measurements along the cross-section have shown decrease in average grain size and increase in hardness, as one proceeds along the direction of rolling. On the other hand, grain size and hardness have been found to be more or less similar, when compared for sections perpendicular to the rolling direction.     

Effect of Thermal Cycling on Creep Behavior of Powder-Metallurgy-Processed and Hot-Rolled Al and Al-SiC Particulate Composites

The tensile creep behavior of powder metallurgy (P/M)–processed and hot-rolled commercially pure Al and Al-5 or Al-10 vol pct SiC particulate composites has been evaluated after subjecting to 0, 2, and 8 thermal cycles between 500 °C and 0 °C with rapid quenching. The images of microstructures obtained using scanning and transmission electron microscopy as well as changes in the electrical resistivity, Young’s modulus, and microhardness have been examined in the samples subjected to thermal cycling, in order to compare the effects of structural damage and strengthening by dislocation generation. The damage is caused by voids formed by vacancy coalescence, and is more severe in pure Al than in Al-SiC_p composites, because the particle-matrix interfaces in the composites act as effective sinks for vacancies. Creep tests have shown that the application of 2 thermal cycles lowers the creep strain rates in both pure Al and Al-SiC_p composites. However, the creep resistance of pure Al gets significantly deteriorated, unlike the mild deterioration in the Al-5 SiC_p composite, while the time to rupture for the Al-10 SiC_p composite is increased. The dislocation structure and subgrain sizes in the Al and in the matrices of the Al-SiC_p composites in the as-rolled condition, after thermal cycling, and after creep tests, have been compared and related to the creep behavior. The dimple sizes of the crept fracture surfaces appear to be dependent on the void density, tertiary component of strain, and time to rupture.