Determination of hydrogen content, gross heat of combustion, and net heat of combustion of diesel fuel using FTIR spectroscopy and multivariate calibration

The precise determination of the heat of combustion is of great importance for trading automotive diesel. The net heat of combustion (NHC) of fuel is related to the hydrogen elemental composition of fuel as obtained by elemental analysis. Heat of combustion expressed as gross heat of combustion (GHC) and net heat of combustion (NHC) have been predicted from data obtained by proximate analysis (density, ash, water and sulphur content) (ASTM D4868). GHC was obtained using bomb calorimetry (ASTM D240). The results of ASTM D4868 and ASTM D240 were found in good agreement. GHC and NHC fall within the relatively narrow range 45.24-46.08 and 41.91-43.27 MJ/kg, respectively. GHCs of tested diesel samples are, on average, about 7% greater than NHCs. The present paper also present a simple analytical method for determination of hydrogen content, GHC, and NHC of automotive diesel fuel using FTIR spectroscopy and partial-least squares calibration (PLS-1). PLS-1 had a high prediction power for prediction of hydrogen from FTIR spectra of diesel samples. The spectral ranges used in calibration were 400-670 and 2846-2970 cm⁻¹. On the other hand, classical least squares calibration (CLS) was found invalid for determination of hydrogen content in diesel. The results obtained by the proposed analytical method were almost to those obtained by ASTM D4868 and ASTM D240. PLS-1 method, offers a simple and reliable analytical method for quantification of hydrogen content in diesel samples without running expensive analysis like those carried out using carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen (CHN) instruments.     

Supercritical carbon dioxide and solvent extraction of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline from Pandan leaf: The effect of pre-treatment

Pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb.) leaf is a source of natural flavoring widely used in South-east Asia. The major compound contributing to the characteristic flavor of Pandan is 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP). This highly volatile compound also contributes significantly to the flavor of aromatic rice such as basmati and jasmine rice. As the consumer requirement for use of natural flavors, extraction of components from natural sources has been sought. In this study, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) and solvent extraction of components from Pandan leaves were performed. Experimental parameters included particle size and drying method (oven and freeze drying). Results indicated that the initial value of moisture content and particle size of Pandan leaves had the greatest effect on the total yield and 2AP concentration of the extracts. Almost 80% of water in Pandan leaves can be removed by drying. Yields of supercritical extracts were 10 times lower when compared to the hexane extracts. The total yield of extracts was increased up to 50% with decreasing particle size of Pandan leaves. Extraction of coarsely ground freeze-dried Pandan leaves by SC-CO₂ obtained the highest yield (0.88 ± 0.06%) followed by oven dried (0.38 ± 0.09%) and fresh leaves (0.34 ± 0.01%). The 2AP was identified by GC-MS and analyzed by GC-FID. Supercritical and hexane extracts of pre-treated Pandan leaves were found to have a small quantity of 2AP ranging between 0.04 ± 0.01 and 0.45 ± 0.01 ppm. Grinding pre-treatment was the best method for both SC-CO₂ and hexane extractions while the freeze drying method was the best for SC-CO₂.     

Prospects of conducting polymer and graphene as counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) garner considerable research interest because of high photo-to-electric conversion efficiencies at low production cost. Platinum has been reported as an efficient metal as a counter electrode (CE) in DSSCs for its outstanding electro catalytic performance. However, the high cost and susceptibility to corrosion of Pt are paving the way for exploring new materials to replace Pt as a counter electrode in DSSCs. Various conducting polymers, graphene and conducting polymer-graphene nanocomposites have been found as counter electrodes in DSSCs with remarkable photovoltaic performances. The urge to produce composites or hybrids with nanomaterials is derived from the improvement of photovoltaic performances. This review will focus on the unique physical and chemical properties of conducting polymers and graphene, their individual photovoltaic performances as counter electrodes in DSSCs, followed by the synergistic effect of conducting polymers and graphene in conducting polymer-graphene nanocomposites as counter electrodes in DSSCs. Finally a brief outlook is provided to improve the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs using conducting polymers and graphene-based counter electrodes.     

A simple vortex-assisted graphene oxide nanosheets dispersive micro-solid phase extraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography for UV-Vis detection of tramadol in biological samples

This study developed a simple, rapid and sensitive method that utilizes vortex-assisted graphene oxide nanosheets dispersive micro-solid phase extraction of tramadol hydrochloride from biological samples. The data obtained from scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the characteristics of graphene oxide nanosheets (GONSs). In order to increase the extraction efficiency, a vortex was applied in the extraction process. In this study, parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were identified and discussed. The optimal experimental parameters were as follows: pH, amount of GONSs, type and volume of desorption solvent, vortexing time, and addition of NaCl. Under optimized conditions, this method allowed the determination of tramadol in the range of 5–300 µg l^?1 and the limit of detection was 0.16 µg l^?1. The intra-day and inter-day precisions obtained were 2.4% and 3.8%, respectively. This method can be used as an analytical technique for the determination of tramadol in biological samples.     

Weighted Version of Extended Nearest Neighbors

This paper investigates the problem of stability analysis for switched complex dynamical networks with mixed time-varying delays and parameter uncertainties. The switched complex dynamical networks are composed of m modes that are switched from one to another based on time, state, etc. Although, the active subsystem is known in any instance, but the switching law such as transition probabilities are not known. The model for each mode is considered affine with matched and unmatched perturbations. The main purpose of the addressed problem is to design a filter error for the switched complex dynamical networks such that the dynamics of the error converges to the asymptotically irrespective of the admissible parameter variations with the gains. Then, by utilizing the Lyapunov functional method, the stochastic analysis combined with the matrix inequality techniques, a sufficient condition in terms of linear matrix inequalities is presented to ensure the $$H_\infty $$ performance of the complex dynamical system models. Finally, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design method.     

STATISTICAL MODELLING OF INTERGRANULAR BRITTLE FRACTURE IN A LOW ALLOY STEEL

The intergranular brittle fracture (IBF) behaviour of a low alloy steel 16MND5 (A508 Cl. 3) was investigated. A temper embrittlement heat treatment was applied to the material to simulate the effect of local brittle zones (ghost lines) which can be found in the as-received material condition. An increase in the Charpy V toughness transition temperature and a significant decrease in the fracture toughness measured on CT-type specimens were observed in the embrittled material, as compared to the reference material which was submitted to the same austenitizing and tempering heat treatment, but which was not subjected to the temper embrittlement treatment. Tensile tests on notched specimens were carried out to measure the Weibull stress and scatter in the results. A statistical model, the Beremin model, originally proposed for brittle cleavage fracture was applied to IBF. It is shown that this model is not able to fully account for the results, in particular for the existence of two slopes in a Weibull plot. Systematic fractographic observations showed that the low slope regime in this representation was associated with the existence of MnS inclusions initiating brittle fracture, while the larger slope was related to microstructural defects. Initiation of IBF from MnS inclusions can occur when the material is still elastically deformed while the second population of microstructural defects is active in the plastic regime. A modified statistical model based on the Beremin model and taking into account these specific aspects is proposed in the framework of the weakest link theory. The parameters of this model are identified from test results on notched specimens. It is shown that this model is able to predict the temperature dependence of fracture toughness and the scatter in the experimental results.     

MARTe at FTU: The new feedback control

Keeping in mind the necessities of a modern control system for fusion devices, such as modularity and a distributed architecture, an upgrade of the present FTU feedback control system was planned, envisaging also a possible reutilization in the proposed FAST experiment [1]. For standardization and efficiency purposes we decided to adopt a pre-existent ITER-relevant framework called MARTe [2], already used with success in other European Tokamak devices [3]. Following the developments shown in [4], in this paper we report on the structure of the new feedback system, and how it was integrated in the current control structure and pulse programming interface, and in the other MARTe systems already in FTU: RT-ODIN [5] and the ECRH and LH [6] satellite stations. The new feedback system has been installed in the FTU backup station (known as “Feedback B”), which shares the input signals with the actual feedback system, in order to simplify the validation and debug of the new controller by testing it in parallel with the current one. Experimental results are then presented.     

A blending method based on partial differential equations for image denoising

In this paper we proposed a new de-noising technique based on combination of isotropic diffusion model, anisotropic diffusion (PM) model, and total variation model. The proposed model is able to be adaptive in each region depending on the information of the image. More precisely, the model performs more diffusion in the flat areas of the image, and less diffusion in the edges of the image. And so we can get rid of the noise, and preserve the edges of the image simultaneously. To verify that, we did several experiments, which showed that our algorithm is the best method for edge preserving and noise removing, compared with the isotropic diffusion, anisotropic diffusion, and total variation methods.     

Girih for Domes: Analysis of Three Iranian Domes

Drawing Girih is a challenging mathematical and geometrical principle for artists and artisans in the present and past. This paper is to determine how Girih have been embedded on curved surfaces such as dome, according to their curvature. For achieving this goal, the Dast-Gardan pattern is represented as a prominent and complex type. This pattern enables the designer to use diverse types of star polygons in one pattern depending on the curvature of the surface. The research hypothesis is examined by analyzing the patterns of three historic domes in Iran. The result shows that there is a relationship between the number of points of star polygons and the change of the dome curvature.