Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Behavior of As-Cast Mg-Zn-Zr-(La) Magnesium Alloys

The effects of La content on the mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of as-cast Mg-Zn-Zr (ZK) magnesium alloys were investigated. The results showed that La addition to ZK60 alloy resulted in a considerable grain refinement and an increase in the volume fraction of second phases by formation of Mg-Zn-La ternary phase. The tensile tests were performed at both room and elevated temperatures. At room temperature, the yield and tensile strengths and elongation-to-fracture significantly increased with 0.2 wt.% La addition, then deteriorated slightly with increasing La additions above 0.2 wt.%. At 200 °C, the yield and tensile strengths continually improved and elongation-to-fracture decreased with increasing La content due to the presence of thermally stable Mg-Zn-La phase. Immersion and electrochemical corrosion tests revealed that the formation of Mg-Zn-La phases led to a higher amount of cathodic sites and preferential corrosion propagation, and thus a decrease in the corrosion resistance of ZK60 alloys.     

Adaptive educational hypermedia accommodating learning styles: A content analysis of publications from 2000 to 2011

Implementing instructional interventions to accommodate learner differences has received considerable attention. Among these individual difference variables, the empirical evidence regarding the pedagogical value of learning styles has been questioned, but the research on the issue continues. Recent developments in Web-based implementations have led scholars to reconsider the learning style research in adaptive systems. The current study involved a content analysis of recent studies on adaptive educational hypermedia (AEH) which addressed learning styles. After an extensive search on electronic databases, seventy studies were selected and exposed to a document analysis. Study features were classified under several themes such as the research purposes, methodology, features of adaptive interventions and student modeling, and findings. The analysis revealed that the majority of studies proposed a framework or model for adaptivity whereas few studies addressed the effectiveness of learning style-based AEH. Scales were used for learning style identification more than automatic student modeling. One third of the studies provided a framework without empirical evaluation with students. Findings on concrete learning outcomes were not strong enough; however, several studies revealed that suggested models influenced student satisfaction and success. Current trends, potential research gaps and implications were discussed.     

Adsorption of an anionic dispersant on lignite

Since coal is not a homogeneous substance but a mixture of carbonaceous materials and mineral matter, it has a variety of surface properties. Therefore, it is not easy to control the properties of coal suspensions by simply adjusting variables, such as pH and/or electrolyte. A chemical agent needs to be added to control the properties of the coal suspensions. The aim of this investigation is to determine the adsorption behavior of an anionic dispersant in the presence of a wetting agent using some Turkish lignite samples. The presence of a wetting agent in the dispersant adsorption behavior is important, since usage of a wetting agent in the preparation of coal–water slurries which are acceptable for potential industrial users is of great importance. The effects of dispersant concentration, temperature and pH on the dispersant adsorption were studied systematically, and the experimental results are presented. Pellupur B69 as a dispersant, commercial mixture of formaldehyde condensate sodium salt of naphthalene sulphonic acid, and Texapon N25 as a wetting agent, a sodium lauryl ether sulfate, have been used.     

DESORPTION OF ETHYL ACETATE-WATER MIXTURE BY USING CROSS-LINKED POLY(VINYLALCOHOL) MEMBRANE AND COMPARISON OF RESULTS WITH PERVAPORATION

In this study using poly(vinylalcohol) (PVOH) membranes cross-linked with tartaric acid (Tac) desorption experiments were performed for selected concentrations of binary ethyl acetate (EtAc)-water mixture at temperatures of 30°, 40°, and 50°C to determine sorption of components. Sorption values measured were compared with those estimated by the Flory-Huggins approach. Additionally, desorption results were compared with pervaporation results of another study in terms of solution-diffusion theory, and the effect of thermodynamic interactions on selective transport of the binary mixture and membrane system was investigated. The results obtained show that selective transport of EtAc-water mixture was influenced by increasing temperature and water content in the feed. It is shown that preferential sorption is more effective for pervaporation selectivity than diffusion selectivity.     

A new wireless asynchronous data communications module for industrial applications

All the sensors such as temperature, humidity, and pressure used in industry provide analog outputs as inputs for their control units. Wireless transmission of the data has advantages on wired transmission such as USB port, parallel port and serial port and therefore has great importance for industrial applications. In this work, a new wireless asynchronous data communications module has been developed to send the earth magnetic field data around a ferromagnetic material detected by a KMZ51 AMR sensor. The transmitter module transmits the analog data obtained from a source to a computer environment where they are stored and then presented in a graphical form. In this design, an amplitude shift keying (ASK) transceiver working at the frequency of 433.92 MHz which is a frequency inside the so called Industrial Scientific Medical band (ISM band) used for wireless communications. The analog data first fed into a 10-bit ADC controlled by a PIC microcontroller and then the digital data is sent to the transmitter. A preamble bit string is added in front of the data bits and another bit string for achieving synchronization and determination the start of the data is used. The data arriving at the receiver is taken by the microcontroller and sent to a LCD display as well as the serial port of a computer where it is written in a text file. A Visual Basic based graphics interface is designed to receive, store and present the data in the form of graphical shapes. In the paper, all the work has been explained in detail.     

Manifestation of external size reduction effects on the yield point of nanocrystalline rhodium using nanopillars approach

In this study, pure rhodium was fabricated and mechanically investigated at the nanoscale for the first time. The nanopillars approach was employed to study the effects of size on the yield point. Nanopillars with different diameters were fabricated using electroplating followed by uniaxial compression tests. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used as a quality control technique by imaging the pillars before and after compression to ensure the absence of cracks, buckling, barrelling or any other problems. Transmission electron microscopy and SEM were used as microstructural characterization techniques. Due to substrate-induced effects, only the plastic region of the stress–strain curves were investigated, and it was revealed that the yield point increases with size reduction up to certain limit, then decreases with further reduction of the nanopillar size (diameter). The later weakening effect is consistent with the literature, which demonstrates the reversed size effect (the failure of the plasticity theory) in nanocrystalline metals, i.e. smaller is weaker. In this study, however, the effect of size reduction is not only weakening, but is strengthening-then-weakening, which the authors believe is the true behavior of nanocrystalline materials.     

The Manavgat Project of Turkey: Water,an Economic Good

In spite of the fact that abundance of water creates problems and sometimes disasters, much of the problem with water lies with its scarcity. Water shortages in a region occur mainly for two reasons. The most important one is associated with climatic conditions, whereas the other has to do with the fact that the location of the water resource does not coincide with where it is needed. This is where engineering and technology come into play along with a handsome amount of capital requirement. As is the case for almost all engineering projects, project economy entails both technical and economic feasibility, which in turn requires that water should be treated as an economic commodity.     

An unusual coursing of the facial vein

During the dissections of 50 adult cadavers for educational purposes, we found a 45-year-old male cadaver with an abnormally coursing facial vein which has joined the retromandibular vein at a higher level--in the parotid gland--on the right side of the face. This anomaly has also been detected radiologically.     

Nanostructure and mechanical properties of aromatic polyamide and reactive organoclay nanocomposites

Aromatic polyamide/organoclay nanocomposites were synthesized using the solution blending technique. Treatment of montmorillonite clay with p-phenylenediamine produced reactive organophilic clay for good compatibility with the matrix. Polyamide chains were prepared by condensing a mixture of 1,4-phenylenediamine and 4-4′-oxydianiline with isophthaloyl chloride under anhydrous conditions. These chains were end capped with carbonyl chloride using 1% extra acid chloride near the end of reaction to develop the interactions with organoclay. The dispersion and structure–property relationship were monitored using FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, DSC and tensile testing of the thin films. The structural investigations confirmed the formation of delaminated and disordered intercalated morphology with nanoclay loadings. This morphology of the nanocomposites resulted in their enhanced mechanical properties. The tensile behavior and glass transition temperature significantly augmented with increasing organoclay content showing a greater interaction between the two disparate phases.