In-situ synthesis of silica aerogel in polyethylene terephthalate fibre nonwovens and their composite properties on acoustical absorption behavior

In this research work we focus on engineering the silica aerogel/polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibre nonwoven fabric composites with various silica content during in-situ synthesis of silica aerogels in the nonwovens and their composite properties on sound absorption. The silica content was varied by varying the molar ratio of methanol (MeOH)/tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) from 110 to 28. The gelation of silica alcogel took place inside the fabric followed by silylation and atmospheric pressure drying. The aerogel/PET nonwoven composites were characterized by FTIR, TGA and contact angle to explain the aerogel content and its behavior. Moreover, the physical properties such as thickness, bulk density, specific airflow resistance, and mean flow pore size have been investigated. The two microphone transfer function method was used to test the sound absorption coefficient (SAC) of aerogel composites at 1/3rd octave frequencies of 50–6300 Hz. The aerogel/PET nonwoven composites have exhibited higher SAC than the untreated or control PET nonwoven for the entire frequency range. The suitable solvent molar ratio of 55 has been recommended for synthesis of silica aerogels by considering not only the silica content to have high sound absorption but also based on hydrophobic characteristics of aerogel/PET nonwoven composites.     

Ferroelectric order in individual nanometre-scale crystals

Ferroelectricity in finite-dimensional systems continues to arouse interest, motivated by predictions of vortex polarization states and the utility of ferroelectric nanomaterials in memory devices, actuators and other applications. Critical to these areas of research are the nanoscale polarization structure and scaling limit of ferroelectric order, which are determined here in individual nanocrystals comprising a single ferroelectric domain. Maps of ferroelectric structural distortions obtained from aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy, combined with holographic polarization imaging, indicate the persistence of a linearly ordered and monodomain polarization state at nanometre dimensions. Room-temperature polarization switching is demonstrated down to ~5?nm dimensions. Ferroelectric coherence is facilitated in part by control of particle morphology, which along with electrostatic boundary conditions is found to determine the spatial extent of cooperative ferroelectric distortions. This work points the way to multi-Tbit/in(2) memories and provides a glimpse of the structural and electrical manifestations of ferroelectricity down to its ultimate limits.     

Polyelectrolyte and silver nanoparticle modification of microfiltration membranes to mitigate organic and bacterial fouling

Membrane fouling remains one of the most problematic issues surrounding membrane use in water and wastewater treatment applications. Organic and biological fouling contribute to irreversible fouling and flux decline in these processes. The aim of this study was to reduce both organic and biological fouling by modifying the surface of commercially available poly(ether sulfone) (PES) membranes using the polyelectrolyte multilayer modification method with poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS), poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC), and silver nanoparticles (nanoAg) integrated onto the surface as stable, thin (15 nm) films. PSS increases the hydrophilicity of the membrane and increases the negative surface charge, while integration of nanoAg into the top PSS layer imparts biocidal characteristics to the modified surface. Fouling was simulated by filtering aqueous solutions of humic acid (5 and 20 mg L(-1)), a suspension of Escherichia coli (10(6) colony-forming units (CFU) mL(-1)), and a mixture of both foulants through unmodified and modified PES membranes under batch conditions. Filtration and cleaning studies confirmed that the modification significantly reduced organic and biological fouling.     

IP over optical networks: architectural aspects

The Internet transport infrastructure is moving toward a model of high-speed routers interconnected by intelligent optical core networks. A consensus is emerging in the industry on utilizing an IP-centric control plane within optical networks to support dynamic provisioning and restoration of lightpaths. At the same time, there are divergent views on how IP routers must interact with optical core networks to achieve end-to-end connectivity. This article describes the architectural alternatives for interconnecting IP routers over optical networks, considering the routing and signaling issues. Also, the application of IP-based protocols for dynamic provisioning and restoration of lightpaths, as well as the interworking of multivendor optical networks is described     

An experimental analysis of effective high speed turning of superalloy Inconel 718

Superalloy, Inconel 718 is widely used in the sophisticated applications due to its unique properties. However, machining of such superior material is difficult and costly due its peculiar characteristics. The present article is an attempt to suggest Taguchi optimization technique to study the machinability of Inconel 718 with respect to cutting force, cutting temperature, and tool life in high speed turning of Inconel 718 using cemented tungsten carbide (K20) cutting tool. Therefore, the objective of this work is divided into two phases: (i) to demonstrate a correlation between cutting speed, feed, and depth of cut with respect to cutting force, cutting temperature, and tool life in a process control of high speed turning of Inconel 718 in order to identify the optimum combination of cutting parameters; (ii) to show the effect of high speed cutting parameters on the tool wear mechanism and chip analysis. These correlations were obtained by multiple linear regressions. The confirmation tests were carried out to make a comparison between the experimental results and mathematical models proposed. The proposed models agree well with the experimental results.     

Malware detection using assembly and API call sequences

One of the major problems concerning information assurance is malicious code. To evade detection, malware has also been encrypted or obfuscated to produce variants that continue to plague properly defended and patched networks with zero day exploits. With malware and malware authors using obfuscation techniques to generate automated polymorphic and metamorphic versions, anti-virus software must always keep up with their samples and create a signature that can recognize the new variants. Creating a signature for each variant in a timely fashion is a problem that anti-virus companies face all the time. In this paper we present detection algorithms that can help the anti-virus community to ensure a variant of a known malware can still be detected without the need of creating a signature; a similarity analysis (based on specific quantitative measures) is performed to produce a matrix of similarity scores that can be utilized to determine the likelihood that a piece of code under inspection contains a particular malware. Two general malware detection methods presented in this paper are: Static Analyzer for Vicious Executables (SAVE) and Malware Examiner using Disassembled Code (MEDiC). MEDiC uses assembly calls for analysis and SAVE uses API calls (Static API call sequence and Static API call set) for analysis. We show where Assembly can be superior to API calls in that it allows a more detailed comparison of executables. API calls, on the other hand, can be superior to Assembly for its speed and its smaller signature. Our two proposed techniques are implemented in SAVE) and MEDiC. We present experimental results that indicate that both of our proposed techniques can provide a better detection performance against obfuscated malware. We also found a few false positives, such as those programs that use network functions (e.g. PuTTY) and encrypted programs (no API calls or assembly functions are found in the source code) when the thresholds are set 50% similarity measure. However, these false positives can be minimized, for example by changing the threshold value to 70% that determines whether a program falls in the malicious category or not.     

Ceramic-based chemical sensors, probes and field-tests in automobile engines

The monitoring and control of combustion-related emissions is a top priority in many industries. The major methods used to detect combustion gases fall short of practical applications for in-situ measurements in industrial environments involving high temperature and chemical contaminants. The real challenge is not only to develop highly sensitive and selective sensors, but to maintain long-term stability in such aggressive environments. This article presents an overview of a multidisciplinary research effort in ceramic-based chemical sensors, highlighting opportunities as well as challenges. The group of sensors (CO, NO _x , O₂, and CO₂) selected for this article can, in general, be used to determine the state of combustion in a wide variety of applications. Fabrication of sensor probes and their field-test results in automobile engines are also presented.     

Knowledge and data engineering

The authors provide an overview of the current research and development directions in knowledge and data engineering. They classify research problems and approaches in this area and discuss future trends. Research on knowledge and data engineering is examined with respect to programmability and representation, design tradeoffs, algorithms and control, and emerging technologies. Future challenges are considered with respect to software and hardware architecture and system design. The paper serves as an introduction to this first issue of a new quarter     

Mechanical,thermal, and burning properties of viscose fabric composites: Influence of epoxy resin modification

The influence of epoxy resin modification by 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) on various properties of warp knitted viscose fabric is reported in this study. Dynamic mechanical, impact resistance, flexural, thermal properties, and burning behavior of the epoxy/viscose fabric composites are studied with respect to varying content of silane coupling agent. The results obtained for APTES‐modified epoxy resin based composites reinforced with unmodified viscose fabric composites are compared to unmodified epoxy resin based composites reinforced with APTES‐modified viscose fabric. The dynamic mechanical behavior of the APTES‐modified resin based composites indicates improved interfacial adhesion. The composites prepared from modified epoxy resin exhibited a twofold increase in impact resistance. The improved adhesion between the fiber and modified resin was also visible from the scanning electron microscope analysis of the impact fracture surface. There was less influence of resin modification on the flexural properties of the composites. The 5% APTES modification induced early degradation of composites compared to all other composites. The burning rate of all the composites under study is rated to be satisfactory for use in automotive interior applications. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46673.     

Production of bio-ethanol from an innovative mixture of surgical waste cotton and waste card board after ammonia pre-treatment

Ethanol production from waste biomass using a slightly modified bio-refinery approach was performed in this work to cater to the increasing need of alternate fuels and fuel additives globally. A surgical waste cotton and waste packaging cardboard mixture after a 15% v/v ammonia pre-treatment showed 70% lignin removal. An optimized saccharification using In-house Cellulases produced from Trichoderma harzanium ATCC 20846 had a percentage saccharification of 45% and percentage yield saccharification of 94.6%. An optimized fermentation using Saccharomyces cereviseae strain RW143 resulted in the yield of 0.4 g ethanol/g glucose from the 15% (v/v) glucose in the enzymatically saccharified hydrolysate loaded. The distilled ethanol had 90% (v/v) concentration and180 proof (twice the amount of concentration percentage in v/v) purity. 1 kg biomass mixture when processed as mentioned would yield 120 mL ethanol. Two diesel-ethanol blends (E-10 and E-20) and a commercial Diesel control were used to rate an IC engine’s brake power.