Developing economic order quantity model for non-instantaneous deteriorating items in vendor-managed inventory (VMI) system

This paper develops an economic order quantity model for non-instantaneous deteriorating items with and without shortages to investigate the performance of the vendor-managed inventory (VMI) system. This model is developed for a two-level supply chain consisting of a single supplier and single retailer with a single non-instantaneous deteriorating item. A numerical example and sensitivity analysis are provided to illustrate how increasing or reducing the related parameters change the optimal values of the decision variables of the two proposed models. The results show that VMI works better and charges lower cost in all conditions.     

Coprecipitation of CaCO3 and CaSO4

Coprecipitation characteristics of CaCO₃ and CaSO₄ were studied under various operating conditions. The investigations were carried out in temperature‐controlled batch tests. Coprecipitation results were compared with our experimental results of a single salt crystallization. It was found that the induction period and kinetics of coprecipitation of these two salts follow that of pure CaCO₃. However, thermodynamic concentrations of Ca in coprecipitation followed that of pure CaSO₄ at all times. The relationship between the thermodynamic concentrations of Ca for pure CaCO₃ and CaSO₄ solutions depended on the pH of the CaCO₃ solution. CaSO₄ precipitated in form of gypsum and had a needle shape structure; CaCO₃ had a spiral growth and precipitated in form of calcite. The precipitate structure was affected by the co‐existence of salts; the co‐precipitation resulted in CaCO₃ crystals interwoven by CaSO₄ crystals. This tends to result in a co‐precipitate that is stronger than pure CaSO₄ and weaker than pure CaCO₃ precipitate.     

Synthesis of cellulose/reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline nanocomposite and its properties

A series of conductive nanocomposites cellulose/reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline (cellulose/RGO/PANi) were synthesized via in situ oxidative polymerization of aniline on cellulose/RGO with different RGO loading to study the effect of RGO on the properties of nanocomposites. The results showed that when RGO is inserted into cellulose/PANi structure, its thermal stability and conductivity are increased. So that adding of only 0.3 wt% RGO into the cellulose/PANi structure, its conductivity is increased from 1.1 × 1 10^?1 to 5.2 × 110^?1 S/cm. Scanning electron microscopy results showed that the PANi nanoparticles are formed a continuous spherical shape over the cellulose/RGO template; this increases the thermal stability of nanocomposite.     

Test methods for characterizing concrete properties at elevated temperature

Fire resistance of structural members is dependent on the thermal and mechanical properties of constituent materials and these properties vary as a function of temperature. Currently, there are limited standardized test procedures for evaluating thermal and mechanical properties of construction materials at elevated temperatures. This paper provides a review and assessment of test methods and procedures for evaluating high temperature thermal and mechanical properties of concrete. The drawbacks and variations in currently available test procedures and methods in standards are discussed. Recommendations on the most suitable methods and procedures for measuring thermal and mechanical properties at elevated temperature is presented. In addition, applicability of the proposed high temperature test methods and procedures is illustrated through a case study on conventional concrete specimens. Further, the need for developing standards by organizations such as American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), with standardized specifications and test procedures for measuring high temperature properties of construction materials, is laid out.     

GaN nanorod Schottky and p-n junction diodes

Conductive atomic force microscopy has been used to characterize single GaN nanorod Schottky and p-n junction diodes. The ideality factor, reverse breakdown voltage, and the Schottky barrier height of individual nanorod diodes were compared to those from conventional thin-film diodes. Large-area contacts, enabling diodes with arrays of GaN nanorods in parallel, were also fabricated and their electrical characteristics investigated. The defect-free nature of the GaN nanorods and enhanced tunneling effects due to nanoscale contacts have been invoked to explain the electrical behavior of the nanorod diodes.     

Novel approach to the synthesis of core-shell particles by sacrificial polymer shell method

In this work a new approach has been developed for the synthesis of SiO₂@Y₂O₃ particles with core-shell structure. The method is based on the synthesis of a covalently bonded sacrificial polymer shell grown onto silica particles. It is suitable to promote and stabilize the adsorption of different ions, namely Yttrium from its nitrate solution. After calcination and consequent elimination of the sacrificial polymer shell, the SiO₂@Y₂O₃ core-shell particles are obtained. Results reveal that the shell thickness of these core-shell particles is higher and more uniform than that of particles prepared without sacrificial polymer shell.     

Graphene decoration with metal nanoparticles: towards easy integration for sensing applications

A simple and versatile method for the decoration of CVD grown graphene with metal nanoparticles is presented. The mechanism of nanoparticle formation is galvanic displacement resulting in physically adsorbed clusters. The single layer graphene obtained by this method can be easily transferred. Integration onto a gas sensing transducer is presented as proof of concept.     

Functionalization of Scanning Force Microscopy Cantilevers via Galvanic Displacement Technique

A galvanic displacement technique is used to coat silicon scanning force microscopy cantilevers with copper. The copper coating is characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning force microscopy, contact angle measurements, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. This coating technique results in uniform, reflective and conformal films and hence, no stress-induced bending of the cantilever is observed. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach for tribological studies, the coated cantilevers are chemically modified with alkanethiol monolayers in order to functionalize the cantilevers. The effect of changed surface energy are detected with adhesion measurements in water and ethanol.     

Robust stochastic moment control via genetic-pole placement in communication network parameter setting

In this paper, the problems of stochastic robust approximate covariance assignment and robust covariance feedback stabilization, which are applied to variable parameters of additive increase/multiplicative decrease (AIMD) networks, are considered. The main idea of the developed algorithm is to use the parameter settings of an AIMD network congestion control scheme, where parameters may assign the desired network’s window covariance, with respect to the current network conditions. The aim is to search for the optimal AIMD parameters of a feedback gain matrix such that the objective functions defined via appropriate robustness measures and covariance assignment constraints can be optimized using an adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA). It is shown that the results can be used to develop tools for analyzing the behavior of AIMD communication networks. Quality of service (QoS) and other performance measures of the network have been improved by using the proposed congestion control. The accuracy of the controller is demonstrated by using MATLAB and NS software programs.