Resistance of exterior three-dimensional walls to high velocity projectiles

There have been a number of recent civilian deaths due to ammunition from commonly used firearms penetrating exterior walls of residential, public, and commercial buildings. Experimental research was conducted to study the behavior of three-dimensional (3D) exterior walls when subjected to high velocity projectiles or bullets fired from a variety of firearms of different calibers. Four types of firearms were used, namely, a 9 mm gun, a 0.357 Magnum gun, an M16 machine gun, and a 7.62 Clashin Koff machine gun. The size of chips and the depth of penetrations produced by the fired bullets are documented and discussed. It was found that none of the fired bullets penetrated the two reinforced concrete layers of the exterior wall. In conclusion, 3D exterior walls provide an acceptable level of protection from ammunition fired from commonly used firearms.     

Cascaded waste‐heat recovery as a green technology for energy sustainability in power generation

In this work, the Cascaded waste‐heat recovery (WHR) is analyzed from the thermodynamic point of view. Typically, WHR is most effective with small gas turbines and old machines which have a relatively higher design mass flow per kW and higher exhaust temperatures than new designs. The working fluid used in the WHR technology is propane, which vaporizes and condenses at low temperatures. The temperature of the heat source, the outlet pressure of the two expanders, and the mass flow rate of the working fluid are assumed as working variables of the technology. The effect of these variables on the thermal efficiency and power output is evaluated. The obtained results are analyzed and discussed. The results of the calculation are also compared with similar published studies. The overall efficiency considering the gas turbine upstream ranges from about 35% up to 39%. The highest efficiency and power output of the WHR alone at 900 K heat source temperature, 800 kPa condenser pressure, and 100 kg/s mass‐flow rate are 30% and 18 MW, respectively, for two‐expander WHR, and 18% and 9 MW, respectively, for single expander WHR. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental characterization of the small strain shear modulus of soft clay stabilized with cement and nano-SiO2 using bender element tests

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - The accurate and efficient modification of the static and dynamic properties of problematic soils is a primary concern in geotechnical...     

Multi-level cross-layer protocol for end-to-end delay provisioning in wireless multimedia sensor networks

Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering - Rapid developments in information and communication technology in recent years have posed a significant challenge in wireless...     

Distributed data-driven observer for linear time invariant systems

This paper is concerned with distributed data-driven observer design problem. The existing data-driven observers rely on a common assumption that all the information about the system, and the calculations based upon this information are centralized. Therefore the resulting algorithms cannot be applied to the distributed systems in which each local observer receives only a part of the output signal. On the other hand, traditional model-based distributed state estimation methods generally assume that the processes are decomposed according to the known process models, while in data-driven approaches there is no such information available. The main goal of this paper is to extend the centralized data-driven observer design approach to the distributed framework. The stability of the proposed data-driven distributed observer is also proved analytically. A quadruple-tank process is simulated to demonstrate the performance of the proposed scheme.     

Controlled release of fluorouracil (5-FU) from chitosan-co-poly(ethylene glycol)/ poly(glycerol sebacate)-co-poly(ethylene glycol)-coated iron oxide

A blend of polyglycerol sebacate-poly ethylene glygol/chitosan-poly ethylene glycol-coated iron oxide (PGS-PEG/CS-PEG@Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles for 5FU delivery was prepared by reverse ultrasonic emulsification method. To enhance polymers’ solubility, PEG was grafted. Chemical characterization was performed through Fourier transformed infrared and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. In vitro assay revealed that release profile of 5FU-loaded PGS-PEG/CS-PEG@Fe₃O₄ is sustained. Moreover, cytotoxicity was analyzed on HT29 cell line at the presence of external magnetic field using the lactate dehydrogenase and Alamar Blue. Results illustrate that (PGS-PEG/CS-PEG@Fe₃O₄) is promising to use as a carrier for 5FU anticancer agent with sustained tailored release.