Effect of Environmental Exposure on the Fracture Properties of an Epoxy Adhesive

An experimental study was carried out about the effect of warm moisture on the fracture energy of an adhesive system formed by steel adherends joined by an epoxy adhesive. The specimens were double cantilever beams, manufactured with the open-face technique. The halves of the specimens (single beams covered by the “primary” adhesive layer) were degraded in a climatic cell at 50°C and 100% RH, for time periods in the range of 1–5 weeks. At the end of each desired period, the half-specimens were dried, to account for irreversible effects only, and the bonds were completed with the second halves.

Static fracture tests were carried out on an Instron 100 kN machine, monitoring crack propagation with a charge-coupled device microscope. The data were processed by means of the Simple Beam Theory to calculate the strain energy release rate and the R-curves were obtained. Similar trends were found for initial and steady critical strain energy release rates: compared to unexposed specimens, great part of the reduction (about ?50%, ?40%, respectively) occurred in the first week, stabilized values (about ?80%, ?60%) were observed after 3 weeks. The load-displacement curves decreased likewise. The fracture, mostly interfacial, followed a stepped crack path between the adherends.     

The Influence of Pre‐Electrospinning Plasma Treatment on Physicochemical Characteristics of PLA Nanofibers

Morphology, crystallinity, thermal, and mechanical properties of nanofibrous mats are known to highly affect the behavior of these materials in desired applications. In this study, multiple characteristics of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanofibrous mats prepared from plasma‐treated pre‐electrospinning solutions are studied as a function of various plasma operational parameters. X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and tensile tests are performed. In addition, the pristine and plasma‐treated PLA solutions are examined with size exclusion chromatography to study the effect of the conducted pre‐electrospinning plasma treatments (PEPT) on the molecular weight of PLA. Aging analysis of the pristine and plasma‐treated solutions is also performed by evaluating the viscosity, conductivity, surface tension, and pH during an aging period of 10 days. To investigate if the results are only affected by the plasma treatment or also affected by the electrospinning, pristine and plasma‐treated PLA cast layers are also analyzed. The results reveal that PEPT preserved the surface chemical composition of the nanofibers and the molecular weight distribution of PLA, while morphology and mechanical properties of the nanofibers are considerably enhanced. Moreover, plasma‐treated polymer solutions resulted in the formation of nicely elongated nanofibers up to 4 days after plasma treatment.     

Illustration of effective parameters on growth of ZnO micro/nano rods, on the borosilicate glass via hydrothermal process

Hexagonal micro/nanorods of ZnO were synthesized via mild hydrothermal growth method under different conditions. The growth of the rods was accomplished in two manners: firstly, on bare borosilicate glass, and secondly, on ZnO seed layer prepared by sol-gel spin coating process. All the obtained surfaces were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The studies demonstrate that, although with the decrease of concentration of precursor solution on bare borosilicate glass, the diameter of the rods decreases, but the orientation will deteriorate and the density of the rods will decrease. On the other hand, hydrothermal growth on the seed layer causes the decrease in the diameter of the rods, while maintaining the orientation along the c-axis; therefore, the presence of seed layer plays an important role in decreasing the diameter of the rods; so that at a constant concentration, compared with the case without seed layer, the diameter of rods decreased 10 times from approximately 500 nm to approximately 50 nm.     

Fuzzy Rule Based Models Modification by New Data: Application to Flood Flow Forecasting

Reconstruction and/or modification of an already existing fuzzy model with new data may improve system performances. As new data become available, adjusting the existing fuzzy rule-based model may present a challenging alternative to full model reconstruction. In this paper a fuzzy rule-based control model using a Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy system is presented and a model modification algorithm is developed which improves the performance of the initial model as new data become available. Proposed approach is applied to a flood flow forecasting case example and the results are compared with those forecasted using initially available and reconstructed models. Results show that the modified model outperforms the initial FRB model. Reconstructed model performs slightly better than the modified model; however, the reconstruction may not be justified in a real time flood forecasting system, considering the limitations on the available lead time.     

Rail-to-rail input/output operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) with high CMRR and PSRR

This paper introduces a low-voltage CMOS operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) with rail-to-rail input/output stages. Input stage uses floating gate transistors to realize rail-to-rail scheme. However, this scheme gives rise to reduction in transconductance of the OTA. To increase transconductance (G _m), an effective partial positive feedback is used. Class AB output stage is so designed that improves the gain, slew rate, common mode rejection ratio and maximum swing of the OTA. With ±0.75 v power supply, this OTA consumes the low power of 397.5?μw. G _m variation of input stage is 0.004% for rail-to-rail (±0.75 v) variation in common mode input signals and reaches to 0.036% beyond the rail-to-rail range (±1 v) which is a superior result compared with previously reported works. As is proved by theoretical relations and simulation results, proposed auxiliary circuit for rail-to-rail operation results in both high CMRR due to fixing common source node of input differential pair and high linearity due to attenuation of input signals. Simulation results show that CMRR in DC frequency is 259.5 dB and HD3 is ?46 dB for 2.15 v_P-P differential output voltage signal with applying a 0.48 v_P-P input signal at 1 MHz. Proposed OTA is simulated in TSMC 0.18 μm CMOS technology with Hspice. Monte Carlo simulation results are included to forecast mismatch effects after fabrication process.     

Chemical compositions of the marine algae Gracilaria salicornia (Rhodophyta) and Ulva lactuca (Chlorophyta) as a potential food source

BACKGROUND: The nutritional compositions of two edible red (Gracilaria salicornia) and green (Ulva lactuca) seaweeds were determined to evaluate their possible uses as potential food ingredients. RESULTS: In general, these species contained limited amounts of lipids ranging between 0.99 and 2.00 g 100 g^?1 dry weight) and considerably high amount of minerals, especially in G. salicornia (38.91 g 100 g^?1 d.w.). The crude protein values varied between 9.58 and 10.69 g 100 g^?1 d.w. Amounts for total amino acids were 889.78 ± 22.64 mg g^?1 protein d.w. in G. salicornia and 543.3 ± 15.14 mg g^?1 protein d.w. in U. lactuca. The most abundant fatty acids were C12:0, C16:0, C20:4 ω6 and C22:5 ω3, in addition to C18:1 in G. salicornia. Both seaweed species were balanced sources of ω3 and ω6 fatty acids with a ratio of ω6/ω3 that varied between 1.2 and 1.17. Between the seaweeds investigated, high levels of K (2414.02‐11 380.06 mg 100 g^?1 d.w.) were observed and the amounts of Ca, Na and Fe were higher than those reported for land plants. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, G. salicornia and U. lactuca may be utilised as value‐added products for human nutrition purposes. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effects of several starter cultures on the anti-mold activity and sensory attributes of a traditional flat bread (Sangak) from Iran

Effects of 8 different sourdoughs and their replacement levels at 10, 20, and 30%(w/w) on the volume (of dough), crust hardness, organoleptic, and anti-mold properties of Iranian sangak bread were investigated. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides were selected for the preparation of sourdough samples. The highest dough volume was achieved when sourdough (those having S. cerevisiae) was used at 30%. The highest taste scores were found with the bread sample using the above-mentioned starters at 30% sourdough replacement level. Considering the chewing, appearance, and overall quality of the new products, most of the samples maintained the favorite sensory aspects of sangak bread. Use of lactic acid bacteria and yeast strains as part of the sourdough formulation (followed by the use of sourdough in the dough formulation) resulted in improved crust properties and greater anti-mold activities.     

Energy consumption in greenhouses and selection of an optimized heating system with minimum energy consumption

In this paper, heat loss is precisely computed by a proposed code considering different climates. Estimating the costs of different central heating system, unit heaters were selected as the most feasible system. Finally, considering the heating capacity and unit heater's dimensions a computational fluid dynamics model was developed to find the optimized configuration of unit heaters in a typical greenhouse. Using this model, the required thermal load for a greenhouse based on the daily temperature of Arak city in 2017 was computed with a smart control system. It was found that savings in energy consumption were approximately 5447 m³ of natural gas each year.     

Effects of different filling media on the oxidation and lipid quality of canned silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)

The influence of four different filling media (sunflower oil, soybean oil, olive oil and brine) on the oxidation and lipid quality of canned silver carp was evaluated. Hydrolytic rancidity showed that free fatty acid contents in brine and soybean oil canned muscle were higher than olive oil or sunflower oil canned samples. Conjugated diene (CD) levels in soybean oil canned samples increased but the highest CD values were found in canned silver carp using brine as filling medium. Except for olive oil canned muscle, significant increase in thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values was obtained. The highest TBA value was observed in soybean oil canned sample. Canning led to exchange of fatty acids between the fat in the silver carp muscle and the filling media used. Results indicate that the fat composition of canned silver carp tends to be similar to that of the fat used as filling media.     

Effects of turmeric, shallot extracts, and their combination on quality characteristics of vacuum-packaged rainbow trout stored at 4 ± 1 °C

The effects of turmeric extract (T), shallot extract (Sh), and their combination (T + Sh) on the quality of vacuum-packaged rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were examined during refrigerated storage (4 ± 1 °C) over a period of 20 d. Fish samples were divided into 4 batches; 3 batches were treated by dipping for 30 min in aqueous solution of turmeric extract (1.5%; v/v), shallot extract (1.5%; v/v), or turmeric and shallot extract combination (1.5%+ 1.5% v/v), while the fourth batch was dipped in distilled water as a control sample. The control and the treated fish samples were analyzed periodically for microbiological (total viable count, psychrotrophic count), chemical (total volatile base nitrogen [TVB-N], peroxide value [PV], and thiobarbituric acid [TBA] value), and sensory characteristics. The results indicated that the effect of the T, Sh, and T + Sh on the fish samples were to enable the good quality characteristics to be retained longer and to extend the shelf life during the refrigerated storage.