A comparative study on the effects of Coriolus versicolor on properties of HDPE/wood flour/paper sludge composites

In this study, the effects of white-rot fungus (Coriolus versicolor) on the properties of high density polyethylene (HDPE)/wood flour/paper sludge composites were examined. In addition, the effectiveness of using coupling agent on the durability of decayed and undecayed WPCs was investigated. Two different types of sludge materials, namely paper making waste water sludge (PS) and ink-eliminated sludge (IES) were used. The mechanical properties, morphology, and water absorption of fabricated composites were investigated. At a similar wood flour loading, except for modulus of elasticity, the fungi treated composites showed lower mechanical properties (such as modulus of rupture and unnotched Izod impact strength), and higher water absorption compared to untreated composites. According to the results, addition of wood flour decreased the resistance of the composites to moisture and fungal environment. The exposure of the composites to a 4-cycle (2, 24, 48 and 72 h) water immersion caused serious damage to the interfacial adhesion between wood flour and polymer matrix due to contraction and swelling stresses developed during the cyclic exposure. The detrimental effect of fungal treatment on the water uptake of the composites could be explained by the degradation of lignin which made the cellulose content more accessible. Further, it makes chains of cavities that accelerate water absorption. However, the weight losses of all cases of treated composites were low (less than 2.5%), while PS filled composites were more susceptible to white-rot fungi. The addition of coupling agent during the compounding of wood flour and HDPE prevented the colonization and proliferation of fungus on the surface of the composites, and had an advantageous effect on the water uptake and mechanical properties of both treated and untreated composites.     

Airflow and pollutant transport in street canyons

In this work the dispersion of gaseous and particulate exhaust emissions in different street canyons were studied. For two-dimensional sections of canyon models airflow, pollutant dispersion and deposition patterns in the streets and on the surrounding buildings were analyzed. Effects of building size, street width, and wind velocity on the pollutant transport were examined. While the stress transport turbulence models were used in most of the analysis, the predictions of other turbulence models were also examined. Depending on wind speed, building height, and street width, it was found that large recirculation regions in canyons might form. Under certain conditions, also pollutants emitted from vehicle exhaust may trap inside the street canyon. Variations of transport and deposition of emitted particulate pollutants with particle size and relaxation time were also studied. It was shown that the amount of deposited particles in street canyons reduces when the wind speed increases. The simulation results were compared with the available wind tunnel experiments and favorable agreement was found.     

Optimized particle engineering of fluticasone propionate and salmeterol xinafoate by spray drying technique for dry powder inhalation

Asthma is one of the most common respiratory diseases that can be efficiently managed through combined treatment of fluticasone propionate (FP) and salmeterol xinafoate (SX). In this study, we challenged the use of both spray drying and mixing techniques in sequential combination of lactose or mannitol with FP and SX as two steps in development of inhalable powder formulation of the drugs. Leucine was used as a dispersibility enhancer. The formulations were optimized using the Design-Expert software. The effects of three independent variables namely the type of carrier, percentage of spray-dried carrier and the amount of leucine were investigated on in vitro deposition. The results showed that the maximum fine particle fraction (FPF) and the minimum particle size was belonged to formulation in which the percentage of leucine was 20% with respect to the total solid content and 50% of mannitol was used during spray drying, while the remaining 50% of it was applied in the physical mixing process. This study showed that not only the choice of carrier and additives for every drug combination, but also an optimized ratios of them during both spray drying and physical mixing can be crucial in developing suitable inhalable dry powder formulations.     

A synthesis of fluid and thermal transport models for metal foam heat exchangers

Metal foam heat exchangers have considerable advantages in thermal management and heat recovery over several commercially available heat exchangers. In this work, the effects of micro structural metal foam properties, such as porosity, pore and fiber diameters, tortuosity, pore density, and relative density, on the heat exchanger performance are discussed. The pertinent correlations in the literature for flow and thermal transport in metal foam heat exchangers are categorized and investigated. Three main categories are synthesized. In the first category, the correlations for pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient based on the microstructural properties of the metal foam are given. In the second category, the correlations are specialized for metal foam tube heat exchangers. In the third category, correlations are specialized for metal foam channel heat exchangers. To investigate the performance of the foam filled heat exchangers in comparison with the plain ones, the required pumping power to overcome the pressure drop and heat transfer rate of foam filled and plain heat exchangers are studied and compared. A performance factor is introduced which includes the effects of both heat transfer rate and pressure drop after inclusion of the metal foam. The results indicate that the performance will be improved substantially when a metal foam is inserted in the tube/channel.     

Utilization of a very high lime fly ash for improvement of Izmir clay

This paper presents an investigation into the stabilization of a soft clay subgrade of a military zone in Izmir, Turkey with a very high lime fly ash. Zero%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% (m/m) of the soil was replaced with fly ash. In addition to the control specimen, four different stabilized soil samples were prepared mixing fly ash with soil at optimum water contents determined by standard proctor test. Experiments lasted for 3 months and the unconfined compressive strength and shear strength parameters, cohesion and internal friction angle, were determined after 1, 7, 28 and 90 days. It was found that, inclusion of fly ash improved the properties of the soil. The improvements, appearing with increasing fly-ash content, were attributed to the pozzolanic reaction and pore refinement effect of fly ash as well as its high free-lime content.     

Thermo-economic optimization of rooftop unit’s evaporator coil for energy efficiency and thermal comfort

In this paper, the optimization-simulation approach is proposed to investigate energy saving potential of an air-cooled direct expansion rooftop package air conditioning system by refining the model of the HVAC system components and deriving optimal configuration for evaporator coil subject to technical constraints. In this method the frontal area of the evaporator coil is maintained as constant and the variation of other geometrical parameters on the thermal and economical performance of the system is investigated. An actual air-cooled rooftop package of a real-world commercial building in hot and dry climate conditions is used for experimental data collection. Both inputs and outputs are measured from the field monitoring in two summer weeks. Based on the mathematical models and using collected data, modules incorporating the proposed optimal redesign procedure were embedded in a transient simulation tool. A mixed heuristic- deterministic optimization algorithm was implemented in the transient tool to determine the synthesis and design variables that influence the cost and energy efficiency of each configuration. Available experimental results were compared to predicted results to validate the model. Afterwards, the computer model was used to predict how changes in cooling coil geometry would affect the building thermal comfort, the cost and energy consumption of the system.     

Fabrication and magnetic study of Co/Pt multilayer nanowires and Co–Pt alloy nanowires electrodeposited into porous Si substrates

In this work, we grow composite structures consisting of magnetic and non-magnetic metal or alloy nanowires electrodeposited into the ion etched tracks previously created inside Si substrates. The holes are then filled by Co–Pt alloys and Co/Pt multilayers using electrodeposition technique making a large number of parallel nanowires. This process takes place in a single electrolyte containing Co⁺² and Pt⁺⁴ ions by applying a proper deposition potential using a computer control potentiostat. The magnetic properties of the sample were studied using vibrating sample magnetometer. Magnetoresistive behaviour of the nanowire samples was then studied by subjecting the samples to an external magnetic field. The results show that the Co/Pt multilayered nanowires exhibit a large magnetoresistance, while the Co–Pt alloys only show anisotropic magnetoresistance. This result could be of a great interest for the sensor fabrication community as they will provide a view on a very important direction of the development of the wide spread sensor industry, and more importantly for understanding the physical phenomena underlying the magnetic/non-magnetic nanostructures.     

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy.

The purpose of the this article is to describe an emerging neuroimaging technology, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRs), which has several attributes that make it possible to conduct neuroimaging studies of the cortex in clinical offices and under more realistic, ecologically valid parameters. fNIRs use near-infrared light to measure changes in the concentration of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin in the cortex. Although fNIR imaging is limited to the outer cortex, it provides neuroimaging that is safe, portable, and very affordable relative to other neuroimaging technologies. It is also relatively robust to movement artifacts and can readily be integrated with other technologies such as EEG.