Cognitive Mapping and Planning for Visual Navigation

International Journal of Computer Vision - We introduce a neural architecture for navigation in novel environments. Our proposed architecture learns to map from first-person views and plans a...     

Controlling Plastic Flow across Grain Boundaries in a Continuum Model

A framework for modeling controlled plastic flow through grain boundaries using a continuum plasticity theory, phenomenological mesoscopic field dislocation mechanics (PMFDM), is presented in this article. The developed tool is used to analyze the effect of different classes of constraints to plastic flow through grain boundaries, as it relates to dislocation microstructure development and mechanical response of a bicrystal. It is found that in the case of low misorientation angle between adjacent grains, impenetrable grain boundaries cause significant work hardening as compared to penetrable grain boundaries due to the accumulation of excess dislocations along them. However, a penetrable grain boundary with a high misorientation angle effectively behaves as an impenetrable boundary, with respect to the stress-strain response.     

Poly(ethyleneterephthalate) glycolysates as effective toughening agents for epoxy resin

The potential of poly(ethyleneterephthalate) glycolysates toward improving the energy absorption characteristics of cycloaliphatic epoxy resins has been explored. Microwave‐assisted glycolytic depolymerization of PET was performed in the presence of polyether diols of different molecular weights. The obtained glycolysates were blended with epoxy, and their mechanical properties were studied under both quasi‐static and dynamic conditions. Significant improvements were observed, which were found to depend both on the amount as well as nature of glycolysate. Amine functionalities were introduced at the terminal positions of glycolysates to improve the compatibility between the two phases. The amine derivatives exhibited superior performance and the Mode I fracture toughness (K_IC) of epoxy increased by ～18% in optimized compositions, which is indicative of its improved notch sensitivity. Neat epoxy specimens fractured in a brittle fashion, but all the blends exhibited ductile failure, as evidenced by surface morphological investigations. The mechanical properties of epoxy blends prepared with analogous aliphatic polyols, both before and after amine functionalization, were also studied which clearly reveal the beneficial role of aromatic groups toward improving the toughness of the base cycloaliphatic epoxy resin without compromising on the material stiffness. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39941.     

Chloroform Hydrodechlorination on Palladium Surfaces: A Comparative DFT Study on Pd(111), Pd(100), and Pd(211)

Topics in Catalysis - Palladium has been shown to be an effective catalyst for chloroform hydrodechlorination, which serves as a promising treatment method for industrial chloroform waste. To...     

Sensitivity Optimization of MEMS Based Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor for Harsh Environment

Silicon - Silicon carbide piezoresistive pressure sensor is more suitable for harsh environment due to its wide bandgap, corrosion tolerance, excellent chemical inertness, high Young’s...     

Quasistatic indentation of a rubber-covered roll by a rigid roll

The nonlinear elastic problem involving the indentation of a slightly compressible rubber-like layer bonded to a rigid cylinder and indented by another rigid cylinder is analysed by the finite element method. Both the geometric and material nonlinearities are accounted for. The finite element formulation of the problem is based upon a variational principle recently proposed by Cescotto and Fonder, and is valid for both slightly compressible and incompressible materials. The results computed and presented graphically include the shape of the indented surface, the pressure distribution over the contact surface, and the stress distribution at the bond surface. For the same contact width, the results for the compressible material are found to differ significantly from those for the case when the rubber-like layer is assumed to be incompressible.     

Magnetic particles for sugar separation from sulphuric acid solution generated during nano‐crystalline cellulose production

Nano‐crystalline cellulose (NCC) is a renewable material having different applications ranging from drug delivery to a reinforcing filling agent in polymer synthesis. Concentrated sulphuric acid is used to hydrolyze cellulosic biomass to obtain NCC. Manufacturers are keen to reuse the diluted acid solution left after the process. However, the presence of mono and oligosaccharides makes it unsuitable for repeated use. About 99 % of these compounds have been successfully separated from the acid solution by employing NaOH‐treated magnetic particles developed during this investigation. It has been observed that by NaOH treatment, zeta potential of the magnetic particles could be increased from +11 mV to +37.5 mV; correspondingly, sugar removal efficiency was increased from 23.04 % to more than 99 %. Thus a direct correlation between the change in zeta potential of the particles and sugar separation efficiency has been observed.