Ammoxidation activity of in situ synthesized ammonium salt of molybdophosphoric acid on VOPO4 catalysts

Two isomorphous VOPO₄ samples were synthesized by means of well-known aqueous and organic preparation methods. These materials are further used for the in situ generation of ammonium salt of 12-molybdophosphoric acid (AMPA) from their solid phase phosphate components. Formation of AMPA was confirmed by XRD, FTIR, Raman and XPS analyses. The activity of the catalysts was tested in a fixed bed tubular glass reactor at atmospheric pressure for the selective ammoxidation of 2-methylpyrazine (MP) to 2-cyanopyrazine (CP). The reaction was carried out in the temperature range of 360–420 °C. Between the two mono-phosphates tested, the α-VOPO₄ is observed to show somewhat better activity compared to β-VOPO₄. Interestingly, in situ synthesized AMPA catalysts displayed significantly better performance compared to their corresponding parent VOPO₄ solids. Among all catalysts tested, AMPA-α-VOPO₄ exhibited the best performance (conversion (MP) = ca. 90%, selectivity (CP) = 65% at T = 420 °C). The differences in catalytic performance of the tested catalysts are ascribed to the structural differences of the used VOPO₄ solids.     

A new configuration of two-level 48-pulse VSCs based STATCOM for voltage regulation

In this paper, a new configuration of STATCOM (Static Compensator) with constant DC link voltage is proposed for the voltage regulation. The proposed STATCOM consists of eight sets of two-level double-way Voltage Source Converters (VSCs). Each double-way VSC consists of two six-pulse VSCs connected through an open winding transformer unit. The phase-angle difference between these two VSCs is varied for the reactive power control. The proposed STATCOM model is developed using MATLAB/Simulink, SimPowerSystems (SPS) toolboxes and dynamic performance is studied for the change in the reference reactive power, the terminal voltage reference and voltage control under switching on an inductive and a capacitive loads. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the voltage regulation capability of the STATCOM under these conditions.     

Silica-free sealing glass for sodium-beta alumina battery

A CaO-Bi₂O₃-Al₂O₃-B₂O₃ glass system was studied as a sealant for sodium-sulfur battery. The thermal properties such as thermal expansion coefficient, glass transition, and softening temperature were determined by dilatometry and differential scanning calorimetry. Selected glasses, based on the thermal properties, were bonded with α-alumina substrate followed by aging in air at 400°C for 100 hours and in sodium vapor at 350°C for 100 hours. The interfacial compatibility and resistance to sodium vapor corrosion of the bonded and aged samples were evaluated by structural and microstructural analysis using X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) attached with energy dispersive spectroscope (EDS). Helium leakage test was performed at room temperature to examine the sealing ability of the select glass. It is found that Bi₂O₃ increases the thermal expansion coefficient, decreases the glass transition and softening temperature, shows excellent interfacial compatibility and thermal cycling resistance, improves sealing ability, and degrades sodium corrosion resistance.     

A Novel Approach for Minimization of Tool Vibration and Surface Roughness in Orthogonal Turn Milling of Silicon Bronze Alloy

Silicon - The advanced manufacturing system is aimed to produce components at right quantity, quality and cost. Turnmilling is one of the advanced machining techniques that combines turning and...     

Numerical investigation of a convective hybrid nanofluids around a rotating sheet

Hybrid nanofluids are formulated with various kinds of base fluids. They are designed to provide good heat transfer performance. They can achieve this by dispersing various kinds of nanoparticles in the base materials. This new technology of formulating hybrid nanofluids has a wide range of applications in various industries such as solar energy, medical equipment, and aerospace. Keeping these applications in view, this study provides an insight into the effects of convective heat transport on a Hybrid nanofluid, across a rotating sheet with a variable heat source. In this investigation, the governing boundary layer partial differential equations were modified into the ordinary differential equations, by using the proper similarity transformations. Later, they were solved numerically, with the support of the Lobatto IIIA technique in MATLAB. The influence of the Richardson number on flow parameters was studied, and it was discovered that increasing Ri increases the velocity while decreasing temperature and concentration profiles. The impact of various other flow parameters on the flow fields and also on the behavior of Nusselt number, coefficient skin friction, and Sherwood number were studied and represented graphically. The outcomes were found to be in excellent accord when compared with quoted studies.     

Influence of cerium oxide additive and aloe vera biodiesel on a CI engine

Diesel is the main source of world transportation due to higher combustion efficiency, compliance, consistency and cost-economy. It is also a major contributor to the world prosperity since it is used extensively. Diesel engine’s emissions are the serious hazard to the world environment and it is measured to be the major causes of air pollution. The demand in biofuels for years created a scope for aloe vera into biodiesels. Aloe vera, having higher calorific value vnthan other plant sources used as biodiesels, enhanced us in making another alternative biodiesel, which has lesser emissions and better performance. In this research work, four biodiesel blends from aloe vera oil with cerium oxide additive are explored for their performance and emission characteristics. The results proved B30 (30% biodiesel, 68% diesel and 1% cerium oxide) gives good performance when compared to other blends.     

Closed-Form Analysis of Various Diversity Techniques for Multiband OFDM UWB System Over Log-Normal Fading Channels

Wireless Personal Communications - In this paper, we investigate the effect of multipath fading on the combined signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in conjunction with multiband orthogonal frequency...     

Self‐assembled centimetre‐sized rods obtained in the oxidation of o‐phenylenediamine and aniline

Morphologically well‐defined rods of approximately 1 cm in length are effectively and economically obtained by mixing ortho‐phenylenediamine (30 mmol L^?1) with ammonium persulfate (12.5 mmol L^?1) in an acidic solution (0.37 mol L^?1 HCl) at room temperature with and without the presence of 50 mmol L^?1 aniline. These self‐assembled, morphologically uniform products can be potentially scaled up and used as morphological templates to fabricate well‐defined structures of other materials such as conducting polymers. The products were characterized using Raman, UV‐visible, high‐resolution NMR (¹H and ¹³C) and mass spectroscopies, X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and elemental analysis. Apart from certain differences in visual appearance and in X‐ray diffractograms, other analytical data suggest that there are no structural changes upon addition of aniline into the reaction mixture. NMR and mass spectra imply that all syntheses carried out either with or without aniline result in a mixture of two products, attributed to 2,3‐phenazinediamine and 3‐aminophenazin‐2‐ol. A formation mechanism based on hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking has been proposed. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry     

Assessment of the effect of residual stresses in elastic-plastic fracture of dissimilar welded components

Residual stresses in welds pose a significant threat to the structural integrity of a component, especially in the presence of defects and are required to be accounted for in assessing component safety. Although the R6 assessment procedure suggests various approximate methods for incorporating these effects in defect assessment, most of them are overly conservative and not very cost-effective. A more reliable approach is to characterise the weld residual stresses around a defect and study how they interact with primary load. The current paper analyses the effects of weld residual stresses on the fracture of a dissimilar weld in the presence of defect. The weld is made between modified 9Cr–1Mo steel and 316LN stainless steel using autogenous electron beam welding. A C(T) specimen was extracted from the centre of the weld and a crack introduced in the fusion zone using electro-discharge machining. The residual stresses around the crack were measured on a grid of measurement points at mid-thickness of the C(T) specimen using neutron diffraction on the strain diffractometer SALSA at ILL, Grenoble. The measured residual stresses around the crack-tip were incorporated into a finite element model and the interaction of these with applied load was predicted under fracture.