Synthesis of polyaniline based composite material and its analytical applications for the removal of highly toxic Hg<Superscript>2+</Superscript> metal ion: Antibacterial activity against <Emphasis Type="Italic">E. coli</Emphasis>

A composite material polyaniline-Zr(IV) phosphoborate (PZPB) was synthesized via sol-gel method by the combination of Zr(IV) phosphoborate and polyaniline. The PZPB composite material was characterized by various analytical techniques. The PZPB composite material was found to be selective for Hg²⁺+ metal ion due to the high distribution coefficient values for Hg²⁺+ metal ion in all mediums. The PZPB composite material was used for Hg²⁺+ removal under different experimental conditions. The antibacterial activity of PZPB composite material was also studied against E. coli.     

Electro‐membrane reactor for the conversion of lysine monohydrochloride to lysine by in situ ion substitution and separation

BACKGROUND: Commercially lysine (Lys) is produced as lysine monohydrochloride (LysCl). The presence of chloride ion (Cl^?) in Lys makes it unfit for use in pharmaceutical and livestock feed industries. Various separation methods are required to achieve Lys from fermentation broths. This paper describes an electro‐membrane reactor with three compartments (EMR‐3) for the conversion of LysCl into Lys by in situ ion substitution and separation. RESULTS: The conversion of LysCl into Lys in EMR‐3 is achieved by in situ ion substitution and separation using organic‐inorganic hybrid anion‐exchange membrane (AEM). It is found that the rate of Lys formation is dependent on applied current densities and LysCl concentration. The 96.2% Lys is recovered and low energy (2.07 kWh kg^?1) is consumed during the conversion of 0.10 mol L^?1 LysCl in EMR‐3 at 10 mA cm^?2. Moreover, high current efficiency (93.02%) is achieved under the similar experimental conditions. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of process parameters (high Lys recovery and CE and low W), it is concluded that the developed electro‐membrane reactor can be efficiently applied for the conversion of LysCl into Lys in an economically viable manner. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Ontology-based state representations for intention recognition in human–robot collaborative environments

In this paper, we describe a novel approach for representing state information for the purpose of intention recognition in cooperative human–robot environments. States are represented by a combination of spatial relationships in a Cartesian frame along with cardinal direction information. This approach is applied to a manufacturing kitting operation, where humans and robots are working together to develop kits. Based upon a set of predefined high-level state relationships that must be true for future actions to occur, a robot can use the detailed state information described in this paper to infer the probability of subsequent actions occurring. This would allow the robot to better help the human with the task or, at a minimum, better stay out of his or her way.     

Organic–Inorganic Composite Material Polyaniline Ce(IV) molybdate: Thermal and Room Temperature Electrical Conductivity Measurement Studies

An electrically conducting ‘organic–inorganic’ composite material polyaniline Ce(IV) molybdate was prepared by incorporating electrically conducting polymer, i.e., polyaniline into inorganic precipitate of polyvalent metal acid salts i.e., Ce(IV) molybdate. The temperature dependence of electrical conductivity of this composite system with increasing temperatures was measured on compressed pellets by using a 4-in-line-probe dc electrical conductivity-measuring instrument. The values of conductivity lies in the semiconductor region, i.e., they are of the order of 10⁻⁵–10⁻² S cm⁻¹ and obey the Arrhenius equation. The thermal stability of this composite material in terms of dc electrical conductivity retention was studied under isothermal and cyclic techniques and electrical conductivity of composite was found to be sufficiently stable under ambient temperature conditions. The dependence of the electrical conductivity prepared with different concentrations of aniline monomers, on the concentration of conducting phases i.e., polyaniline was showed that electrical conductivity increase followed the percolation threshold.     

Towards the design and development of a knowledge-based universal modular jigs and fixtures system

Jigs and fixtures are one of the important aspects of manufacturing. Parts may have different sets of fixturing requirements and call for different design strategies. Although there are numerous possibilities for fixture designs, a few basic configurations are clearly identifiable. Computer aided design (CAD) has done a little in assisting designers to design jigs and fixtures, making decisions of the best design selection, and providing designers with suggestions. The goal of this paper is to develop and document the design parameters and specifications utilized in jigs and fixtures design using universal modular jigs and fixtures design system (UMJFS). This is the first step to develop a knowledge-based Jigs and Fixture design and selection system. This application has the advantages of making the fixture design information completely modular and transparent, providing better match to the working conditions, reducing lead-time, and generally providing a significant enhancement of fixture productivity and economy. UMJFS has different standard and modular elements. This makes jigs and fixtures elements interchangeable and reusable. Designing a UMJFS then becomes a task of selecting and assembling the proper elements together.     

Automatic quadrilateral/triangular free-form mesh generation for planar regions

Automation of finite element mesh generation holds great benefits for mechanical product development and analysis. In addition to freeing engineers from mundane tasks, automation of mesh generation reduces product cycle design and eliminates human-related errors. Most of the existing mesh generation methods are either semi-automatic or require specific topological information. A fully automatic free-form mesh generation method is described in this paper to alleviate some of these problems. The method is capable of meshing singly or multiply connected convex/concave planar regions. These regions can be viewed as crosssectional areas of 2 1/2 D objects analysed as plane stress, plane strain or axisymmetric stress problems. In addition to being fully automatic, the method produces quadrilateral or triangular elements with aspect rations near one. Moreover, it does not require any topological constraints on the regions to be meshed; i.e. it provides free-form mesh generation. The input to the method includes the region's boundary curves, the element size and the mesh grading information. The method begins by decomposing the planar region to be meshed into convex subregions. Each subregion is meshed by first generating nodes on its boundaries using the input element size. The boundary nodes are then offset to mesh the subregion. The resulting meshes are merged together to form the final mesh. The paper describes the method in detail, algorithms developed to implement it and sample numerical examples. Results on parametric studies of the method performance are also discussed.     

To disassemble or not: a computational methodology for decision making

Environmentally conscious manufacturing is an important paradigm in today’s industrial practices and disassembly is a crucial factor in implementing this paradigm. Disassembly allows the reuse and recycling of parts and products that reach their “death” after their life cycle ends. There are many questions that must be answered before a disassembly decision can be reached. The most important question is economical. The cost of disassembly versus the cost of scrapping a product is always considered. This paper develops a computational methodology that allows decision-makers to calculate the disassembly cost of a product before it is built. The methodology makes it simple to perform “what if” scenarios fairly quickly. A Java based application has been developed to implement this methodology and it uses computational algorithms and a graphical user interface to enable designers to simulate product designs. The front end user interface is a Java based application while the back-end is the combination of a data parser and disassembly engine, which also makes use of Java and XML technologies. The disassembly engine performs calculations based on data represented in an XML data store and runs as the back-end component of the computational tools. The user interface has the ability to display a dynamically configurable disassembly tree. The disassembly knowledge is represented in XML format to allow robust and scalable parsing and processing of the various disassembly alternatives that correspond to the configurable disassembly tree. Examples are presented to demonstrate the implementation and capabilities of the computational design methodology presented in this paper. Received: March 2005 / Accepted: January 2006     

Miscibility study of poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(methyl methacrylate‐co‐4‐vinylpyridine) by viscosimetry,DSC, and FTIR

The miscibility of the poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(methylmethacrylate) system were improved by introducing pyridine units into poly(methylmethacrylate) main. For this purpose, we have synthesized through a radical polymerization a series of methylmethacrylate‐co‐vinyl‐4‐pyridine copolymers of different compositions and carried out a comparative study by viscosimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) methods. The viscosimetric analysis using the Krigbaum‐Wall, K. K. Chee, and Compos approaches revealed that, the Poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(methylmethactylate‐co‐4‐vinylpyridine)(PVC/MMA4VP‐15) at 15 wt % of 4‐vinylpyridine systems in tetrahydrofuran are completely miscible in all proportions. The differential scanning calorimetry analysis confirmed the miscibility of these systems in all proportions by the appearance of only one glass transition temperature between those of the two pure constituents. The Kwei and Schneider approaches showed also the miscibility of this system, which is due to the specific interactions between the acidic hydrogen atom of PVC and the nitrogen of MMA4VP‐15. The use of FTIR method has confirmed the occurrence of this kind of interactions by broadening and shifting of the involved functional groups vibration bands. In this work, we have also carried out a preliminary test of sorption of THF aqueous solution by PVC and PVC/MMA4VP‐15 blend membranes. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Characterization of composite materials based on LDPE loaded with agricultural tunisian waste

This study investigated the use of an available agricultural Tunisian vine stem waste as a filler material. Composites of green materials were prepared using vine stems as filler and low density polyethylene (LDPE) as a matrix. A series of composite films was prepared by different loadings of the vine stem waste with 10–50% of the filler in 10% intervals. The ensuing materials were characterized by several techniques. The morphology of the composites was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal and mechanical properties were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), respectively. The results indicated that vine‐stem based particles enhanced the thermo‐mechanical properties of the thermoplastic matrix and demonstrated that this available lignocellulosic biomass of vine stems can be considered to be a promising filler material. However, the obtained result of water absorption indicated that the maximum limit of the filler content should not exceed 30% of vine stems. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:817–824, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Automatic three-dimensional finite element mesh generation via modified ray casting

Three-dimensional (3-D) finite element mesh generation has been the target of automation due to the complexities associated with generating and visualizing the mesh. A fully automatic 3-D mesh generation method is developed. The method is capable of meshing CSG solid models. It is based on modifying the classical ray-casting technique to meet the requirements of mesh generation. The modifications include the utilization of the element size in the casting process, the utilization of 3-D space box enclosures, and the casting of ray segments (rays with finite length). The method begins by casting ray segments into the solid. Based on the intersections between the segments and the solid boundary, the solid is discretized into cells arranged in a structure. The cell structure stores neighbourhood relations between its cells. Each cell is meshed with valid finite elements. Mesh continuity between cells is achieved via the neighbourhood relations. The last step is to process the boundary elements to represent closely the boundary. The method has been tested and applied to a number of solid models. Sample examples are presented.