Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline Barium Strontium Titanate powder via sol-gel processing

Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) solid solution is a strong candidate material for application in tunable ferroelectric devices. In this research, we have synthesized and characterized nanocrystalline BST (Ba_0.7Sr_0.3TiO₃) powder with average particle-diameter of 15 nm through a simple sol-gel process, using barium acetate, strontium acetate and titanium isopropoxide as the precursors. In this process, stoichiometric proportions of barium acetate and strontium acetate were dissolved in acetic acid followed by refluxing, and addition of titanium (IV) isopropoxide to form BST gel. The gel was analyzed using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). The as-formed gel was dried at 200 °C and then calcined in the temperature range of 400 to 800 °C for crystallization. Phase evolution during calcination was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. Particle size, morphology and the lattice fringes of the calcined powder were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). To study the effects of sintering on BST nanopowder, green ceramic specimens were prepared by uniaxial compaction and then sintered at 950–1,100 °C under atmospheric conditions. Sintered specimens were analyzed for phase composition, grain size and geometric bulk density.     

Polymer-supported heterogeneous titanium-based Ziegler-Natta catalyst for ethylene polymerization

Reported here in, is the synthesis of polystyrene (PS)-supported Ziegler–Natta catalyst (PS-TiCl₄) by the reaction of PS and titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄). PS was synthesized by emulsion polymerization using super critical CO₂ (sc-CO₂) as a medium. Three catalysts were synthesized by varying the TiCl₄/PS weight ratio in hexane medium. The resulting catalysts were characterized by Fourier transformed-infrared spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray detector, X-ray diffraction analysis. The acidity of the catalysts in an acetone/water solution was measured by pH meter. The thermogravimetric analysis reveals that catalysts are stable upto 150–180°C. Due to their higher degree of thermal stability these catalysts may potentially be used as a support in conventional Ziegler–Natta catalyst for ethylene polymerization. These catalysts also showed good storability and its overall catalytic productivity are found to be 3720 g PE/g Ti. The productivity of the catalysts also depended on the titanium concentration in the polymer matrix. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Bio-based elastomeric hyperbranched polyurethanes for shape memory application

The bio-based shape memory hyperbranched polyurethanes (HBPUs) have attracted tremendous attention both from academic and industrial researchers due to their strong potential in biomedical and other advanced applications. In the present investigation HBPUs have been synthesized from poly(??-caprolactone)diol as a macroglycol, butanediol as a chain extender, triethanolamine as a branch generating moiety, monoglyceride of Mesua ferrea L. seed oil as a bio-based chain extender, at different percentages and toluene diisocyanate by a two step one pot A₂?+?B₃ approach. The structure of the synthesized hyperbranched polyurethane was characterized by FTIR, ^IH NMR, XRD and SEM studies. ¹H NMR study indicates the formation of highly branched structure with degree of branching 0.93 for polyurethane with 5?wt% monoglyceride. TGA results indicated the increment of thermal stability from 185 to 240?°C with the increase of monoglyceride content from (0?C15) wt% for the HBPUs. The shape memory effect of the hyperbranched polyurethane increased with the increase of monoglyceride in the polymer. However, mechanical properties like tensile strength and elongation at break decreased from 19.31 to 11.48?MPa and 835 to 497%, respectively, with the increase in amount of bio-based component. Excellent impact strength and very good chemical resistance were also observed for the hyperbranched polymers. The studied bio-based HBPUs exhibit excellent shape fixity (95?C99)% as well as shape recovery 100%. Thus, the studied HBPUs have the potential to be used as advanced shape memory materials.     

Transient renal impairment in acute intracerebral haemorrhage

Transient impairment of renal function was found in 30 of 78 patients with acute intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). Patients with a history of renal disease, dehydration, nephrotoxic drugs or septicaemia were excluded. In the 1st week, the mean serum creatinine level was 3.4 (range 1.7-7.7) mg/dl, which returned to normal in 2-4 weeks. Employing multivariate stepdown logistic regression analysis, Glasgow Coma Scale score and pulse pressure were found to be significantly related to renal impairment manifesting with a raised serum creatinine level, whereas pupillary asymmetry was of borderline significance. An acute rise in intracranial pressure following ICH may result in sympathetic overactivity, which may account for the renal impairment observed in our patients.     

A New Total Variation Diminishing Predictor Corrector Approach for Two-Dimensional Shallow Water Flow

This paper presents a new efficient and robust hydrodynamic model for simulation of unsteady shallow water flow. The governing equations of shallow water flows in two dimensional forms are solved using a new total variation diminishing (TVD) MacCormack predictor corrector scheme. In this numerical technique an additional TVD term is added after the traditional predictor corrector steps. The advantage of the present TVD term is that it is very simple and gives accurate results at the same time removing the numerical oscillations. Further, application of semi implicit treatment of the friction slope term helps in flow simulation even with very low water depth. Finally the model is used to analyze a wide variety of hydraulic problems including quiescent water above irregular bed, steady flow over irregular bed, steady flow over irregular bed with a shock, dam break flow over dry bed and dam break flow over wet bed. For each of the cases numerical results are compared with available analytical solution and known experimental data. The agreements between the results are satisfactory.     

Mullite corundum refractories for out-furnace working and continuous casting of steel

Conclusions The Zaporozhe refractories factory has set up the industrial manufacture of mullite-corundum tubes using a technology developed by the Ukrainian Institute of Refractories together with the factory. The tubes are designed for continuous casting of steel and blowing it in the ladle at the Azovstal' Factory.Following improvements in the production method and increases in the resistance of the goods, it was possible to reduce the specific consumptions, and this gave a saving annually of 88,600 rubles.Translated from Ogneupory, No. 1, pp. 11–15, January, 1981.