Interdiffusion in PbIn thin film couples

Interdiffusion in PbIn thin film couples has been examined by an X-ray diffraction technique. Initial results indicate that the interdiffusion in such couples is significantly faster than that expected from reported bulk data.     

Studies on the reduction of hematite by carbon

Single pellet experiments have been carried out in a nitrogen atmosphere to study the reduction of hematite by graphite in the temperature range 925 to 1060°C. The effect of variables such as c/Fe₂O₃ molar ratio, pellet size, and so forth, has been investigated. Gas analysis data show a continuous decrease in CO₂/CO ratio during reduction, the values being far away from Fe/FeO equilibrium for wustite reduction by CO. The activation energies associated with different degrees of reduction appear to be widely different suggesting a possible changeover in reaction mechanism during the progress of reduction. X-ray diffraction studies confirm the stepwise nature of hematite reduction. Formerly Research Scholar in the Department of Metallurgy, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560012, India,     

The functional approach in biology

The concepts of structural and functional approaches are analysed. The existence of a logical limit to the domain of applicability of the structural approach is indicated. Some sources of possible failure of the structural method in biology are pointed out. Two fundamental characteristics of biological systems, inductive development and inductive functioning, necessitating the functional approach are discussed.     

Determination of mixing time in BOF process by a cold model study

Mixing time in a BOF process has been studied using a 1/14 water-air model. The study shows that for a simulated cold model, mixing time is independent of jet Froude number. For a partially simulated model, mixing time was found to be inversely proportional to square root of bath height to diameter ratio. This is in agreement with the similarity condition.     

Novel voltage/current-mode quadrature oscillator using current differencing transconductance amplifier

This letter proposes a new realization of voltage/current-mode (CM) quadrature oscillator (QO) using Current Differencing Transconductance Amplifier (CDTA) as the active element. The proposed circuit employs canonic number of components, namely two CDTAs, one resistor and two grounded capacitors. The oscillator is capable of providing two explicit quadrature current outputs and two quadrature voltage outputs. Moreover, the circuit enjoys the advantage of independent control of condition of oscillation (CO) and frequency of oscillation (FO). The non-ideal analysis and sensitivity study of the circuit has been carried out and the circuit exhibits a good sensitivity performance. B2SPICE simulation results are included that validate the working of the circuit.     

Process modeling and optimization of industrial ethylene oxide reactor by integrating support vector regression and genetic algorithm

This article presents an artificial intelligence‐based process modeling and optimization strategies, namely support vector regression–genetic algorithm (SVR‐GA) for modeling and optimization of catalytic industrial ethylene oxide (EO) reactor. In the SVR‐GA approach, an SVR model is constructed for correlating process data comprising values of operating and performance variables. Next, model inputs describing process operating variables are optimized using Genetic Algorithm (GAs) with a view to maximize the process performance. The GA possesses certain unique advantages over the commonly used gradient‐based deterministic optimization algorithms The SVR‐GA is a new strategy for chemical process modeling and optimization. The major advantage of the strategies is that modeling and optimization can be conducted exclusively from the historic process data wherein the detailed knowledge of process phenomenology (reaction mechanism, kinetics, etc.) is not required. Using SVR‐GA strategy, a number of sets of optimized operating conditions leading to maximized EO production and catalyst selectivity were obtained. The optimized solutions when verified in actual plant resulted in a significant improvement in the EO production rate and catalyst selectivity.     

Separation of trace level hafnium from tungsten: a step toward solving an astronomical puzzle

182Hf (T(1/2) = 9 x 10(6) y) is believed to be formed by pure r-process during a supernova explosion, and therefore, the search for minute traces of 182Hf in the earth's crust is of great interest. Only accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is well suited for detecting such low levels of 182Hf. But any attempt to measure 182Hf by AMS must ensure that the sample is free from its naturally occurring stable isobar 182W. A simple method for separation of tungsten and hafnium has been developed using radiometric simulation followed by checking the decontamination of tungsten from Hf in a synthetic sample by AMS. The separation studies were performed by a liquid-liquid extraction technique using tri-n-octylamine (TOA) as the organic reagent. It has been found that a very high separation factor (1.6 x 10(6)) can be achieved when 0.3 M TOA diluted in cyclohexane is used as the organic phase and 6 M HCl (in the presence of small amount of H2O2) is used as the aqueous phase.