Oscillation Test Strategy: A Case Study

In this paper is proposed as a case study the test of a folded cascode operational amplifier using the Oscillation Test Strategy (OTS). This Operational Amplifier (OPA) is chosen in order to evaluate the ability of OTS to test a more complex amplifier than those previously reported. To obtain comparative results, three different types of single-OPA oscillators are employed.A catastrophic-fault injection procedure is carried out using SPICE. In all oscillators, simulation results show that the fault coverage obtained is lower than those previously obtained by many researchers for simpler amplifiers. This fact suggests that OTS might be inconvenient for applications using the OPA targeted in this work and requiring high fault coverage.     

Transmission Electron Microscopy and Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy Characterization of Glass Phase in Sol-Gel-Derived Mullite

Sol-gel-derived mullite ceramics were processed by pressureless sintering at 1600°, 1650°, and 1700°C for 4 h. Microstructural and microchemical characterization of the mullite materials was performed using transmission electron microscopy, in conjunction with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). Apart from mullite grain diameter and triplepocket size, no major microstructural changes were observed with increasing sintering temperature. Residual glass was present at triple pockets and along two-grain junctions. Not all grain boundaries revealed the presence of a continuous amorphous intergranular film. Clean interfaces were observed only at boundaries with one grain parallel to the [001] orientation (low-energy configuration). Quantitative EELS analysis of mullite grains and glass pockets revealed only small changes in composition with increasing sintering temperature; i.e., the alumina:silica ratio slightly increased for mullite and glass. The analysis implied that mullite with this relatively high aluminum content would not be stable adjacent to residual glass. However, a stable glass-mullite system has been proposed, because impurity cations were detected within glass pockets, which suggested a slight shift of the subsolidus line (glass-mullite/ mullite) to a higher amount of alumina. Energy-loss nearedge structure studies of the Si- L _2,3 edge revealed a similar near-edge structure for the mullite, residual glass, and quartz. Thus, SiO₄ tetrahedra were thought to be the main building units of the glass contained in sintered mullite.     

Mathematical modeling of the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oil in a monolithic stirrer reactor

Experimental and theoretical studies on the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oil in a monolithic stirrer reactor are reported. A complete mathematical model of the reactor was developed, including hydrogenation and isomerization kinetics, catalyst deactivation, external gas–liquid and liquid–solid as well as internal mass transfer. The experimental studies were carried out in a Pd/Al₂O₃/Al monolithic stirrer reactor, at a wide range of temperatures (353–373 K), pressures (414–552 kPa), and catalyst loadings (0.00084–0.00527 kg_Pd,exp m^?3). Based on this model, simulated data can be used to evaluate the catalyst (Pd/Al₂O₃/Al) and the hydrogenation process in consecutive catalytic tests under different operating conditions. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 3524–3533, 2014     

Effects of benzoyl peroxide on some properties of composites based on hemp and natural rubber

The obtaining and characterization of polymer composites based on natural rubber and hemp, in which the elastomer crosslinking has been achieved with benzoyl peroxide, are presented. The mechanical characteristics, gel fraction, crosslink density, water uptake swelling parameters and FTIR of the composites based on natural rubber and hemp fiber vulcanized by dibenzoyl peroxide have been investigated as a function of the hemp content. The hardness, modulus at 100 % elongation, tearing strength, tensile strength and elongation at break have been improving with the increasing of fiber content in composites materials due to the better interaction of fiber in natural rubber composites. These results indicate that hemp has a reinforcing effect on natural rubber. Gel fraction value is over 95 % for all blends and varies irregularly depending on the amount of hemp in the composites. The crosslinking density (ν) of samples increases as the amount of hemp in blends increases, because hemp act as a filler in natural rubber blends and leads to reinforcement of the blends. The water uptake and swelling parameters also increases with the increasing of the amount of fiber content, because of the hemp hydrophilic characteristics.     

Inhomogeneity of CoCrW powder products manufactured by SLM technology

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - The article deals with selective laser melting process using CoCrW powder. Our aim was to identify the influence of product position on the building...     

Recycling polystyrene into fuels by means of FCC: performance of various acidic catalysts

In accordance with the option of recycling plastics into fuels by dissolving them in standard feedstocks for the process of catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons, FCC, various acidic catalysts (zeolites ZSM-5, mordenite, Y, and a sulfur-promoted zirconia) were tested in the conversion of polystyrene dissolved into inert benzene at 550°C in a fluidized-bed batch reactor. Experiments were performed with very short contact times of up to 12 s. Main products were in the gasoline range, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, styrene, and minor amounts of C_9–12 aromatics and light C₅₋ compounds. Coke was always produced in very significant amounts. All the products can be justified with basis on the properties of each catalyst and the various possible catalytic reaction pathways: cracking after protolytic attack on the polymer fragments, styrene oligomerization and subsequent cracking, or hydrogen transfer to styrene. Styrene would be mainly produced in this system from thermal cracking of the polymer as the initial step. If present, shape selectivity effects due to catalyst structure can influence significantly the prevalence of the various reactions, because they would interfere with those undergoing bulky transition states, like styrene oligomerization or hydrogen transfer. Even though sulfur-promoted zirconia is highly acidic, the low proportion of Brønsted-type acid sites does not allow the occurrence of secondary styrene reactions. It was shown that most favorable product distributions (higher yields of desirable products) are obtained on equilibrium commercial FCC catalysts.