Water-assisted sub-critical crack growth along an interface between polyimide passivation and epoxy underfill

Direct chip attach (DCA) microelectronic packaging technology is gaining prominence due to its numerous advantages. Delamination (debonding) of the underfill epoxy/ polyimide passivation interface of a DCA during hydro-thermal reliability testing has always been one of the salient problems. We have studied the water-assisted sub-critical crack growth along this interface and our measurement offers important clues as to the origins of the poor hydro-thermal testing results for these interfaces. A modified asymmetric double cantilever beam (ADCB) testing technique has been used to measure the sub-critical crack growth velocity v at various relative humidities and temperatures as a function of the crack driving force (strain energy release rate) G ^*. The presence of a significant partial pressure of water p _H2O produces a marked decrease (by up to a factor of 12) in the threshold G ^* for crack growth at measurable velocities. Above the threshold log v rises linearly with but then enters a regime where the crack velocity (v=v ^*) is almost independent of . Finally, at the values of G ^* corresponding to rapid crack propagation in the absence of water, log v increases very rapidly with G ^*. By analogy to the classic work on water-assisted sub-critical crack growth in silica-based glasses, where very similar features are observed, we believe that the sub-critical crack growth along the polyimide-epoxy interface results from stress-assisted hydrolysis of primary covalent bonds, in our case ester bonds across the interface. The regime of just above the threshold corresponds to a physicochemical situation where the water activity (p _{H 2O} ) at the crack tip is the same as that of the gaseous environment. In the regime where v=v ^* constant, the water activity at the crack tip is below that in the environment and the crack growth velocity is limited by the transport of water vapor to the bonds ahead of the crack tip. We develop a model of this crack growth following Wiederhorn 1967 that allows us to predict the sub-critical crack growth as a function of G ^* for arbitrary relative humidity and temperature conditions.     

Intelligent power management in micro grids with EV penetration

Large deployment of Electric Vehicles (EVs) adds new challenges in the operation of a microgrid. Assuming that a number of EV owners allow their batteries to charge when their cars are parked, this paper proposes an approach that aims to find suitable individual active power set-points corresponding to the hourly charging rate of each EV battery connected to the microgrid. A multi agent system based controller is designed to find these active power set points for optimal power management of EVs, distributed energy resources in the microgrid, and the loads.     

Dissolution and Solubility Behavior of Fenofibrate in Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Solutions

The solubility of fenofibrate in pH 6.8 McIlvaine buffers containing varying concentrations of sodium lauryl sulfate was determined. The dissolution behavior of fenofibrate was also examined in the same solutions with rotating disk experiments. It was observed that the enhancement in intrinsic dissolution rate was approximately 500-fold and the enhancement in solubility was approximately 2000-fold in a pH 6.8 buffer containing 2% (w/v) sodium lauryl sulfate compared to that in buffer alone. The micellar solubilization equilibrium coefficient (k*) was estimated from the solubility data and found to be 30884 ± 213 L/mol. The diffusivity for the free solute, 7.15 × 10^{? 6} cm²/s, was calculated using Schroeder's additive molal volume estimates and Hayduk-Laurie correlation. The diffusivity of the drug-loaded micelle, estimated from the experimental solubility and dissolution data and the calculated value for free solute diffusivity, was 0.86 × 10^{? 6} cm²/s. Thus, the much lower enhancement in dissolution of fenofibrate compared to its enhancement in solubility in surfactant solutions appears to be consistent with the contribution to the total transport due to enhanced micellar solubilization as well as a large decrease ( ～ 8-fold) in the diffusivity of the drug-loaded micelle.     

Self-activated ‘green’ carbon nanoparticles for symmetric solid-state supercapacitors

Tuning of porosity and surface properties of nanoparticles especially on carbon-based nanomaterials, adopting a ‘greener’ or self-activation synthesis technique for electrical charge storage, is progressing. Herein, we report the self-activation of Teak wood sawdust in a nitrogen atmosphere at different activation temperatures to synthesize carbon nanoparticles. The activated carbon nanoparticles synthesized at 900 °C exhibits a maximum?~?360 m² g^?1 surface area with?~?2 nm average pore size diameter. Five electrolytes viz. KOH, KCl, Na₂SO₄, NaCl, and H₃PO₄ are used for studying the supercapacitance nature of the activated carbon nanoparticles in a 3-electrode configuration. A maximum specific capacitance of?~?208 F g^?1 @ 0.25 A g^?1 is obtained in 1 M KOH as the electrolyte. Two symmetric supercapacitors, aqueous (1 M KOH) and solid-state (PVA/KOH), are fabricated, and their performance difference is compiled. The solid-state symmetric supercapacitor performs in a wider voltage window (1.7 V) with a superior energy density of 27.1 Wh kg^?1 at a power density of 178 W kg^?1.

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Nitroarenes as Antitubercular Agents: Stereoelectronic Modulation to Mitigate Mutagenicity

Nitroarenes are less preferred in drug discovery due to their potential to be mutagenic. However, several nitroarenes were shown to be promising antitubercular agents with specific modes of action, namely, nitroimidazoles and benzothiazinones. The nitro group in these compounds is activated through different mechanisms, both enzymatic and non‐enzymatic, in mycobacteria prior to binding to the target of interest. From a whole‐cell screening program, we identified a novel lead nitrobenzothiazole (BT) series that acts by inhibition of decaprenylphosphoryl‐β‐d ‐ribose 2′‐epimerase (DprE1) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). The lead was found to be mutagenic to start with. Our efforts to mitigate mutagenicity resulted in the identification of 6‐methyl‐7‐nitro‐5‐(trifluoromethyl)‐1,3‐benzothiazoles (cBTs), a novel class of antitubercular agents that are non‐mutagenic and exhibit an improved safety profile. The methyl group ortho to the nitro group decreases the electron affinity of the series, and is hence responsible for the non‐mutagenic nature of these compounds. Additionally, the co‐crystal structure of cBT in complex with Mtb DprE1 established the mode of binding. This investigation led to a new non‐mutagenic antitubercular agent and demonstrates that the mutagenic nature of nitroarenes can be solved by modulation of stereoelectronic properties.     

Structure,properties, and applications of polyacrylonitrile/carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers at low CNT loading

Bi-component, polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers were processed, at different core-sheath area ratios, by gel spinning. A percolated CNT network at 10 wt% CNT in the sheath enhanced electrical conductivity as compared to the neat PAN fiber, while PAN polymer in the core contributed to the good mechanical properties. Fibers with relatively thin sheath allowed overall CNT loading as low as 3.7 wt% to be made with good electrical conductivity, and PAN stabilization by Joule heating was demonstrated. Such fibers with combined good mechanical properties and electrical conductivity can also potentially be used for electrical heating of fabrics, for making smart textiles, and for electromagnetic interference shielding.     

Simulation of population balance model-based particulate processes via parallel and distributed computing

Population Balance Models (PBMs), a class of integro partial differential equations, are utilized for simulating dynamics of numerous particulate systems. PBMs describe the time evolutions and distributions of many particulate processes and their efficient and quick simulation are critical for enhanced process control and optimization, especially for real-time applications. However, their intensive computational resource requirement is largely a prohibitive factor in the utility of PBMs for control and optimization. This paper describes how distributed computing systems may be leveraged to execute PBM-based simulations thus achieving time savings, using MATLAB's Distributed Computing Toolbox. A parallel computing algorithm was developed for a three dimensional and four dimensional population balance model with built-in constructs such as SPMD that ran efficiently on a cluster of two quad-core machines linked via a gigabit ethernet cable. Speedup of 6.2 and 5.7 times were achieved with 8 workers, over an un-parallelized code, for a 3 and 4 dimensional PBM respectively. Evaluations on work efficiency and scalability further affirm the algorithms’ respectable performance on larger clusters despite significant memory transfer overheads.     

Influence of Media Composition on the Production of alpha-Amylase and Amyloglucosidase by a Strain of Aspergillus niger

The nature of thermophilic amylolytic enzymes produced by a strain of Aspergillus niger Van Tieghem was influenced by media composition. While glucose, maltose, dextrin and soluble starch induced the production of amyloglucosidase, pectin and sodium polypectate almost exclusively induced the formation of α-amylase. Alkali ions suppressed the formation of amyloglucosidase. NH₄NO₃, (NH₄)₂HPO₄ and (NH₄)₂C₄H₄O₆ served as good inorganic nitrogen sources, while casein, groundnut protein and corn steep liquor served to a similar capacity as nitrogen sources from organic material. Deletion of the growth factors pyridoxine-hydrochloride and inositol suppressed enzyme production, while the absence of riboflavin had the opposite effect.     

Analysis of heat transfer through a high strength concrete with circular pipe in a safety vessel of reactor vault

Reactor Vault (RV) is an important structure that supports the main vessel and safety vessel of a reactor. It is a heavy cylindrical structure built around the safety vessel. The RV is divided into an inner and outer wall. The inner wall is of 600?mm thickness and is made of borated concrete, while the outer wall is made up of structural concrete. The outer wall is the main load-bearing member, whereas the inner wall supports only the safety vessel. To prepare a cylindrical model of RV using high strength concrete with special additive and to perform heat transfer analysis on the block to study the effect of air cavities present in the RV model on contact conductance, thermal conductivity and its heat transfer characteristics are studied experimentally.     

Rotatable Aggregation‐Induced‐Emission/Aggregation‐Caused‐Quenching Ratio Strategy for Real‐Time Tracking Nanoparticle Dynamics

Real‐time tracking of the dynamics change of self‐assembled nanostructures in physiological environments is crucial to improving their delivery efficiency and therapeutic effects. However, such tracking is impeded by the complex biological microenvironment leading to inhomogeneous distribution. A rotatable fluorescent ratio strategy is introduced that integrates aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) and aggregation‐caused quenching (ACQ) into one nanostructured system, termed AIE and ACQ fluorescence ratio (AAR). Following this strategy, an advanced probe, PEG^5k‐TPE₄‐ICGD₄ (PTI), is developed to track the dynamics change. The extremely sharp fluorescent changes (up to 4008‐fold) in AAR allowed for the clear distinguishing and localization of the intact state and diverse dissociated states. The spatiotemporal distribution and structural dynamics of the PTI micelles can be tracked, quantitatively analyzed in living cells and animal tissue by the real‐time ratio map, and be used to monitor other responsive nanoplatforms. With this method, the dynamics of nanoparticle in different organelles are able to be investigated and validated by transmission electron microscopy. This novel strategy is generally applicable to many self‐assembled nanostructures for understanding delivery mechanism in living systems, ultimately to enhance their performance in biomedical applications.