On colloid-chemical properties of some polymer composites

The influence of the vibrowave action on the properties of some disperse systems used in the textile industry has been considered. It has been noted that excitation of nonlinear oscillation in the audio band under resonant conditions leads to an increase in the degree of dispersion of distributed systems and an increase in their colloid stability. __________ Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 79, No. 1, pp. 133–138, January–February, 2006.     

Geometrical model to calculate the consumption of sewing thread for 504 over-edge stitch

Sewing thread is one of the most important components of a sewn product that contributes significantly in the useful life of a product. Stitch class 504 is the one which is used in all types of sewn products. Its thread consumption is higher than class 300 and class 400. A mathematical model to predict the sewing thread consumption of stitch class 504 has been proposed in this paper. The model is based on the geometry of the stitch. The proposed model takes into account material thickness and stitch density. The model was validated by using 24 samples (with different material thickness and stitch densities). The accuracy of the model was found to be 99%. Sensitivity analysis revealed that stitch density has 62% effect and material thickness has 38% effect on thread consumption. The proposed model can predict the thread consumption accurately; therefore, it can be used for better estimation of required thread and encourage its better utilization in sewn product industry.     

Road Oriented Traffic Information System for Vehicular Ad hoc Networks

Over the last few years, vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) have gained popularity for their interesting applications. To make efficient routing decisions, VANET routing protocols require road traffic density information for which they use density estimation schemes. This paper presents a distributed mechanism for road vehicular density estimation that considers multiple road factors, such as road length and junctions. Extensive simulations are carried out to analyze the effectiveness of the proposed technique. Simulation results suggested that, the proposed technique is more accurate compared to the existing technique. Moreover, it facilitate VANET routing protocols to increase packet delivery ratio and reduce end-to-end delay.     

Optimal Automatic Generation Control of Asynchronous Power Systems Using Output Feedback Control Strategy with Dynamic Participation of Wind Turbines

Abstract—This article presents the design of optimal output feedback automatic generation control regulators for an interconnected power system with dynamic participation of doubly fed induction generator based wind turbines. The power systems consist of plants with hydro-thermal turbines and are interconnected via parallel AC/DC links. Efforts have been made to propose optimal automatic generation control regulators based on feedback of output state variables, which are easily accessible and available for the measurement. The designed optimal output feedback automatic generation control regulators are implemented, and the system dynamic responses for various system states are obtained considering 1% load perturbation in one of the areas. The dynamic performance is compared with that obtained with optimal automatic generation control regulators designed using full state vector feedback. The pattern of closed-loop eigenvalues is also determined to test the system stability.     

Effect of transition metal doping on the sintering and electrochemical properties of GDC buffer layer in SOFCs

A dense Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_2−d (GDC) interlayer is an essential component of the SOFCs to inhibit interfacial elemental diffusion between zirconia-based electrolytes (eg YSZ) and cathodes. However, the characteristic high sintering temperature of GDC (>1400°C) makes it challenging to fabricate an effective highly dense interlayer owing to the formation of more resistive (Zr,Ce)O₂ interfacial solid solutions with YSZ at those temperatures. To fabricate a useful GDC interlayer, we studied the influence of transition metal (TM) (Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, & Zn) doping on the sintering and electrochemical properties of GDC. Dilatometry data showed dramatic drops in the necking and final sintering temperatures for the TM-doped GDCs, improving the densification of the GDC in the order of Fe > Co > Mn > Cu > Zn. However, the electrochemical impedance data showed that among various transition metal dopants, Mn doping resulted in the best electrochemical properties. Anode supported SOFCs with Mn-doped, nano, and commercial-micron GDC interlayers were compared with regard to their performance and stability levels. Although all of the SOFCs showed stable performance, the SOFC with the Mn-doped GDC interlayer showed the highest power density of 1.14 W cm⁻² at 750°C. Hence, Mn-doped GDC is suggested for application as an effective diffusion barrier layer in SOFCs.     

Recent Advances in Poly (Amide-B-Ethylene) Based Membranes for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Capture: A Review

Polyamide-b-ethylene (Pebax) is a promising material for membrane-based gas separation application with excellent CO₂ capturing potential. Pebax is a rubbery elastomer which offers good mechanical support with its hard crystalline phase and excellent gas transport through its amorphous polyether phase. This review article includes recent advances in Pebax based membrane synthesis, solvent selection for membrane synthesis, compatible fillers with Pebax matrix and the improved gas separation performance of the prepared membranes. The literature review shows that Pebax based membranes are a good candidate for separation of CO₂ from flue gases and can be used for commercial applications.     

Effects of ZnO on the piezoelectric properties of Pb(Mn1/3Sb2/3)O3-Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 ceramics

Perovskite-type 0.05 Pb(Mn_1/3Sb_2/3)O₃-0.95 Pb(Zr_0.5Ti_0.5)O₃ (PMS-PZT) was synthesized by conventional bulk ceramic processing technique. ZnO as a dopant up to 0.5 mol% was incorporated into the PMS-PZT system, and the effects on piezoelectric properties were investigated. Pyrochlore phase was not detected to form during the synthesis of the PMS-PZT system with 0∼0.5 mol% ZnO addition. The highest density of 7.92 g/cm³ was obtained when sintered at 1200°C for 2 hrs. Piezoelectric properties as a function of ZnO content were evaluated using a gain phase analyzer. Piezoelectric charge constant (d₃₁) and piezoelectric voltage output coefficient (g₃₁) increased up to −130 pC/N and −24.9 × 10³Vm/N, respectively, with increasing ZnO content. Mechanical quality factor (Q _m) was shown to reduce considerably with increasing ZnO content. When 0.3 mol% of ZnO was added into the system, electromechanical coupling factor (k _p) and relative dielectric constant () reached to the maximum of 56% and 1,727, respectively.