Transmission Strategies for MISO Downlink MC-CDMA Mobile Systems

This paper proposes two space-frequency schemes with a multi-user pre-filtering technique for downlink (DL) multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) systems. We consider the use of antenna arrays at the base station (BS) and a single antenna at the mobile terminal (MT) and derive the proposed multi-user pre-filtering technique that modulates the transmitted signal to eliminate the effects of multiple access interference (MAI) and channel distortions at the mobile terminals, while maintaining low MT complexity. Two types of detectors are considered at the MT: simple despreading and single user equalizers. The performances of the proposed schemes are compared to those of other transmit signal design approaches that have been recently proposed for DL MC-CDMA, considering both typical indoor and pedestrian scenarios, and channel coding based on UMTS specifications.     

Influence of Fiber Orientation and Fillers on Low Velocity Impact Response of the Fabric Reinforced Epoxy Composites

The low velocity impact response of the epoxy composite materials, which were reinforced with various hybrid contents, such as plain pure or hybrid fabrics (carbon, aramid and glass fibers and copper wires) and filler mixtures into the epoxy matrix (aramid powder, potatoes starch, barium ferrite and carbon black) was investigated using a drop weight impact machine. The aim of this study was to characterize and assess the effects of fiber orientation at various angles and filler mixtures into epoxy matrix on the impact response. All the tests were carried out at constant impact energy, namely 90.629 J. Results indicated that the fiber orientation at various angles has a positive effect on impact response, mainly in the case of aramid fabric reinforced composites. In terms of influence of fillers addition into matrix, it was obtained an improvement on the impact response of hybrid fabric reinforced composite as compared to the pure fabric reinforced composites.

     

Effect of growth twins on strength and microstructural evolution of nanocrystalline aluminum

Journal of Materials Science - The effect of growth-twins on friction, wear, and microstructural evolution of nanocrystalline (NC) aluminum is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. NC...     

Hydrothermal temperature dependence of CaWO4 nanoparticles: structural,optical, morphology and photocatalytic activity

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - In this paper, CaWO4 nanoparticles were prepared by the hydrothermal method using the temperature of 100 (CaWO4-100), 120 (CaWO4-120), 140...     

Ultrastrong Medium‐Entropy Single‐Phase Alloys Designed via Severe Lattice Distortion

Severe lattice distortion is a core effect in the design of multiprincipal element alloys with the aim to enhance yield strength, a key indicator in structural engineering. Yet, the yield strength values of medium‐ and high‐entropy alloys investigated so far do not substantially exceed those of conventional alloys owing to the insufficient utilization of lattice distortion. Here it is shown that a simple VCoNi equiatomic medium‐entropy alloy exhibits a near 1 GPa yield strength and good ductility, outperforming conventional solid‐solution alloys. It is demonstrated that a wide fluctuation of the atomic bond distances in such alloys, i.e., severe lattice distortion, improves both yield stress and its sensitivity to grain size. In addition, the dislocation‐mediated plasticity effectively enhances the strength–ductility relationship by generating nanosized dislocation substructures due to massive pinning. The results demonstrate that severe lattice distortion is a key property for identifying extra‐strong materials for structural engineering applications.     

Nanoparticle–Plant Interactions: Two‐Way Traffic

In this Review, an effort is made to discuss the most recent progress and future trend in the two‐way traffic of the interactions between plants and nanoparticles (NPs). One way is the use of plants to synthesize NPs in an environmentally benign manner with a focus on the mechanism and optimization of the synthesis. Another way is the effects of synthetic NPs on plant fate with a focus on the transport mechanisms of NPs within plants as well as NP‐mediated seed germination and plant development. When NPs are in soil, they can be adsorbed at the root surface, followed by their uptake and inter/intracellular movement in the plant tissues. NPs may also be taken up by foliage under aerial deposition, largely through stomata, trichomes, and cuticles, but the exact mode of NP entry into plants is not well documented. The NP–plant interactions may lead to inhibitory or stimulatory effects on seed germination and plant development, depending on NP compositions, concentrations, and plant species. In numerous cases, radiation‐absorbing efficiency, CO₂ assimilation capacity, and delay of chloroplast aging have been reported in the plant response to NP treatments, although the mechanisms involved in these processes remain to be studied.     

Optimal heat exchanger network synthesis using particle swarm optimization

Heat exchanger network (HEN) synthesis has been a well-studied subject over the past decades. Many studies and methodologies were proposed to make possible the energy recovery, minimizing the utilities consumption and the number of heat transfer equipment.     

Bulk mass flow in a vibratory finisher: mechanisms and effect of process parameters

Vibratory finishing is a widely-used manufacturing process in which a vibrating container filled with granular media becomes fluidized. The resulting bulk flow entrains workpieces and exposes their surfaces to the impacts resulting from the small-scale media vibrations. The bulk flow is responsible for entrainment and mixing, while the media vibration does work on the surfaces. The selection of machine vibration parameters is commonly based on experience due to the difficulty in predicting the fluidized bed behavior. In this work, a discrete element method was used to investigate how the bulk flow in an actual tub finisher filled with steel balls depends on the tub motion parameters through a parametric study. The underlying mechanisms that create and drive the bulk flow were identified by examining the relationships between the bulk flow rates and the wall forces. Finally, the connection between the wall motion and the wall forces was investigated. The tub frequency was the most effective control parameter and there was an optimal phase difference between the horizontal and vertical vibrations to maximize bulk flow. The relationship between the media packing at the walls and the tangential forces between the walls and the media explained the formation and speed of the bulk flow. Lastly, it was shown that the tangential wall forces, unlike the normal forces, cannot be obtained from the known wall motion alone since they also depend on the media velocities relative to the walls.     

Ferroelectric properties of pulsed laser deposited PZT (92/8) thin films

The effect of pulse amplitude on the ferroelectric and switching properties of pulsed laser deposited PZT (92/8) thin films has been studied. The structural analysis revealed that the films had a well crystallized perovskite phase without secondary phases. The atomic force microscopy has been employed to estimate the grain size and surface roughness of the film. A well-saturated P–E hysteresis loop was observed with average values of remnant polarization (P_r) ≈ 16.0 μC/cm², saturation polarization (P_s) ≈ 21.7 μC/cm² and coercive field ≈138 kV/cm. The P–E loops were very stable with frequency, confirming that the contribution of the leakage current and/or mobile free charges to the polarization is minimum. The polarization current exhibits the exponential dependence on the pulse amplitude and the leakage current seems to be governed by the hopping mechanism which is generally associated to structural defects.