Effect of annealing temperature on microstructure and thermoelectric transport properties of Cu2.1Zn0.9SnSe4 alloys

Cu-based quaternary chalcogenide compounds have been thermoelectric topic of interest among researchers, especially in recent years, due to their intrinsically low thermal conductivity. Recently plenty of work is done on thermoelectric properties of Cu₂ZnSnSe₄-based alloys emphasizing on importance of Cu₂ZnSnSe₄-based alloys in thermoelectric power generation. In this study, we report the effect of annealing temperature on microstructure and thermoelectric properties of Cu_2.1Zn_0.9SnSe₄ alloys. Cu_2.1Zn_0.9SnSe₄ compounds were synthesized by high-temperature melting followed by annealing at four different temperatures (600 °C, 650 °C, 700 °C and 725 °C). X-ray diffraction combined with Raman spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ phase along with ZnSe and CuSe secondary phases. The increased annealing temperature critically affected the microstructure of Cu_2.1Zn_0.9SnSe4 alloys. Successive increase in annealing temperature subsequently increases the average grain size from 7.3 for 600 sample to 12.1 μm for 725 °C sample by shifting grain size distribution toward higher range. Increased grain size results in reduced carrier scattering and decreases the electrical resistivity eventually improving power factor and maximum power factor of about 400 μWk^?2 m^?1 is obtained for 725 °C sample. Besides, the increased annealing temperature resulted in increased thermal conductivity attributing increased grain size resulting in low phonon scattering. 725 °C sample shows highest power factor and moderate thermal conductivity among all the samples which resulted in highest value of figure of merit for 725 °C sample of about 0.1 at 673 K.

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Growth and characterization of Ni:DLC composite films using pulsed laser deposition technique

The structure and surface morphology of Ni-incorporated diamond like carbon (Ni:DLC) films have been investigated. These films were deposited on Si substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. A KrF Excimer laser (λ = 248 nm) was used for co-ablation from multi component Ni–graphite target. The concentration of Ni was varied by ablating the Ni part of the target with various numbers of laser pulses. The SEM and AFM analysis reveals that the surface is composed of segregates of Ni which increases with the increase in Ni content during the growth process. The structural investigations by XRD and Raman spectroscopy provided information about the orientation of the incorporated constituent and the ordering of the carbon species. Maximum height of the nano structures which were observed on the surface was ∼50 nm. The G-peak of the graphite was shifted towards higher wave number due to enhancement in SP² sites which have been increased due to the increase in the Ni concentration. A small change in the surface roughness ranging from 7.78 nm to 13.1 nm due to increased Ni concentration was also observed.     

An overview of protection of privacy in multibiometrics

Biometric authentication systems (BASs) have various advantages over traditional authentication systems such as password based systems. In BASs, information related to individuals’ physical and psychological characteristics is employed for authentication. The leakage of such information will breach individuals’ privacy severely. To simultaneously protect privacy and achieve higher authentication accuracy, privacy preserving multibiometric authentication systems (PPMASs) have been developed. This paper provides a comprehensive review of PPMASs. Specifically, we outline the requirements of PPMASs and discuss the state-of-the-art PPMASs. We also discuss PPMASs in the context of mobile and cloud based applications. Furthermore, we show the drawbacks of the existing PPMASs and point out the future research directions of PPMASs.     

Robust Integral Sliding Mode Control Design for Stability Enhancement of Under-actuated Quadcopter

International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems - In this paper, a robust backstepping integral sliding mode control (RBISMC) technique is designed for the flight control of a quadcopter,...     

An efficient computerized decision support system for the analysis and 3D visualization of brain tumor

The quality of health services provided by medical centers varies widely, and there is often a large gap between the optimal standard of services when judged based on the locality of patients (rural or urban environments). This quality gap can have serious health consequences and major implications for patient’s timely and correct treatment. These deficiencies can manifest, for example, as a lack of quality services, misdiagnosis, medication errors, and unavailability of trained professionals. In medical imaging, MRI analysis assists radiologists and surgeons in developing patient treatment plans. Accurate segmentation of anomalous tissues and its correct 3D visualization plays an important role inappropriate treatment. In this context, we aim to develop an intelligent computer-aided diagnostic system focusing on human brain MRI analysis. We present brain tumor detection, segmentation, and its 3D visualization system, providing quality clinical services, regardless of geographical location, and level of expertise of medical specialists. In this research, brain magnetic resonance (MR) images are segmented using a semi-automatic and adaptive threshold selection method. After segmentation, the tumor is classified into malignant and benign based on a bag of words (BoW) driven robust support vector machine (SVM) classification model. The BoW feature extraction method is further amplified via speeded up robust features (SURF) incorporating its procedure of interest point selection. Finally, 3D visualization of the brain and tumor is achieved using volume marching cube algorithm which is used for rendering medical data. The effectiveness of the proposed system is verified over a dataset collected from 30 patients and achieved 99% accuracy. A subjective comparative analysis is also carried out between the proposed method and two state-of-the-art tools ITK-SNAP and 3D-Doctor. Experimental results indicate that the proposed system performed better than existing systems and assists radiologist determining the size, shape, and location of the tumor in the human brain.

     

Synthesis and modification of silica-based epoxy nanocomposites with different sol–gel process enhanced thermal and mechanical properties

This research article describes the results of nano-silica composites filled with different epoxy contents containing nano-SiO₂ particles from (5–25 wt%). Reinforcing hybrid composites enhance thermal and mechanical properties to achieve vital and sustainable products. Silica-based nanocomposites with high purity were prepared and used for the surface modification of nanosized silica particles. The surface structure's composition and physical properties of modified nano-SiO₂ particles were characterized through Fourier transferred infrared spectrometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyzer, and scanning electron microscopic. Silica-based nanocomposites were prepared by incorporating of modified nano-SiO₂ as an enhancing filler. The morphology of fracture surface and dynamic mechanical properties were investigated. Results showed that the silica-based epoxy nanocomposites are bearing a long chain structure that could improve the compatibility of silica nanocomposites with epoxy resin and contribute to a better dispersion state in the matrix, which enhanced the overall performance of epoxy-cured products.     

Sulfate-vanadate hot corrosion of neodymium cerate/yttria stabilized zirconia composite coating

Neodymium cerate (Nd₂Ce₂O₇) was laboratory synthesized by solid-state reactions of neodymia and ceria and spray dried to get the feedstock for plasma spraying. Hot corrosion behavior of air plasma sprayed 10% Nd₂Ce₂O₇/yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) topcoat was studied in the presence of V₂O₅ and Na₂SO₄ salts at 950°C for 10-60 hours. It was observed that due to the presence of relatively higher basic compounds Nd₂O₃ and CeO₂ (form Nd₂Ce₂O₇) than Y₂O₃ in YSZ changed the reaction dynamics during hot corrosion and the major part of corrosive (NaVO₃) was consumed by Nd of Nd₂Ce₂O₇, making NdVO₄. The Y₂O₃ of YSZ contributed in the corrosive reaction partially, relieving majority tetragonal zirconia (t-ZrO₂) in topcoat (YSZ). No remarkable cracking was developed in the topcoat even after 60 hours of accelerated hot corrosion, which was attributed to the retention of in-relief t-ZrO₂ in YSZ.     

Crosswise stream of hydrogen-oxide (H2O) through a porous media containing copper nanoparticles

Transport theories in porous media are quite operative to analyse heat transferral phenomenon in biological tissues, reducing bio convective flow instabilities by means of porous media and many more. Inspired by these remarkable features, the present study is conducted to analyse heat transfer phenomenon for obliquely striking nanofluid through a porous media. Copper (Cu) nanoparticles are suspended in traditional Hydrogen Oxide based fluid. Scaling group of transformations is conveniently employed to reduce governing transport equations and is tackled numerically afterwards. Influence of nanoparticles volume fraction, stretching ratio and porosity parameter on physical measures of concern such as normal and tangential skin friction and corresponding heat flux at wall is portrayed. Streamline patterns are traced out to discover the influence of porosity factor on actual flow behavior. It was observed that solid volume fraction of copper nanoparticles enhanced the skin friction coefficients and heat flux. Increasing the porosity parameter leads to greater heat flux and tangential skin friction co-efficient.     

Effect of extraction methods on structural,physiochemical and functional properties of dietary fiber from defatted walnut flour

The effect of different extraction methods i.e. extraction with alkali (AEDF), enzyme (EEDF) and enzyme plus shear emulsifying hydrolysis (SEDF) on structure, physiochemical as well as the functional characteristics of dietary fiber (DF) from defatted walnut flour were studied. AEDF process showed significantly higher (P < 0.05) amount of water retention capacity (WRC; 5.39 g/g), water swelling capacity (WSC; 3.16 g/mL), and particle size; while, shown lower value of oil adsorption capacity (OAC; 29 g/g) amongst all. Compared to AEDF, no major differences were observed in network except the matrix in EEDF and SEDF was more porous and honey comb like. DF extracted through AEDF, EEDF and SEDF showed good viscosity and emulsifying activity however, less stability indices. The results from this study suggest that AEDF and EEDF and SEDF had specific effects on the structure-functional properties of DF from defatted walnut flour, which has great potential in food applications.