Active vibration suppression of a flexible structure using sliding mode control

In this paper, sliding mode control (SMC) is designed and applied to an elastic structure to suppress some of its vibration modes. The system is an elastic beam clamped on one end and the designed controller uses only the deflection measurement of the free end. The infinite dimensional mathematical model of the beam is reduced to an ordinary differential equation set to represent the behavior of required modes. Since the states of the finite dimensional model are not physically measurable quantities, an observer is designed to estimate these states by measuring the tip deflection of the beam. The performance of the observer is important because the observed states are used in the SMC design. In this study, by using the output information, an observer is designed and tested to estimate the states of the finite dimensional model of the beam. Then the designed SMC is applied to the experimental beam system which gives satisfactory suppressed vibrations.     

Preparation and application of glycidyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid monomer mixture‐grafted poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers for removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution

A novel fibrous adsorbent that grafts glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) monomer mixture onto poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibers was used for removal of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solutions by a batch equilibration technique. The operation parameters investigated included, pH of solution, removal time, graft yield, dye concentration, and reaction temperature. The adsorption rate of MB is much higher on the MAA/GMA‐grafted PET fibers than on the ungrafted PET fibers. MB was removed 99% the initial dye concentration at 10 mg L⁻¹ and 93% at 200 mg L⁻¹ by monomers mixture‐grafted PET fibers. Pseudofirst order and pseudosecond order kinetic equations were used to examine the experimental data of different graft yield. It was found that the pseudosecond order kinetic equation described the data of dye adsorption on fibrous adsorbent very well. The experimental isotherms data were analyzed using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The data was that Freundlich isotherm model fits the data very well for the dyes on the fibers adsorbent. The dye adsorbed was easily desorbed by treating with acetic acid/methanol mixture (50% V/V) at room temperature. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Histone Methylation Marks on Circulating Nucleosomes as Novel Blood-Based Biomarker in Colorectal Cancer

Circulating nucleic acids (CNAs) are under investigation as a liquid biopsy in cancer as potential non-invasive biomarkers, as stable structure in circulation nucleosomes could be valuable sources for detection of cancer-specific alterations in histone modifications. Our interest is in histone methylation marks with a focus on colorectal cancer, one of the leading cancers respective the incidence and mortality. Our previous work included the analysis of trimethylations of lysine 9 on histone 3 (H3K9me3) and of lysine 20 on histone 4 (H4K20me3) by chromatin immuno- precipitation-related PCR in circulating nucleosomes. Here we asked whether global immunologic measurement of histone marks in circulation could be a suitable approach to show their potential as biomarkers. In addition to H3K9me3 and H4K20me3 we also measured H3K27me3 in plasma samples from CRC patients (n = 63) and cancer free individuals (n = 40) by ELISA-based methylation assays. Our results show that of three marks, the amounts of H3K27me3 (p = 0.04) and H4K20me3 (p < 0.001) were significantly lower in CRC patients than in healthy controls. For H3K9me3 similar amounts were measured in both groups. Areas under the curve (AUC) in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves indicating the power of CRC detection were 0.620 for H3K27me3, 0.715 for H4K20me3 and 0.769 for the combination of both markers. In conclusion, findings of this preliminary study reveal the potential of blood-based detection of CRC by quantification of histone methylation marks and the additive effect of the marker combination.     

Processing‐structure‐property relationship in rigid polyurethane foams

Rigid polyurethane (PU) foam is used as a thermal insulating and supporting material in domestic refrigerator/freezers and it is produced by reaction injection molding (RIM) process. There is a need to improve the thermal property of rigid PU foam but this is still a challenging problem. Accordingly, this work investigates the RIM process parameters to evaluate their effects on rigid PU foam's structure and hence property. It has been found that mold temperature is a key parameter whereas curing time has negligible effect on structure of PU foam. Cell size, strut thickness, and foam density have been found very critical in controlling the thermal and mechanical properties. Upper and lower values of 30 to 32 kg/m³ density are critical to observe contribution of radiation and solid conductivity separately. Finally, PU foam with 160 µm average cell size, 16 µm strut thickness, below 10% open cell content, and 30 to 32 kg/m³ density allow obtaining better thermal insulation without significant reducing in the compressive strength. The presented work provides a better understanding of processing‐structure‐property relationship to gain knowledge on producing high‐quality rigid PU foams with improved properties. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44870.     

Enhancement of interlaminar fracture toughness of carbon fiber–epoxy composites using polyamide‐6,6 electrospun nanofibers

In this study, carbon fiber–epoxy composites are interleaved with electrospun polyamide‐6,6 (PA 66) nanofibers to improve their Mode‐I fracture toughness. These nanofibers are directly deposited onto carbon fabrics before composite manufacturing via vacuum infusion. Three‐point bending, tensile, compression, interlaminar shear strength, Charpy impact, and double cantilever beam tests are performed on the reference and PA 66 interleaved specimens to evaluate the effects of PA 66 nanofibers on the mechanical properties of composites. To investigate the effect of nanofiber areal weight density (AWD), nanointerlayers with various AWD are prepared by changing the electrospinning duration. It is found that the electrospun PA 66 nanofibers are very effective in improving Mode‐I toughness and impact resistance, compressive strength, flexural modulus, and strength of the composites. However, these nanofibers cause a decrease in the tensile strength of the composites. The glass‐transition temperature of the composites is not affected by the addition of PA 66 nanofibers. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45244.     

X-ray investigation of sintered cadmium doped hydroxyapatites

Pure and cadmium (Cd) doped hydroxyapatites (HA, Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂) were synthesized by a precipitation method from aqueous solutions of Ca(NO₃)₂4·H₂O for the former and Cd(NO₃)₂4·H₂O for the latter, by using (NH₄)₂HPO₄ as the phosphate source, while pH was kept in the range of 11–12. The effect of incorporation of Cd²⁺ ions into the structure of HA was investigated after the air sintering at 1100 °C for 1 h. The results indicate that Cd²⁺ addition into HA yields nearly fully densified products with respect to pure stoichiometric HA. The XRD patterns showed that Cd doping increases the crystallinity of HA. The 2, 4.4, and 8.8 mol% Cd doped HAs had calcium oxide (CaO) impurity phase in their lattice. The CaO phase in the HA structure gradually disappeared with increasing Cd amount, and was replaced with cadmium oxide (CdO) in the CdHA doped with 11 mol% Cd. Cd²⁺ ion incorporation decreased the a- and c-axis lattice constants and unit cell volume of HA.     

Comparison of textile dyeing effluent adsorption on commercial activated carbon and activated carbon prepared from olive stone by ZnCl2 activation

Adsorption of Remazol Red B on activated carbon prepared from olive stone and commercial activated carbon from aqueous solutions was compared. Different activating agent (ZnCl₂) amounts and adsorbent particle size were studied to optimize adsorbent surface area. The adsorptive property of commercial activated carbon and activated carbon prepared from olive stone were investigated in terms of adsorbent dose, temperature, equilibrium time and pH. Then the obtained results were compared for all parameters, According to the results, the equilibrium time, optimum pH, adsorbent dosage were found 60 min, pH < 3–4 and 1.0 g/50 ml respectively. Lower adsorption capacity for RRB on activated carbon prepared from olive stone was found. The kinetic data for both adsorbents supports pseudo-second order model (r² > 0.99) and intra-particle model (r² > 0.95) but the first order kinetic model did not adequately fit to the experimental values (r² < 0.76). The equilibrium adsorption data were interpreted using Langmuir and Freundlich models. The adsorption of Remazol Red B was better represented by the Langmuir equation. In addition, the thermodynamic parameters, standard free energy (ΔG°), standard enthalpy (ΔH°), standard entropy (ΔS°) of the adsorption process were calculated for both adsorbents. To reveal the adsorptive characteristics of the produced active carbon, surface area measurements were carried out and structural analysis was performed using SEM-EDS.     

Determination of cadmium and selected micronutrients in commonly used and traded medicinal plants in Turkey

BACKGROUND: Medicinal plants commonly used and traded in Turkey were monitored for their cadmium and selected micronutrient (copper, iron, manganese and zinc) content. RESULTS: Cadmium was not detected in any sample of licorice extract, linden flowers or nettle leaves. However, in the rest of the samples, cadmium was found in the range of 7–126 µg kg^?1, with the highest concentration in chamomile leaf. Of all the monitored trace elements, the highest concentration found was 520 mg kg^?1 iron in zahter. The highest copper, manganese and zinc concentrations were found in rose hips (24 mg kg^?1), Turkish oregano (58 mg kg^?1) and zahter (50 mg kg^?1), respectively. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study reveal that cadmium and trace element concentrations in medicinal plants commonly used as traditional medicines in Turkey are well below the critical levels. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of variable friction coefficient on sheet metal drawing

A variable friction model that relates the parameters of sheet metal drawing to the local lubrication conditions taking place during the deformation, has been integrated to a finite element program. Variable friction coefficients for the contacting surfaces are determined from the friction model, which uses the related parameters obtained at each time step of the finite element program as inputs. A number of numerical runs have been performed and the strains are compared with the experimental results for circular blanks. A good agreement is obtained between the numerical and experimental results for the variable friction model used.