Performance Analysis of Pulse Generators on Residual Stress of Machined Silicon Steel Using the EDM Process

The cracks in the workpiece specimens can reduce the fatigue life of any machine components. Since the residual stress has a considerable amount of influence on determining crack formation over the machined surface, it is very essential to analyze the residual stress developed in any machining process. However, it is a very tedious process to compute the residual stress over the machined surface. In the present study, an endeavor has been made to measure and analyze the residual stress of machined silicon steel as a workpiece using the EDM process with different energy distribution. The nano-indentation method was used to compute the residual stress produced over the machined surface. From the experimental results, it was found that the uniform energy distribution has produced higher compressive residual stress owing to the tiny and uniform spark energy distribution. It has also been observed that the tool electrode has a considerable amount of influence on determining development of residual stress in the EDM process.     

Zein-based anti-browning cling wraps for fresh-cut apple slices

The usage of cling wraps is emerging as an easy and cost-effective approach to protect fresh-cut fruits and vegetables from dust, whilst improving visual appeal on retail counters. This study focused on developing an alternate, protein-based packaging material as a food grade cling wrap for food packaging applications. Zein-based cling wraps were produced, and their physical and mechanical characteristics were evaluated and compared with conventionally used chitosan biopolymer films and commercial synthetic polymer films. Antioxidant potential of the prepared films was studied, and the effectiveness of the developed films as anti-browning cling wraps was evaluated using studies conducted on fresh-cut apple slices at ambient conditions. Anti-browning effects were in par with polymeric counterparts; however, zein cling wraps could better prevent weight loss in apple slices. Zein-based films can be adopted as biodegradable food grade cling wraps as an alternative to chitosan and synthetic polymeric materials.     

Fulde–Ferrell State in Spin–Orbit-Coupled Superconductor: Application to Dresselhaus SOC

We show that in the presence of magnetic field, two superconducting phases with the center-of-mass momentum of Cooper pair parallel to the magnetic field are induced in Dresselhaus spin–orbit-coupled superconductor. Specifically, at small magnetic field, the center-of-mass momentum is induced due to the energy-spectrum distortion and no unpairing region with vanishing singlet correlation appears. We refer to this superconducting state as the drift-BCS state. By further increasing the magnetic field, the superconducting state falls into the Fulde–Ferrell state with the emergence of the unpairing regions. The observed abrupt enhancement of the center-of-mass momenta and suppression on the order parameters during the transition indicate the occurrence of a first-order phase transition. Enhanced Pauli limit and hence enlarged magnetic-field regime of the Fulde–Ferrell state, due to the spin-flip terms of the spin–orbit coupling, are revealed. We also address the triplet correlations induced by the spin–orbit coupling, and show that the Cooper-pair spin polarizations, generated by the magnetic field and center-of-mass momentum with the triplet correlations exhibit totally different magnetic-field dependences between the drift-BCS and Fulde–Ferrell states.     

Do funded papers attract more usage?

Research funding has been seen as one of the most important resource in the reward system of science. And usage of publications denotes an interesting perspective of user behavior in scientific communication. This study aims to address the relationship between funding and Usage Count, which is a new metrics item established on the platform of Web of Science. Full records of 300,010 articles published in 2013 were downloaded in October 2015, and divided into six disciplines, including information science library science, education educational research, economics, computer science, materials science, and chemistry. Seven indicators were proposed to measure the impact, including Funding rate, Citation per paper, Usage rate, Usage per paper, Citation difference, Usage difference, and Conversion rate. It concluded funding has impact on usage and citation, and funded papers attract more usage, but varying in different disciplines. Usage Count can be used in the extension of citation metrics but with limits. This study originally engages with usage metrics and detected that there is positive correlation between usage and funding.     

Development of LTCC micro-hotplate with PTC temperature sensor for gas-sensing applications

Low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) micro-hotplates show wide applications in gas sensors and micro-fluidic devices. It is easily structured in three-dimensional structures. This paper presents the low power consumption micro-hotplates which were developed with PTC (positive temperature coefficient) temperature sensor and inter-digitated electrodes. The paper presents two different structures for micro-hotplate with platinum as a heating element. The PTC temperature sensor using two different materials viz. PdAg and platinum paste are developed with micro-hotplates. The simulation has been achieved through COMSOL for LTCC and alumina micro-hotplates. The temperature variation with power consumption has been measured for the developed LTCC micro-hotplates. The change in resistance of PTC temperature sensors was measured with micro-hotplate temperature. The aim of this study was to place a temperature sensor with the gas sensor module to measure and control the temperature of micro-hotplate. A SnO₂ sensing layer is coated on LTCC micro-hotplate using screen printing and characterized for the sensing of carbon monoxide gas (CO). This study will be beneficial for designing hotplates based on LTCC technology with low power consumption and better stability of temperature for gas-sensing applications.     

Preparation of highly crystalline titanium-based ceramic microfibers from polymer precursor blend by needle-less electrospinning

The aim of the present contribution is to study the influence of the post-spinning heat - treatment of single TiO₂/PVP precursor fibers on the properties and morphology of the final titanium-based microfibers. The post-spinning treatment conditions were: calcination in air at 450–600?°C and pyrolysis in argon at 1000–1700?°C. Calcination resulted in a production of anatase-rich and pure rutile fibers. The use of an alternative sintering method, the low-temperature plasma treatment, led to the crystallization of the composite Magnéli phases/polymer fibers. As a result of the same one precursor, pyrolysis at 1000?°C, the Carbon/TiO₂ composite fibers were obtained. Rising the treatment temperature in inert atmosphere led to the formation of the titanium carbide fibers. The formation process and all the obtained products were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry accompanied with thermogravimetric analysis (DSC/TGA), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and image analysis techniques.     

Plasmonic-excitonic multi-hybrid glass-based nanocomposites incorporating Ag plus core-shell CdSe/CdS and alloyed CdSxSe1−x nanoparticles

Successful fabrication of glass-based hybrid nanocomposites (GHNCs) incorporating Ag, core-shell CdSe/CdS and CdS_xSe_1?x nanoparticles (NPs) is herein reported. Both metallic (Ag) and semiconductor (CdSe/CdS) NPs were pre-synthesized, suspended in colloids and added into the sol-gel reaction medium which was used to fabricate the GHNCs. During fabrication of the nanocomposites a fraction (20–60%) of core-shell CdSe/CdS NPs was alloyed into CdS_xSe_1?x (0.20 < x < 0.35) NPs without changing morphology. Modulation of in situ alloying is possible via the relative content of organics added into the sol-gel protocol. Within colloids Ag (core-shell CdSe/CdS) NPs presented average diameter and polydispersity index of 49.5 nm (4.2 nm) and 0.41 (0.21), respectively. On the other hand, the Ag (core-shell CdSe/CdS) NPs’ average diameter and polydispersity index assessed from the GHNCs were respectively 51.5 nm (4.1 nm) and 0.43 (0.25), revealing negligible aggregation of the nanophases within the glass template. The new GHNCs herein introduced presented two independent excitonic transitions associated to homogenously dispersed semiconductor NPs, peaking around 420 nm (core-shell CdSe/CdS) and 650 nm (CdS_xSe_1?x) and matching the plasmonic resonance (Ag NPs) in the 400–500 nm range. We envisage that the new GHNCs represent very promising candidates for superior light manipulation while illuminated with multiple laser beams in quantum interference-based devices.