Crack Growth in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Materials: From Discrete to Continuum Damage Modeling

This paper addresses the damage and fracture issues of glass and ceramic materials used in solid oxide fuel cells. Analyses of an internal crack and of an interface crack between dissimilar materials were conducted using a modified boundary layer modeling approach. In this approach, fracture is allowed to occur in a small process window situated at an initial crack tip. Elastic displacement crack-tip fields are prescribed as remote boundary conditions. Crack propagation was first modeled discretely. Next, a continuum damage mechanics (CDM) model for brittle materials was developed to capture damage and crack growth in the process window. In particular, the damage model was applied to a glass-ceramic material that had been developed in-house for sealing purposes. Discrete and continuum damage solutions were then compared. Finally, the CDM model was used to determine the crack propagation direction as a function of a mode mixity measure.     

Effect of graft chain length of the stabilizer on dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate in petrol

To carry out dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in petrol, we have used a poly(MMA) grafted-poly(12-hydroxystearic acid) copolymer as the stabilizer. This special copolymer was prepared as a solution in a mixture of ethyl acetate and butyl acetate solvents. We investigated the effect of graft chain length of the stabilizer on the dispersion polymerization in petrol. We synthesized the stabilizer copolymer with n = 1–4 and determined the rate and the molecular weight of the PMMA formed. There is no dispersion polymerization for n = 1. However, for any other n, for a given stabilizer concentration, as the chain length of the graft is increased, the molecular weight as well as the rate of PMMA formation increases. As opposed to this for a given graft length as the concentration of the stabilizer increases, the molecular weight of PMMA first rises, but for a larger concentration, it begins to fall after undergoing a maximum. In this work, we modeled the heterogeneity of the reaction mass and proposed a mathematical model for dispersion polymerization of MMA in petrol. The computer results are found to conform to the experimentally observed molecular weight of the PMMA. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

无线仓储管理系统的设计与实现

本系统以水电十三局仓储物流管理应用需求为核心,根据公司仓储运营模式的特性,利用条码、网络等技术,定制开发仓储物流管理软件及配套的数据采集器、平板软件,形成一套多终端开发的无线仓储系统解决方案,实现仓位的精确管理、科学可控的出入库管理以及全方位的数据查询统计功能,并通过数据库复制技术,实现仓储关键数据与公司原有综合项目管理系统数据的无缝对接。     

Kinetics of esterification of cycloaliphatic epoxies with methacrylic acid

The esterification of cycloaliphatic epoxy resins CER I and CER II containing glycidyl and cyclohexane epoxy groups, respectively, as their reactive units was carried out using a 1 : 0.9 stoichiometric ratio of resin and methacrylic acid in the presence of triphenylphosphine. The reaction was performed at 80, 85, 90, 95, and 100°C and it followed second‐order kinetics. The specific rate constants, calculated by regression analysis, were found to obey an Arrhenius expression. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters, activation energy, frequency factor, entropy, enthalpy, and free energy of the reaction, revealed that the reaction was spontaneous and irreversible and produced a highly ordered activated complex. The reactivity of CER II was found to be higher than that of CER I. The difference in the reactivity of the cycloaliphatic epoxies was explained by proposing a reaction mechanism. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 3197–3204, 2002     

Fabrication of co-PVDF/modacrylic/SiO2 nanofibrous membrane: Composite separator for safe and high performance lithium-ion batteries

Highly porous free-standing co-poly(vinylidene fluoride)/modacrylic/SiO₂ nanofibrous membrane was developed using electrically-assisted solution blow spinning method. The performance and the potential of the membrane as a lithium-ion battery separator were investigated. The addition of modacrylic enhanced the solution spinnability that resulted in defect-free membranes. Moreover, the presence of modacrylic enhanced the dimensional and thermal stabilities, while the addition of hydrophilic SiO₂ nanoparticle enhanced both mechanical property and ionic conductivity. Combustion test results illustrated that the presence of modacrylic provide flame retarding property over a set of different polymeric-based membranes. Electrochemical performance results showed that the developed membrane can increase the battery capacity compared with the commercial separator.     

Effect of austenitization on austempering of copper alloyed ductile iron

A ductile iron containing 0.6% copper as the main alloying element was austempered at a fixed austempering temperature of 330 °C for a fixed austempering time of 60 min after austenitization at 850 °C for different austenitization periods of 60, 90, and 120 min. The austempering process was repeated after changing austenitization temperature to 900 °C. The effect of austenitization temperature and time was studied on the carbon content and its distribution in the austenite after austenitization. The effect of austenitization parameters was also studied on austempered microstructure, structural parameters like volume fraction of austenite, X _γ , carbon content C _γ , and X _γ C _γ , and bainitic ferrite needle size, d _α after austempering. The average carbon content of austenite increases linearly with austenitization time and reaches a saturation level. Higher austenitization temperature results in higher carbon content of austenite. As regards the austempered structure, the lowering austenitization temperature causes significant refinement and more uniform distribution of austempered structure, and a decrease in the volume fraction of retained austenite.     

The influence of nickel and copper on the austempering of ductile iron

In the present investigation, the effect of alloying elements on the austempering process, austempered microstructure, and structural parameters of two austempered ductile irons (ADI) containing 0.6% Cu and 0.6% Cu/1.0% Ni as the main alloying elements was investigated. The optical metallography and x-ray diffraction were used to study the changes in the austempered structure. The effect of alloying additions on the austempering kinetics was studied using the Avrami equation. Significantly more upper bainite was observed in the austempered Cu-Ni alloyed ADI than in Cu alloyed ADI. The volume fraction of retained austenite (X _γ), the carbon level in the retained austenite (C _γ), and the product X _γ C _γ in an austempered structure of Cu-alloyed ADI are higher than in Cu-Ni-alloyed ADI. The austempering Kinetics is slowed down by the addition of Ni.     

Power efficient scheme for self localization in wireless sensor networks

With the tremendous applications of the wireless sensor network, self-localization has become one of the challenging subject matter that has gained attention of many researchers in the field of wireless sensor network. Localization is the process of assigning or computing the location of the sensor nodes in a sensor network. As the sensor nodes are deployed randomly, we do not have any knowledge about their location in advance. As a result, this becomes very important that they localize themselves as manual deployment of sensor node is not feasible. Also, in WSN the main problem is the power as the sensor nodes have very limited power source. This paper provides a novel solution for localizing the sensor nodes using controlled power of the beacon nodes such that we will have longer life of the beacon nodes which plays a vital role in the process of localization as it is the only special nodes that has the information about its location when they are deployed such that the remaining ordinary nodes can localize themselves in accordance with these beacon node. We develop a novel model that first finds the distance of the sensor nodes then it finds the location of the unknown sensor nodes in power efficient manner. Our simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in terms of controlled and reduced power.     

Energy optimization for CAN bus and media controls in electric vehicles using deep learning algorithms

The Journal of Supercomputing - This study offers a neural network-based deep learning method for energy optimization modeling in electric vehicles (EV). The pre-processed driving cycle is...     

Biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles by petals extract of Rosa indica L., its formulation as nail paint and evaluation of antifungal activity against fungi causing onychomycosis

Aim: The authors report the biological synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO‐NPs) from the petals extract of Rosa indica L. (rose). Its efficacy was evaluated against two dermatophytes: namely: Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Microsporum canis which cause onychomycosis. The activity of antibiotics against the tested dermatophytes was enhanced, when evaluated in combination with ZnO‐NPs. Methods and results: The synthesised ZnO‐NPs were preliminary detected by using ultraviolet UV visible spectroscopy, which showed specific absorbance. The ZnO‐NPs were further characterised by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X‐ray diffraction and Zetasizer. Moreover, nanoparticles containing nail paint (nanopaint) was formulated and its antifungal activity was also assessed against T. mentagrophytes and M. canis. ZnO‐NPs and formulated nanopaint containing ZnO‐NPs, both showed significant antifungal activity. The maximum activity was noted against M. canis and lesser against T. mentagrophytes. Minimum inhibitory concentration of ZnO‐NPs was also determined against the dermatophytes causing onychomycosis infection. Conclusion: ZnO‐NPs can be utilised as a potential antifungal agent for the treatment of onychomycosis after more experimental trials.Inspec keywords: diseases, zinc compounds, nanoparticles, nanofabrication, antibacterial activity, microorganisms, nanomedicine, ultraviolet spectra, visible spectra, Fourier transform infrared spectra, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, biomedical materials, patient treatmentOther keywords: zinc oxide nanoparticle biosynthesis, Rosa indica L petals extract, nail paint, antifungal activity evaluation, dermatophyte, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis, antibiotics activity, ultraviolet‐visible spectroscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, zetasizer, antifungal agent, onychomycosis treatment