Minimum fluidization velocity at elevated temperature in tapered fluidized bed

Very little data of minimum fluidization velocity at elevated temperatures of tapered bed are available in the literature. This study was undertaken to provide some data under elevated temperature conditions in tapered bed. Data on minimum fluidization velocity have been obtained experimentally for temperature up to 800 °C in case of 0.5 mm diameter of sand particles and up to 500 °C in case of 1 mm diameter of glass beads in tapered bed. An equation valid for the bed has been developed in terms of Archimedes number and Reynolds number. The experimental values for minimum fluidization velocity at elevated temperatures have been compared with the calculated values obtained from present equation and from earlier equations developed by other authors for ambient conditions in conventional (cylindrical) bed and tapered bed. Fairly good agreement was found to exist between the calculated (from present equation) and the experimental values.     

Cradle-to-cooked-edible-meat analysis of greenhouse gas emissions

This study aimed to synthesize mean cradle-to-cooked-edible-meat greenhouse gas emission factors for bovine, ovine, pig, and poultry meat through a systematic review process. 64 studies involving 42 countries/regions, published between 1997 and 2015 were identified meeting selection criteria using Cochrane search strategies. Major emission activities were identified and synthesised into a cradle-to-cooked-edible-meat lifecycle system. 270 emission factors were identified from publications and taken as baselines. 67% baseline evaluation boundaries stopped at farm-gate, only 3% at home/restaurants. Baseline emission gaps were identified by comparing baseline evaluation systems against the synthesised system. Emission factors for major activities were identified from publications and mean values were used to fill emission gaps in order to obtain the cradle-to-cooked-edible-meat emission factors, which were then grouped to obtain a mean cradle-to-cooked-edible-meat emission factor for each meat type. Mean emission factors (kg CO₂-eq/kg) for adjusted cradle-to-cooked-edible-meats were: Bovine 61.3 (n?=?124), Ovine 61.2 (n?=?38), Pig 15.8 (n?=?56) and Poultry 9.4 (n?=?52), which are significantly higher than the adjusted means for carcass at regional-distribution-centre: Bovine 23.9 (n?=?118), Ovine 23.3 (n?=?9), Pig 5.0 (n?=?51) and Poultry 3.6 (n?=?45); or the adjusted means for saleable meat at retail: Bovine 32.3 (n?=?122), Ovine 31.2 (n?=?36), Pig 7.9 (54), and Poultry 4.2 (n?=?50). This study confirmed current meat emission evaluations reflect only a fraction of dietary impacts. Emission factors for cooked-edible-meat could be three times the amount of meat commodities at farm-gate. Emission factors vary significantly within and between meat types.     

Compact Analog-To-Digital Converter (ADC) Using Quantum Dot Gate-Quantum Dot Channel Field Effect Transistor (QDG-QDCFET)

Silicon - The generation of four states in their transfer characteristic of QDG-QDCFET makes them useful to implement four state logic or quaternary logic. On the other hand, the number of device...     

Synthesis,characterization, and antimicrobial properties of novel quaternary amine methacrylate copolymers

A novel amine methacrylate monomer trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate–piperazine–ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TMPTMA‐PPZ‐EGDMA) was synthesized by amination of trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) with excess of piperazine (PPZ) followed by reaction with ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA). Copolymerization of TMPTMA‐PPZ‐EGDMA with 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) was carried out by free radical polymerization using ammonium persulfate (APS) and N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethyl ethylenediamine (TEMED) as a redox initiator. The copolymers obtained were then quaternized with 1‐iodooctane. The monomers were characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR spectral studies. The molecular weights and polydispersity values of the monomers were determined with gel permeation chromatography. Quaternized copolymers containing more than 20% amine methacrylate monomer showed microporosity in the range of 9.9–10.4 μm. The antibacterial activity of the quaternized copolymers against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was studied using UV–vis spectrophotometer and scanning electron microscopy. Quaternized copolymers showed broad‐spectrum contact‐killing antibacterial properties without releasing any active agent as checked by iodide selective ion meter. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Unequal-area,fixed-shape facility layout problems using the firefly algorithm

In manufacturing industries, the facility layout design is a very important task, as it is concerned with the overall manufacturing cost and profit of the industry. The facility layout problem (FLP) is solved by arranging the departments or facilities of known dimensions on the available floor space. The objective of this article is to implement the firefly algorithm (FA) for solving unequal-area, fixed-shape FLPs and optimizing the costs of total material handling and transportation between the facilities. The FA is a nature-inspired algorithm and can be used for combinatorial optimization problems. Benchmark problems from the previous literature are solved using the FA. To check its effectiveness, it is implemented to solve large-sized FLPs. Computational results obtained using the FA show that the algorithm is less time consuming and the total layout costs for FLPs are better than the best results achieved so far.     

Nonspherical Noble Metal Nanoparticles: Colloid‐Chemical Synthesis and Morphology Control

Metal nanoparticles have been the subject of widespread research over the past two decades. In recent years, noble metals have been the focus of numerous studies involving synthesis, characterization, and applications. Synthesis of an impressive range of noble metal nanoparticles with varied morphologies has been reported. Researchers have made a great progress in learning how to engineer materials on a nanometer length scale that has led to the understanding of the fundamental size‐ and shape‐dependent properties of matter and to devising of new applications. In this article, we review the recent progress in the colloid‐chemical synthesis of nonspherical nanoparticles of a few important noble metals (mainly Ag, Au, Pd, and Pt), highlighting the factors that influence the particle morphology and discussing the mechanisms behind the nonspherical shape evolution. The article attempts to present a thorough discussion of the basic principles as well as state‐of‐the‐art morphology control in noble metal nanoparticles.     

Properties and Applications of Colloidal Nonspherical Noble Metal Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles of noble metals belong to the most extensively studied colloidal systems in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Due to continuing progress in the synthesis of nanoparticles with controlled morphologies, the exploration of unique morphology‐dependent properties has gained momentum. Anisotropic features in nonspherical nanoparticles make them ideal candidates for enhanced chemical, catalytic, and local field related applications. Nonspherical plasmon resonant nanoparticles offer favorable properties for their use as analytical tools, or as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. This Review highlights morphology‐dependent properties of nonspherical noble metal nanoparticles with a focus on localized surface plasmon resonance and local field enhancement, as well as their applications in various fields including Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence enhancement, analytics and sensing, photothermal therapy, (bio‐)diagnostics, and imaging.     

Nanotube-assisted protein deactivation

Conjugating proteins onto carbon nanotubes has numerous applications in biosensing, imaging and cellular delivery. However, remotely controlling the activity of proteins in these conjugates has never been demonstrated. Here we show that upon near-infrared irradiation, carbon nanotubes mediate the selective deactivation of proteins in situ by photochemical effects. We designed nanotube-peptide conjugates to selectively destroy the anthrax toxin, and also optically transparent coatings that can self-clean following either visible or near-infrared irradiation. Nanotube-assisted protein deactivation may be broadly applicable to the selective destruction of pathogens and cells, and will have applications ranging from antifouling coatings to functional proteomics.     

Iterative phase retrieval strategy of transient events

Important nuances of a process or processes in action can be obtained from the phase retrieval of diffraction patterns for analysis of transient events. A significant limitation associated with the iterative approach is that predictive input functions are needed and can result in situations of nonconvergence. In dealing with a transient event recorded as a series of Fourier magnitude patterns, such a hit-and-miss characteristic, on the surface, appears computationally daunting. We report and demonstrate a strategy here that effectively minimizes this by using a prior retrieved frame as the predictive function for the current retrieval process.     

Effect of processing on the properties of Bi3.15Nd0.85Ti3O12 thin films

Various crystallization parameters were studied during the fabrication of Bi_3.15Nd_0.85Ti₃O₁₂ (BNdT) thin films on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si (100) by metal organic solution decomposition method. The effect of crystallization processes, crystallization ambients on the properties of BNdT thin films such as orientation, ferroelectric properties were examined. By adopting different fabrication processes, it is possible to get both highly c-axis oriented as well as randomly oriented thin films. Highly c-axis oriented BNdT thin film showed a large remnant polarization (2P_r) of 70 μC/cm² at an applied voltage of 10 V and exhibited a fatigue free behavior unto 2 × 10⁹ switching cycles. The improved ferroelectric properties of BNdT thin films suggest their suitability for high density ferroelectric random access memory applications.