Synergistic interaction of 2-amino 4-methyl benzothiazole (AMBT) and benzotriazole (BTZ) offers excellent protection to mild steel exposed in acid atmosphere at elevated temperatures: Electrochemical,computational and surface studies

The synergistic interactions and corrosion protection properties of 2-amino 4-methyl benzothiazole, (AMBT) and 1, 2, 3-benzotriazole (BTZ) have been studied for mild steel in HCl at elevated temperatures. The extent of synergistic interaction increases with temperature. The methods of study include the conventional weight loss studies, computational screening, surface characterization and electrochemical studies. Quantum chemical approach was used to calculate some electronic properties of the molecules and to ascertain the synergistic interaction, inhibitive effect and molecular structures. The corrosion inhibition efficiencies and the global chemical reactivity relate to parameters like total energy, E_HOMO, E_LUMO and gap energy (ΔE). Condensed atom Fukui functions also calculated using DFT at B3LYP/6-31G* level, and were found to be correlating with the experimental results.     

Designing resilient networks using multicriteria metaheuristics

The paper deals with the design of resilient networks that are fault tolerant against link failures. Usually, fault tolerance is achieved by providing backup paths, which are used in case of an edge failure on a primary path. We consider this task as a multiobjective optimization problem: to provide resilience in networks while minimizing the cost subject to capacity constraint. We propose a stochastic approach, which can generate multiple Pareto solutions in a single run. The feasibility of the proposed method is illustrated by considering several network design problems using a single weighted average of objectives and a direct multiobjective optimization approach using the Pareto dominance concept.     

Test data compression and test time reduction using an embedded microprocessor

Systems-on-a-chip (SOCs) with many complex intellectual property cores require a large volume of data for manufacturing test. The computing power of the embedded processor in a SOC can be used to test the cores within the chip boundary, reducing the test time and memory requirements. This paper discusses techniques that use the computing power of the embedded processor in a more sophisticated way. The processor can generate and reuse random numbers to construct test patterns and selectively apply only those patterns that contribute to the fault coverage, significantly reducing the pattern generation time, the total number of test applications and, hence, the test time. It can also apply deterministic test patterns that have been compressed using the characteristics of the random patterns as well as those of the deterministic patterns themselves, which leads to high compression of test data. We compare three fast run-length coding schemes which are easily implemented and effective for test-data compression. We also demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach by applying it to some benchmark circuits and by comparing it with other available techniques.     

Graph‐based resource allocation algorithms for multiuser downlink MIMO‐OFDMA networks

Multiuser multiple‐input multiple‐output orthogonal frequency division multiple access (MIMO‐OFDMA) is considered as the practical method to attain the capacity promised by multiple antennas in the downlink direction. However, the joint calculation of precoding/beamforming and resource allocation required by the optimal algorithms is computationally prohibitive. This paper proposes computationally efficient resource allocation algorithms that can be invoked after the precoding and beamforming operations. To support stringent and diverse quality of service requirements, previous works have shown that the resource allocation algorithm must be able to guarantee a specific data rate to each user. The constraint matrix defined by the resource allocation problem with these data rate constraints provides a special structure that lends to efficient solution of the problem. On the basis of the standard graph theory and the Lagrangian relaxation, we develop an optimal resource allocation algorithm that exploits this structure to reduce the required execution time. Moreover, a lower‐complexity suboptimal algorithm is introduced. Extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the computational and system‐level performance. It is shown that the proposed resource allocation algorithms attain the optimal solution at a much lower computational overhead compared with general‐purpose optimization algorithms used by previous MIMO‐OFDMA resource allocation approaches. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative studies on the electrochemical and physicochemical behaviour of three different benzimidazole motifs as corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in hydrochloric acid

This paper examines the anticorrosion characteristics of three different benzimidazole derivatives towards mild steel in 0.5?M hydrochloric acid at temperature ranges from 303 to 323?K. The benzimidazole derivatives used for the screening studies are 2-(2-methyl-1H-benzimidazol-1-yl) acethydrazide (EMBAH), 2-(2-ethyl-1H-benzimidazol-1-yl) acethydrazide (EEBAH) and 2-(2-propyl-1H-benzimidazol-1-yl) acethydrazide (EPBAH). The corrosion inhibition was investigated by weight loss, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization studies. The adsorption interaction between metal and inhibitor followed Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The Gibb’s free energy values clarify the spontaneous nature of adsorption process. The temperature dependence of inhibition efficiency was explained by considering thermodynamic parameters of adsorption and kinetic parameters of corrosion. These inhibitors showed good efficiency at lower as well as moderately higher temperatures. Quantum chemical calculations were done using DFT at the B3LYP/6-31G¹ level to study the electronic properties of the molecules for correlating the inhibitive effect and molecular structure.     

A Novel and Efficient Feature Extraction Method for Iris Recognition

With a growing emphasis on human identification, iris recognition has recently received increasing attention. Iris recognition includes eye imaging, iris segmentation, verification, and so on. In this letter, we propose a novel and efficient iris recognition method which employs a cumulative‐sum‐based grey change analysis. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can be used for human identification in efficient manner.     

Social Spider Optimized Design Configuration of Multiband Reconfigurable Antenna for 5G Applications

Reconfigurable antennas receive more attention for many application due to their special characteristics like polarization diversity, multi band function and steerable diversity. However, reconfigurable antennas are capable of providing single and multiple reconfigurability. Nowadays, there is an increasing demand for multi-service radios for various spectrum standards. Many exiting works have been discussed about the enhancement of multi-band operation in reconfigurable antenna design. Most of them exhibit huge design complexity with high-cost consumption during the design optimization process. Thus, the proposed work uses Social Spider Algorithm for optimizing the design configuration of the reconfigurable antenna. Similarly, the band pass filter used at the feed line of the proposed antenna structure to easily achieve multi-band operation. The proposed design developed in ANSYS HFSS implementation platform and result analysis is performed in terms of bandwidth, VSWR, return loss, radiation pattern, gain, and directivity. The proposed reconfigurable antenna structure achieves 26.75 GHz bandwidth with 9.9 dB total gain and 8.8 dB directivity when comparing with existing works. Thus, the proposed antenna design suitable for 5G application applications by providing multi-band operation like WLAN, UWB, and Wi-Fi.

     

Macrocell path loss prediction using artificial intelligence techniques

The prediction of propagation loss is a practical non-linear function approximation problem which linear regression or auto-regression models are limited in their ability to handle. However, some computational Intelligence techniques such as artificial neural networks (ANNs) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFISs) have been shown to have great ability to handle non-linear function approximation and prediction problems. In this study, the multiple layer perceptron neural network (MLP-NN), radial basis function neural network (RBF-NN) and an ANFIS network were trained using actual signal strength measurement taken at certain suburban areas of Bauchi metropolis, Nigeria. The trained networks were then used to predict propagation losses at the stated areas under differing conditions. The predictions were compared with the prediction accuracy of the popular Hata model. It was observed that ANFIS model gave a better fit in all cases having higher R² values in each case and on average is more robust than MLP and RBF models as it generalises better to a different data.     

Frequency tuning and pulse generation in a fiber laser with anintracavity semiconductor active filter

The authors demonstrate optical frequency tuning by direct electrical means as well as FM and AM mode-locking in an erbium-doped fiber laser with an intracavity distributed Bragg reflector active filter/modulator. They obtained a 6 nm discrete tuning range and pulses of 38 and 78 ps duration in AM and FM mode-locking, respectively     

Production of cocoa butter-like fat from interesterification of vegetable oils

Cocoa butter-like fat was prepared from completely hydrogenated cottonseed and olive oils by enzymatic interesterification. The optimum reaction time to produce the major-component of cocoa butter, 1(3)-palmitoyl-3(1)-stearoyl-2-monoolein (POS), was 4 hr. The cocoa butter-like fat was isolated from the reaction mixture by two filtration steps. The yield of cocoa butter-like fat was 19%, based on the weight of the original oils. Chromatographic analysis of the product by reversephase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has shown it contains triglyceride components similar to those of cocoa butter, but that it has slightly more diglycerides. The melting point of this product, as measured by a differential scanning calorimeter, is 39°C, which compares well to the 36°C melting point of natural cocoa butter. Presented in part at the AOCS meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1989.