Crystalline rice husk silica reinforced AA7075 aluminium chips by cold compaction method

Aluminium matrix composite is highly demanded in various industries due to its low density and good mechanical properties as most commonly studied for metal matrix composite. The properties of the composite be improved with the addition of reinforcement significantly such as silicon carbide, aluminium oxide, and boron carbide that can be mixed easily to metal matrix composite. The study of crystalline rice husk silica reinforced AA7075 aluminium chips on mechanical properties were investigated. The rice husk ash was burned at 1200 °C and it was characterized in the crystalline phase by conducting x-ray diffraction test. The mechanical properties of aluminium matrix composite were obtained by microhardness and compression tests. Results of mechanical properties for the addition of rice husk silica up to 7.5 wt.% composition of crystalline rice husk silica showed increase value of microhardness and compression strength which are the highest value of 75.94 HV 0.1 and 443 MPa, respectively compared to another aluminium matrix composite. Hence, based on investigation to crystalline rice husk silica reinforced aluminium, it has good potential to improve the mechanical properties of aluminium matrix composite which were dependent to the composition of crystalline rice husk silica reinforcement in aluminium matrix composite.     

Ultra-High-Throughput EMS NB-LDPC Decoder with Full-Parallel Node Processing

Journal of Signal Processing Systems - This paper presents an ultra-high-throughput decoder architecture for NB-LDPC codes based on the Hybrid Extended Min-Sum algorithm. We introduce a new...     

CapsNet-based brain tumor segmentation in multimodal MRI images using inhomogeneous voxels in Del vector domain

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Glioma is a type of brain tumor that is the most typical and most aggressive tumor. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has a widespread utilization as an imaging...     

Application of the Coupled Simulation–optimization Method for the Optimum Cut-off Design Under a Hydraulic Structure

A Genetic Algorithm model, coupled with Finite Element Programming (GA-FEP), has been developed to create an optimal design for hydraulic structures to address seepage problems. While the objective function of the optimization model was to minimize the construction costs of the hydraulic structure, the main constraints were to satisfy safety factors concerning uplift pressure and exit gradient. The GA-FEP model proposed here meets the requirements of an optimal hydraulic design in two stages. Firstly, a validated numerical model coded using Finite-element Programming (FEP), was used to analyze seepage problems. This was followed by application of Genetic Algorithm (GA) and finite-element programming (FEP) to establish the optimum depth and location for cut-offs. A MATLAB programming code was used to create the link between the numerical and optimization model, creating a simulation–optimization (S–O) model. The effects of hydraulic conductivity and anisotropic ratios on the hydraulic structure design, were also investigated. The results indicate that the proposed GA-FEP model will provide a safe, efficient and economical hydraulic cut-off design. Evaluation of the model revealed acceptable agreement between expected and simulated seepage parameters pertinent to the hydraulic structure design.

     

Solar energy harvesting and self-cleaning of surfaces by an impacting water droplet

The self-cleaning of surfaces via impacting water droplets is examined pertinent to solar energy applications. The mechanism of spreading and retraction of the impacting droplet onto the dust and cleaned hydrophobic surfaces is considered in the analysis. The spreading factor of the impacting droplet is formulated incorporating the energy balance on the hydrophobic surface. High-speed photography is used to monitor the impacting droplet behavior. The functionalized silica particles coating is introduced towards generating hydrophobic wetting state on the glass surfaces. Environmental dust particles are characterized prior to self-cleaning impacting tests. It is found that spreading rate predicted for the impacting droplet agrees well with that obtained from the experiments. The droplet Weber number incorporated in the experiments does not result in droplet breaking on the surface upon impacting. The dusts are dissimilar in shapes and consist of several elements. Impacting droplet gives rise to cloaking of the dust on the surface during spreading and retraction. Almost all the dusts are removed from the surface through the impacting droplets; however, few dust residues are left on the impacting surface, which cover only 0.03% of the total surface area. Hence, we have demonstrated that self-cleaning of a surface can be achieved by an impacting droplet for renewable energy applications.     

Direct conversion of an agricultural solid waste to hydrocarbon gases via the pyrolysis technique

The increased awareness toward the global warming and the environmental pollution problems has stimulated the utilization of the alternative energy sources since they can positively take part in minimizing such problems. Among these sources, biomass based solid wastes is counted as one of the most promising in the field of energy production. Thus, the current research work focuses on the conversion of rice straw (a biomass-based solid waste) into hydrocarbon gases in general and methane (main constituent of natural gas) in particular. The reduction of the operational temperature and the elevated rate of solid-to-gas conversion are newly presented approaches in this research. Specifically, the used operating temperature, in this study, had been 250?°C while the well-known temperature range for slow pyrolysis is 380–550?°C. Another approach is represented in this work via the orientation of the obtained biogas to become mainly hydrocarbon gases instead of CO, CO₂ and CH₄ mixture, as the common for such pyrolysis processes. The attained high rate of solid-to-gas conversion (80%) while at low temperature is also a new approach of this study since such high rate is just possible in the flash pyrolysis (750–900?°C). The increased conversion rate was achieved via reducing the particles size of the used solid-biomass to a nano-sized range.