Template-assisted electrohydrodynamic atomization of polycaprolactone for orthopedic patterning applications

This paper presents the development of the novel deposition of biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) polymer patterns on a metallic substrate using a jet spraying technique, template-assisted electrohydrodynamic atomization (TAEA), at ambient temperature. The structure of patterns was controlled by systematically varying the polymer concentration (2–15 wt.%) and the flow rate (1–25 μl min^? 1). Polymer deposition was carried out in the stable cone-jet mode to precisely control the surface structure and morphology. The patterns were studied by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and profilometry, and a high degree of control over the pattern geometry and thickness was achieved by varying the spraying time. The hardness and the effective elastic modulus of the polymer patterns were estimated using nanoindentation. The effect of load, loading rate and the holding time on the hardness and effective elastic modulus was derived. Optimal results were obtained with 5 wt.% PCL in DMAC solution sprayed within the stable cone-jet mode operating window at a flow rate of 15 μl min^? 1 for 300 s at 11.1 kV with a working distance of 60 mm. Hexagonal patterns were well-defined and repeatable with thickness of ~ 34 μm. The hardness is 1.6 MPa at a loading rate of 0.1 μN/s and nearly halved when the load rate was increased to 1 μN/s. The effective elastic modulus of ~ 12 MPa is obtained for a load rate of 0.1 μN/s.     

Compatibility of plasma-deposited linalyl acetate thin films with organic electronic device fabrication techniques

Contact angle and temperature-dependent variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements have been performed on plasma-deposited linalyl acetate thin films in order to provide insight into the compatibility of the material with current organic electronic fabrication techniques. XPS data on several substrates confirmed that the chemical properties of the thin films were substrate independent. The plasma-deposited layers were found to be insoluble in many solvents commonly used in the deposition of organic semiconducting layers, including chloroform and dichlorobenzene, and the wetting envelope for the surfaces presented. Thermal degradation was found to begin at ~200 °C, and up until this temperature the material’s thickness, refractive index and transparency in the visible region were constant. The exhibited properties show plasma-deposited linalyl acetate thin films to be compatible with state of the art organic electronic processing techniques.     

EVALUATION AND APPLICABILITY OF A NEW EXPLICIT TIME INTEGRAL METHODOLOGY FOR TRANSIENT THERMAL PROBLEMS– FINITE-VOLUME FORMULATIONS

Abstract

The present article describes finite-volume formulations involving a new Virtual-Pulse (VIP) explicit time integral methodology, developed based on a weighted residual process with time-weighting Junctions uniquely selected in the time discretization process, for applicability to general transient linear/nonlinear thermal problems. For transient analysis of thermal problems based on finite-volume space discretization, implicit first-order-accurate direct time integration techniques have been mostly used, although second-order-accurate trapezoidal methods are also suitable. Unlike past work in this area for thermal problems with finite-volume discretization, the present formulations provide an explicit, unconditionally stable, second-order-accurate approach with improved stability characteristics and computational attributes. The present article explores the applicability and evaluation of this new time integral methodology for application to general thermal problems involving linear /nonlinear situations in the context of finite-volume space discretization.     

Electrospraying and Electrospinning of Chocolate Suspensions

Novel applications of efficient and economical techniques such as electrospraying and electrospinning in chocolate processing could be a strategy to help manufacturers improve declining sales growth rate in a saturated confectionery market. In this study, electrosprayed near-monodisperse particles have been produced using chocolate suspensions. Electrospun fibres have also been created from a commercial chocolate sauce. The effects of process parameters such as sugar concentration, addition of electrolytes (NaCl), flow rate, applied voltage and collection distance on the production and morphology of as-sprayed chocolate particles were studied. A positive linear trend in the electrosprayed chocolate particle diameter and diameter distribution range with increasing sugar concentration in the chocolate suspension was demonstrated. Sugar concentrations of 30–35%w/w resulted in very fine, near-monodisperse chocolate particles. Trace amounts of electrolyte at 1%w/w were found to decrease the average particle diameter and improve the monodispersity of the particles produced. The addition of NaCl at low concentrations increased the electrical conductivity and, to a lesser extent, the surface tension of the chocolate samples. Further increases in NaCl concentration to 3%w/w did not bring any additional decrease in the average diameter of the chocolate particles. In addition, the observed modes of electrospraying and the characteristics of chocolate particles obtained under these were investigated. Bead-on-string morphology was commonly observed among electrospun chocolate fibres. Moreover, satellite particles and very fine fibres were obtained during the transition between electrospraying and electrospinning. The continuous alternating shape of elongated spheres and thin fibres may have the potential for varying the microtexture of the chocolate products.     

Efficient Implementations for AES Encryption and Decryption

This paper proposes two efficient architectures for hardware implementation of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm. The composite field arithmetic for implementing SubBytes (S-box) and InvSubBytes (Inverse S-box) transformations investigated by several authors is used as the basis for deriving the proposed architectures. The first architecture for encryption is based on optimized S-box followed by bit-wise implementation of MixColumns and AddRoundKey and optimized Inverse S-box followed by bit-wise implementation of InvMixColumns and AddMixRoundKey for decryption. The proposed S-box and Inverse S-box used in this architecture are designed as a cascade of three blocks. In the second proposed architecture, the block III of the proposed S-box is combined with the MixColumns and AddRoundKey transformations forming an integrated unit for encryption. An integrated unit for decryption combining the block III of the proposed InvSubBytes with InvMixColumns and AddMixRoundKey is formed on similar lines. The delays of the proposed architectures for VLSI implementation are found to be the shortest compared to the state-of-the-art implementations of AES operating in non-feedback mode. Iterative and fully unrolled sub-pipelined designs including key schedule are implemented using FPGA and ASIC. The proposed designs are efficient in terms of Kgates/Giga-bits per second ratio compared with few recent state-of-the-art ASIC (0.18-μm CMOS standard cell) based designs and throughput per area (TPA) for FPGA implementations.     

Processing and characterization of jute fiber reinforced hybrid biocomposites based on polylactide/polycaprolactone blends

The main focus of this work is to develop biocomposites with improved stiffness and toughness. For this purpose, hybrid biocomposites composed of surface modified jute fiber and varying weight fractions of polylactide (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) are fabricated by hot pressing of solvent impregnated prepregs. Mechanical, thermal (DSC), viscoelastic properties and biodegradation of the developed biocomposites were evaluated. Surface modification of the jute fiber resulted in improvement of tensile strength and modulus and reduction in impact toughness along with vibration damping capacity. The addition of biodegradable resin PCL to PLA matrix leads to recovery of the impact toughness and damping capacity of the biocomposites, without much sacrifice in stiffness and strength. Hybrid biocomposite with 10 wt% PCL attained an optimum balance between stiffness and toughness. In addition, PCL also accelerated the biodegradation rate of the composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers     

植物精油在包装领域的研究应用进展

近年来,人们对在食品中使用天然抗菌剂代替化学防腐剂的兴趣日益增加。就此而言,精油这种具有挥发性且安全无害的天然植物次生代谢产物无疑将会在食品功能包装领域得到广泛的研究和应用。目前大量研究表明,加入精油后的食品包装可增强食品的抗菌和抗氧化活性、减缓酶促褐变、改变食品周围的气体环境以及水蒸气渗透等效果。本文特以此为切入点,介绍了植物精油的生物学效应,以及植物精油作为一种活性成分在当前的研究、开发和应用。因此,开发植物精油用作生物基食品包装,将精油本身与纳米乳液纳入活性或智能包装中,加入到产品或包装表面涂层、充入气调包装中、在包装内添加小袋和加入到包装膜上等,无疑可以用来改善产品品质的影响,减少食品行业的浪费。该研究还涵盖了植物精油在食品包装中的常见技术应用,如可降解的生物薄膜、微胶囊包埋、纳米乳液和静电纺丝等,以期为植物精油在包装领域的应用提供新途径。     

Growth of InAs Quantum Dots on Germanium Substrate Using Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Technique

Self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) were grown on germanium substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition technique. Effects of growth temperature and InAs coverage on the size, density, and height of quantum dots were investigated. Growth temperature was varied from 400 to 450 °C and InAs coverage was varied between 1.40 and 2.35 monolayers (MLs). The surface morphology and structural characteristics of the quantum dots analyzed by atomic force microscope revealed that the density of the InAs quantum dots first increased and then decreased with the amount of InAs coverage; whereas density decreased with increase in growth temperature. It was observed that the size and height of InAs quantum dots increased with increase in both temperature and InAs coverage. The density of QDs was effectively controlled by growth temperature and InAs coverage on GaAs buffer layer.     

Electrohydrodynamic Direct Writing of Biomedical Polymers and Composites

A recently developed electrohydrodynamic printing method is described that can be used to create ordered structures and complex patterns using coarse processing needles and two polymeric materials. The results highlight the method's potential for direct 3D writing of biomedical polymers and composites for a variety of biomedical applications.

     

Structure,electrical and optical properties of (PVA/LiAsF6) polymer composite electrolyte films

In this work, Li⁺ ion conducting polymer composite electrolyte films (PECs) were prepared based on poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), lithium hexafluoro arsenate (LiAsF₆), and ceramic filler TiO₂ using solution cast technique. The XRD and FTIR spectra were used to determine the complexation of the PVA polymer with LiAsF₆ salt. The ionic conductivities of the (PVA + LiAsF₆) and (PVA + LiAsF₆ + TiO₂) films have been determined by the A.C. impedance measurements in the temperature range 320–440 K. The maximum conductivity was found to be 5.10 × 10^?4 S cm^?1 for PVA:LiAsF₆ (75:25) + 5 wt% TiO₂ polymer composite film at 320 K. The calculation of Li⁺ ion transference number was carried out by the combination of A.C. impedance and D.C. polarization methods and is found to be 0.52 for PVA:LiAsF₆ (75:25) + 5 wt% TiO₂ film. Optical properties such as direct energy gap, indirect energy gap, and optical absorption edge values were investigated in pure PVA and salt complexed PVA films from their optical absorption spectra in the wavelength range of 200–600 nm. The absorption edge was found at 5.76 eV for undoped film, while it is observed at 4.87 and 4.70 eV for 20 and 25 wt% LiAsF₆ doped films, respectively. The direct band gaps for these undoped and salt doped PVA films were found to be 5.40, 5.12, and 4.87 eV, respectively, whereas the indirect band gaps were determined as 4.75, 4.45, and 4.30 eV. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers