An assessment into the characteristics of award winning papers at CHI

Scientometrics - The overall readability of CHI publications is not known. In addition, little is understood about what lexical or demographic characteristics are unique to award winning papers at...     

Monitoring of Overhead Transmission Lines: A Review from the Perspective of Contactless Technologies

This paper describes a comprehensive review of non-contact technologies for overhead power transmission lines. Due to ever increasing emphasis on reducing accidents and speeding up diagnosis for automatically controlled grids, real time remote sensing and actuation is the new horizon for smart grid implementation. The technology overview with emphasis on the practical implementation of advanced non-contact technologies is discussed in this paper while considering optimization of the high voltage transmission lines parameters. In case of fault, the voltage and the current exceed limits of operation and hence real time reporting for control and diagnosis is a critical requirement. This paper aims to form a strong foundation for control and diagnosis of future power distribution systems so that a practitioner or researcher can make choices for a workable solution in smart grid implementation based on non-contact sensing.     

Catalytic activity of char produced from brown coal for steam-gasification of bitumen oil

There are several kinds of catalyst for tar reduction such as Ni-based catalysts, alkali catalysts, metal catalysts, and char. Char is a nonmetallic material which be generated by the devolatilization of organic materials. In this article, by using an experimental setup we tried to study the effect of char particles as a catalyst on the tar concentration and produced gas from steam gasification of bitumen oil and to introduce effective parameters in the process of syngas generation. With the increase of gasification temperature from 800 to 950°C, the hydrogen increased sharply from 28.4 vol% to 34.9 vol% and 18.5 vol% to 21.3 vol%, while CO decreased from 12.5 vol% to 14.9 vol% and 14.8 vol% to 18.1 vol% for gasification with and without char, respectively. As a result, it was found that the gas produced is not sensitive to the pressure changes.     

Syngas production by steam and oxy-steam reforming of biogas on monolith-supported CeO2-based catalysts

In this study, the syngas production by steam reforming (SR) and oxy-steam reforming (OSR) of clean biogas over cordierite monoliths (400 cpsi) lined with Ni, Rh, or Pt on CeO₂ catalyst was deeply investigated. Structured catalysts were prepared by using an alternative method to traditional washcoating based on the combination of the solution combustion synthesis (SCS) with the wetness impregnation (WI) technique. TEM and SEM analysis were used to study the morphology of the catalytic layer and to determine its thickness, while the quality of the coating in terms of adhesion on the monolith was evaluated by ultrasonic treatment in isopropyl alcohol solution. The performance and the stability of the structured catalysts were investigated at different process parameters, namely temperature (700–900 °C), steam-to-carbon (S/C = 1–5) and oxygen-to-carbon (O/C = 0.1–0.2) molar ratios, and weight space velocity (WSV = 30,000–250,000 NmL g_cat^?1 h^?1). The SCS + WI deposition method allowed obtaining a uniform and thin coated layer with high mechanical strength. The following order of activity was exploited: Rh > Pt > Ni for biogas SR and Rh > Pt ≈ Ni for biogas OSR. The Rh-based catalyst exhibited higher activity and long-lasting stability towards biogas SR and OSR reactions for syngas production.     

Fabrication and characterization of silk/forsterite composites for tissue engineering applications

In this research, novel composite scaffolds consisting of silk fibroin and forsterite powder were prepared by a freeze-drying method. In addition, the effects of forsterite powder contents on the structure of the scaffolds were investigated to provide an appropriate composite for bone tissue engineering applications. The morphology studies using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques showed that the forsterite ceramic was well distributed throughout the structures of SF/forsterite scaffolds. Furthermore, the forsterite powder (up to 40 wt%) was homogenously distributed within the silk fibroin as a matrix.     

Potential of the renewable energy development in Jammu and Kashmir,India

The future economic growth for India is likely to result in rapid and accelerated surge in energy demand, with expected shortages in terms of supply. Many of its current policies and strategies are aimed at the improvement and possible maximization of energy production from the renewable sector. It is also clear that while energy conservation and energy efficiency can make an important contribution, renewable energies will be essential to the solution and are likely to play an increasingly important role for providing enhanced energy access, reducing consumption of fossil fuels, and helping India pursue its low-carbon progressive pathway. However, most of the states in India, like the northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir, have experienced an energy crisis over a sustained period of time and the government both at center and state level has to embark upon with these pressing issues in a more sustainable manner and accordingly initiate various renewable energy projects within these states. This paper will provide a broad-spectrum view about the energy situation within Jammu and Kashmir and will highlight the current policies along with future strategies for the optimal utilization of renewable energy resources.     

Effect of Varying Amount of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG-600) and 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane on the Properties of Chitosan based Reverse Osmosis Membranes

Chitosan and polyethylene glycol (PEG-600) membranes were synthesized and crosslinked with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The main purpose of this research work is to synthesize RO membranes which can be used to provide desalinated water for drinking, industrial and agricultural purposes. Hydrogen bonding between chitosan and PEG was confirmed by displacement of the hydroxyl absorption peak at 3237 cm⁻¹ in pure chitosan to lower values in crosslinked membranes by using FTIR. Dynamic mechanical analysis revealed that PEG lowers Tg of the modified membranes vs. pure chitosan from 128.5 °C in control to 120 °C in CS-PEG5. SEM results highlighted porous and anisotropic structure of crosslinked membranes. As the amount of PEG was increased, hydrophilicity of membranes was increased and water absorption increased up to a maximum of 67.34%. Permeation data showed that flux and salt rejection value of the modified membranes was increased up to a maximum of 80% and 40.4%, respectively. Modified films have antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli as compared to control membranes.     

Surface-assembled Fe-Oxide colloidal nanoparticles for high performance electrocatalytic water oxidation

Nanoscale electrocatalytic materials having enhanced electroactive sites has been considered trendier and can drive kinetically uphill OER at much lower energy cost with high efficiency. However, very complex synthetic strategies, extensive functionalization processes, and less stability have stimulated quest for economically viable, straightforward and facile preparative methods for designing stable, robust and active nanoscale electrocatalysts engaging geologically abundant materials to ensure their industrial implications. Here we present surface-assembled Fe(OH)_x/FeO_x type colloidal catalytic thin-films, with or without post annealing, derived from Fe-colloidal NPs in simple carbonate system for efficient water oxidation. Comprehensive electrochemical studies including cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, chronopotentiometry, impedance spectroscopy, Tafel slope analysis, mass activity, electrochemically active surface area measurements are conducted to comparatively evaluate the performance of simple (FeO_x/HCO₃^?@FTO and annealed (FeO_x/HCO₃^?@FTO₂₅₀, FeO_x/HCO₃^?@FTO₅₀₀) catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under employed conditions. The FeO_x/HCO₃^?@FTO₂₅₀ annealed at 250 °C initiates water oxidation at much lower overpotential of 1.52 V vs. RHE with remarkable stability during long-term electrochemical experimentations. In addition to enhanced OER activity as evidence by better onset potential (<1.55 V vs. RHE), lower Tafel slope value (36 mV dec^1?) and negligible charge transfer resistance, the Fe(OH)_x/HCO₃^?@FTO type catalyst presented excellent electroactive nature during long term controlled potential electrolysis experiments where more and more electroactive sites were getting exposed during continuous hours of electrolysis. The catalysts behave as a potential enduring, inexpensive and competent candidate for catalyzing water oxidation reaction when tested under begin conditions.