Microstructural study of galvanized coatings formed in pure as well as commercial grade zinc baths

This investigation is an effort to have a better understanding of the growth kinetics and morphology of the coating formed during the galvanizing process in pure as well as commercial grade zinc baths. The protective coating that is formed during hot dip galvanizing, normally between 450 and 480°C, consists of a series of Fe-Zn intermetallic layers, which have been identified as gamma (Γ), delta (δ), zeta (ξ) and an outer eta (η) layer, highly rich in zinc. There is apparently no delay in the formation of ξ or δ phases in both pure as well as the commercial grade zinc baths. The gamma (Γ) phase is formed after an incubation time of about 30 s at a bath temperature of 470°C in the pure zinc bath. Its formation is further delayed in the commercial grade zinc bath. The last morphological feature is the formation of a second ξ layer at the ξ/δ interface in the pure zinc bath. In the commercial grade zinc bath two different morphologies of ξ phase are seen starting from the lowest dipping time, and also the overall coating is considerably thicker due to formation of several iron-zinc intermetallics which degrade its ductility and outward appearance. Commercial grade zinc also enhances the dross formation in the bath and deteriorates the quality of the coating. Presence of transverse cracks as well as entrapment of dross particles in the coating is attributed to the less compact coating that is formed in the commercial grade zinc bath.     

III–VI Chalcogenide Semiconductor Crystals for Broadband Tunable THz Sources and Sensors

The layered chalcogenide semiconductor GaSe has been grown under various crystal growth conditions for optimum performance for tunable terahertz (THz) wave generation and broadband THz detection. Low-temperature photoluminescence (PL), Raman spectroscopy, optical absorption/transmission, electrical charge transport property measurements, and THz time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) have been used to characterize the grown crystals. It is observed that indium doping enhances hardness of the grown GaSe crystals, which is very useful for processing and fabricating large-area devices. GaSe crystals have demonstrated promising characteristics with good optical quality (absorption coefficient les0.1 cm^-1 in the spectral range of 0.62-18 mum), high dark resistivity (ges10⁹ Omega cm), wide bandgap (2.01 eV at 300 K), good anisotropic (parand perp) electrical transport properties (mu_e/h, tau_e/h, and mutau_e/h) and long-term stability. The THz emission measurements have shown that the GaSe crystals are highly efficient for broadband tunable THz sources (up to 40 THz), and sensors (up to 100 THz). Additionally, new THz frequencies (0.1-3 THz) have been observed for the first time from an anisotropic binary and a ternary semiconductor crystal. Details of characterizations as well as optimum crystal growth conditions including simulation and computer modeling are described in this paper.     

New Synthetic Approach to a [1.1.6] Metapara Cyclophane Derivative via Suzuki–Miyaura Cross‐Coupling and Ring‐Closing Metathesis

The synthesis of a [1.1.6] metapara cyclophane derivative, 1,5(1,4),3(1,3)‐tribenzenacycloundecaphan‐8‐ene‐6,11‐dione, has been achieved via the Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐coupling of α,α′‐dibromo‐m‐xylene with an arylboronic acid derivative followed by an allylation and ring‐closing metathesis reaction sequence.     

Influence of mechanical working on properties of aluminium base short steel fiber reinforced composites

In the present investigation aluminium base short plain steel fiber, copper and nickel coated steel fiber reinforced composites were prepared by vortex method. These were subsequently given deformation upto 40% by hot rolling. Microstructure of deformed sample showed random orientation of fibers. Breakdown of fibers due to the hot rolling was also predominant. Density of composites increased with increase in % of deformation due to reduced porosity. The hardness and strength improvement observed is attributed to decrease in porosity and increase in the number of fibers due to fiber breakage. In case of copper-coated fiber reinforced composite some additional mechanism is observed to operate. After 40% rolling, porosity level of 5-wt% copper coated fiber composites was decreased from 3.9% to 0.7%. Hardness of as cast Al-5FeCu composite was 38.2 BHN, which increased to 45.8 BHN on 40% reduction. UTS (Ultimate tensile strength) of 5-wt% copper coated steel fiber composites increased from 124 MPa to 145 MPa on 40% deformation along with an improvement of percentage of elongation from 9.2 to 11.6. The simultaneous increase in UTS and percentage of elongation indicate that reduction in porosity is the main factor-giving rise to improvement of the properties. Fracture surface investigation showed that cracks are initiated at the fiber matrix interface, propagated through the interface and linked up with other cracks or fiber/matrix interface leading to failure. In case of as cast composites micro-porosity played a vital role in failure which is noted from SEM fractographs.     

Comparative Studies on Synthetic and Naturally Extracted Surfactant for Improving Rheology of Heavy Crude Oil

Effect of surfactants on rheological properties of heavy crude oil obtained from Mehsana Asset, Gujarat, India, were studied. Studies on effectiveness towards flow behavior were made using a surfactant extracted from a tropical Indian plant Madhuca longifolia (Mahua) and nonionic surfactant Brij-30 considering various contributing parameters such as temperature, concentration, and shear rate. Tests were performed at controlled shear rate. At 25°C, 2000 ppm Mahua and Brij-30 addition reduced viscosity of crude oil by 48% and 52%, respectively. Complex and viscous modulus of crude oil decreased significantly due to addition of both the surfactants. FTIR studies of crude-surfactant mixture showed remarkable decrease in concentration of viscosity enhancing groups such as alkanes, alcoholic, and acidic groups indicating the effectiveness of both the surfactants. Naturally extracted surfactant may be used as flow improver for transporting heavy crude oil.     

High‐Performance Microwave‐Derived Multi‐Principal Element Alloy Coatings for Tribological Application

The authors report the development of Al_xCoCrFeNi (x = 0.1 to 3) high entropy alloy (HEA) coatings using a simple and straightforward microwave technique. The microstructure of the developed coatings is composed of a cellular structure and diffused interface with the substrate. The microstructure of the HEA coatings varies as a direct function of Al content. An increase in Al fraction shows structural transformation from FCC to BCC along with the evolution of σ and B₂ as the major secondary phases. The diffusion of Mo from the substrate enhances the mixing entropy and promotes σ‐phase formation. The HEA coatings show significantly high hardness compared to SS316L substrate steel (227 HV) with a maximum value of 726 HV observed for three‐molar composition. The fracture toughness exhibits an inverse correlation with the Al fraction with the highest value of around 49 MPa m^1/2 observed for Al_0.1CoCrFeNi coating. The equimolar coating composition shows lowest erosion rates among all the tested samples due to optimum combination of the mechanical properties. The erosion resistance of the equimolar coating is 2 to 5 times higher than steel substrate and around 1.5 times higher than the non‐equimolar counterparts depending upon the impingement angles.

     

Design of electronic payment system based on authenticated key exchange

This paper proposes an electronic payment system based on authenticated key exchange protocol. In this scheme, an effective owner tracing mechanism is introduced to identify a malicious customer. Moreover, every participant can mutually authenticate each other. The security of the scheme is mainly based on the hardness assumption of computational Diffie–Hellman and discrete logarithm problems. Furthermore, the security of our scheme is simulated in the automated validation of Internet security protocols and applications tool and proved that the scheme is secure against replay and man-in-the-middle attacks.     

Nitrate and fluoride contamination in groundwater of an intensively managed agroecosystem: A functional relationship

A study was conducted to assess the potential of nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃-N) and fluoride (F) contamination in drinking groundwater as a function of lithology, soil characteristics and agricultural activities in an intensively cultivated district in India. Two hundred and fifty two groundwater samples were collected at different depths from various types of wells and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), NO₃-N load and F content. Database on lithology, soil properties, predominant cropping systems, fertilizer and pesticide uses were also recorded for the district. The NO₃-N load in groundwater samples were low ranging from 0.12 to 6.58 μg mL^− 1 with only 8.7% of them contained greater than 3.0 μg mL^− 1 well below the 10 μg mL^− 1, the threshold limit fixed by WHO for drinking purpose. Samples from the habitational areas showed higher NO₃-N content over the agricultural fields. The content decreased with increasing depth of wells (r = − 0.25, P ≤ 0.01) and increased with increasing rate of nitrogenous fertilizer application (r = 0.90, P ≤ 0.01) and was higher in areas where shallow- rather than deep-rooted crops (r = − 0.28, P = ≤ 0.01, with average root depth) are grown. The NO₃-N load also decreased with increasing bulk density (r = − 0.73, P ≤ 0.01) and clay content (r = − 0.51, P ≤ 0.01) but increased with increasing hydraulic conductivity (r = 0.68, P ≤ 0.01), organic C (r = 0.78, P ≤ 0.01) and potential plant available N (r = 0.82, P ≤ 0.01) of soils. Fluoride content in groundwater was also low (0.02 to 1.15 μg mL^− 1) with only 4.0% of them exceeding 1.0 μg mL^− 1 posing a potential threat of fluorosis. On average, its content varied little spatially and along depth of sampling aquifers indicating little occurrence of F containing rocks/minerals in the geology of the district. The content showed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.234, P = ≤ 0.01) with the amount of phosphatic fertilizer (single super phosphate) used for agriculture. Results thus indicated that the groundwater of the study area is presently safe for drinking purpose but some anthropogenic activities associated with intensive cultivation had a positive influence on its loading with NO₃-N and F.     

FPGA based dual microphone speech enhancement

Microsystem Technologies - This paper proposes an efficient reconfigurable hardware design of dual microphone speech enhancement technique using sound source localization and multi band spectral...