Effect of BiAlO3 concentration on the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of lead-free (Bi0.5Na0.5)0.94Ba0.06TiO3 piezoelectric ceramics

In this paper, lead-free (1-x)(Bi_0.5Na_0.5)_0.94Ba_0.06TiO₃-xBiAlO₃ (BNBT-BA, x?=?0, 0.010, 0.015, 0.020, 0.025, and 0.030) piezoelectric ceramics were synthesized using a conventional solid-state reaction method. The effect of BiAlO₃ concentration on dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were investigated. The ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of BNBT ceramics are significantly influenced by the presence of BA. In the composition range studied, X-ray diffraction revealed a perovskite phase with the coexistence of rhombohedral and tetragonal phases. The temperature dependence of dielectric properties showed that the depolarization temperature (T _d) shifted towards lower temperatures and that the degree of diffuseness of the phase transition around T _d and T _m became more obvious with increasing BiAlO₃ content. The remanent polarization increased with increasing BA, and reached a maximum value of 30 μC/cm² at x?=?0.020. As a result, at x?=?0.020, the piezoelectric constant (d ₃₃) and the electromechanical coupling factor (k _p) of the ceramics attained maximum values of 188 pC/N and 34.4 %, respectively. These results indicate that BNBT-BA ceramics is a promising candidate for lead-free piezoelectric materials.     

Electrospinning of polycaprolactone nanofibers using H2O as benign additive in polycaprolactone/glacial acetic acid solution

Considerable efforts have been devoted to the production of polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibrous structures by electrospinning. However, some toxic solvents have often been used to achieve bead‐free nanofibers. At present, a benign solvent such as glacial acetic acid (GAC) only leads to beaded or microscale fibers. Therefore a study is done to extend the electrospinnability of the PCL/GAC system by the addition of H₂O. The solution properties of conductivity, viscosity, and surface tension were altered by the addition of H₂O, especially increasing the conductivity and viscosity. These properties essential to electrospinning could remain stable for 6 h when the H₂O content was less than or equal to 9 vol %. Then ultrafine PCL fibers with diameters from 188 to 200 nm, 10 times smaller than when dissolved in pure GAC, were electrospun from solutions of PCL with concentrations in the range of 17 to 20 wt % with H₂O content at 9 vol %. Finally, the crystallinity and crystallite size of the resulting fibers were smaller than that of raw PCL pellets. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45578.     

Synergistic fire-retardancy properties of melamine coated ammonium poly(phosphate) in combination with rod-like mineral filler attapulgite for polymer-modified bitumen roofing membranes

A novel intumescent (carbonization, acid donor and foaming) fire retardant that mimics carbon nanotubes was introduced into bitumen roofing and characterized using cone calorimetry as the main analytical tool. The experimental results indicate that 18% (by mass) attapulgite mineral (ATTP) mixed with base bitumen decreased the peak heat release rate per unit area (pHRRPUA) by 10%. Further, incorporation of melamine coated ammonium polyphosphate (MAPP) decreased the pHRRPUA by 52% and a mixture of these (3:1, ATTP:MAPP) decreased the pHRRPUA by 25% as compared to adding CaCO₃ as a filler. The residual mass loss after the cone test was also improved with up to 3%. The indication of a positive synergistic flame retardant effect of the ATTP-MAPP mixture is supported by thermogravimetric analysis. The addition of this rod-like mineral improved the general fire retardant properties of the base bitumen and increased the viscosity. Therefore, the polymer-modified bitumen with both fire retardant and rheological properties (providing mechanical strength) is a promising novel approach in the design of bitumen roofing membranes.     

High-efficiency remediation of cadmium (Cd2+) from aqueous solution using poultry manure– and farmyard manure–derived biochars

Farmyard manure (FYM-BC) and poultry manure (PM-BC) derived biochars were applied as adsorbents to remove Cd²⁺ from water. Results indicated that PM-BC was a more efficient adsorbent than FYM-BC at all experimental conditions. Maximum Cd²⁺ adsorption was observed at pH 4, temperature 318 K and contact time 1 h, regardless of biochar type. The Langmuir model predicted maximum adsorption capacity of 90.09 mg g^?1 for PM-BC. The data fitting to pseudo-second-order model proposed chemisorption of Cd²⁺ onto biochars. Thermodynamics indicated that adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic. Post-adsorption analysis provided evidences of strong chemical interactions between biochars’ functional groups and Cd²⁺ ions.     

Synthesis and characterization of poppy seed oil methyl esters

Response surface methodology(RSM) was used to determine the optimum conditions of the methanolysis of crude poppy seed oil using Na OCH3 as catalyst. The experiments were run according to five levels, four variable central composite rotatable design(CCRD) using RSM. The reaction variables, i.e., molar ratio of methanol/oil(3:1–9:1), catalyst concentration(0.5 wt%–1.25 wt% Na OCH3), reaction temperature(25–65 °C), and reaction time(20–90 min) were studied. We demonstrated that the molar ratio of methanol/oil, catalyst concentration,and reaction temperature were the significant parameters affecting the yield of poppy seed oil methyl esters(PSOMEs). The optimum transesterification reaction conditions, established using the RSM, which offered a89.35% PSOME yield, were found to be 7.5:1 molar ratio of methanol/oil, 0.75% catalyst concentration, 45 °C reaction temperature, and 90 min reaction time. The proposed process provided an average biodiesel yield of more than 85%. A linear correlation was constructed between the observed and predicted values of the yield.The gas chromatography(GC) analyses have shown that PSOMEs contain linoleic-, oleic-, palmitic-, and stearic-acids as main fatty acids. The FTIR spectrum of the PSOMEs was also analyzed to confirm the completion of the transesterification reaction. The fuel properties of the PSOMEs were discussed in light of biodiesel standards(ASTM D 6751 and EN 14214).     

黏弹性表面活性剂压裂液的研究与应用进展

黏弹性表面活性剂压裂液是以黏弹性表面活性剂为主剂的清洁压裂液。黏弹性表面活性剂压裂液体系具有破胶后无残渣、携砂性好、滤失控制性能好等特点,但随着对环保问题的日益重视及钻井深度的不断增加,丰富黏弹性表面活性剂压裂液体系迫在眉睫。本文介绍了黏弹性表面活性剂压裂液的发展和应用。根据压裂液配方不同,将其分为常规黏弹性表面活性剂压裂液和非常规新型黏弹性表面活性剂压裂液,总结了不同种类的黏弹性表面活性剂压裂液的组成、耐温耐剪切等性能及应用情况。分析表明,降低成本、研制简单的配制工艺是常规黏弹性表面活性剂压裂液的主要发展方向;在油田进行大规模实际应用及得到更完善的体系是非常规新型黏弹性表面活性剂压裂液的主要发展方向。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Brassica rapa</Emphasis> var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">japonica</Emphasis> Leaf Extract Mediated Green Synthesis of Crystalline Silver Nanoparticles and Evaluation of Their Stability,Cytotoxicity and Antibacterial Activity

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were successfully synthesized from the reduction of Ag⁺ using AgNO₃ solution as a precursor and Brassica rapa var. japonica leaf extract as a reducing and capping agent. This study was aimed at synthesis of AgNPs, exhibiting less toxicity with high antibacterial activity. The characterization of AgNPs was carried out using UV–Vis spectrometry, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, fourier transform infrared spectrometry, field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, atomic absorption spectrometry, and transmission electron microscopy analyses. The analyses data revealed the successful synthesis of nano-crystalline Ag possessing more stability than commercial AgNPs. The cytotoxicity of Brassica AgNPs was compared with commercial AgNPs using in vitro PC12 cell model. Commercial AgNPs reduced cell viability to 23% (control 97%) and increased lactate dehydrogenase activity at a concentration of 3 ppm, whereas, Brassica AgNPs did not show any effects on both of the cytotoxicity parameters up to a concentration level of 10 ppm in PC12 cells. Moreover, Brassica AgNPs exhibited antibacterial activity in terms of zone of inhibition against E. coli (11.1?±?0.5 mm) and Enterobacter sp. (15?±?0.5 mm) which was higher than some previously reported green-synthesised AgNPs. Thus, this finding can be a matter of interest for the production and safe use of green-AgNPs in consumer products.     

Sensor Fault Diagnosis and Unknown Disturbances Estimation of High Switching Frequency Single-phase PWM Rectifier

International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems - The fault and disturbances estimation has an important role in the modern traction railway system. This paper proposes a unique method for...     

Alpha Fusion Adversarial Attack Analysis Using Deep Learning

The deep learning model encompasses a powerful learning ability that integrates the feature extraction, and classification method to improve accuracy. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) perform well in machine learning and image processing tasks like segmentation, classification, detection, identification, etc. The CNN models are still sensitive to noise and attack. The smallest change in training images as in an adversarial attack can greatly decrease the accuracy of the CNN model. This paper presents an alpha fusion attack analysis and generates defense against adversarial attacks. The proposed work is divided into three phases: firstly, an MLSTM-based CNN classification model is developed for classifying COVID-CT images. Secondly, an alpha fusion attack is generated to fool the classification model. The alpha fusion attack is tested in the last phase on a modified LSTM-based CNN (CNN-MLSTM) model and other pre-trained models. The results of CNN models show that the accuracy of these models dropped greatly after the alpha-fusion attack. The highest F1 score before the attack was achieved is 97.45 And after the attack lowest F1 score recorded is 22%. Results elucidate the performance in terms of accuracy, precision, F1 score and Recall.