Preparation of quaternary boro-phosphate multifunctional glasses and their structural,optical, switching and antibacterial properties

In this paper, the glass composition of (50-x)P₂O₅-xB₂O₃-30CuO-20Li₂O (x?=?0, 5, 10, 15, and 20?mol%) was prepared and the effect of P₂O₅ substitution by B₂O₃ on their structural, optical, switching, and antibacterial characteristics was studied. FT-IR spectra showed that an increase in the B₂O₃ content leads to gradual erosion of the phosphate characteristic bonds, and the emergence of borate-related ones by creating new linkages between phosphate chains through P–O–B bonds and formation of highly cross-linked P³-O-B⁴ linkages. The incorporation of boron up to 20?mol%, also leads to an overall increase in glass transition temperature together with a decrease in the molar volume which both, implied improvement of glass stability. Optical studies revealed that all glasses are almost transparent in the UV–Vis region with high band gap energy about 3.83?eV, which experiences a red-shift with increase in the B₂O₃ concentration to 15?mol%. By calculating the wavelength-dependent optical parameters, however, it was found that the present glass composition with highest concentration of B₂O₃ shows refractive index near one and very negligible extinction coefficient (and imaginary optical dielectric function) at the visible region. These results support the great potential of the mentioned glass composition as a window layer. The analysis of the high electric field measurements demonstrated a wide range reduction in switching threshold voltage as the B₂O₃ content increases. This hints at their potential application as electrical-induced sensors. The antibacterial activity of x?=?0 and x?=?5 glass compositions has been examined by zone of inhibition measurements and it was found that they have potential applications as antibacterial agent.     

Power system transient stability margin estimation using neural networks

This paper proposes a methodology for estimating a normalized power system transient stability margin (ΔV_n) using multi-layered perceptron (MLP) neural network with a fast training approach. The nonlinear mapping relation between the ΔV_n and operating conditions of the power system is established using the MLP neural network. The potential energy boundary surface (PEBS) method along with a time-domain simulation technique is used to obtain the training set of the neural network. Results on the New England 10-machine 39-bus system demonstrate that the proposed method provides a fast and accurate tool to evaluate online power system transient stability with acceptable accuracy. In addition, based on the examination of generators rotor angles after faults, a method is presented to select the power system operating conditions that most effect the ΔV_n for each fault.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of lead dioxide/multiwall carbon nanotube nanocomposite and its application in removal of some organic water pollutants

Lead dioxide/multiwall carbon nanotube (PbO₂/MWCNT) nanocomposite was synthesized by hydrothermal formation of lead dioxide on functionalized MWCNT. PbO₂ nanoparticles were formed from 0.015 M Pb(OH) ₃ ^? (75 ml) solution in the presence of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (0.1 g). The solution was mixed with ammonium persulfate (NH₄)₂S₂O₈ as oxidizing agent and transferred to 100 ml Teflon-lined stainless steel autoclave heating it to 60 °C for 3 h. To prepare nanocomposite, PbO₂ formation was carried out in the presence of ultrasonically dispersed MWCNT. A black-brown product was formed in reaction vessel. The product was collected and then dried in an oven at 70 °C for 24 h. The morphology and composition of precipitate were investigated by X-ray power diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results of XRD and TEM show globular α-PbO₂ nanoparticles immobilize on the surface of the MWCNTs. Also, TGA results demonstrated the presence of CNT in nanocomposite. The prepared PbO₂/MWCNT nanocomposite is used to construct the solid-phase cartridge. The performance of solid phase in the removal of pesticides from drinking water is determined by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) analysis. The average adsorption depends on concentration of spiked pollutants and their relative standard deviations were between 1.4 and 11 %.     

Design redundant Chebyshev dictionary with generalized extreme value distribution for sparse approximation and image denoising

This paper illustrates a novel method for designing redundant dictionary from Chebyshev polynomials for sparse coding. Having an overcomplete dictionary in ${{\mathbb R}^{d \times N}:d < N}$ from N, orthogonal functions need to sample d times from orthogonal intervals. It is proved (“Appendix B”) that uniform distribution is not optimal for sampling. Experiments show that using non-uniform measures for dividing orthogonal intervals has some advantages in making incoherent dictionary with a mutual coherence closer to equiangular tight frames, which is appropriate for sparse approximation methods. In this paper, we first describe the dictionary design problem, then modify this design with any kind of distribution, and define an objective function respect to its parameters. Because of the abundant extremums in this objective function, genetic algorithm is used to find the best parameters. Experimental results show that generalized extreme value distribution has better performance among others. This type of dictionary design improves the performance of sparse approximation and image denoising via redundant dictionary. The advantages of this method of designing overcomplete dictionaries are going to be compared with uniform ones in sparse approximation areas.     

Analytical treatment of boundary integrals in direct boundary element analysis of plate bending problems

A direct-type Boundary Element Method (BEM) for the analysis of simply supported and built-in plates is employed. The integral equations due to a combined biharmonic and harmonic governing equations are first established. The boundary integrals developed are then evaluated analytically. The domain integrals due to external body forces are also transformed over the boundary and subsequently evaluated analytically. Thus, it needs only the boundary to be discretized. Without loss of generality, the exact expression for the integrals would enhance the solution accuracy of the BEM. This is due to the fact that at locations where the fundamental solutions approach their singular points the value determined by numerical quadrature may be inconsistent and inaccurate. Also, another major advantage of the exact expressions for integrations is the insensitivity to the geometrical location of the source point on the boundary. The distribution of boundary quantities is approximated either over linear or quadratic boundary elements. General type of plate bending problems, with plates of different geometrical shapes supported simply or fixed can be handled. Loading may be applied point concentrated, uniformly distributed within the domain or over the boundary. Also, hydrostatic pressure can be applied. The results obtained by BEM in comparison with those obtained by analytical or other approximate solutions are found to be very accurate and the solution method is efficient.     

DQEM for free vibration analysis of Timoshenko beams on elastic foundations

 A differential quadrature element method (DQEM) based on first order shear deformation theory is developed for free vibration analysis of non-uniform beams on elastic foundations. By decomposing the system into a series of sub-domains or elements, any discontinuity in loading, geometry, material properties, and even elastic foundations can be considered conveniently. Using this method, the vibration analysis of general beam-like structures is to be studied. The governing equations of each element, natural compatibility conditions at the interface of two adjacent elements and the external boundary conditions are developed in a systematic manner, using Hamilton's principle. The present DQEM is to be implemented to Timoshenko beams resting on partially supported elastic foundations with various types of boundary conditions under the action of axial loading. The general versality, accuracy, and efficiency of the presented DQEM are demonstrated having solved different examples and compared to the exact or other numerical procedure solutions. Received: 11 October 2002/Accepted: 26 November 2002     

A boundary elements pseudo heat source method formulation for inverse analysis of solidification problems

 An efficient methodology is presented to solve inverse solidification problems. In the procedure, the latent heat effects are implemented by introducing pseudo heat sources near the moving interface. The material properties can be temperature dependent. To account for the nonlinear part of the governing differential equations, a finite-boundary element formulation is employed. To reduce the oscillations in the solution, a sequential regularization scheme is used. A procedure for proper selection of regularization parameters is presented. To smooth the solutions further, a secondary regularization scheme is introduced and employed. Two complete examples are presented to demonstrate the applicability and the accuracy of the methods. Received: 1 March 2002 / Accepted: 10 February 2003     

Synthesis of uniform nano-structured lead oxide by sonochemical method and its application as cathode and anode of lead-acid batteries

This paper discusses the results of a research aimed at investigating the synthesis of nano-structured lead oxide through reaction of lead nitrate solution and sodium carbonate solution by the sonochemical method. At the first, lead carbonate was obtained in a synthesized solution and then, after filtration, it was calcinated at the temperature of 320 °C so that nano-structured lead oxide can be produced. The effects of different parameters on particle size and morphology of final lead oxide powder were optimized by a “one at a time” method. The prepared lead oxide powder was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron spectroscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Under optimum conditions, uniformed and homogeneous nano-structured lead oxide powder with more spongy morphology and particle size of 20-40 nm was obtained. The synthesized lead oxide, as anode and cathode of lead-acid batteries, showed an excellent discharge capacity (140 mA h/g).     

Development of a selective and sensitive flotation method for determination of trace amounts of cobalt, nickel, copper and iron in environmental samples

A simple, selective and rapid flotation method for the separation-preconcentration of trace amounts of cobalt, nickel, iron and copper ions using phenyl 2-pyridyl ketone oxime (PPKO) has been developed prior to their flame atomic absorption spectrometric determinations. The influence of pH, amount of PPKO as collector, type and amount of eluting agent, type and amount of surfactant as floating agent and ionic strength was evaluated on the recoveries of analytes. The influences of the concomitant ions on the recoveries of the analyte ions were also examined. The enrichment factor was 93. The detection limits based on 3 sigma for Cu, Ni, Co and Fe were 0.7, 0.7, 0.8, and 0.7 ng mL(-1), respectively. The method has been successfully applied for determination of trace amounts of ions in various real samples.     

Calculation of Confined Phonon Spectrum in Narrow Silicon Nanowires Using the Valence Force Field Method

We study the effect of confinement on the phonon properties of ultra-narrow silicon nanowires of side sizes of 1 nm to 10 nm. We use the modified valence force field (MVFF) method to compute the phononic dispersion and extract the density of states, the transmission function, the sound velocity, the ballistic thermal conductance, and boundary-scattering-limited diffusive thermal conductivity. We find that the phononic dispersion and the ballistic thermal conductance are functions of the geometrical features of the structures, i.e., the transport orientation and confinement dimension. The phonon group velocity and thermal conductance can vary by a factor of two depending on the geometrical features of the channel. The 〈110#x232A; nanowire has the highest group velocity and thermal conductance, whereas the 〈111#x232A; has the lowest. The 〈111#x232A; channel is thus the most suitable orientation for thermoelectric devices based on Si nanowires since it also has a large power factor. Our findings could be useful in the thermal transport design of silicon-based devices for thermoelectric and thermal management applications.