Effects of composition and sintering time on liquid phase sintered Co-Cu samples in microgravity

Twelve Co-Cu powder compact samples with different liquid volume fractions were processed during microgravity liquid phase sintering on a suborbital sounding rocket and three Space Shuttle missions. The processing times ranged from 2.5 minutes to 66 minutes. The samples exhibited dimension stability after sintering. Microstructural evolutions such as densification, dihedral angle, contact per grain and grain growth rates, indicated a dependency on Cu composition and sintering time. Grain growth analysis showed a diffusion-controlled grain growth mechanism. The diffusional layer was found in a microgravity processed 70vol%Co-Cu sample. A mechanism that explains the transient nature of this diffusion layer is proposed and used to explain the results at other processing times. Agglomeration and coalescence of particles were observed in this study, and the grain size distributions were in agreement with LSEM model, which incorporates the effect of higher solid volume fraction and particle coalescence. Analysis of the samples also revealed considerable pore formation and metamorphosis. Unlike the Fe-Cu samples, in which pore breakup was found, pore filling and coarsening dominate in all Co-Cu samples. The evolution of these parameters has been used to enhance the understanding of driving forces that contribute to the pore metamorphosis during liquid phase sintering in the Co-Cu system under microgravity.     

Influence of Ultrasonic Waves on the Processing of Cotton with Cationic Softener

In recent years, the textile industry has been forced to develop new technologies to reduce energy and water consumption. The use of ultrasound in textile wet processing is one solution to this problem. The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of ultrasonic energy on the processing of cotton with a cationic softener. For this purpose, cotton fabric was treated with a fatty acid amide derivative cationic softener in water using ultrasonic energy during treatment. The physical properties of the fabrics treated under different conditions are discussed. The results show that the treatment of fabrics with softeners in an ultrasound bath is more effective compared to conventional methods and that it enhances the physical properties of the cotton.     

Model Free Approach for Non-Isothermal Decomposition of Un-Irradiated and γ-Irradiated Silver Acetate: New Route for Synthesis of Ag(2)O Nanoparticles

Kinetic studies for the non-isothermal decomposition of unirradiated and γ-irradiated silver acetate with 10(3) kGy total γ-ray doses were carried out in air. The results showed that the decomposition proceeds in one major step in the temperature range of (180-270 °C) with the formation of Ag(2)O as solid residue. The non-isothermal data for un-irradiated and γ-irradiated silver acetate were analyzed using Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and nonlinear Vyazovkin (VYZ) iso-conversional methods. These free models on the investigated data showed a systematic dependence of Ea on α indicating a simple decomposition process. No significant changes in the thermal decomposition behavior of silver acetate were recorded as a result of γ-irradiation. Calcinations of γ-irradiated silver acetate (CH(3)COOAg) at 200 °C for 2 hours only led to the formation of pure Ag(2)O mono-dispersed nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction, FTIR and SEM techniques were employed for characterization of the synthesized nanoparticles.     

Improvement of processing parameters by using processing aids during the linear low‐density polyethylene film blowing process

Polymer processing aids are used to improve processing properties in the polyethylene industry. These materials improve not only the physical and mechanical properties of the final products but also their processing properties. This paper studies some of the processing variables such as die pressure, melt temperature, masterbatch activity, and die gap by examining the functions of polymer processing aids and, last but not least, the effects on the film blowing process of two‐component processing aids containing a perfluorinated additive and polyoxyethylene. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

A dual reciprocity BEM approach using new Fourier radial basis functions applied to 2D elastodynamic transient analysis

In this paper, a new boundary element analysis for two-dimensional (2D) transient elastodynamic problems is proposed. The dual reciprocity method (DRM) is reconsidered by employing new radial basis functions (RBFs) to approximate the domain inertia terms. These new RBFs, which are in the form of ζ+κ sin (ωr+α), are called Fourier RBFs hereafter. Using the method of variation of parameters, the particular solution kernels of Fourier RBFs corresponding to displacement and traction, whose a few terms are singular, has been explicitly derived. Therefore, a new simple smoothing trick has been employed to resolve the singularity problem. Moreover, the limiting values of the particular solution kernels have been evaluated. In order to find the unknown parameters of Fourier RBFs, an optimization problem seeking for the optimum value of the Houbolt scheme parameter β that minimizes the mean squared error (MSE) function of the problem is established. Since the MSE function of the proposed RBFs is a function of five unknown parameters (i.e., ζ, κ, ω, α, and β), the genetic algorithm (GA) has been used to solve the necessary optimization problem. In order to illustrate the validity, accuracy, and superiority of the present study, several numerical examples are examined and compared to the results of analytical and other RBFs reported in the literature. Compared to other RBFs, Fourier RBFs show more accurate and stable results. Moreover, these results are obtained using less degree of freedom without any additional internal points that are commonly used to improve the accuracy of the results.     

Non-Intrusive Online Quality of Experience Assessment for Voice Communications

Recently user quality of experience (QoE) is employed in evaluating end user satisfaction in communications systems. Generally, current approaches for QoE assessment are obtrusive, laboratory based and offline. Estimation of user satisfaction in static manner based on mean opinion score is not directly related to instantaneous individual end user contentment. In this paper, based on correlations between user’s physiological signals and her/his feelings about the service quality, a non-intrusive and user centric QoE assessment system for voice communications is developed. The findings of this study indicate that the emotional patterns in response to the changes in channel quality can be adapted to estimate the level of satisfaction in a QoE assessment system in a live manner. Based on experimental results, two categories of users are identified: sensitive and insensitive towards quality degradations. The results indicate that for the sensitive users, our non-intrusive subjective quality assessment method outperforms ITU-T P.563 standard with respect to root mean square error; while, the results are much better among the insensitive users.     

Structural and optical properties of Co-doped ZnS nanoparticles synthesized by a capping agent

Cobalt-doped Zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles were prepared by a simple chemical method using alkyl hydroxyl ethyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (YH) as capping agent. The structural and optical properties of prepared cobalt-doped ZnS nanoparticles have been characterized. X-ray diffraction patterns and transmission electron microscope images reveal pure cubic ZnS phase with size of about 5–2 nm for all cobalt-doped ZnS nanoparticles. The lattice constant of the samples decreases slightly by the introduction of Co²⁺ The absorption edge of the ZnS:Co²⁺ nanoparticles is blue-shifted as compared with that of bulk ZnS, indicating the quantum confinement effect. The photoluminescence emission band exhibits a blue shift for Co-doped ZnS nanoparticles as compared to the ZnS nanoparticles.     

In‐stream construction‐induced suspended sediment in riverine ecosystems

Construction activities within the wetted‐perimeter of rivers, referred to as in‐stream construction, are prevalent economically and environmentally motivated activities having direct interactions with sensitive lotic environments. Currently, there is a paucity of research related to in‐stream construction activities and their effects on aquatic ecosystems. In‐stream construction‐induced suspended sediment may result in harmful effects to aquatic flora and fauna. Regulatory frameworks worldwide focus primarily on concentration, with limited consideration for duration and no consideration for spatial extents of suspended sediment exposures. This research develops theoretical concentration, duration, and spatial extent exposure risk relationships for riverine ecosystems to demonstrate the influence of each mechanism during typical in‐stream construction activities. To reduce exposure risk, concentration and duration may be considered pragmatically, based on anticipated activity characteristics and site conditions. Spatial exposure characteristics are important to consider, as illustrated by our finding that activities located near the channel centerline may result in greater exposure risk than similar activities conducted near the streambank. Current regulatory frameworks worldwide do not sufficiently consider all exposure risk mechanisms present during in‐stream construction‐induced suspended sediment releases, possibly inhibiting efforts to reduce adverse environmental effects. This research improves our understanding of suspended sediment in lotic environments and may help environmental managers better evaluate and manage in‐stream construction activities.     

利用上下文转移实现移动IPv6上的IMS无缝切换

Mobility support for the next generation IPv6 networks has been one of the recent research issues due to the growing demand for wireless services over internet. In the other hand, 3GPP has introduced IP Multimedia Subsystem as the next generation IP based infrastructure for wireless and wired multimedia services. In this paper we present two context transfer mechanisms based on predictive and reactive schemes, to support seamless handover in IMS over Mobile IPv6. Those schemes reduce handover latency by transferring appropriate session ＇information between the old and the new access networks. Moreover, we present two methods for QoS parameters negotiations to preserve service quality along the mobile user movement path. The performances of the proposed mechanisms are evaluated by simulations.