Comparison of different ultrasound support methods during colour and chemical oxygen demand removal of disperse and reactive dyebath solutions by ozonation

In this study, the effects of ozonation, ozonation with ultrasonic bath and ozonation with ultrasonic homogeniser processes on colour and chemical oxygen demand removal properties of disperse (CI Disperse Red 60, CI Disperse Blue 337) and reactive (CI Reactive Blue 171 and CI Reactive Blue 19) dyebath solutions with and without dyeing auxiliaries were investigated. Chemical oxygen demand (in mg/l) and colour (in Hazen) measurements of the studied dyebath solutions were determined. The ozonation process caused simultaneous chemical oxygen demand removal during decolorisation. However, the improvement in chemical oxygen demand reduction was less than of that on decolorisation. The application of the combination of ozonation with ultrasonic homogeniser is the most efficient process and creates a great time advantage over the other process types studied (ozonation alone and ozonation with ultrasonic bath) to reach the same colour and levels of chemical oxygen demand removal.     

Simulation of a textile sleeve on a manikin arm undergoing elbow flexion: effect of arm-sleeve friction

The effect of friction on the interaction between a protective fabric sleeve and a manikin arm undergoing elbow flexion has been investigated both numerically and experimentally. The experimental studies used a cylindrical Kevlar sleeve on the right arm of a Hybrid III crash-test dummy. A load frame was used to produce elbow flexion and to measure the force required to produce that motion. Friction was varied by performing the elbow flexion task with and without a tight-fitting white knit polyester undergarment, and friction coefficients were determined experimentally. Corresponding numerical simulations using LS-DYNA were also performed, with the textile sleeve represented by orthotropic shell elements with geometric non-linearity based on experimental literature data. The results show that the presence of the Kevlar sleeve significantly increases the force required to execute elbow flexion, but that the addition of the friction-reducing undergarment reduces the flexion force generated by the Kevlar sleeve. Furthermore, this behavior can be effectively captured by the numerical simulation. These results demonstrate the possibility of direct simulation of the mechanical burden generated by protective clothing, which could lead to computational design of protective garments with improved comfort, and reduced reliance on human subject testing.     

MoOx/Ag/MoOx multilayers as hole transport transparent conductive electrodes for n-type crystalline silicon solar cells

Substitution of highly doped layers with conventional transparent conductive electrodes as carrier collecting and selective contacts in conventional crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell configurations is crucial in increasing affordability of solar cells by lowering material costs. In this study, oxide/metal/oxide (OMO) multilayers featuring molybdenum oxide (MoO_x) and silver (Ag) thin films are developed by thermal evaporation technique, as dopant-free hole transport transparent conductive electrodes (HTTCEs) for n-type c-Si solar cells. Semidopant-free asymmetric heterocontact (semi-DASH) solar cells on n-type c-Si utilizing OMO multilayers are fabricated. The effect of outer MoO_x layer thickness and Ag deposition rate on the photovoltaic characteristics of the fabricated semi-DASH solar cells are investigated. A comparison of front side pyramid textured and flat surface solar cells is performed to optimize the optical and electrical properties. Highest efficiency of 9.3% ± 0.2% is achieved in a pyramid textured semi-DASH c-Si solar cell with 15/10/30 nm of HTTCE structure.     

Formation of Low-Density and Free-Flowing Hollow Microparticles from Butter and Fractionated Palm Oil Mixture

The use of solid fats is challenging due to difficulty in incorporating into foods, handling during industrial food production, and relatively high-calorie contributions. The objective of this study was to form free-flowing and low-density hollow microparticles from nonhydrogenated fats, namely, butter and fractionated palm oil, using a novel method based on atomization of a carbon dioxide (CO₂)-expanded lipid mixture. The melting point of the fractionated palm oil decreased from 66.2 to 47.3°C above 120 bar in the presence of pressurized CO₂. The density of the particles decreased fivefolds compared to that of the original oils. The average particle size D [4,3] decreased from 67.0 to 27.1 μm when the concentration of fractionated palm oil was increased from 50% to 100%. The hollow structure was more pronounced for the particles obtained from higher melting oils/oil blends, as well as with more spherical uniformity. Ten percent (d_10%) and 50% (d_50%) of the palm oil particles were smaller than 4.5 and 23.0 μm, respectively, whereas they were 14.5 and 58.3 μm when mixed with butter at 50% butter concentration, respectively. Polymorphic form of α was more pronounced in the solid lipid particles, indicating that they had a less-ordered crystalline structure than the original oil. This new method forms low-density and free-flowing lipid powders that make the handling and storage of solid lipids feasible and convenient, and may provide reduced fat usage and calorie intake, and more rapid oil melting in mouth.     

Predicting Display Visibility Under Dynamically Changing Lighting Conditions

Display devices, more than ever, are finding their ways into electronic consumer goods as a result of recent trends in providing more functionality and user interaction. Combined with the new developments in display technology towards higher reproducible luminance range, the mobility and variation in capability of display devices are constantly increasing. Consequently, in real life usage it is now very likely that the display emission to be distorted by spatially and temporally varying reflections, and the observer's visual system to be not adapted to the particular display that she is viewing at that moment. The actual perception of the display content cannot be fully understood by only considering steady-state illumination and adaptation conditions. We propose an objective method for display visibility analysis formulating the problem as a full-reference image quality assessment problem, where the display emission under "ideal" conditions is used as the reference for real-life conditions. Our work includes a human visual system model that accounts for maladaptation and temporal recovery of sensitivity. As an example application we integrate our method to a global illumination simulator and analyze the visibility of a car interior display under realistic lighting conditions.