Potentiality of Indian pineapple leaf fiber for apparels

The use of textile-grade fiber extracted from the Indian pineapple leaf is an unexplored area. Pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) is fine, soft, and moderately strong and is much acceptable for fashion garment. An attempt has been made to extract and soften Indian PALF from the pineapple leaves by decortication and subsequent water retting. Decorticated cum retted fiber has shown better physicomechanical and surface appearance properties than decorticated fiber. Fine yarn (38 tex) was spun in a suitable spinning system, and the property performance was found to be suitable to make eco-sustainable novelty fabric. Fabric was developed by using cotton as warp yarn and PALF-based yarn as weft in a handloom. The developed fabric shows very good physical and mechanical properties, desired for apparels. This inferred that Indian PALF may be successfully used to make eco-niche apparel quality fabric as well as novelty textiles.     

Electrochemical synthesis of hexagonal closed pack nickel: A hydrogen storage material

An in situ hydrogen generation and storage technique is demonstrated during the electrodeposition of hexagonal closed pack (HCP) nickel from NiCl₂-1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (NiCl₂-EmimCl) and NiCl₂·6H₂O-1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (NiCl₂·6H₂O-EmimCl) melts. During electrolysis, the dissolution of hydrogen in nickel takes place due to the electrolysis of water. This results in the production of HCP nickel. The hydrogen content of the electrodeposited nickel from NiCl₂-EmimCl was found to be 1.2 wt.%. Thermal analysis showed that the phase transformation from HCP nickel to FCC occurred at 462 °C, releasing hydrogen in the process.     

Hybrid photovoltaic devices from regioregular polythiophene and ZnO nanoparticles composites

The nano size zinc oxide (ZnO) was successfully synthesized at low temperature solution method. The structural characterization, size and distribution of synthesized ZnO particles were performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and neutron scattering technique. The hybrid polymer-metal oxide bulk heterojunction solar cell has been fabricated by blending of ZnO and regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) through solution process and flow coating on the flexible substrate. The decrease in the photoluminescence (PL) emission intensity more than 79% for ZnO:P3HT composites film indicates high charge generation efficiency. The cell shows the V_oc and I_sc of 0.33 V and 6.5 mA/cm², respectively. The performance and stability of cell were investigated using UV illumination of white light.     

Steady state conduction through 2D irregular bodies by smoothed particle hydrodynamics

This paper uses a Lagrangian formulation namely smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) technique for the prediction of conduction heat transfer in irregular geometries. Suitable schemes for the placement of particles inside irregular computational domain have been described. Organization and locations for virtual particles are also discussed for both Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. Three different problems having typical geometries that pose numerical complications in grid based technique, are tackled by SPH efficiently. Conduction shape factor (CSF) for all the problems calculated through SPH shows a good agreement with published results or analytical solutions. Further, the temperature profiles computed by SPH depict close matches with those obtained through numerical software Fluent. The present exercise opens up the possibility of using SPH in varied geometries using different schemes of particle positioning and their judicial combinations.     

Sustainable energy future via grid interactive operation of spv system at isolated remote island

This paper has analyzed the case of Moushuni Island at Sundarban of 24 Parganas South of West Bengal, India. The proposition is to find out the possibility of grid-connectivity of Isolated Remote Island which is under rural electrification scheme by hybrid renewable energies under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission of India. In these rural electrification program, grid extension can be the best option if the grid is reliable, the rural community rather big and in proximity to the grid. In many circumstances, a strong case for mini-grids based on hybrid systems can be made. Scattered communities and isolated houses are well served by solar and small hydro (where available) or small wind energy systems. By feeding renewable electricity to the utility grid through the grid-connected hybrid renewable energy system, during time of peak demand, sufficient electrical loads can be shed to prevent turning on a coal or natural gas-fired plant and therefore save CO₂ emissions and potentially energy import costs, replacing fossil fuels. The Social, Economic, and Environmental Benefits can be achieved through this proposition. Also, the Grid Interactive Operation of SPV System at Moushuni Island is tested. Malda district of West Bengal, India is a vision towards smart-grid city towards sustainable future, where rural consumers can upgrade their quality of life through solar energy resource.     

Standard potentials of the silver/silver-iodide electrode in aqueous mixtures of ethylene glycol at different temperatures and the thermodynamics of transfer of hydrogen halides from water to glycolic media

The standard potentials (E°) of the silver/silver-iodide electrode in aqueous mixtures of ethylene glycol (containing 10, 30, 50, 70 and 90 wt-% glycol) have been determined from emf measurements of the cell Pt, H₂(g, 1 atm)/HOAc(m₁), NaOAc(m₂), Kl(m₃), solvent/AgI/Ag at nine temperatures ranging from 5 to 45°C. These E° values have been utilized to compute free energy (Δt_t°), entropy (ΔS_t°) and enthalpy (ΔH_t°) changes accompanying the transfer of HI from water to each of the solvents. These values as well as those for HCl and HBr and obtained earlier have also been utilized to evaluate ΔS_t°(i) for individual ions by a method of ‘simultaneous extrapolation,’ which in turn furnished the values of ΔH_t°(i) for these ions. These quantities and also the ‘chemical’ contributions for the halide ions as obtained by subtracting the ‘electrostatic’ contribution computed with the Born equation, have been examined in the light of ion—solvent interactions as well as the structural changes of the solvents. The observed results conform with what is expected from the competitive effects of the preferential solvating capacities of water towards halide ions and that of other solvents towards hydrogen ions, and also of the effects arising from the structural changes of the solvents that are likely to occur in the over-all transfer process.     

Carbon nanohorn‐graphene nanoplate hybrid: An excellent electrode material for supercapacitor application

This study describes the capacitor behavior of carbon nanohorn (CNH)/graphene nanoplate (GNP) hybrid (CNGN). The well‐CNH‐decorated GNP‐plate electrode materials show high capacitance value (≈677 F/g) and can be extensively used in new generation for energy storage. In the hybrid (CNGN), two nanofillers jointly affect the capacitance behavior and increase the capacitance value of the CNGN hybrid. Homogeneous coating of CNH over the GNP plate plays an effective role to enhance the capacitance behavior of the composite. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis of the composite confirmed the CNH coating on the GNP plate. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42118.     

Influence of thermophoresis and chemical reaction on MHD micropolar fluid flow with variable fluid properties

This work investigates the effect of thermophoresis and chemical reaction on heat and mass transfer in hydromagnetic micropolar fluid flow over an inclined permeable plate with constant heat flux and non-uniform heat source/sink in the presence of thermal radiation. It is assumed that the transverse magnetic field is a function of the distance from the origin. The analysis accounts for both temperature dependent fluid viscosity and thermal conductivity. Using the similarity transformation, the governing system of equations are transformed into non-linear ordinary differential equations and are solved numerically using symbolic software MATHEMATICA. Numerical results for the velocity, microrotation, temperature and species concentration as well as for the skin friction, heat and mass transfer are obtained and displayed graphically for pertinent parameters to show interesting aspects of the solution.