Synthesis, Densification, and Phase Evolution Studies of Al2O3–Al2TiO5–TiO2 Nanocomposites and Measurement of Their Electrical Properties

Alumina–aluminum titanate–titania (Al₂O₃–Al₂TiO₅–TiO₂) nanocomposites were synthesized using alkoxide precursor solutions. Thermal analysis provided information on phase evolution from the as-synthesized gel with an increase in temperature. Calcination at 700°C led to the formation of an Al₂O₃–TiO₂ nanocomposite, while at a higher temperature (1300°C) an Al₂O₃–Al₂TiO₅–TiO₂ nanocomposite was formed. The nanocomposites were uniaxially compacted and sintered in a pressureless environment in air to study the densification behavior, grain growth, and phase evolution. The effects of nanosize particles on the crystal structure and densification of the nanocomposite have been discussed. The sintered nanocomposite structures were also characterized for dielectric properties.     

IMPROVING THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF COPPER ALLOYS BY THERMO-MECHANICAL PROCESSING

Systematic physical simulation of thermo-mechanical processing routes has been applied on a Gleeble 1500 simulator to four copper alloys (mass %) Cu-0.57Co-0.32Si,Cu-0.55Cr-0.065P, Cu-0.22Zr-0.035Si and Cu-1.01Ni-0.43Si aimed at clarifying the influences of processing conditions on their final properties, strength and electrical conductivity. Flow curves were determined over wide temperature and strain rate ranges. Hardness was used as a measure of the strength level achieved. High hardhess was obtained as using equal amounts (strains 0.5) of cold deformation before and after the precipitation annealing stage. The maximum values achieved for the Cu-Co-Si,Cu-Cr-P,Cu-Zr-Si and Cu-Ni-Si alloys were 190, 165, 178 and 193 HV5,respectively. A thermo-mechanical schedule involving the hot deformation-ageing-cold deformation stages showed even better results for the Cu-Zr-Si alloy. Consequently,the processing routes were designed based on simulation test results and wires of 5 and 2mm in diameters have been successfully processed in the industrial scale.     

Achieving Robustness and Minimizing Overhead in Parallel Algorithms Through Overlapped Communication/Computation

One of the major goals in the design of parallel processing machines and algorithms is to achieve robustness and reduce the effects of the overhead introduced when a given problem is parallelized or a fault occurs. A key contributor to overhead is communication time, in particular when a node is faulty and another node is substuiting for its operation. Many architectures try to reduce this overhead by minimizing the actual time for a communication to occur, including latency and bandwidth figures. Another approach is to hide communication by overlapping it with computation assuming that the computation is the most prominent factor. This paper presents the mechanisms provided in the Proteus parallel computer and its effective use of communication hiding through overlapping communication/computation techniques with and without the presence of a fault. These techniques are easily extended for use in compiler support of parallel programming. We also address the complexity (or rather simplicity) in achieving complete exchange on the Proteus Machine.     

Carbon nanocapsules encapsulating cobalt nanoparticles by pulsed discharge plasma chemical vapor deposition

Silicon coated with a thin film of cobalt [Si/Co (10 nm)] is exposed to the plasma generated using CH₄–H₂ gas mixture by making a discharge between Si/Co substrates and Mo bent plate in pulsed discharge plasma chemical vapor deposition. At high plasma temperature and deposition pressure, carbon nanocapsules encapsulating Co nanoparticles are observed to form. They are investigated using high resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, visible Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Present study indicates that the formation mechanism of carbon nanocapsules lie in the sputtering of Co thin film by the energetic ions from plasma at high deposition pressure which results in the formation of Co nanoparticles, on surface of which graphitic layers gets deposited at high plasma temperature. Present approach provides a novel strategy for the synthesis of high purity carbon nanocapsules encapsulating metal nanoparticles.     

Combined effect of shear and fibrous fillers on orientation-induced crystallization in discontinuous aramid fiber/isotactic polypropylene composites

The shear-induced crystallization behavior in isotactic polypropylene (iPP) composite melt containing short aramid fibers was investigated by means of WAXD (wide-angle X-ray diffraction) and SAXS (small-angle X-ray scattering) techniques using synchrotron radiation. The study was carried out in a post-shear isothermal crystallization mode at temperatures of 140-160 °C. Parameters pertaining to the crystallization morphology and kinetics were analyzed, including total crystallinity, orientated crystalline and amorphous fractions, dimensions of the formed shish-kebab structure, as well as induction time and rate of crystallization. The individual contributions of shear and fibers were evaluated and the combined effect was compared. The results clearly indicated that the effect is synergistic rather than additive.     

New Research on AC–AC Converters without Intermediate Storage and Their Applications in Power-Electronic Transformers and AC Drives

AC-AC converters (e.g. matrix converters) are mostly semiconductor solutions for applications where intermediate energy storage is eliminated. This paper summarizes the research done and being carried out at the University of Minnesota for applications in motor drives and power-electronic transformers with advanced features. This paper presents a carrier-based modulation method for matrix converters and its application during for both input unbalance and output over-modulation. Various topologies of matrix converter are described for both drives and power-electronic transformers. These topologies have some inherent benefits like common-mode voltage elimination across the bearings of the motor/generator and controllable power factor at the input side. Some of the described technologies require open-ended machines as load and thereby some advantages like enhanced output voltage (1.5 times the output of normal three terminal load) are achieved. Copyright © 2009 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Hop proanthocyanidins for the fining of beer

Fining agents are used in the clarification of beers; they help to reduce the time required to sediment suspended yeast cells and ensure the clarity and colloidal stability of beer. Following an adventitious observation during dry‐hopping experiments, we identified a fining activity associated with Saaz hops. Extracts of hop cones were subsequently shown to have the capacity to flocculate yeast and result in their sedimentation. This activity has since been identified in extracts of many different hop varieties and, significantly in spent hops, the co‐product resulting from commercial extraction of hops with either CO₂ or ethanol. Here we illustrate the activity of the novel finings extracted from spent hops following CO₂ extraction of Galena hops. The sediments formed on fining were compact, relative to those obtained when commercial isinglass was used to fine the same beers. The hop extracts were also effective in reducing 90° haze in beers under conditions designed to mimic both cask ale (12 °C) and lager (4 °C) type applications. The compounds responsible for the fining activity appear to be large (30–100 kDa, or more) polyphenols. Analysis of the polyphenols using colourimetric tests indicated the presence of proanthocyanidins. On acidic hydrolysis these generated cyanidin, which would be derived from a polymer composed of catechin and epicatechin subunits. The presence of these materials in spent hops offers the possibility to develop commercial products, with desirable fining properties, from an existing co‐product stream. Furthermore, the finings are derived from a traditional ingredient of the brewing process. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Solid-state dye PV cells using inverse opal TiO2 films

A novel approach to increase the efficiency of solid-state Gratzel solar cells is presented. Large surface, titania inverse opal films is prepared, and used in fabricating solid-state dye sensitised organic–inorganic hybrid Gratzel solar cells. The ordered interconnected cavities forming the microporous structure allow an easy and desired penetration of both the dye and the solid-state hole conductor material favouring the intimate contact of both these elements through the whole depth of the titania. These cells show much higher efficiency as compared to solid-state Gratzel cells prepared, in twin procedures, by conventional method using nanocrystalline TiO₂ films.     

Phase-engineered III-V MQW Mach-Zehnder modulators

We have optimized the negative frequency chirp while maintaining a high extinction ratio in an InP-InGaAsP multiple-quantum-well (MQW) Mach-Zehnder modulator. Our procedure is to elongate one modulator arm such that a /spl pi/ phase shift is produced at zero bias relative to the opposing arm. The resulting de extinction ratio is improved to /spl ap/16 dB from 10 dB relative to a symmetric design. The frequency chirp of the modulator at the rising edge is about -3 GHz enabling excellent transmission performance over a 95 km of conventional fiber.