Thermodiffusion,chemical reaction,and Hall and ion-slip impacts on MHD rotating flow past an infinite vertical porous plate

The current scrutiny explores the impacts of thermodiffusion, chemical reaction, and Hall and ion-slip impacts lying on unsteady heat and mass transport of free convective hydromagnetic flow enclosed past a semi-infinite porous plate within a gyratory frame under the accomplishment of a transverse magnetic field and convective boundary conditions. The nondimensional governing equations are solved systematically by means of the finite element method. Through the facilitation of graphical profiles, the outcomes of a variety of significant parameters within the boundary layer are addressed. In addition, the local skin friction coefficient and rates of heat and mass transports in expressions of the local Nusselt number and local Sherwood number are presented digitally in tabulation form, although it is originated that the Nusselt number and Sherwood number remain constant with varying all pertinent parameters. It is found that the porous medium impact on the boundary layer growth is significant due to the increase in the thickness of the hydrodynamic boundary layer and the decrease in the thickness of the thermal and concentration boundary layers. The resultant velocity enhances with increasing rotation, Hall and ion-slip parameters.     

Multi-scale homogenization of moving interface problems with flux jumps: application to solidification

In this paper, a multi-scale analysis scheme for solidification based on two-scale computational homogenization is discussed. Solidification problems involve evolution of surfaces coupled with flux jump boundary conditions across interfaces. We provide consistent macro-micro transition and averaging rules based on Hill’s macro- homogeneity condition. The overall macro-scale behavior is analyzed with solidification at the micro-scale modeled using an enthalpy formulation. The method is versatile in the sense that two different models can be employed at the macro- and micro-scales. The micro-scale model can incorporate all the physics associated with solidification including moving interfaces and flux discontinuities, while the macro-scale model needs to only model thermal conduction using continuous (homogenized) fields. The convergence behavior of the tightly coupled macro-micro finite element scheme with respect to decreasing element size is analyzed by comparing with a known analytical solution of the Stefan problem.     

Applied ontologies and standards for service robots

Service robotics is an emerging application area for human-centered technologies. The rise of household and personal assistance robots forecasts a human–robot collaborative society. One of the robotics community’s major task is to streamline development trends, work on the harmonization of taxonomies and ontologies, along with the standardization of terms, interfaces and technologies. It is important to keep the scientific progress and public understanding synchronous, through efficient outreach and education. These efforts support the collaboration among research groups, and lead to widely accepted standards, beneficial for both manufacturers and users. This article describes the necessity of developing robotics ontologies and standards focusing on the past and current research efforts. In addition, the paper proposes a roadmap for service robotics ontology development. The IEEE Robotics & Automation Society is sponsoring the working group Ontologies for Robotics and Automation. The efforts of the Working group are presented here, aiming to connect the cutting edge technology with the users of these services—the general public.     

Crystal growth and reflectivity studies of Zn1-xMnxTe crystals

Single crystals of Zn_1-xMn_xTe were prepared by vertical Bridgman crystal growth method for different concentrations of Mn. Chemical analysis and reflectivity studies were carried out for compositional and band structure properties. Microscopic variation in composition between starting and end compounds was observed from EDAX analysis. Linear dependence of fundamental absorption edgeE ₀as a function of Mn concentration (x) was expressed in terms of a straight line fit and a shift in E₀ towards higher energy was observed in reflectivity spectra of Zn_1-xMn_xTe.     

In-Situ X-ray Diffraction Analysis of Metastable Austenite Containing Steels Under Mechanical Loading at a Wide Strain Rate Range

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - This paper presents and discusses the methodology and technical aspects of mechanical tests carried out at a wide strain rate range with simultaneous...     

Desalination Using Low-Grade Heat Sources

This study evaluated the feasibility of utilizing low-grade heat sources such as solar energy or waste heat from industrial processes for desalination. The premise of the approach is that saline waters can be desalinated by evaporation and condensation of fresh water at near-ambient temperatures at low pressures. Low pressures can be achieved naturally in the head space of water columns of height equal to the local barometric head. By connecting the head space of such a saline water column to that of a distilled water column, and by maintaining the temperature of the former about 15–20°C above that of the latter, fresh water can be evaporated from the saline column and condensed in the distilled water column. In this study, it is proposed to use a sensible heat thermal energy storage (TES) system to heat the head space of the saline water column. The TES can be maintained at the desired temperature using solar energy and/or waste heat from thermal power plants, refrigeration plants, or air conditioning units. This paper presents the feasibility of the proposed approach, where the TES is maintained at the design temperature by a solar-powered absorption refrigeration system (ARS) augmented by an electric heater. Results of this feasibility study show that the heat rejected by an ARS of cooling capacity of 3.25?kW (0.975 tons of refrigeration) along with an additional energy input of 208?kJ/kg of desalinated water is adequate to produce desalinated water at an average rate of 4.5?kg/h. The solar panel area required for this application was 25?m2. An integrated process model and performance curves of the proposed approach are presented.     

Complete Genome Sequence Analysis of Bacillus subtilis Bbv57, a Promising Biocontrol Agent against Phytopathogens

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are a group of root-associated beneficial bacteria emerging as one of the powerful agents in sustainable plant disease management. Among the PGPR, Bacillus sp. has become a popular biocontrol agent for controlling pests and the diseases of several crops of agricultural and horticultural importance. Understanding the molecular basis of the plant growth-promoting and biocontrol abilities of Bacillus spp. will allow us to develop multifunctional microbial consortia for sustainable agriculture. In our study, we attempted to unravel the genome complexity of the potential biocontrol agent Bacillus subtilis Bbv57 (isolated from the betelvine’s rhizosphere), available at TNAU, Coimbatore. A WGS analysis generated 26 million reads, and a de novo assembly resulted in the generation of 4,302,465 bp genome of Bacillus subtilis Bbv57 containing 4363 coding sequences (CDS), of which 4281 were functionally annotated. An analysis of 16S rRNA revealed its 100% identity to Bacillus subtilis IAM 12118. A detailed data analysis identified the presence of >100 CAZymes and nine gene clusters involved in the production of secondary metabolites that exhibited antimicrobial properties. Further, Bbv57 was found to harbor 282 unique genes in comparison with 19 other Bacillus strains, requiring further exploration.