Effect of Nanoclay on the Mechanical,Thermal, and Water Absorption Properties of an UP-toughened Epoxy Network

Unsaturated polyester (UP)-toughened epoxy nanocomposites were prepared, and their effective mechanical and thermal properties were studied. Two types of organo-modified montmorillonite (OMMT) clays were used to prepare the nanocomposites. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed the formation of exfoliated silicate layers in the UP-toughened epoxy matrix. Mechanical tests revealed that nanocomposites (containing 1 wt% OMMT clay) showed an increase in tensile strength to 13.8%, flexural strength to 10%, and impact strength to 4% compared with an UP-toughened epoxy blend. The effect of different heating rates on the curing behavior of UP-toughened epoxy nanocomposites was investigated using non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry. The data were interpreted using the Kissinger and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa models to find the curing reaction parameter. The water uptake behavior for nanocomposites increased with the addition of OMMTs. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs indicated morphological changes in the impact fractured samples of UP-toughened epoxy nanocomposites.     

Modulatory Effects of Biosynthesized Gold Nanoparticles Conjugated with Curcumin and Paclitaxel on Tumorigenesis and Metastatic Pathways—In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women globally, and diagnosing it early and finding potential drug candidates against multi-drug resistant metastatic breast cancers provide the possibilities of better treatment and extending life. Methods: The current study aimed to evaluate the synergistic anti-metastatic activity of Curcumin (Cur) and Paclitaxel (Pacli) individually, the combination of Curcumin–Paclitaxel (CP), and also in conjugation with gold nanoparticles (AuNP–Curcumin (Au-C), AuNP–Paclitaxel (Au-P), and AuNP–Curcumin–Paclitaxel (Au-CP)) in various in vitro and in vivo models. Results: The results from combination treatments of CP and Au-CP demonstrated excellent synergistic cytotoxic effects in triple-negative breast cancer cell lines (MDA MB 231 and 4T1) in in vitro and in vivo mouse models. Detailed mechanistic studies were performed that reveal that the anti-cancer effects were associated with the downregulation of the expression of VEGF, CYCLIN-D1, and STAT-3 genes and upregulation of the apoptotic Caspase-9 gene. The group of mice that received CP combination therapy (with and without gold nanoparticles) showed a significant reduction in the size of tumor when compared to the Pacli alone treatment and control groups. Conclusions: Together, the results suggest that the delivery of gold conjugated Au-CP formulations may help in modulating the outcomes of chemotherapy. The present study is well supported with observations from cell-based assays, molecular and histopathological analyses.     

A heuristic based on multi-stage programming approach for machine-loading problem in a flexible manufacturing system

Manufacturing industries are rapidly changing from economies of scale to economies of scope, characterized by short product life cycles and increased product varieties. This implies a need to improve the efficiency of job shops while still maintaining their flexibility. These objectives are achieved by Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). The basic aim of FMS is to bring together the productivity of flow lines and the flexibility of job shops. This duality of objectives makes the management of an FMS complex. In this article, the loading problem in random type FMS, which is viewed as selecting a subset of jobs from the job pool and allocating them among available machines, is considered. A heuristic based on multi-stage programming approach is proposed to solve this problem. The objective considered is to minimize the system unbalance while satisfying the technological constraints such as availability of machining time and tool slots. The performance of the proposed heuristic is tested on 10 sample problems available in FMS literature and compared with existing solution methods. It has been found that the proposed heuristic gives good results.     

Precipitation hardening of Cu-4Ti-1Cd alloy

Precipitation hardening of Cu-4Ti-1Cd alloy has been studied using hardness measurements and transmission electron microscopy. This alloy exhibited hardness of 238 Hv in solution treated (ST) condition and attained peak hardness of 318 Hv after ageing at 450°C for 40 h. Electrical conductivity of Cu-4Ti-1Cd alloy increased from 5.7 %IACS (International Annealed Copper standard) in ST condition to 8.9 %IACS on ageing at 450°C for 16 h. This alloy exhibited markedly higher yield strength (751 MPa in the peak-aged condition) compared to Cu-4.5Ti alloy but the increase in UTS due to cadmium addition was less significant. The higher yield strength of ternary alloy in peak aged condition is due to the solid solution strengthening of cadmium as well as the presence of -Cu₄Ti precipitate. On over-ageing the alloy showed a decrease in hardness as a result of formation of equilibrium precipitate, -Cu₃Ti. Optical microscopy reveals single phase with equiaxed grains in solution treated condition. A coherent, metastable phase -Cu₄Ti is responsible for high strength and hardness in peak aged condition. The over-ageing in this alloy shows the formation of cellular structure at the grain boundaries of the matrix phase.     

Preparation of a high hydrophobic aluminium surface by double zincating process

In this present study, an efficient method has been proposed to develop a high hydrophobic zincated coating on the eva-core aluminium (Al) alloy surface. The double zincating method (Z2) was utilized to develop the required roughness on the Al surface. To control the surface energy, lauric acid (LA) was coated on the surface using the liquid self-assembled monolayers (L-SAMs) method. Surface morphology, the chemical composition of the treated and untreated Al alloy has been studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The hydrophobicity of the substrates has also been analysed using a contact angle measurement (CA). AFM micrographs show the surface roughness of the Al alloy has been drastically increased with chemical treatments from 0.071 to 0.32 μm. XRD shows the percentage crystallinity of the Al alloy is decreased with double zincating and LA coating from 56.8 to 22.7%. As a result, a high hydrophobicity of Al alloy was induced with a contact angle of 150° upon the double zincating method and L-SAMs coating.     

Design of forging dies for forming flashless ring gear blanks using finite element methods

In the forging industry today, advanced mathematical techniques such as finite element methods (FEM) are beginning to revolutionize the conventional trial-and-error methods for die design and forging process development. Cost reduction programs are being implemented to enable the forging industry to remain competitive in today’s market. Material reduction or weight savings in the quantity of metal required to make the forged part is proving to be a significant factor contributing to cost reduction. Production of ring gear blanks without producing flash reduces the input weight of metal needed to make the gear blank, thus providing cost savings on the forged part. The following paper discusses different approaches currently used to make flashless ring gear blanks. The paper also describes the application of the rigid-viscoplastic finite element code “ALPID,” developed by Battelle Labs, Ohio, in developing a hot forging process to produce flashless ring gear blanks. The metal flow simulations, using ALPID, provide a tool to design and develop die cavities for defect-free closed die forging processes for making flashless ring gear blanks. The forming loads from these simulations are then applied to the forging die and the stresses on the die analyzed using another FEM based stress analysis package (“IDEAS,” developed by SDRC, Ohio) to verify the die design for strength in the given application. Thus, finite element methods were applied in different aspects of forging die design.     

Synthesis and characterization of Znx-1Al2O4(TiO2)x nanocomposite ceramics and their humidity sensing properties

Journal of Materials Science - The present study focuses on the sol–gel synthesis and investigation of Znx-1Al2O4(TiO2)x nanocomposite ceramics prepared by varying x?=?0.1, 0.3...     

Scatterfield microscopy for extending the limits of image-based optical metrology

We have developed a set of techniques, referred to as scatterfield microscopy, in which the illumination is engineered in combination with appropriately designed metrology targets to extend the limits of image-based optical metrology. Previously we reported results from samples with sub-50-nm-sized features having pitches larger than the conventional Rayleigh resolution criterion, which resulted in images having edge contrast and elements of conventional imaging. In this paper we extend these methods to targets composed of features much denser than the conventional Rayleigh resolution criterion. For these applications, a new approach is presented that uses a combination of zero-order optical response and edge-based imaging. The approach is, however, more general and a more comprehensive set of analyses using theoretical methods is presented. This analysis gives a direct measure of the ultimate size and density of features that can be measured with these optical techniques. We present both experimental results and optical simulations using different electromagnetic scattering packages to evaluate the ultimate sensitivity and extensibility of these techniques.