Quasi-static compressive behaviour of aluminium cenosphere syntactic foams

In this paper, cenosphere particles embedded in AA2014 aluminium matrix are used to fabricate syntactic foam by stir casting method. The particle size is about 100?µm and foam density is about 1990?kg?m^?3. Compression tests at strain rate 0.001/s are performed on foam samples to characterise their mechanical properties which are then used in numerical analysis on commercial finite element analysis software ABAQUS/CAE with isotropic elastic-plastic material model. Experimental and numerical results show good conformity in deformation behaviour with elastic and plateau zones showing average deviations less than 5% and 20%, respectively. Foams showed high yield stress and energy absorption capabilities that can be useful in making blast and impact resistant structures.     

Comparative stability of aspartame and neotame in yoghurt

The comparative stability of aspartame and neotame was monitored in yoghurt during its processing, fermentation and storage. A solid‐phase extraction method was suggest changing it to developed for the isolation of aspartame and neotame. Pasteurisation (85 °C/30 min) resulted in approximately 47% and 3% loss of aspartame and neotame, respectively. During fermentation, 3% loss of aspartame was observed, but no loss of neotame. There was no significant effects on the stability of either aspartame or neotame during storage (4–7 °C/15 days). The results indicated that neotame was more stable than aspartame under both pasteurisation and fermentation conditions; however, during storage, both sweeteners exhibited excellent stability.     

Designs of multi-bit sigma delta modulator

This paper presents new design variants of third order multi-bit sigma delta modulator (SDM): low distortion SDM and cascaded SDM. The proposed modulator based on the conventional SDMsuch L-0MASH(Multi-stAge noise SHaping) and interstage feedback topology. TheMASHSDM is not a single loop system. One of the drawback is that performance is limited by uncancelled noise from the first modulator and interstage feedback topology only cancels nonlinear errors introducing by multi-bitDACin the final stage, but the rest stage still containsDACnonlinearity errors without any noise shaping which still degrade overall system performance. An improved version of cascaded multi-bit SDM is proposed to overcome these problems mentioned above. In addition a third order low distortion SDM is also proposed. Simulation results verify the superiority of the both proposed modulator.     

Elucidation of Interactions between l-Ascorbic Acid and Mixed Micellar Aggregates of Catanionic {Sodium Dodecylsulfate + Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide} Surfactants via Physicochemical and Spectroscopic Studies

Surfactant micelles mimic the microenvironment present in biological systems and can act as a medium for antioxidant studies. Moreover, the thermodynamic profile of micellization and spectroscopic studies provides very good information about interactions in these systems. Thus, the mixed micellar behavior of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) at varying mole fractions of SDS was studied in (0.01, 0.02, and 0.03) mol kg⁻¹ ʟ-ascorbic acid_(aq) solutions with the aid of various techniques viz., conductivity, density and sound velocity, and spectroscopy. From the CMC values of the mixed surfactants, the degree of ionization (β) and thermodynamic parameters (, , and ) were evaluated at 298.15, 308.15, and 318.15 K. The UV absorption spectra were recorded in (1–3) × 10⁻⁴ mol kg⁻¹ ʟ-ascorbic acid_(aq) solutions at various mole fractions of SDS. The proton (¹H) NMR spectra of mixed (SDS + CTAB) surfactants were studied in (0.01–0.03) mol kg⁻¹ ʟ-ascorbic acid solutions. Hydrodynamic diameters (D_h) of mixed micellar aggregates were obtained from the dynamic light scattering (DLS) studies. The present studies suggest the predominance of ionic-hydrophilic interactions between the ionic head groups {O-SO₃⁻ or N⁺ (CH₃)₃} of surfactants and the polar (–OH, –C=O and –O–) sites of ʟ-ascorbic acid.     

Sound Speed and Density Studies of Interactions Between Cationic Surfactants and Aqueous Gelatin Solution

Studies on the interactions of surfactants with proteins can contribute to an understanding of the action of surfactants as denaturants and as solubilizing agents for membranes of proteins and lipids. Quantitative aspects of such studies may include direct measurements of properties, such as viscosity, density, sound speed, conductance, and elucidation of the often highly complex phase diagrams. In this study, sound speed and density studies of surfactants, viz., cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, cetyltrimethyl ammonium chloride, and di(dodecydimethyl ammonium bromide) (12-2-12) have been carried out in a 0.02 % w/v aqueous solution of gelatin at temperatures of 20 °C, 25 °C, 30 °C, and 35 °C. From the measured data, the parameters apparent molar volumes ((f_v){(\phi_{v})}), adiabatic compressibility (β), and apparent molar compressibility (f_k){(\phi_{k})} have been calculated to interpret the protein–surfactant interactions. The variations in these parameters with the concentration of the surfactant suggests the manifestation of hydrophobic interactions in the system.