Influence of water uptake on the mechanical properties of jute fiber-reinforced polypropylene

Jute fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites have been produced and characterized in order to investigate the influence of water on their mechanical properties. Being hydrophilic, jute fibers absorb a high amount of water causing swelling of fibers. On the other hand, the thermal shrinkage of polypropylene melt leaves some gaps between jute fibers and matrix material. We investigated whether these gaps could be filled by the swelling of wetted fibers. The fillup of these gaps would result in a higher shear strength between fibers and matrix during fracture. Our results suggest that swelling of jute fibers in a composite material can have positive effects on mechanical properties. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Fast and scalable parallel layout decomposition in double patterning lithography

For 32/22 nm technology nodes and below, double patterning (DP) lithography has become the most promising interim solutions due to the delay in the deployment of next generation lithography (e.g., EUV). DP requires the partitioning of the layout patterns into two different masks, a procedure called layout decomposition. Layout decomposition is a key computational step that is necessary for double patterning technology. Existing works on layout decomposition are all single-threaded, which is not scalable in runtime and/or memory for large industrial layouts. This paper presents the first window-based parallel layout decomposition methods for improving both runtime and memory consumption. Experimental results are promising and show the presented parallel layout decomposition methods obtain upto 21× speedup in runtime and upto 7.5×reduction in peak memory consumption with acceptable solution quality.     

Hydrogen from empty cotton boll agro-waste via thermochemical route and feasibility study of operating an IC engine in continuous mode

Hydrogen can be cited as prospective source of clean power. In this work hydrogen rich syn-gas generated from the agro-waste, empty cotton bolls was injected into an IC engine in continuous mode along with gasoline. At the air-fuel ratio of 23.40, specific fuel consumption of 0.35 kg kWh^?1, the engine could be operated with higher efficiency than with gasoline alone. A distinct reduction in emission characteristics could also be seen. Empty cotton bolls derived after removal of cotton from the flower in field, was first studied for fuel properties. The reasonably high heating value (HHV) of 17.54 MJ kg^?1 suggested that it could be a precursor to hydrogen via two stepped thermo-chemical process. The first step involved slow pyrolysis of the biomass at 500 °C for 60 min at a heating rate of 10 °C min^?1 yielding 39.71% bio-char by weight. The C, H, N, S and O contents of the produced bio-char was 59.91, 2.91, 0.72, 0.47 and 35.99% respectively and its HHV was 26.7 MJ kg^?1. Steam gasification of this bio-char, at 700 °C and water flowrate of 7 mL min^?1 exhibited maximum hydrogen yield of 67.42% (v/v) in the syn-gas mixture. Subsequent enrichment of the gas using ethanolamine/ethylene diamine and KMnO₄ solutions resulted in more than 90% (v/v) hydrogen in the combustible gas mixture and the test engine could be effectively operated.     

Self regulation of photovoltaic module temperature in V-trough using a metal-wax composite phase change matrix

The present study was carried out to take advantage of the enhanced solar insolation in V-trough while limiting the temperature of the photovoltaic (PV) module at around the maximum (ca. 65 °C) observed for conventional usage without any concentration. Paraffin wax of 56-58 °C melting range was chosen as phase change material (PCM) and incorporated at the rear of the module to absorb the excess heat. The problem of low thermal conductivity of the wax was solved with the help of packed metal turnings wherein the wax resided. Two sets of experiments were performed indoor and outdoor. Employing a 0.06 m thick bed of the PCM matrix, the module temperature in the indoor experiment could be maintained at 65-68 °C for 3 h whereas in its absence the temperature rose beyond 90 °C within 15 min. In outdoor studies, the module temperature in V-trough could be reduced from 78 °C to 62 °C with the PCM assembly and operation could be sustained throughout the day. Using the V-trough PV-PCM system, the output power over the day could be enhanced 1.55 times with self regulation of temperature. The molten wax formed during operation re-solidified during the evening and night and could be re-used. A significant finding was the safe operation of the module even under low wind velocity conditions without sacrificing operational simplicity.     

Standstill frequency response testing and modeling of salient-polesynchronous machines

Standstill frequency response (SSFR) testing and modeling of salient-pole synchronous machines are presented for two machines with integral and nonintegral numbers of stator slots per pole per phase. Frequency responses at different rotor positions have been investigated to explore the effects of rotor position in a machine with a fractional slot winding, as the electromagnetic fields and the armature magnetomotive forces do not precisely repeat every pole. The test results do not show any significant differences for various direct and quadrature axes rotor positions. The authors obtained a negative value of differential leakage inductance as theoretically postulated in the literature. The pertinent features of testing and modeling of salient-pole synchronous machines are described to point out the differences with SSFR testing of round rotor turbogenerators extensively published in the literature     

Processing and Characterization of Jute Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Polymers

Jute fibers were investigated to verify their possible application in reinforcement of thermoplastics. A laboratory press was modified and laminates were produced using polymer films of LDPE, HDPE, PE copolymer, and PP as interlayers. Variations of the processing parameters were carried out in order to find optimal adjustment. High molding temperature leads to a decrease of mechanical properties and water absorption ability of the composites. The effect of water treatment on mechanical properties was also studied.