Homeland Security

"Homeland security" is a major concern for governments worldwide, which must protect their populations and the critical infrastructures that support them. Information technology plays an important role in many homeland security initiatives. On one hand, it can help mitigate risk and enable effective responses to disasters of natural or human origin. Yet, its suitability for this role is plagued by questions ranging from dependability concerns to the risks that some technologies, such as surveillance, profiling and data aggregation, pose to privacy and civil liberties. On the other hand, information technology is itself an infrastructure to be protected. This includes not only the Internet and financial infrastructure but also the complex systems that control critical infrastructure such as energy, transportation, and manufacturing.     

Chemical reactions between aluminum and fly ash during synthesis and reheating of Al-fly ash composite

Thermodynamic analysis indicates that there is the possibility of chemical reactions between aluminum melt and cenosphere fly ash particles. These particles contain alumina, silica, and iron oxide, which, during solidification processing of aluminum-fly ash composites or during holding of such composites at temperatures above the melting temperature of aluminum, are likely to undergo chemical reduction. These chemical reactions between the fly ash and molten aluminum have been studied by metallographic examination, differential thermal analysis (DTA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and X-ray analysis after holding the aluminum-fly ash composites for different periods above the liquidus temperature. The experiments indicate that there is progressive reduction of silica and mullite in the fly ash, and formation of alumina with holding time of composites at a temperature of 850 °C. The walls of the cenosphere fly ash particles progressively disintegrate into discrete particles as the reaction progresses. The rate of chemical reaction was high at the start of holding the composite at a temperature of 850 °C, and then the rate significantly decreased with time. The reaction was almost complete after 10 hours.     

Parametric study of the electrical to thermal power conversion in an inductively coupledrf plasma torch

An inductively coupled (ic) radio-frequency (rf) stabilized argon plasma was generated in a quartz tube using a 7 MHzrf generator. The electrical and thermal powers were measured and the efficiency of energy conversion was computed. The results indicate that for a constant power input, there is an optimum argon flow rate for which maximum energy conversion efficiency occurs.     

Particle distribution control in cast aluminium alloy-mica composites

A suspension of mica particles (40m diameter and 3.7 thick) obtained in a mechanically stirred Al-4 wt % Cu-1.5 wt % Mg melt was poured and solidified in a variety of moulds under different heat flow configurations. The resulting cast structure showed a non-uniform distribution of dispersed mica particles with mica-depleted and segregated zones due to their flotation before and during solidification. The experimentally observed profiles of mica-free regions deviate significantly from those computed on the basis of Stokes's law and freezing-time computations. In relatively thick castings, segregation of mica could be minimized by using low pouring temperatures and/or side as well as bottom chilling. It was found, however, that thin castings (12.5 mm) could easily be produced with a homogeneous distribution of mica particles.     

Mixing effects and hydrodynamics of vortex rings

Vortex rings have been formed in water by impulsive flow through an orifice, and mixing effects due to the lings have been measured. Laboratory tests on the mixing of stratified layers of salt solution by vortex rings formed at a 6.35 cm diameter orifice have indicated that Froude number is an important factor in determining the energy efficiency of mixing. Field tests using a 25.4 cm orifice in Hamilton Harbour (18 m depth of water) have shown a small mixing effect. Further experiments with a 25.4 cm orifice in a test tank have shown that the vortex rings have a range of at least 30 m.     

Enhancement of electromechanical properties of natural rubber by adding barium titanate filler: An electro-mechanical study

Natural rubber is one of the most potential electro-active polymers for sensors, actuators, and energy harvesting applications. Enhancing the characteristic properties of polymers by reinforcing with fillers that possess multifunctional attributes have attracted considerable attention. In the present study, barium titanate reinforced natural rubber composite is prepared by using two-roll mill mixing. Afterwards, mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical properties of the composites are extensively analyzed by reinforcing different amounts of barium titanate into the matrix of natural rubber. The fabricated dielectric composite shows excellent properties such as high dielectric constant, low dielectric losses, high dielectric breakdown strength, and extreme stretchability. It is observed that as the filler loading reaches the value of 11 parts per hundred rubber (phr), maximum agglomeration of the particles occurs. Maximum stretchability and highest ratio of dielectric constant to elastic modulus are obtained at 8 phr of barium titanate fillers and at the loading, a maximum actuation strain of 11.24% is achieved. This study provides a simple, economical, and effective method for preparing enhanced mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical properties of natural rubber composites, facilitating the wide applications of dielectric materials as actuators and generators.     

Fluidity of mica particle dispersed aluminium alloy

Cast aluminium alloy-mica particle composites were made by dispersing mica particles in a vortex produced by stirring the liquid Al-4 wt% Cu-1.5 wt% Mg alloy and then casting the melt containing the suspended particles into permanent moulds. Spiral fluidity and casting fluidity of the alloy containing mica particles in suspension were determined. Both the spiral fluidity and the casting fluidity of the base alloy were found to decrease with an increase in volume or weight percent of mica particles (of a given size), and with a decrease in particle size (for a given amount of particles). The fluidities of Al-4 wt% Cu-1.5 wt% Mg alloys containing suspended mica particles were found to correlate very well with the surface area of suspended mica particles. The regression equation for spiral fluidity Y (cm) as a function of surface area of mica particles per gram of spiral X (cm² g^–1) at 700° C was found to be Y=42.62–0.42X with a correlation coefficient of 0.9634. The regression equations for casting fluidity Y (cm) as a functiono of surface area of mica particles per gram of fluidity test piece X (cm² g^–1) at 710 and 670° C were found to be Y=19.71–0.17X and Y=13.52–0.105X with correlation coefficients of 0.9194 and 0.9612 respectively. The percentage decrease in casting fluidity of composite melts containing up to 2.5 wt% mica with a drop in temperature is quite similar to the corresponding decrease in the casting fluidity of base alloy melts (without mica). The change in fluidity due to mica dispersions has been discussed in terms of changes in viscosity of the composite melts. However, the fluidities of these composite alloys containing up to 2.5 wt% mica are adequate for making a variety of simple castings including bearings for which these alloys have been developed.