A Novel Self-Organizing Approach to Automatic Traffic Light Management System for Road Traffic Network

Wireless Personal Communications - Traffic network is basically a “network of networks” consisting of mainly two types of networks: road network and a travel network. Due to drastic...     

Multiply Charged Conjugated Polyelectrolytes as a Multifunctional Interlayer for Efficient and Scalable Perovskite Solar Cells

A series of anionic conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) is synthesized based on poly(fluorene-co-phenylene) by varying the side-chain ionic density from two to six per repeat units (MPS2-TMA, MPS4-TMA, and MPS6-TMA). The effect of MPS2, 4, 6-TMA as interlayers on top of a hole-extraction layer of poly(bis(4-phenyl)-2,4,6-trimethylphenylamine (PTAA) is investigated in inverted perovskite solar cells (PeSCs). Owing to the improved wettability of perovskites on hydrophobic PTAA with the CPEs, the PeSCs with CPE interlayers demonstrate a significantly enhanced device performance, with negligible device-to-device dependence relative to the reference PeSC without CPEs. By increasing the ionic density in the MPS-TMA interlayers, the wetting, interfacial defect passivation, and crystal growth of the perovskites are significantly improved without increasing the series resistance of the PeSCs. In particular, the open-circuit voltage increases from 1.06 V for the PeSC with MPS2-TMA to 1.11 V for the PeSC with MPS6-TMA. The trap densities of the PeSCs with MPS2,4,6-TMA are further analyzed using frequency-dependent capacitance measurements. Finally, a large-area (1 cm²) PeSC is successfully fabricated with MPS6-TMA, showing a power conversion efficiency of 18.38% with negligible hysteresis and a stable power output under light soaking for 60 s.     

A Dynamic Inertial Weight Strategy in Micro PSO for Swarm Robots

Wireless Personal Communications - A relatively new area of research and development is Swarm Robotics. It is a part of the swarm intelligence field. In the proposed paper, we shall use swarm...     

Flower‐shaped ultra‐wideband fractal antenna

A flower‐shaped ultra‐wideband fractal antenna is presented. It comprises a fourth iterative flower‐shaped radiator, asymmetrical stub‐loaded feeding line, and coplanar quarter elliptical ground planes. A wide operating band of 12.12 GHz (4.58‐16.7 GHz) for S ₁₁ ≤ ? 10 dB is achieved along with an overall antenna footprint of 15.7 × 11.4 mm². In addition, other desirable characteristics, that is, omnidirectional radiation patterns, peak gain upto 5 dB, and fidelity factor more than 75% are achieved. A good agreement exists between the simulation and measured results. The obtained results illustrate that this antenna has wide operating range and compact dimensions than available structures.     

Impact of adhesive ingredients on adhesion between rubber and brass-plated steel wire in tire

Proficiency on underlying mechanism of rubber-metal adhesion has been increased significantly in the last few decades. Researchers have investigated the effect of various ingredients, such as hexamethoxymethyl melamine, resorcinol, cobalt stearate, and silica, on rubber-metal interface. The role of each ingredient on rubber-metal interfacial adhesion is still a subject of scrutiny. In this article, a typical belt skim compound of truck radial tire is selected and the effect of each adhesive ingredient on adhesion strength is explored. Out of these ingredients, the effect of cobalt stearate is found noteworthy. It has improved adhesion strength by 12% (without aging) and by 11% (humid-aged), respectively, over control compound. For detailed understanding of the effect of cobalt stearate on adhesion, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy are utilized to ascertain the rubber coverage and distribution of elements. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results helped us to understand the impact of Cu_XS layer depth on rubber-metal adhesion. The depth profile of the Cu_XS layer was found to be one of the dominant factors of rubber-metal adhesion retention. Thus, this study has made an attempt to find the impact of different adhesive ingredients on the formation of Cu_XS layer depth at rubber-metal interface and establish a correlation with adhesion strength simultaneously.     

Engineering New Microvascular Networks On-Chip: Ingredients,Assembly, and Best Practices

Tissue engineered grafts show great potential as regenerative implants for diseased or injured tissues within the human body. However, these grafts suffer from poor nutrient perfusion and waste transport, thus decreasing their viability post-transplantation. Graft vascularization is therefore a major area of focus within tissue engineering because biologically relevant conduits for nutrient and oxygen perfusion can improve viability post-implantation. Many researchers used microphysiological systems as testing platforms for potential grafts owing to an ability to integrate vascular networks as well as biological characteristics such as fluid perfusion, 3D architecture, compartmentalization of tissue-specific materials, and biophysical and biochemical cues. Although many methods of vascularizing these systems exist, microvascular self-assembly has great potential for bench-to-clinic translation as it relies on naturally occurring physiological events. In this review, the past decade of literature is highlighted, and the most important and tunable components yielding a self-assembled vascular network on chip are critically discussed: endothelial cell source, tissue-specific supporting cells, biomaterial scaffolds, biochemical cues, and biophysical forces. This paper discusses the bioengineered systems of angiogenesis, vasculogenesis, and lymphangiogenesis and includes a brief overview of multicellular systems. It concludes with future avenues of research to guide the next generation of vascularized microfluidic models.