Fabrication of Y2O3-doped BaZrO3 thin films by electrostatic spray deposition

Electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) technique was used to fabricate dense Y₂O₃-doped BaZrO₃ (BYZ) thin films, which have been extensively studied for the protonic ceramic fuel cell electrolyte. Effects of the ESD process parameters (i.e. substrate temperature, type of precursor, flow rate and applied voltage) on the microstructure of as-deposited films were studied. The uniform as-deposited films were obtained using a mixture of zirconium acetylacetonate, barium chloride dihydrate and yttrium chloride hexahydrate precursors in a solvent mixture of butyl carbitol and deionized water at a volume ratio of 50:50. The optimum deposition parameters were obtained at the substrate temperature of 250 °C with the applied voltage and flow rate in a range of 10-12 kV and 1.4-2.8 ml/h, respectively. The as-deposited films were subsequently annealed at 1350 °C for 10 h to ensure the complete chemical reactions of the precursors. X-ray diffraction patterns reveal the perovskite structures of the annealed BYZ films (deposited on yttria stabilized zirconia substrates) with only traces of Y₂O₃ phase, which could arise from the loss of BaO at high annealing temperatures.     

A new global accessibility algorithm for a polyhedral model with convex polygonal facets

Global accessibility information of a CAD model has been utilized widely in various manufacturing applications. This information needs fast-computing to improve the efficiency of manufacturability analysis. It needs compact representation to increase the effective utilization in its process-planning task. We propose a new geometric algorithm to explicitly find the global accessibility cones (GAC) of a polyhedral model. The proposed algorithm has three main steps. The first is concave region extraction, collecting facets that are not on the convex hull of the entire model. Second, inaccessibility of convex polygonal facets in these concave regions is analyzed in order to find their inaccessibility cones (IAC). The method is done in 2D instead of 3D. Finally, to compute GACs of those facets, the complement of the IACs union is determined for an exact solution, while the slicing-method is proposed to find a near-exact solution. In this paper, geometric examples are demonstrated and a comparison of the computational complexity with existing algorithms is provided.     

Efficient Key Management Protocol for Secure RTMP Video Streaming toward Trusted Quantum Network

This paper presents an achievable secure videoconferencing system based on quantum key encryption in which key management can be directly applied and embedded in a server/client videoconferencing model using, for example, OpenMeeting. A secure key management methodology is proposed to ensure both a trusted quantum network and a secure videoconferencing system. The proposed methodology presents architecture on how to share secret keys between key management servers and distant parties in a secure domain without transmitting any secrets over insecure channels. The advantages of the proposed secure key management methodology overcome the limitations of quantum point‐to‐point key sharing by simultaneously distributing keys to multiple users; thus, it makes quantum cryptography a more practical and secure solution. The time required for the encryption and decryption may cause a few seconds delay in video transmission, but this proposed method protects against adversary attacks.     

Synthesis and characterization of acrylamide‐based aluminum flocculant for turbidity reduction in wastewater

Polymeric flocculants of aluminum hydroxide‐poly[acrylamide‐co‐(acrylic acid)], AHAMAA, were prepared by solution polymerization using aluminum hydroxide as a coagulant in the presence of acrylamide (AM) and acrylic acid (AA) as a comonomer pair with N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide as a crosslinking agent. The crosslinking was initiated by ammonium persulfate with N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethylethylenediamine as an initiator. The water absorbency of crosslinked poly[AM‐co‐AA] was always higher than that of AHAMAA and was found to be correlated to the storage modulus of the polymers, which was higher for AHAMAA than that of crosslinked poly[AM‐co‐AA]. The residual aluminum concentration of AHAMAA (0.09–0.2 mg L^?1) indicated the stability of the polymer flocculant which was in good agreement with the observed tan δ and the higher G′′ and G′ values. Both the crosslinked poly[AM‐co‐AA] and AHAMAA satisfactorily reduced the turbidity of kaolin suspensions, but the latter gave a better reduction performance. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Syntheses,characterization, and antibacterial activity of chitosan grafted hydrogels and associated mica‐containing nanocomposite hydrogels

Chitosan (CS) grafted poly[(acrylic acid)‐co‐(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate)] (CS‐g‐poly(AA‐co‐HEMA)) at different molar ratios of AA and HEMA, and the associated nanocomposite hydrogels of CS‐g‐poly(AA‐co‐HEMA)/mica were synthesized by radical copolymerization. The grafting positions at the amino or hydroxyl groups in the CS were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. CS‐g‐poly(AA‐co‐HEMA) hydrogels were intercalated in the mica and the amount of hydrogel insertion did not affect the spacing of the silicate layers in mica. The higher mica loadings produced a rougher surface of the nanocomposite hydrogel. The water absorbency of the CS‐g‐poly(AA‐co‐HEMA)/mica nanocomposite hydrogels decreased with increasing levels of mica loading to a lower level than those of the CS‐g‐poly(AA‐co‐HEMA) hydrogels. Both CS‐g‐poly(AA) and CS‐g‐poly(AA‐co‐HEMA)/mica nanocomposite hydrogels exhibited a higher antiproliferative activity against Staphylococcus aureus than did the neat CS hydrogel with CS‐g‐poly(AA) revealing a very pronounced minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of 1.56 mg mL^?1. The extent of mica loading in the CS‐g‐poly(AA‐co‐HEMA) nanocomposite hydrogels did not affect the MIC (12.5 mg mL^?1). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Transient Crack Growth Behavior Under Cycle/Time-Dependent Step Loading for Pb-Containing and Pb-Free Solders

In the present study, fatigue crack growth tests of Pb-containing [Sn-37Pb (wt.%)] and Pb-free [Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (wt.%)] solders were performed under cycle/time-dependent step loading at a constant J-integral range (ΔJ). The C ^* parameter was also estimated for discussing time-dependent crack growth behavior. The experimental results indicated that acceleration of the crack growth rate at the beginning of the second loading step was induced when the C ^* value for the first loading step was high, regardless of time- or cycle-dependent crack growth and for both Sn-37Pb and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solders. The length of the acceleration region of the crack growth rate for both solders was in good agreement with the creep damage zone size estimated by the creep zone model proposed by Riedel and Rice.     

Formation of titanium nitride on γ-TiAl alloys by direct metal–gas reaction

Two alloys, Ti-47Al-2Nb-2Cr (MJ12) and Ti-47Al-2Nb-2Mn + 0.8TiB₂ (MJ47), were nitrided in purified ammonia for 3.6 × 10³–3.6 × 10⁴ s (1–10 h) at a temperature range of 800–1,000 °C. The nitridation process can successfully improve alloy hardness which increased with an increase of the nitridation temperature and time. Hardness values of MJ12 and MJ47 with 1,000 °C nitridation for 3.6 × 10⁴ s were the highest at 700.5 ± 9.0 and 694.7 ± 21.8 kg mm⁻², respectively. The wear rate and friction coefficient were significantly reduced by the nitridation process. Wear resistance of both alloys increased by two orders of magnitude after nitridation compared to the corresponding alloys without nitridation. In addition, the alloys were analyzed using XRD, SEM, EDX and an optical microscope.