Correction to: Buckling of magneto-electro-hygro-thermal piezoelectric nanoplates system embedded in a visco-Pasternak medium based on nonlocal theory

Microsystem Technologies - The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. Farzad Ebrahimi was not listed among the authors.     

Postbuckling analysis of piezoelectric multiscale sandwich composite doubly curved porous shallow shells via Homotopy Perturbation Method

In this study postbuckling behaviors of multiscale composite sandwich doubly curved piezoelectric shell with a flexible core and MR layers by employing Homotopy Perturbation Method in hygrothermal environment has been investigated. By using Reddy third shear deformable theory the face sheets and third-order polynomial theory of the flexible core the strains and stresses are obtained. A mathematical model for the multiscale composite layered shell with a flexible core and magnetorheological layer (MR) that incorporates the nonlinearity of the in-plane and the vertical displacements of the core is assumed. Three-phase composite shells with polymer/Carbon nanotube/fiber and polymer/Graphene platelet/fiber either uniformly or non-uniformly based on different patterns according to Halpin–Tsai model have been considered. The governing equations of multiscale shell have been derived by implementing Hamilton’s principle. Meanwhile, simply supported boundary conditions are employed to the shell. For investigating correctness and accuracy, this paper is validated by other previous researches. Finally, different parameters such as temperature rise, various distribution patterns, magnetic fields and curvature ratio are considered in this article. It is found these parameters have significant effect on the frequency–amplitude curves.

     

A two-phase mathematical-programming heuristic for flexible assignment of activities and tasks to work shifts

In the service industry, workers perform work shifts and are assigned to interruptible activities and uninterruptible tasks during their shifts. The work shifts of regular employees are often established several weeks in advance of the operations when the activity and task demands are still uncertain. Just a few days before the operations when these demands are unveiled with more certainty, the planned schedules can be slightly modified and on-call temporary employees can be scheduled to satisfy the demands as best as possible. As acceptable modifications, extending the planned shifts and moving workers’ meal breaks are considered. In this paper, we are interested in the scheduling problem encountered in this second step, which also involves assigning activities and tasks to the scheduled work shifts. To produce good-quality solutions in fast computational times for large-sized instances, we develop a two-phase heuristic. In the first phase, an approximate mixed-integer programming model is used to suggest temporary shifts and extensions to regular shifts and to schedule and assign tasks. In the second phase, a column-generation heuristic embedded in a rolling horizon procedure determines the final shifts and assigns activities to them. Computational results obtained on randomly generated instances are reported to evaluate the validity of the proposed solution method.     

Fullerene: biomedical engineers get to revisit an old friend

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Improved electrochemical performance of nitrocarburised stainless steel by hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films for bone tissue engineering

In this study, hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films, structurally similar to diamond‐like carbon (DLC), were deposited on the surface of untreated and plasma nitrocarburised (Nitrocarburizing‐treated) stainless steel medical implants using a plasma‐enhanced chemical vapour deposition method. The deposited DLC thin films on the nitrocarburising‐treated implants (CN+DLC) exhibited an appropriate adhesion to the substrates. The results clearly indicated that the applied DLC thin films showed excellent pitting and corrosion resistance with no considerable damage on the surface in comparison with the other samples. The CN+DLC thin films could be considered as an efficient approach for improving the biocompatibility and chemical inertness of metallic implants.Inspec keywords: tissue engineering, bone, biomedical materials, electrochemistry, amorphous state, carbon, hydrogen, thin films, plasma CVD, adhesion, corrosion resistance, surface hardeningOther keywords: electrochemical performance, plasma nitrocarburised stainless steel medical implants, hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films, bone tissue engineering, plasma‐enhanced chemical vapour deposition method, adhesion, corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, chemical inertness, metallic implants, C:H     

The experimental and numerical impacts of geometrical parameters of conical shock tube on the function,maximum pressure and generative impulses to expose equivalent mass and behavioral equation

One of the methods to investigate the phenomenon of explosion underwater and its impact on the structures is to use the conical shock tube. These tubes produce a lot of pressure using a tiny explosive charge. In this essay, the geometry of the established/manufactured explosive shock tube is demonstrated first and the results of the experiments operating the tube is presented. Then, the explosion of a given amount of explosive charge in the conical shock tube is studied by benefiting the LS‐DYNA code. The numerical simulation is done by Lagrange‐Oiler selected multi‐materials solutions. To ensure the authenticity of the selected method in the software, the results of the stimulated model is compared with the experimental outcomes accordingly, after accrediting the accuracy of the results, the stimulating and scrutinizing the effects of geometrical parameters on the function of explosive shock tubes is proceeded. In this research, the effect of the cone head angel on the produced pressure inside the shock tube is analyzed first. Then, the function of shock tubes with different lengths is checked. Moreover, after changing the scale of the explosive charge and studying the outcome, stating the reasons for changes in each parameter and examining the effect of the relation between the explosive proportion and the water volume inside the shock tube, an equation for the equivalent mass for all sock tubes with different angels is exhibited and the existing theoretical relation is revised. Finally, by examining the pressure and impulses changes in different intervals, an equation is presented to anticipate the pressure and impulses in different shock tubes.     

Optical and photo catalytic characteristics of Ag<Subscript>2</Subscript>S/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanocomposite films prepared by electrochemical anodizing and SILAR approach

Ag₂S decorated titanium oxide nanotubes (Ag₂S/NTs) were prepared by electrochemical anodizing and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) approach. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. SEM results indicate titanium oxide nanotubes (NTs) with 90–220 nm in diameter and 15–30 nm in wall thickness were prepared by one-step anodizing method on the surface of titanium foils. Characterization of the Ag₂S/NTs samples indicated that the number of SILAR cycles influenced the morphology of fabricated films. The degradation of rhodamine B was used as a model reaction to evaluate the photo catalytic activity of the obtained samples. Results showed that the photo catalytic activity of Ag₂S/NTs nanocomposite samples is higher than that with bare NTs sample. The incorporation of Ag₂S on NTs improves the photo catalytic activity due to the synergetic effect. Ag₂S/NTs nanocomposite sample prepared by SILAR deposition with 2 cycles gives the highest degrading rate, which can be attributed to appropriate Ag₂S content and high surface area of this sample. Ag₂S/NTs nanocomposites are easy to be recycled and have good stability for repeated use. With the improved visible light degradation performance, Ag₂S/NTs samples would be expected to be used in water purification. Since these prepared electrodes can be easily removed and replaced after the photo catalytic reaction, avoiding the filtration step after photoreaction or the immobilizing process required for photo catalyst particles, the operation in the photo-reactor becomes much easier from an engineering point of view.