Genetic based sensorless hybrid intelligent controller for strip loop formation control between inter-stands in hot steel rolling mills

Safe operating environment is essential for all complex industrial processes. The safety issues in steel rolling mill when the hot strip passes through consecutive mill stands have been considered in this paper. Formation of sag in strip is a common problem in the rolling process. The excessive sag can lead to scrap runs and damage to machinery. Conventional controllers for mill actuation system are based on a rolling model. The factors like rise in temperature, aging, wear and tear are not taken into account while designing a conventional controller. Therefore, the conventional controller cannot yield a requisite controlled output. In this paper, a new Genetic-neuro-fuzzy hybrid controller without tension sensor has been proposed to optimize the quantum of excessive sag and reduce it. The performance of the proposed controller has been compared with the performance of fuzzy logic controller, Neuro-fuzzy controller and conventional controller with the help of data collected from the plant. The simulation results depict that the proposed controller has superior performance than the other controllers.     

A novel SVM-based handwritten Tamil character recognition system

This paper describes a system for recognizing offline handwritten Tamil characters using support vector machine (SVM). Data samples are collected from different writers on A4 sized documents. They are scanned using a flat bed scanner at a resolution of 300 dpi and stored as gray-scale images. Various preprocessing operations are performed on the digitized image to enhance the quality of the image. Pixel densities are calculated for 64 different zones of the image and these values are used as the features of a character. These features are used to train the SVM. The SVM is tested for the first time to recognize handwritten Tamil characters. The system has achieved a very good recognition accuracy of 82.04% on the handwritten Tamil character database.     

Properties of filaments spun from poly(ethylene terephthalate) chips containing PET–dust

It is observed that the thick portions in a poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) filament differ from the rest in their solution viscosity and birefringence, indicating that they are caused by the inhomogeneity of the polymer melt. To identify the cause of the latter, the PET chips are critically examined. It is found that the waferlike tails on the edge of the PET chips and PET–dust have slightly higher viscosity than the chips. The behavior of the chips and the dust during drying and melt spinning are examined to find whether the dust becomes postpolymerized during drying. Such dried PET–dust exhibits substantially different melting behavior than the chips. The filaments spun from the mixture of chips and PET–dust exhibit significantly higher nonuniformity in properties than the filaments spun from the chips only. It is concluded that the PET–dust entering the extruder with the chips can cause thick portions in the filaments.     

Synthesis of Lead Zirconate Titanate Stannate Antiferroelectric Thick Films by Sol-Gel Processing

The effects of different sintering procedures on the preparation of antiferroelectric thick films and the structure–property relations in these films were studied. An acetic acid-based sol–gel processing with multistep annealing and suitable lead oxide overcoat layers was developed to fabricate both niobium-doped and lanthanum-doped lead zirconate titanate stannate antiferroelectric thick films. The 5-μm-thick Pb_0.99Nb_0.02(Zr_0.85Sn_0.13Ti_0.02)_0.98O₃ films demonstrate typical square hysteresis loops with a maximum polarization of 40 μC/cm², zero remanent polarization, an antiferroelectric-to-ferroelectric phase transition field of 153 kV/cm, and a ferroelectric-to-antiferroelectric phase transition field of 97 kV/cm. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss are 283 and 1.7%, respectively. The 5-μm-thick Pb_0.97La_0.02(Zr_0.65Sn_0.31Ti_0.04)O₃ films display typical slanted hysteresis loops with very small hysteresis, a maximum polarization of 35.0 μC/cm², and zero remanent polarization. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss are 434 and 2.0%, respectively.     

Droplet‐Based Microfluidic Synthesis of Anisotropic Metal Nanocrystals

A droplet‐based microfluidic method for the preparation of anisotropic gold nanocrystal dispersions is presented. Gold nanoparticle seeds and growth reagents are dispensed into monodisperse picoliter droplets within a microchannel. Confinement within small droplets prevents contact between the growing nanocrystals and the microchannel walls. The critical factors in translating macroscale flask‐based methods to a flow‐based microfluidic method are highlighted and approaches are demonstrated to flexibly fine tune nanoparticle shapes into three broad classes: spheres/spheroids, rods, and extended sharp‐edged structures, thus varying the optical resonances in the visible–near‐infrared (NIR) spectral range.     

Short chain xylooligosaccharides: a potential prebiotic used to improve batter fermentation and its effect on the quality attributes of idli,a cereal–legume‐based Indian traditional food

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS), a potential prebiotic exhibits important technological characteristics and interesting nutritional properties. The major fraction in XOS produced enzymatically from corncob was characterised as β‐d ‐xylopyranosyl‐(1,4)‐d ‐xylanopyranose (xylobiose) using ¹³C and 2D‐HSQC NMR. The use of this XOS as a prebiotic in idli, a cereal/legume‐based fermented cake, and its effect on texture, fermentation and sensory characteristics was investigated. Idli batter was fermented with different concentrations of XOS (0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6% w/v) for 4–18 h conventionally. The addition of XOS markedly increased lactic acid bacteria number (9.88 ± 0.08 log cfu g^?1) which resulted in rapid reduction in pH (4.61 ± 0.03) and specific gravity after 6 h of fermentation when compared to conventional batter fermentation for 18 h without XOS (9.46 ± 0.06 log cfu g^?1). Instrumental (colour and texture) and sensory evaluation indicated that the optimum conditions were 0.4% XOS and 6 h fermentation. Idlis with XOS had higher moisture content and a softer texture. Addition of XOS benefits both fermentation and idli quality.     

Synthesis and Pyrolysis-Field Ionization Mass Spectrometric Study of an Aromatic Polyamide Having Azo Group in the Main Chain

The reductive coupling of p-nitrobenzoic acid with glucose solution gave 4,4′-azodibenzoic acid and was converted to 4,4′-azodibenzoylchloride using thionyl chloride. This aromatic diacid chloride was condensed with 4,4′-Diaminodiphenyl ether by two different techniques to yield aromatic polyamide. The low temperature polymerization method resulted in comparatively high molecular weight polymer as evidenced by intrinsic viscosity values. The structure of the material was confirmed by IR studies. Detailed pyrolysis-field ionization mass spectral studies carried out indicated two major degradations. In the temperature region (180–200°C), the mass spectrum showed intense peaks at m/z = 166 and 149 which can be explained from the fragmentation of azodicarboxylic acid formed from the polymer. The mass spectrum recorded at 465°C gave clear proof for the structure of the polyamide and also enough evidence was noted for the hydrogenation of the azo group during pyrolysis.     

Adsorption enhanced steam reforming of methanol for hydrogen generation in conjunction with fuel cell: Process design and reactor dynamics

This work focuses on a preliminary investigation of hydrogen generation using adsorption enhanced reforming (AER) of methanol in packed-bed reactors. A process design of AER in conjunction with proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is conducted using Honeywell $\mathrm{UniSim}\circledR$ Design software. A time-dependent model based on detailed reaction kinetics from the literature is developed to describe the reactor dynamics during both reforming and regeneration steps. It is shown that AER of methanol has a potential to efficiently generate hydrogen in portable fuel cell applications. Implications for ongoing experimental studies are discussed.