Electron diffraction study of enzyme-hydrolyzed cotton samples

An electron diffraction study on continuously and repeatedly enzyme-hydrolyzed cotton samples was carried out. The electron diffraction pattern on repeatedly enzyme-treated sample reveals a cellulose I pattern with the absence of the 101 plane. This confirms that enzymatic hydrolysis of cotton fibers proceeds preferentially along the 101 plane, being a clevage plane.     

Strength evaluation of granite block samples with different predictive models

Over the last decade, application of soft computing techniques has rapidly grown up in different scientific fields, especially in rock mechanics. One of these cases relates to indirect assessment of uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of rock samples with different artificial intelligent-based methods. In fact, the main advantage of such systems is to readily remove some difficulties arising in direct assessment of UCS, such as time-consuming and costly UCS test procedure. This study puts an effort to propose four accurate and practical predictive models of UCS using artificial neural network (ANN), hybrid ANN with imperialism competitive algorithm (ICA–ANN), hybrid ANN with artificial bee colony (ABC–ANN) and genetic programming (GP) approaches. To reach the aim of the current study, an experimental database containing a total of 71 data sets was set up by performing a number of laboratory tests on the rock samples collected from a tunnel site in Malaysia. To construct the desired predictive models of UCS based on training and test patterns, a combination of several rock characteristics with the most influence on UCS has been used as input parameters, i.e. porosity (n), Schmidt hammer rebound number (R), p-wave velocity (V_p) and point load strength index (Is(50)). To evaluate and compare the prediction precision of the developed models, a series of statistical indices, such as root mean squared error (RMSE), determination coefficient (R²) and variance account for (VAF) are utilized. Based on the simulation results and the measured indices, it was observed that the proposed GP model with the training and test RMSE values 0.0726 and 0.0691, respectively, gives better performance as compared to the other proposed models with values of (0.0740 and 0.0885), (0.0785 and 0.0742), and (0.0746 and 0.0771) for ANN, ICA–ANN and ABC–ANN, respectively. Moreover, a parametric analysis is accomplished on the proposed GP model to further verify its generalization capability. Hence, this GP-based model can be considered as a new applicable equation to accurately estimate the uniaxial compressive strength of granite block samples.

     

The use of new intelligent techniques in designing retaining walls

Engineering with Computers - The stability of retaining walls against overturning is analyzed in this study using artificial intelligence methods. Five input parameters including wall height, wall...     

Hydrolysis of cotton fibers by cellulase enzyme

Cotton cellulose has been subjected to continuous and repeated enzymatic hydrolysis for different periods. It has been observed that the length of hydrocellulose particles obtained on repeated enzyme action is reduced to about 300–500 Å as compared to 900–3000 Å obtained on prolonged enzyme treatment. Corresponding changes in moisture regain, crystallinity of the hydrolysates, and weight loss brought out by the hydrolysis are also discussed.     

Prediction of rock interlocking by developing two hybrid models based on GA and fuzzy system

Engineering with Computers - Rock shear strength parameters (interlocking and internal friction angel) are considered as significant factors in the designing stage of various geotechnical...     

Effects of a proper feature selection on prediction and optimization of drilling rate using intelligent techniques

Engineering with Computers - One of the important factors during drilling times is the rate of penetration (ROP), which is controlled based on different variables. Factors affecting different...     

Enhanced enzymolysis of never-dried cotton fibers belonging to different species

Enzymolysis of cotton cellulose in their never-dried state, belonging to all the four cultivated species of cotton, was carried out with the enzyme derived from penicillium funiculosum F₄. Hydrolysis to reducing sugars was almost complete for all the cottons in 6 h, though glucose percentage varied. X-ray characterizations of the residues obtained, which were both after enzyme and acid hydrolysis, showed significant differences between both hydrolyses, as well as differences in the behavior of different cotton fibers towards enzyme action. These differences have been attributed to the different structural organization of cellulose in the secondary cell wall of cotton fibers.