Stability and thermophysical properties of fly ash nanofluid for heat transfer applications

Improving the performance of heat transfer fluids is altogether significant. The best approach for improving the thermal conductivity is the addition of nanoparticles to the base fluid. In the present study, specific heat, dynamic viscosity, and thermal conductivity of water-based Indian coal fly ash stable nanofluid for 0.1% to 0.5% volume concentration in the temperature range of 30 to 60°C has been investigated. To evaluate an average particle diameter of 11.5 nm, the fly ash nanoparticles were characterized with scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Using zeta potential, the stability of nanofluid in the presence of surfactant Triton X-100 was tested. Thermal conductivity and viscosity of fly ash nanofluid increased, while specific heat decreased as volume concentration increased. The effect of temperature on the fly ash nanofluid was directly proportional to its thermal conductivity and specific heat and inversely proportional to viscosity.     

Effect of silicides on tensile properties and fracture of alloy Ti-6AI-5Zr-0.5Mo-0.25Si from 300 to 823 K

The tensile properties and fracture behaviour of alloy Ti-6AI-5Zr-0.5Mo-0.25Si (wt%) have been investigated over a wide range of temperature from 300 to 823 K, in the as-water-quenched (WQ) and different aged (473 to 1073 K for 24 h)conditions following-solution-treatment (1323 K for 0.5 h). There is only a limited increase in strength but a drastic reduction in the ductility, at 300 K, due to ageing at 923 K. There is strong dynamic strain-ageing (DSA) in the unaged (WQ) state from 623 to 823 K and it is essentially due to silicon in the solid solution. The degree of DSA decreases with the ageing temperature and DSA does not occur in specimens aged at 973 and 1073 K. In general, the ductility of the WQ as well as the aged material increases with test temperature, except in the range of DSA, where the ductility of WQ material is reduced. The mode of fracture of the WQ specimens remains ductile in the lower and higher ranges of test temperature, but changes to quasi-cleavage at intermediate test temperatures. The minimum in the ductility and quasi-cleavage mode of fracture at 773 K, in the WQ material, is due to strong DSA. Three different modes of fracture, namely faceted, ductile, and mixed intergranular and ductile in the lower, intermediate and higher range of test temperature, respectively, are observed also in the aged conditions (at and above 923 K) of the material. The tensile properties and fracture characteristics in the aged conditions are controlled by the silicides.     

Selective Oxidation of Methanol to Formaldehyde Using Modified Iron-Molybdate Catalysts

Methanol selective oxidation to formaldehyde over a modified Fe-Mo catalyst with two different stoichiometric (Mo/Fe atomic ratio = 1.5 and 3.0) was studied experimentally in a fixed bed reactor over a wide range of reaction conditions. The physicochemical characterization of the prepared catalysts provides evidence that Fe₂(MoO₄)₃ is in fact the active phase of the catalyst. The experimental results of conversion of methanol and selectivity towards formaldehyde for various residence times were studied. The results showed that as the residence time increases the yield of formaldehyde decreases. Selectivity of formaldehyde decreases with increase in residence time. This result is attributable to subsequent oxidation of formaldehyde to carbon monoxide due to longer residence time.     

Substitution Effects on Rare-Earth Ions-Doped Nickel-Zinc Ferrite Nanoparticles

Rare-earth ions (RE³⁺)-doped Ni-Zn ferrite nanoparticles with a structural formula of Ni_0.5Zn_0.5Fe_1.8RE_0.2O₄ (RE³⁺ = Nd, Ce, La and Pr) were synthesized at room temperature by a sol-gel auto-combustion method. The structural and magnetic properties of Ni-Zn ferrite samples were carried out by XRD, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and FT-IR spectroscopy. XRD pattern of Ni-Zn ferrite revealed that all the diffraction planes are in agreement with cubic spinel phase and the addition of Fe₂O₃ phase was also observed. In the case of RE ions-doped Ni-Zn ferrite in addition to the Fe₂O₃ phase, very low intensity peaks corresponding to some secondary phase are also present. The average crystallite sizes were found to be from 42 to 56 nm using the Scherer formula. The lattice constant (a) values are gradually decreased from 8.378 to 8.349 Å with different substitutions of RE³⁺ ions in the Ni-Zn ferrite samples. VSM analysis revealed that saturation magnetization values are decreased and coercivity values are increased with substitution of different RE³⁺ ions. FE-SEM images exhibits that particles are spherical in shape. FT-IR interpretation revealed that two main metal oxygen bands (564 and 411 cm^?1) are observed in all the substituted Ni-Zn ferrite samples.     

Effect of shot peening on the fatigue and fracture behaviour of two titanium alloys

The fatigue and fracture behaviour of two titanium alloys, the near-alpha IMI-685 and alpha-beta IMI-318, were studied in the machined and polished (MP) as well as the machined, polished and shot (glass-bead) peened (MPS) conditions. Glass-bead peening reduced the room-temperature as well as the high-temperature (450°C) fatigue life of alloy IMI-685 at high stress amplitudes, _a, approaching the proof stress, _ps, of the material (LCF region). When the applied stress amplitude (0–770 MPa, HCF region) was comparable to the peen-induced peak longitudinal residual stress, _LP, i.e. (_LP/a)=0.92, an improvement in the room-temperature fatigue life of IMI-685 was observed. When the (_LP/a) ratio was less than this value, decreases in the fatigue life were seen. The room-temperature fatigue behaviour of IMI-318 at high stress amplitudes was similar to that of IMI-685. The decrease in the fatigue life of this alloy, at a stress amplitude (770 MPa) where improvement was observed for IMI-685, could be attributed to the higher relaxation of peen-induced residual stresses in IMI-318 compared with IMI-685. Glass-bead peening improved the hightemperature (450°C) fatigue life of IMI-685 at a low stress amplitude (465 MPa; (_a/PS)=0.87). The crack-initiation sites in the MP and the MPS conditions were at the surface for both the alloys. However, fracture in the surface layers of the alloys appeared more brittle in the peened (MPS) rather than in the unpeened (MP) condition.     

Effects of cyclic stressing,heat treatment and shot-peening pressure on the residual stress distribution in two titanium alloys

Using the method of drilling holes, the residual stress distributions were determined in two titanium alloys, IMI-685 and IMI-318, in the machined, polished, shot-peened and cyclically stressed (MPSC) as well as the heat-treated and quenched (HTQ) conditions. In IMI-318, the effect of shot-peening pressure on the residual stress distribution was also studied. Tensile cyclic stressing relaxed the shot-peen induced residual stresses in the longitudinal direction and the extent of relaxation depended on the degree of cyclic softening present in the material. In both alloys, in the post- heat-treated and quenched condition, the residual stresses were tensile in nature. In IMI-318, a decrease in the shot-peening pressure led to residual stresses of lower magnitudes. The peak residual stress was present closer to the surface when the shot-peening pressure was increased.     

Integration of product design,process planning,scheduling, and FMS control using XML data representation

An efficient model for communications between CAD, CAPP, and CAM applications in distributed manufacturing planning environment has been seen as key ingredient for CIM. Integration of design model with process and scheduling information in real-time is necessary in order to increase product quality, reduce the cost, and shorten the product manufacturing cycle. This paper describes an approach to integrate key product realization activities using neutral data representation. The representation is based on established standards for product data exchange and serves as a prototype implementation of these standards. The product and process models are based on object-oriented representation of geometry, features, and resulting manufacturing processes. Relationships between objects are explicitly represented in the model (for example, feature precedence relations, process sequences, etc.). The product model is developed using XML-based representation for product data required for process planning and the process model also uses XML representation of data required for scheduling and FMS control. The procedures for writing and parsing XML representations have been developed in object-oriented approach, in such a way that each object from object-oriented model is responsible for storing its own data into XML format. Similar approach is adopted for reading and parsing of the XML model. Parsing is performed by a stack of XML handlers, each corresponding to a particular object in XML hierarchical model. This approach allows for very flexible representation, in such a way that only a portion of the model (for example, only feature data, or only the part of process plan for a single machine) may be stored and successfully parsed into another application. This is very useful approach for direct distributed applications, in which data are passed in the form of XML streams to allow real-time on-line communication. The feasibility of the proposed model is verified in a couple of scenarios for distributed manufacturing planning that involves feature mapping from CAD file, process selection for several part designs integrated with scheduling and simulation of the FMS model using alternative routings.     

A multi-step linearization technique for a class of boundary value problems in non-linear mechanics

Non-linear finite element analyses of structures (such as beams) involve construction of weak solutions for the governing equations. While a weak approach weakens the differentiability requirements of the so-called shape functions, the governing equations are only satisfied in an integral sense and not point-wise, or, even path-wise. Moreover, use of a finite mesh leads to a stiffening of the numerical model. While strong solutions obtained through some of the existing mesh-free collocation methods overcomes some of these lacunae to an extent, the quality of the numerical solutions would be considerably improved if the computational algorithm were able to faithfully reproduce (or approximate or preserve) certain geometrical features of the response surfaces or manifolds. This paper takes the first step towards realizing this objective and proposes a multi-step transversal linearization (MTL) technique for a class of non-linear boundary value problems, which are treated as conditionally dynamical systems. Numerical explorations are performed, to a limited extent, through applications to large deflection analyses of planar beams with or without plastic deformations.     

Speed–density functional relationship for heterogeneous traffic data: a statistical and theoretical investigation

This study is an attempt to establish a suitable speed–density functional relationship for heterogeneous traffic on urban arterials. The model must reproduce the traffic behaviour on traffic stream and satisfy all static and dynamic properties of speed–flow–density relationships. As a first attempt for Indian traffic condition, two behavioural parameters, namely the kinematic wave speed at jam (C_j) and a proposed saturation flow (λ), are estimated using empirical observations. The parameter C_j is estimated by developing a relationship between driver reaction time and vehicle position in the queue at the signalised intersection. Functional parameters are estimated using Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm implemented in the R statistical software. Numerical measures such as root mean squared error, average relative error and cumulative residual plots are used for assessing models fitness. We set out several static and dynamic properties of the flow–speed–density relationships to evaluate the models, and these properties equally hold good for both homogenous and heterogeneous traffic states. From the numerical analysis, it is found that very few models replicate empirical speed–density data traffic behaviour. However, none of the existing functional forms satisfy all the properties. To overcome the shortcomings, we proposed two new speed–density functional forms. The uniqueness of these models is that they satisfy both numerical accuracy and the properties of fundamental diagram. These new forms would certainly improve the modelling accuracy, especially in dynamic traffic studies when coupling with dynamic speed equations.

     

Growth and characterization of diamond particles,diamond films,and CNT-diamond composite films deposited simultaneously by hot filament CVD

It is important to understand the growth of CNT-diamond composite films in order to improve the inter-link between two carbon allotropes, and, in turn, their physical properties for field emission and other applications. Isolated diamond particles, continuous diamond thin films, and thin films of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) having non-uniformly distributed diamond particles (CNT-diamond composite films) were simultaneously grown on unseeded, seeded, and catalyst pre-treated substrates, respectively, using a large-area multi-wafer-scale hot filament chemical vapor deposition. Films were deposited for four different growth durations at a given deposition condition. The changes in surface morphology and growth behavior of diamond particles with growth duration were investigated ex situ using field emission scanning electron microscopy and 2D confocal Raman depth spectral imaging, respectively. A surface morphological transition from faceted microcrystalline nature to nanocrystalline nature was observed as a function of growth duration in the case of isolated diamond particles grown on both unseeded and catalyst pre-treated substrates. However, such a morphological transition was not observed on the simultaneously grown continuous diamond thin films on seeded substrates. 2D confocal Raman depth spectral imaging of diamond particles showed that the local growth of CNTs did not affect the growth behavior of neighboring diamond particles on catalyst pre-treated substrates. These observations emphasize the importance of surface chemical reactions at the growth site in deciding sp² or sp³ carbon growth and the final grain size of the diamond films.