Computerized facility layout design

The paper describes a computerized facility layout designer, COMLAD II, for plant layout development. Besides developing an efficient layout, COMLAD II has useful features which allow fixing the departments, changing the shape of the departments and changing the length and width dimensions of the overall layout.     

Preparation and properties of silicone‐containing poly(methyl methacrylate) gels

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) gels with varying amounts of silicone and solvent and constant amounts of crosslinker were prepared by solution free radical crosslinking copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDM), tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) comonomer systems. They were then studied in benzene at a total monomer concentration of 3.5 mol L^?1 and 70 °C. The conversion of monomer, volume swelling ratio, weight fraction and gel point were measured as a function of the reaction time, silicone concentration and benzene content up to the onset of macrogelation. Structural characteristics of the gels were examined by using equilibrium swelling in benzene, gel fraction and Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. The morphology of the copolymers was also investigated by SEM. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that the FTIR data did not have the capacity to show the presence of the VTES or TEOS moiety in these kinds of copolymers. On the other hand, the variation of weight fraction of gel, W_g, and its equilibrium volume swelling ratio in benzene, q_v, exhibited the same behaviour as that of MMA/EGDM copolymers. Also, the dilution of the monomer mixture resulted in an increase in the gel point and swelling degree and a decrease in the percent of conversion and gel fraction. Finally, TEOS is not an ideal silicone compound for reaction in the MMA/EGDM copolymerization system, whereas VTES is a suitable silicone comonomer for this system and it has been proved useful. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

A strategy for the electro-organic synthesis of new hydrocaffeic acid derivatives

Electrochemical treatment processes can significantly contribute to the protection of the environment through the minimization of waste and toxic materials in effluents. From a pharmaceutical point of view and due to the existing resemblance between the electrochemical and biological reactions, it can be assumed that the oxidation mechanisms on the electrode and in the body share similar principles. In this paper, the application of electrochemical studies in the design of an environmentally friendly method was delineated for the new hydrocaffeic acid (HCA, 3,4-dihydroxy hydrocinnamic acid) derivatives synthesis at carbon electrodes in an undivided cell. In this cell, the EC mechanism reaction was involved, comprising two steps alternatively; (1) electrochemical oxidation and (2) chemical reaction. In particular, the electro-organic reactions of HCA, an important biological molecule, were studied in a water–acetonitrile (90:10 v/v) mixture in the presence of benzenesulfinic acid (3) and p-toluenesulfinic acid (4). The research included the use of a variety of experimental techniques, such as cyclic voltammetry, controlled-potential electrolysis and product spectroscopic identification.     

Prolong network lifetime and improve efficiency in WSN‐UAV systems using new clustering parameters and CSMA modification

Since unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been introduced as mobile nodes for data gathering, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have progressed considerably. The resulting WSN‐UAV systems are employed for emergency applications and also for remote monitoring purposes. WSN‐UAV systems yield an optimum data gathering method using the WSN. In the proposed method, the nodes' data are transferred using a remotely operated vehicle (drone) rather than the conventional data transferring methods like the direct and hop‐to‐hop data transmission approaches. Then, the gathered data are delivered in the pre‐determined destination point. WSN‐UAV systems, in fact, are a special case of the systems with the mobile sink in which the sink path is previously specified and controlled. In this paper, the effects of clustering parameters on the WSNs are studied; then, the network's lifetime is prolonged by applying some parameters. In addition, the network's performance is enhanced to some extent by assigning some changes in the media access control (MAC) layer. Also, the effect of drone's path pattern on the lifetime of the network is studied.     

Compact eight-channel wavelength demultiplexer using modified photonic crystal ring resonators for CWDM applications

An eight-channel wavelength demultiplexer by cascading of ring resonators (RRs) in photonic crystal (PhC) structure is proposed in this paper. In designing of this demultiplexer, we used eight square-shaped PhC RRs with different refractive index (RI) of defect rods to generate a distinctive resonance wavelength. Each PhC RR has a specific resonance wavelength with tuning a variety of design parameters such as RI of a whole, defect and inner rods and radius of defect rods. In operating wavelength of λ₀?=?1497 nm, the transmission power and quality factor (Q) of single RR are discovered as 96% and 1000, respectively. The average power transmission, channel spacing, crosstalk and full width at half maximum are found by finite difference time domain method to be about 96?±?1%, 2.25 nm, ??35 dB and 1.5 nm, respectively. Simulation outcomes demonstrate that the designed demultiplexer has a proper operation. The footprint of the designed device is about?~?115 μm², which makes this device a promising for future photonic integrated circuits.

     

Characterization of High-k Gate Dielectric with Amorphous Nanostructure

In the present study, Zr _x La_1?x O _y amorphous nanostructures were prepared by the sol–gel method such that the Zr atomic fraction (x) ranged from 0% to 70%. An analytical model is described for the dielectric constant (k) of Zr _x La_1?x O _y nanostructures in a metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) device. The structure and morphology of Zr _x La_1?x O _y film was studied using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Elemental qualitative analysis was performed using energy-dispersive x-ray spectra and a map that confirmed the findings. Preliminary information on the influence of thermal annealing on the morphological control of Zr _x La_1?x O _y amorphous nanostructures is presented. The dielectric constant of the crystalline Zr_0.5La_0.5O _y thin film is about 36. Electrical property characterization was performed using a metal–dielectric–semiconductor structure via capacitance–voltage and current density–voltage measurements.     

Novel direct designs for 3-input XOR function for low-power and high-speed applications

Novel direct designs for 3-input exclusive-OR (XOR) function at transistor level are proposed in this article. These designs are appropriate for low-power and high-speed applications. The critical path of the presented designs consists of only two pass-transistors, which causes low propagation delay. Neither complementary inputs, nor V _DD and ground exist in the basic structure of these designs. The proposed designs have low dynamic and short-circuit power consumptions and their internal nodes dissipate negligible leakage power, which leads to low average power consumption. Some effective approaches are presented for improving the performance, voltage levels, and the driving capability and lowering the number of transistors of the basic structure of the designs. All of the proposed designs and several classical and state-of-the-art 3-input XOR circuits are simulated in a realistic condition using HSPICE with 90 nm CMOS technology at six supply voltages, ranging from 1.3 V down to 0.8 V. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed circuits are superior in terms of speed, power consumption and power-delay product (PDP) with respect to other designs.