An integrated algorithm for text recognition: comparison with a cascaded algorithm

The use of diverse knowledge sources in text recognition and in correction of letter substitution errors in words of text is considered. Three knowledge sources are defined: channel characteristics as probabilities that observed letters are corruptions of other letters, bottom-up context as letter conditional probabilities (when the previous letters of the word are known), and top-down context as a lexicon. Two algorithms, one based on integrating the knowledge sources in a single step and the other based on sequentially cascading bottom-up and top-down processes, are compared in terms of computational/storage requirements and results of experimentation.     

Fault tolerance in wireless sensor network using hand-off and dynamic power adjustment approach

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is deployed to monitor physical conditions in various places such as geographical regions, agriculture lands, office buildings, industrial plants and battlefields. WSNs are prone to different types of failures due to various environmental hazards like interference and internal failures (such as battery failure, processor failure, transceiver failure, etc). In such a situation, the sensed data cannot be transmitted correctly to the data center and the very purpose of deploying WSNs is not effective. Since it is difficult to monitor the network continuously through a manual operator, the nodes in WSN need to be capable of overcoming the failures and transmit the sensed data in proper order to the data center. Sensor network should be designed such that it should be able to identify the faulty nodes, try to rectify the fault and be able to transmit the sensed data to data center under faulty condition of a network and thereby make the network fault-free and thus enhance the fault tolerant capability.In this paper, we propose a novel idea of an Active node based Fault Tolerance using Battery power and Interference model (AFTBI) in WSN to identify the faulty nodes using battery power model and interference model. Fault tolerance against low battery power is designed through hand-off mechanism where in the faulty node selects the neighboring node having highest power and transfers all the services that are to be performed by the faulty node to the selected neighboring node. Fault tolerance against interference is provided by dynamic power level adjustment mechanism by allocating the time slot to all the neighboring nodes. If a particular node wishes to transmit the sensed data, it enters active status and transmits the packet with maximum power; otherwise it enters into sleep status having minimum power that is sufficient to receive hello messages and to maintain the connectivity. The performance evaluation is tested through simulation for packet delivery ratio, control overhead, memory overhead and fault recovery delay. We compared our results with Fault Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks (FDWSNs) for various performance measures and found that AFTBI outperforms compared to the results of FDWSN.     

Preparation and pervaporation performance of chitosan‐poly(methacrylic acid) polyelectrolyte complex membranes for dehydration of 1,4‐dioxane

Polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) membranes composed of chitosan (CS) and poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) were prepared by mixing the polymer solutions in different ratios. The chemical interaction and crystallinity of the resulting PEC membranes were respectively analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to characterize the thermal properties of the membranes. The membranes thus obtained were subjected to pervaporation (PV) separation of water‐dioxane mixtures. Among the PEC membranes, membrane containing 30 wt% ratio of PMAA (M‐3) exhibited the highest separation selectivity of 840 with a flux of 12.07 × 10^?2 kg/m²h at 30°C at 15 wt% of water in the feed. By the incorporation of NaY zeolite into PEC up to 5 wt%, we have been able to overcome the trade‐off phenomenon existing between flux and selectivity in PV process. From the temperature dependent diffusion and permeation values, the Arrhenius activation parameters were estimated. The resulting activation energy values obtained for water permeation (E_pw) are much lower than those of dioxane permeation (E_po), suggesting that the developed membranes have higher separation efficiency for water‐dioxane system. Based on the heat of sorption (ΔH_s) values, the mode of sorption was discussed. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 56:715–724, 2016. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers     

An algorithm for the kinetics of tire pyrolysis under different heating rates

Tires exhibit different kinetic behaviors when pyrolyzed under different heating rates. A new algorithm has been developed to investigate pyrolysis behavior of scrap tires. The algorithm includes heat and mass transfer equations to account for the different extents of thermal lag as the tire is heated at different heating rates. The algorithm uses an iterative approach to fit model equations to experimental data to obtain quantitative values of kinetic parameters. These parameters describe the pyrolysis process well, with good agreement (r² > 0.96) between the model and experimental data when the model is applied to three different brands of automobile tires heated under five different heating rates in a pure nitrogen atmosphere. The model agrees with other researchers’ results that frequencies factors increased and time constants decreased with increasing heating rates. The model also shows the change in the behavior of individual tire components when the heating rates are increased above 30 K min⁻¹. This result indicates that heating rates, rather than temperature, can significantly affect pyrolysis reactions. This algorithm is simple in structure and yet accurate in describing tire pyrolysis under a wide range of heating rates (10–50 K min⁻¹). It improves our understanding of the tire pyrolysis process by showing the relationship between the heating rate and the many components in a tire that depolymerize as parallel reactions.     

Preparation of schoenite and sulphate of potash from mixed salts obtained in solar evaporation

Potassium is deposited as kainite and/or carnallite by solar evaporation of sea and inland bitterns, respectively. The solubility of this natural kainite in water was found to be at 20 g magnesium chloride per 100 g water as against at 27.5 g obtained with synthetic kainite. As a result, the equilibrium data available from conventional phase diagrams were found to be not applicable for the conversion of kainite to potassium schoenite, an intermediate product to obtain potassium sulphate. Therefore applicability of the system K₂Cl₂-MgSO₄-H₂O to natural kainite was investigated and equilibria in reactions in slurries and optimum yields were worked out.     

Deposition of primary kainite from marine bitterns in solar evaporation

Mother liquor compositions during the solar evaporation of marine bitterns have been compared with corresponding isothermal equilibria in the NaCl-KCl-MgCl₂-MgSO₄-H₂O system. The compositions indicate that on solar evaporation of bitterns, potassium is deposited solely in the form of kainite, and that co-deposition of free sylvite and epsomite does not take place. It is also shown that during solar evaporation, the concentration of potassium is relatively low and that of magnesium relatively high, resulting in a more efficient precipitation of potassium in solar evaporation than in the forced or isothermal evaporation of sea water or of pure salts.     

Strain mediated enhancement in magnetoelectric properties of sonochemically synthesized piezoelectric and piezomagnetic composites

Materials with magneto-electric (ME) properties are of great importance because of their demand in electronic industries. Three dimensional nano-particles of the ME-composites having the general formula (1-x)CoCr_0.3Fe_1.7O₄(CCFO)+(x)BaTiO₃(BTO) (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0) were obtained by comprising the piezoelectric-BTO and piezomagnetic-CCFO phases. The individual phases of CCFO and BTO were synthesized separately by ultrasonic irradiation assisted sonochemical and sol-gel routs. X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) confirmed the well-crystalline nature of both the phases. BTO and CCFO phases were under tensile strain as confirmed by the variation in lattice constants with varying proportion of BTO and CCFO. An energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy spectrum confirmed the phase purity of the samples and stoichiometric concentration of elements. Magnetic properties were investigated by M ? H loop measurements and dielectric properties by using RF impedance analyzer. Dielectric constant increased with the increasing percentage of BTO. The maximum value of ME coefficient (24.7 mV/cm?Oe) is observed for the 60%CCFO+40%BTO sample. The obtained results were discussed in the light of grain size, strain and the basic properties of the individual phases. The prepared materials can be applicable in electronic devices where high magneto-electric coefficient is desirable.     

Congruence of manufacturing decision areas in a production system: a research framework

A well designed production system secures environmental and internal fit. Environmental fit in a production system refers to alignment of manufacturing decisions to the external settings such as product and market. Internal fit implies that manufacturing decisions are mutually supportive. This paper develops a framework to analyse congruence of manufacturing decision areas in a production system. The framework considers six broad manufacturing decision areas. Based on the literature review, 54 decision types and alternative decision choices for each decision type are identified. The subjective and/or objective constructs to measure decision type are presented which should be useful in designing construct and in data gathering to conduct empirical research. Using the proposed framework, many research questions concerning the settings of several decision types for a specific type of production system can be generated and empirically tested.     

Choices in manufacturing strategy decision areas in batch production system – six case studies

The configuration of a production system can be described by the choices a firm makes in its manufacturing decision areas. Manufacturing strategy literature lacks empirical research in manufacturing decision areas. The current paper is an exploratory study using six case companies on alternative configurations that can exist in a batch production system. Choices made in decisions such as layout, shop floor control, etc., were found to be similar for all six companies that use batch process. However, there were a number of decisions that were found to be non-process specific and are influenced by product complexity, important competitive priorities, strategic orientation of manufacturing, top management decisions and the size of the company. The paper concludes with managerial implications and future research directions.     

Fabrication and high-temperature structural characterization study of porous anodic alumina membranes

Porous anodic alumina (PAA) membranes with highly ordered array of nanopores were prepared by two-step anodization process. Studies on structural and thermal properties and the thermal stability of the prepared PAA membranes were carried out. Investigation using scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis and infrared spectroscopy was performed on the prepared PAA membranes at room temperature and in the temperature range 600?C1,400?°C. The as-prepared PAA membranes revealed the amorphous nature. Polycrystalline PAA membranes were obtained by annealing carried out at different temperatures. Annealing study confirmed that the heat treatment transformed the amorphous PAA membranes to their crystalline phases, namely, ??-alumina at about 870?°C and then to ??-alumina around 1,250?°C.