Tolerances in self-cohering antenna arrays of arbitrary geometry

In a conventional array, the location of each element must be known to an accuracy of aboutlambda/10for phasing and scanning purposes. A larger tolerance on the element location results in the loss of gain and deterioration of the radiation pattern. In a self-cohering phased array, the phasing of the array elements is accomplished closed-loop and adaptively; therefore, no information on the element location is necessary. On the other hand, to scan the adaptively formed beam about the direction of the received wave, which has to be performed open-loop, one requires information on the element locations. In this paper, basic relations pertaining to the open-loop scanning of adaptive antenna arrays of arbitrary geometry are derived for both far-field and near-field scanning problems, and the transition between the two cases and the required accuracy in the knowledge of the same distance are explored. It is shown that the tolerance requirement on the element locations is the conventional tolerance divided by the maximum scan angle. In large systems designed for target imaging, it is shown that the tolerance on element location can be two or more orders of magnitude larger than that in a conventional array.     

Analysis of deformations and stresses in balanced and unbalanced adhesively bonded single-strap joints

Adhesively bonded joints are increasingly being used in joining various structural components. Adequate understanding of the behaviour of adhesively bonded joints is necessary to ensure efficiency, safety and reliability of such joints. While several joint configurations, such as the single- and double-lap joints have received considerable consideration, the single-strap joint configuration has received little attention, partly because earlier studies have shown it to be the least efficient.

One of the objectives of this paper is to demonstrate that strap joints can be as efficient as lap joints, as long as they are properly designed. This will be done through a detailed analytical investigation into influence of the parameters that govern peak stresses in the adhesive. The next objective is to produce simple equations by which the design of strap joint could be facilitated in an effective manner. For this, the developed analytical expressions are simplified and shown to provide accurate results. The derived solutions provide better insight into understanding the parameters that most influence the edge forces.     

In situ synthesis of hydroxyapatite-grafted titanium nanotube composite

ABSTRACT

The present study is an investigation to demonstrate the effectiveness of in situ approach in the synthesis of hydroxyapatite-grafted titanium nanotube composite (HA-TNT). This method involves combining the process of HA sol–gel and rapid breakdown anodisation of titanium in a novel solution consisting of NaCl and N₃PO₄. This new synthesis approach produced a uniform dispersion of Anatase and Rutile phases of TiO₂ nanotubes with minimal agglomeration in the matrix of crystalline HA. The characterisation of homogenised HA-TNT composite was investigated via field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). FESEM and TEM images indicated the nanostructure of composite with TiO₂ nanotube diameter of approximately 10 nm. XRD and EDS analyses confirmed the formation of HA crystalline with the Ca/P ratio of 1.58 and formation of Anatase and Rutile phase of TiO₂ nanotubes.     

A Unified Approach to Similarity Measures Between Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets

Two general classes of similarity measures between intuitionistic fuzzy sets (hereafter IFSs) are introduced. Some properties of these measures are investigated with respect to some well‐known reasonable axioms. It is shown that several similarity measures between IFSs introduced elsewhere can be expressed by these definitions as special cases. Some illustrative and practical examples from the areas of pattern recognition, fuzzy clustering analysis, and decision making will be used to investigate the performance of the proposed measures with respect to some common measures. The results indicate that these measures can provide a useful way for measuring the degree of similarity between IFSs and that the proposed approach performs well in pattern recognition, fuzzy clustering, and decision making.     

Landsat ETM+ imaging for mineral potential mapping: application to Avaj area,Qazvin, Iran

The Avaj area is located in the northwestern part of Iran, on the boundary between the Orumieh-Dokhtar and Sanandaj-Sirjan geological zones. It corresponds to two different geological sub-zones:Abe-Garm, to the north, which is related to the volcanic belt of Orumieh-Dokhtar; and the Razan sub-zone, to the south, which is related to the Sanandaj-Sirjan zone. Lithological aspects of different rock units indicate the presence of four distinct volcanic groups of andesite, basalt, tuff, and dacite. The present research utilizes various Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) image-processing techniques, including false colour composite images, colour composite ratio images, and standard principal component (PC) image analysis on six bands and colour composite selective PC images, filtering and supervised classification. Nonetheless, colour composite selective images may be the most reliable method for enhancement of areas with hydrothermal alteration. All the techniques used clearly show the pervasive alteration of kaolinite-argillite in the area. These alterations are mainly related to the andesite, and tuffs have the same trend as fault directions.     

A low-overhead scheme for testing a bit-level finite ring systolic array

Testing large VLSI circuits is a difficult and challenging problem for designers. Large unstructured circuits are often impossible to test. The number of test vectors also tend to be large and difficult to generate using automated tools for testing. In this paper, we have investigated the testing of systolic arrays built from a finite ring cell that has been proposed recently for digital signal processing functions. The cell has been shown to allow encoding, decoding and general inner product type computations for residue number system applications, with considerable advantages over equivalent binary implementation. As a further feature, we show, in this paper, that an array of such cells is remarkably easy to test for stuck-at faults. Generating test vectors for these arrays is also straightforward.     

A survey of decorative materials on the energy consumption of mid-rise residential buildings in Mashad, Iran

Polyvinylchloride (PVC) panel is one of the most favorite decorative materials that has been popularly applied as finishing of ceiling in residential buildings. It is about five years that the people incline to redecorate the ceiling of old buildings with PVC panel in big cities of Iran, such as Mashad. In this study, the influence of ceiling PVC panel on the cooling and heating loads of studied apartment were determined by software DeST-h. In addition, the summer natural ventilation of the mentioned apartment is investigated by determining the wind speed into the apartment through the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. The evaluation of environment indoor wind velocity showed that most of the apartment space is a comfortable zone. The results of studied building analyses demonstrated that using PVC panel on the ceiling can decline the energy consumption of the penthouse (fifth level) of the investigated building, which is about 3.7% and 7% for studied methods of without and with air layer, respectively. In addition, although the existence of air layer can decline the cooling and heating loads, the increase in air layer thickness did not show significant decrease on building energy consumption. However, the PVC panel is expensive and is not suitable to be used for ceiling thermal insulation, but adding a thin layer of air between ceiling and PVC panel can be a good step toward sustainable building, when the people are inclined to utilize it as a decorative ceiling.     

A Comparison Between Cold-Welded and Diffusion-Bonded Al/Cu Bimetallic Rods Produced by ECAE Process

In this research, the application of equal channel angular extrusion process to produce both the cold-welded and diffusion-bonded Al/Cu bimetallic rods is assessed. The joints shear strength for both of the methods are measured and compared. The microstructure examinations were also carried out using scanning electron microscope equipped with EDX system and x-ray diffraction analysis. The results exhibit that the strength of the bond in cold-welded specimens is dependent on the amount of stretch and pressure at the materials interface. But in the diffusion-bonded specimens, it is depended on the struggle between the oxidation rate of the mating surfaces accompanied by inter-metallic compounds formation and the aluminum and copper atoms ability to diffuse in the joint interface.     

Biologically‐synthesised ZnO/CuO/Ag nanocomposite using propolis extract and coated on the gauze for wound healing applications

Wound healing has long been recognised as a major clinical challenge for which stablishing more effective wound therapies is necessary. The generation of metallic nanocomposites using biological compounds is emerging as a new promising strategy for this purpose. In this study, four metallic nanoparticles (NPs) with propolis extract (Ext) and one without propolis including ZnO/Ext, ZnO/Ag/Ext, ZnO/CuO/Ext, ZnO/Ag/CuO/Ext and ZnO/W were prepared by microwave method and assessed for their wound healing activity on excision experimental model of wounds in rats. The developed nanocomposites have been characterised by physico‐chemical methods such as X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance UV–vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analyses. The wounded animals treated with the NPs/Ext in five groups for 18 days. Every 6 days, for measuring wound closure rate, three samples of each group were examined for histopathological analysis. The prepared tissue sections were investigated by haematoxylin and Eosin stainings for the formation of epidermis, dermis and muscular and Masson''s trichrome staining for the formation of collagen fibres. These findings toughly support the probability of using this new ZnO/Ag/Ext materials dressing for a wound care performance with significant effect compared to other NPs.Inspec keywords: nanomedicine, X‐ray diffraction, II‐VI semiconductors, visible spectra, ultraviolet spectra, nanocomposites, biomedical materials, proteins, wounds, nanoparticles, scanning electron microscopy, nanofabrication, skin, zinc compounds, silver, antibacterial activity, Fourier transform infrared spectra, copper compounds, molecular biophysicsOther keywords: propolis, wound healing applications, effective wound, metallic nanocomposites, biological compounds, metallic nanoparticles, microwave method, wound healing activity, physico‐chemical methods, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance UV‐vis spectroscopy, Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller analyses, wounded animals, wound closure rate, wound care performance, histopathological analysis, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, haematoxylin, Eosin stainings, Masson trichrome, epidermis, muscular trichrome, collagen fibres, time 18.0 d, time 6.0 d, ZnO‐CuO‐Ag     

Computer simulation of the effect of post annealing parameters on the microstructure inhomogeneity of the non-uniformly deformed copper

A computer simulation on the basis of the Finite Element Method and Monte Carlo Model is developed to simulate the microstructure of the non-uniformly deformed copper workpiece after annealing. Using the computer simulation, the effects of annealing time and temperature on the microstructure inhomogeneity of the workpiece are simulated and investigated quantitatively, by defining an Inhomogeneity Factor, to design an annealing program for reducing the microstructure inhomogeneity. The results show that with increasing the parameters of annealing time and temperature, the inhomogeneity is decreased when one of the parameters is constant. Also, at high annealing temperature, the annealing time changes the inhomogeneity slowly compared with which occurs at low annealing temperature. The simulation results agree well with the experimental values.