Surface properties of tannin-impregnated and varnished beech wood after exposure to accelerated weathering

The aim of this study was to determine selected surface properties of varnished beech wood impregnated with natural extracts after exposure to accelerated weathering. Beech wood samples were impregnated with aqueous solutions of 5 and 10% mimosa (Acacia mollissima) and quebracho (Shinopsis lorentzii) tannins. After weathering, colour changes (ΔL*, Δa*, Δb*, and ΔE*) in addition to scratch resistance and surface hardness values were calculated and evaluated. As a result of the weathering process, greater colour changes (ΔE*) were detected in the beech wood samples impregnated with tannins compared with the unimpregnated control samples. The least colour change occurred in the Tanalith-E-impregnated samples. Total colour change was adversely affected with tannin impregnation after the weathering processes. In terms of surface hardness and scratch resistance, the highest values were observed in the mimosa-solution-impregnated and control samples. Furthermore, it was found that scratch resistance and hardness values tended to increase during the first period of weathering and decreased thereafter. Regarding surface properties, the best results were obtained when polyurethane varnish was employed compared with the other varnish types.     

Dynamics of elastically connected double-functionally graded beam systems with different boundary conditions under action of a moving harmonic load

This paper studies the dynamic responses of an elastically connected double-functionally graded beam system (DFGBS) carrying a moving harmonic load at a constant speed by using Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. The two functionally graded (FG) beams are parallel and connected with each other continuously by elastic springs. Six elastically connected double-functionally graded beam systems (DFGBSs) having different boundary conditions are considered. The point constraints in the form of supports are assumed to be linear springs of large stiffness. It is assumed that the material properties follow a power-law variation through the thickness direction of the beams. The equations of motion are derived with the aid of Lagrange’s equations. The unknown functions denoting the transverse deflections of DFGBS are expressed in polynomial form. Newmark method is employed to find the dynamic responses of DFGBS subjected to a concentrated moving harmonic load. The influences of the different material distribution, velocity of the moving harmonic load, forcing frequency, the rigidity of the elastic layer between the FG beams and the boundary conditions on the dynamic responses are discussed.     

An iterated beam search algorithm for the multi-level production smoothing problem with workload smoothing goal

This paper is concerned with a generalised version of the production smoothing problem. The problem involves both usage and loading goals at multiple levels. Three existing heuristic approaches, namely the one-stage (1SH), two-stage (2SH) and earliest-due-date (EDD) heuristics are adapted, as well as a novel iterated beam search (IBS) algorithm is proposed to solve the problem. An extensive computational study is designed in the paper and used to compare the four heuristic approaches. The results show that IBS finds the best solution in the majority of test instances and requires less computation time than 2SH.     

Analysis and solution to the single-level batch production smoothing problem

Many companies use mixed-model production systems running under the Just-in-Time philosophy in order to efficiently meet customer demands for a variety of products. Such systems require demand be stable and production sequence be leveled. The production smoothing problem aims at finding level schedules in which the appearances of products are dispersed over the horizon as uniformly as possible. In this paper, the production smoothing problem is extended to a more general manufacturing environment where a single machine can be identified as either the final or the bottleneck stage of the system and products may have arbitrary non-zero setup and processing time requirements on this single machine. An optimization model is built for the problem and a two phase solution methodology is developed. The first phase problem is shown to be NP-hard and a parametric heuristic procedure is proposed for its solution. In contrast, the second phase problem is shown to be efficiently solvable and currently available solution methods are adopted from the literature. A computational study is designed to test the proposed two phase solution methodology and also the parametric heuristic procedure. Computational results show that the proposed two phase solution methodology enables effective and efficient control of the studied manufacturing system, and the heuristic procedure developed for the first phase problem is time efficient and promises near optimal solutions for a variety of test instances.     

Alpha‐Lipoic Acid Protects against Indomethacin‐Induced Gastric Oxidative Toxicity by Modulating Antioxidant System

Abstract: Gastroprotective effects of α‐lipoic acid (ALA) against oxidative gastric damage induced by indomethacin (IND) have been investigated. All doses (50, 75, 100, 150, 200, and 300 mg/kg body weight) of ALA reduced the ulcer index with 88.2% to 96.1% inhibition ratio. In biochemical analyses of stomach tissues, ALA administration decreased the level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and activities of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and catalase (CAT) in gastric tissues, which were increased after IND application. ALA also increased the level of glutathione (GSH) and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione S‐transferase (GST) that were decreased in gastric damaged stomach tissues. In conclusion, the gastroprotective effect of ALA could be attributed to its ameliorating effect on the antioxidant defense systems.     

Synthesis and characterization of ferrocene end-capped poly(ε-caprolactone)s by a combination of ring-opening polymerization and “click” chemistry techniques

Ferrocene (Fc) end-capped linear and star-shaped poly(ε-caprolactone)s (PCLs) with different numbers of arms were synthesized by a combination of ring-opening polymerization (ROP) and “click” chemistry techniques in a four-step reaction procedure. In the first step, the polymer backbones were prepared via ROP of the ε-caprolactone (ε-CL) monomer in bulk by employing the compounds with different numbers of hydroxyl groups as the multisite initiators and stannous octoate (Sn(Oct)₂) as the coordination-insertion catalyst. The hydroxyl end-groups of the obtained PCLs were then converted into a bromides and azides consecutively. In the final step, the Fc moiety was attached to the termini of the PCLs using a Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between the azide end-groups of the PCLs and the acetylene group of ethynylferrocene under ambient conditions. In all cases, the FT-IR and ¹H NMR spectra indicated a successful and quantitative transformation of the desired end-functional groups. The electrochemical properties of the Fc end-capped PCLs were also investigated via cyclic voltammetry (CV).     

Hydrogen production from 2-propanol over Pt/Al2O3 and Ru/Al2O3 catalysts in supercritical water

One of the alternative energy sources to fossil fuels is the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier, which provides zero emission of pollutants and high-energy efficiency when used in fuel cells, hydrogen internal combustion engines (HICE) or hydrogen-blend gaseous fueled internal combustion engines (HBICE). The gasification of organics in supercritical water is a promising method for the direct production of hydrogen at high pressures, with very short reaction times. In this study, hydrogen production from 2-propanol over Pt/Al₂O₃ and Ru/Al₂O₃ catalysts was investigated in supercritical water. To investigate the influences on hydrogen production, the experiments were carried out in the temperature range of 400–550 °C and in the reaction time range of 10–30 s, under a pressure of 25 MPa. In addition, different 2-propanol concentrations and reaction pressures were tested in order to comprehend the effects on the gasification yield and hydrogen production. It was found that Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst was much more selective and effective for hydrogen production when compared to Ru/Al₂O₃. During the catalytic gasification of a 0.5 M solution of 2-propanol, a hydrogen content up to 96 mol% for a gasification yield of 5 L/L feed was obtained.     

Adsorption studies of aqueous basic dye solutions using sepiolite

Sepiolite, low cost, locally available and natural mineral was studied as an adsorbent for the removal of Basic Astrazon yellow 7GL from aqueous solutions and batch contact tests. The kinetics of the adsorption process was tested for the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order reaction and intra-particle diffusion models. The rate constants of adsorption for all these kinetic models were calculated. Good correlation coefficients were obtained for the pseudo-second order kinetic model. Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm models were applied to the experimental equilibrium data by changing temperature. The isotherm constants were determined by using the linear regression of these models. The monolayer coverage capacities of sepiolite for basic dye were found to be in the range of 62.5-88.5 mg/g at different temperatures. Thermodynamic studies showed that the reaction for dye uptake by sepiolite is endothermic in nature. Based on the optimum parameters sepiolite was also used as adsorbent for raw wastewater treatment and found as efficient as dye color removal.     

Application of ultrasonic method in asphalt concrete testing for fatigue life estimation

This paper presents the possibilities of applying ultrasonic methods in asphalt concrete specimen testing in order to estimate fatigue life using ultrasonic characteristics of specimens. The procedures and results of testing cylinder shaped samples of both ultrasonic analysis and fatigue life testing are described. The ultrasonic method was first used in order to obtain the seismic characteristics of specimens. Then, the specimens were tested for fatigue lives using the repeated-loading indirect tensile test equipment (SDU-Asphalt Tester). To be able to model the fatigue lives, in addition to conventional fatigue model parameters new parameters from this ultrasonic analysis were taken into consideration. These additional parameters are acquired from the seismic measurements. Hence, only by examining the ultrasonic method, it will be possible to predict the fatigue lives of the specimens non-destructively.     

Variation of sludge volume index with activated sludge characteristics

Activated sludge samples from 2 laboratory units and 12 sewage treatment plants were examined to determine the effect of filamentous microorganisms, floc size and suspended solids concentration on SVI. An attempt was also made to correlate SVI to zone settling velocity. At a suspended solids concentration range of 700–4800 mg 1⁻¹ there was no effect of filamentous microorganisms at filament length concentrations below 10⁷μm (mg SS)⁻¹. However, when it was over 10⁷ μm (mg SS)⁻¹ SVI increased sharply with increasing concentrations of filamentous microorganisms.At all suspended solids concentrations examined SVI varied with floc size at filament length concentrations below 10 μm (mg SS)⁻¹. But, at filament length concentrations higher than this level, no effect of floc size on SVI was observed.The effect of suspended solids concentration on SVI was examined at different levels of filament lengths. It was found that the shape of SVI-suspended solids concentration curve varied with the level of filament lengths. A well defined relationship was found between SVI and zone settling velocity at all suspended solids concentrations examined.