Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Solid Propellants in Rocket Motors by Indentation Technique

It is essential to evaluate the mechanical properties of propellants in a solid propellant rocket motor (SPRM) for structural integrity and its performance evaluation before the flight test. Conventionally, uni‐axial tensile testing on an universal testing machine (UTM) is used to evaluate the mechanical properties of solid propellant carton which is cast along with SPRM. Propellants in rocket motors experience various types of loading during storage, transportation, and environmental conditions over the period of time before actual flight whereas the propellant carton doesn’t experience the same as it is stored in magazine. At present, the mechanical properties of propellant cast in a carton are considered to be the mechanical properties of propellant in a rocket motor, which is not truly representative. Therefore, a non‐destructive indentation technique has been used to establish a method for evaluating the mechanical properties of solid propellants in rocket motors based on hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene. The test results obtained using the penetrometer indentation technique was analyzed comprehensively and compared with UTM results. The mathematical correlations were also developed using least square method and established by conducting the penetrometer indentation test on similar propellant composition. Further, the developed correlation was used to evaluate the mechanical properties of propellant in flight SPRM by penetrometer indentation technique.     

A copy-move image forgery detection technique based on Gaussian-Hermite moments

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Images are one of the most prominently used digital information sharing medium now a days. Due to availability of state-of-the-art image editing tools it has...     

Geochemical speciation and risk assessment of heavy metals in the river estuarine sediments--a case study: Mahanadi basin, India

Sequential extraction technique was used to study the mobility and dynamics of operationally determined chemical forms of heavy metals in the sediments and their ecological risk on the biotic species. The results reveal that high environmental risk of Cd, Ni, Co and Pb, are due to their higher availability in the exchangeable fraction. Substantial amount of Cd, Co, Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni and Pb, is observed as carbonate bound, which may result due to their special affinity towards carbonate and their co-precipitation with its minerals. Colloids of Fe-Mn oxides act as efficient scavengers for the heavy metals like Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, Co, and Ni. Toxic metals like Ni, Pb and Cd are of concern, which occasionally may be associated with adverse biological effects based on the comparison with sediment quality guidelines (SQGs). The risk assessment code (RAC) suggests that the highest mobility of Cd poses a higher environmental risk and also threat to the aquatic biota. Factor analysis reveals that the enrichment of heavy metals in bioavailable fraction is mostly contributed from anthropogenic sources. These contributing sources are highlighted by cluster analysis.     

HDPE‐Fly Ash/Nano Fly Ash Composites

Fly ash (FA) based polymer composites are assuming increasing importance because of its potentiality, fine particle size and plenty availability of FA. FA is mainly a mixture of inorganic metal oxides such as SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, CaO, MgO, Na₂O, TiO₂, and so forth. This article highlights the results of the various modifications onto the HDPE‐FA/nano structured FA (NFA) composites. When FA and NFA are melt blended with HDPE it gives rise to improved flexural properties only. Further modifications, that is, Maleic anhydride (MA) grafting of the matrix, electron beam irradiation of the composite and irradiation of the FA/NFA studied separately to find their impact on the detail properties of the composite. Of the three modifications implemented the electron beam irradiation of HDPE‐FA/NFA composite yielded excellent physico‐mechanical, thermal and dynamic mechanical properties. Fracture surface analysis of the HDPE, unmodified and modified FA/NFA composites studied employing SEM correlated well with the physico‐mechanical properties. The results prove that FA is valuable reinforcing filler for HDPE and its size reduction to nano level is a more effective criterion for its future use. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 4558–4567, 2013     

Mathematical Modeling of Magnesium Oxide Release from Granules Produced by Laboratory Fluidization

The particle size usually has an important effect on the rate of drug liberation from sustained release systems. The nature of that effect depends on the geometry of the system and the mechanism of the drug release (1). The aim of the present study was to characterize the relationship between the drug release projile of granules produced by luboratory fluidization and their particle size. The magnesium oxide release from granules-which are of two different particle sizes and contain Eudragit polymer-was investigated both experimentally and with mathematical models. First-order, cube root, square root, and two-thirds root models were applied for the evaluation of the drug release data. Changes in the particle size of the investigated granules altered the drug release profile     

Immunophenotyping of skin-infiltrating T-cell subsets in dogs with atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis in dogs has many clinical features that are identical to those of the same disorder in man. To investigate the pathogenesis of this disease in dogs and the possibility of similarities to the pathogenesis in humans we compared the presence and ratio of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells in the cutaneous infiltrate of lesional and non-lesional skin of atopic dogs with that in the skin of healthy dogs. In ten dogs with atopic dermatitis and ten healthy dogs the skin was biopsied at the predilection sites for atopic dermatitis and histological sections were immunohistochemically stained for CD4 and CD8. The staining showed an increase in CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells in canine lesional atopic skin, with a predominance of CD4+ T-cells in the epidermis. In non-lesional atopic skin there was also an infiltration with CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells, but without predominance of CD4+ T-cells. The results in the separate predilection sites did not differ substantially from the mean results. These observations indicate further similarities in the immunopathogenesis of atopic dermatitis in dogs and humans, which may have consequences for the control of atopic dermatitis in dogs and contributes to a possible role of the dog as a model for human atopic dermatitis.     

Synthesis of Silicon Carbide from Rice Husk in a dc Arc Plasma Reactor

SiC particles have been synthesized in the α-phase from a mixture of boiler-burnt rice husk and graphite powder in a dc extended arc plasma reactor on a 200–250 g scale. A SiC yield as high as 72% was achieved at a 3.03:1 carbon-to-silica ratio. 21R polytypism, which is rare to grow, was observed in the SiC. About 90% of the SiC particles produced were found to lie under 163 μm, 50% under 90 μm, and 10% under 28 μm size. Very fine particles under 10 μm size occurred to the extent of 3%. XRD and SEM characterizations were carried out to study the phase and morphology of the particles. Heterogeneous gas-phase reactions seem to be responsible for intermediate-size SiC particle growth in the multitemperature zone dc extended arc plasma reactor.     

Mechanical,dynamic mechanical,and thermal characterization of fly ash and nanostructured fly ash‐waste polyethylene/high‐density polyethylene blend composites

Disposal of polyethylene used as carry bags is the greatest challenge increasing day by day. Composite materials were prepared by mixing Fly ash (FA) and nanostructured fly ash (NFA) from thermal power station as filler and blends of Waste polyethylene (WPE)(carry bags) collected from municipal solid waste (MSW) with virgin high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) as matrix. Different modifications were induced to improve the overall properties of these composites. At first, the WPE/HDPE blend matrix was modified by grafting with maleic anhydride (MA) and the composite prepared with FA/NFA. Then, the WPE/HDPE‐FA/NFA composite as a whole was treated with electron beam irradiation at 250 kGy radiation dose and finally the FA/NFA filler was treated with radiation dose of 250 kGy and the composite prepared. Significant enhancement in tensile strength, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and hardness are observed for MA modified and irradiated composites, the increase being more prominent in irradiated composites. Furthermore, an increase in storage/loss moduli with enhanced thermal stability was observed with the addition of FA/NFA and upon modifications. The analysis of the tensile fractured surfaces by scanning electron microscopy was in well correlation with the mechanical properties obtained. In summary, after analyzing the effects of the three different modifications on mechanical, dynamic mechanical and thermal properties, the irradiation on to the WPE/HDPE‐FA/NFA composites investigated was selected as the most appropriate for future applications. POLYM. COMPOS., 37:3256–3268, 2016. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers