Photo-electrochemistry of metallic titanium/mixed phase titanium oxide

In this study, the effect of potassium hydroxide concentration in anodization bath, anodization time, and calcination temperature on the photo-electrochemical behavior of metallic titanium/mixed phase titanium oxide is investigated. Further, the phase structure of a titanium oxide photocatalyst prepared on a titanium electrode through a high-voltage anodization method is examined. The study exploits photo-electrochemical, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy attenuated total reflectance (FTIR–ATR), X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopic methods to obtain better insights into the mechanism of mixed-phase titanium oxide formation. In this regard, the photo-electrochemical properties of the photocatalysts prepared in single excitation energy, violet light (410 nm), were investigated. The anodization time and the potassium hydroxide concentration in the anodization bath have significant effects on the photo-electrochemical properties of the photocatalysts. The experiments show that the effect of potassium hydroxide concentration is a function of the anodization potential applied, demonstrating different patterns as the anodization potential changes. Furthermore, FTIR-ATR, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopic studies reveal that the extended anodization times decrease the population of OH-containing groups, leading to lower photo-electrochemical performance. On the other hand, the formation of anatase phases becomes more favorable only in the extended anodization times before application of the calcination process. Additionally, the calcination temperature has a significant impact on the anatase to rutile ratio. Finally, increasing potassium hydroxide concentration leads to the formation of an amorphous titanium oxide layer. It can be concluded that the obtained information might have a significant impact on the preparation of titanium oxide and other metal oxide photocatalysts through the high voltage anodization process.     

Rubber effect on metallic dampers used on the supports of steel cross members

There are many strengthening methods made with steel cross members for strengthening the structures with inadequate earthquake behavior. This type of strengthening methods is also effective in buckling of the cross members in the behavior of the structural frames. This buckling may cause partial or complete collapse of the structure. Thus, it is quite important to prevent and limit the formation of buckling in steel crosses. At the TEC 2018, the insulation unit is defined as the elements that can exhibit flexible behavior on the horizontal direction and rigid behavior on the vertical direction under the effect of earthquake loads. The basic principle of using insulation units is that these members can dissipate energy in the carrier system. The originality of this study is to experimentally investigate the damper behavior created by using cylindrical rubber wedges, which can be easily found in the automotive industry, in combination with steel plates and bolts. In this experimental study, the contribution of seismic insulators to the structural element to be strengthened was investigated. The insulators used in this study are considered by analogy with lead-core rubber insulators. As such seismic lead-core rubber insulators move under the influence of lateral loads, the lead core inside makes plastic deformation, thus increasing the damping rate. In this insulator study, it is aimed to use U plates or bolts instead of lead core. While vertical loads are covered by rubber support, horizontal loads will be damped due to plastic deformation of U plates or bolts. The five types of seismic dampers were used as 10 B-type rubber wedge mounted damper (SR), 2 U-type steel plates damper (SP), 10 M6 steel bolted damper (SB), 2 U-type steel plates and 10 B-type rubber wedge mounted damper (SPR), 10 M6 steel bolted, and 10 C-type rubber wedge mounted damper (SBR). These specimens were tested under lateral loading and constant vertical loading. The results obtained at the end of the tests shall be compared considering the strength, stiffness, and dissipated energy capacities of the specimens.     

Robust estimation in flat fading channels under bounded channel uncertainties

We investigate channel equalization problem for time-varying flat fading channels under bounded channel uncertainties. We analyze three robust methods to estimate an unknown signal transmitted through a time-varying flat fading channel. These methods are based on minimizing certain mean-square error criteria that incorporate the channel uncertainties into their problem formulations instead of directly using the inaccurate channel information that is available. We present closed-form solutions to the channel equalization problems for each method and for both zero mean and nonzero mean signals. We illustrate the performances of the equalization methods through simulations.     

Computationally highly efficient mixture of adaptive filters

We introduce a new combination approach for the mixture of adaptive filters based on the set-membership filtering (SMF) framework. We perform SMF to combine the outputs of several parallel running adaptive algorithms and propose unconstrained, affinely constrained and convexly constrained combination weight configurations. Here, we achieve better trade-off in terms of the transient and steady-state convergence performance while providing significant computational reduction. Hence, through the introduced approaches, we can greatly enhance the convergence performance of the constituent filters with a slight increase in the computational load. In this sense, our approaches are suitable for big data applications where the data should be processed in streams with highly efficient algorithms. In the numerical examples, we demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed approaches over the state of the art using the well-known datasets in the machine learning literature.     

MobileCDP: A mobile framework for the consumer decision process

The consumer decision process is a widely accepted model covering consumer activities, and accordingly contains five interrelated stages: problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and post-purchase evaluation. In order to help consumers deal with challenges associated with all these stages, mobile information systems bring significant capabilities, as in other application domains. However, related prior research is mostly restricted to the individual stages of the process. Since the stages are interrelated, and the data collected in one are also valuable for another, we propose a mobile framework designed to provide assistance in all stages of the Consumer Decision Process, named MobileCDP. A prototype is also implemented and evaluated to show the applicability of the framework. Experiments show that the functions provided by the prototype are useful, well integrated, and easy to use. Moreover, statistical analysis of the results proves that the prototype reduces time, costs, and cognitive effort of the user.     

Prioritization methodology of dangerous substances for water quality monitoring with scarce data

Monitoring and control of dangerous substances discharged into receiving waters have attracted more attention lately. Since it is not possible to analyze every single substance, a prioritization methodology is needed for the selection of those to be monitored. Existing well-developed models require significant amount of data for reliable outcomes. This paper presents a methodology to prioritize the dangerous substances having adverse effects on freshwaters in Turkey, where data are scarce. Such a methodology will also serve as a solid model for other countries with limited background data. The adopted methodology enabled the elimination of chemicals to generate a candidate list composed of 608 substances among more than 5000 substances. Further screening and prioritization were conducted using different assessment methods (i.e., Total Hazard Value, Total Impact Value, Combined Monitoring-based, and Modelling-based Priority Setting) to obtain a proposed Final Candidate Specific Pollutants List of 150 dangerous substances. The proposed Candidate National Pollutant List of Turkey was established by combining 45 priority pollutants of the European Union with a list of candidate specific pollutants. According to the outcomes of this study, monitoring and controlling of 195 dangerous substances in freshwaters are recommended. Further detailed studies should be conducted in order to observe the actual levels of these dangerous substances in freshwaters followed by a review of the monitoring list accordingly. Moreover, further revisions might be required in the proposed list due to some possible versatile conditions in terms of sampling points (i.e., change in the location of industries).     

A Novel Cross-layer Routing Protocol for Increasing Packet Transfer Reliability in Mobile Sensor Networks

In mobile sensor networks (MSNs), sensor data is generally transferred via mobile sensor nodes by multi-hop fashion. Because of the mobility of the nodes in the network, the efficient routing protocols are needed to ensure end-to-end route reliability while incurring minimal power consumption and packet delay. In this study, we developed a new routing protocol to meet these requirements for MSNs based on a cross-layer interaction among five reference layers (application, transport, network, MAC and physical). The proposed protocol primarily exploits the idea of interaction among these five layers all-in-one protocol. Its primary goals are (i) to discover the most reliable route in network, (ii) to sustain the route reliability and (iii) to be energy efficient and delay aware. It has been designed, modeled and simulated by using OPNET Modeler simulation software. The simulation results of the proposed protocol have been compared to three well known routing protocols (i.e., AODV, Leach-Mobile, CBR-Mobile). According to the obtained results, the proposed protocol outperforms its counterparts in terms of route reliability and end-to-end delay performances.     

Coagulation of turbid water and softening of hardwater with Moringa oleifera seeds

In this study, the effects of 5 process variables on softening hardwater and coagulation of surface water with a M. oleifera seed extract were investigated. Multiple regression analysis showed a strong correlation (R² (adj.) = 0.99 between M. oleifera seed dosage and the initial hardness of synthetic hardwater. Since M. oleifera is known to be a polyelectrolyte, the softening mechanism is likely to be adsorption. An adsorption isotherm developed was approximately linear and conformed to the Langmuir type. For the coagulation studies, the water samples were from three rivers in Kano, Nigeria over a three month period during the rainy season (June‐August 1994). The turbidity of the water sample varied from 105–350 NTU. When used as primary coagulant, M. oleifera was able to achieve up to 99% turbidity removal for two of the water samples at the optimum dosage of 250 mg/l. For the third water sample, the optimum dosage was 450 mg/l which is assumed to be due the high value of the colour of the water. Saving in alum usage of up to 40% was achievable when M. oleifera was used in conjunction with alum.