Synthesis of Cobalt Adhesion Promoters and Their Evaluation in a Passenger Radial-Belt Skim Compound

Cobalt adhesion promoters have gained considerable acceptance in the rubber industry during the past two decades and are considered the most important tool for the promotion of adhesion between the rubber compound and the brass-plated steel cord in the manufacture of steel-cord-reinforced radial tires. Most of the commercially available cobalt compounds are either higher fatty acid salts or cobalt-chelate complexes, e.g., cobalt octanoate, napthenate, stearate, and cobalt-boron complexes. Of the various cobalt salts and chelate complexes, cobalt-boron complexes are the most popular, and they form good bonding. Considering the availability, economics, and performance of this material, an attempt has been made in this study to synthesize different cobalt-chelate complexes, make a comparative evaluation of rubber compounds, and simulate field performance with laboratory tests.     

Comparison of Corrosion Resistance Properties of Electrophoretically Deposited MoS2 and WS2 Nanosheets Coatings on Mild Steel

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - The present work compares the corrosion resistance properties of electrophoretically deposited MoS2 and WS2 nanosheets coatings on mild steel....     

Viscoelastic and thermal properties of natural rubber low-density polyethylene composites with boric acid and borax

The influence of boric acid (BA) and borax (BO) neutron-absorbing fillers on thermal stability and viscoelastic behavior of natural rubber (NR) low-density polyethylene composites has been studied. The thermal degradation and dynamic mechanical properties of the composites have been analyzed as a function of temperature. The results revealed the enhancement of thermal stability of the composites by the addition of BA and BO fillers. The flame resistance of the material was improved by the addition of both the fillers. The storage modulus was found to be dependent upon the temperature and nature of the filler. The amount of NR chains immobilized by filler particles has been quantified from dynamic mechanical analysis and secondary filler/filler interactions have been verified by the Payne effect analysis. Finally, the experimental results have been compared with theoretical predictions.     

Spatial,seasonal, and topographical patterns of surface albedo in Norwegian forests and cropland

Land surface albedo is a key parameter of the Earth’s climate system. It has high variability in space, time, and land cover and it is among the most important variables in climate models. Extensive large-scale estimates can help model calibration and improvement to reduce uncertainties in quantifying the influence of surface albedo changes on the planetary radiation balance. Here, we use satellite retrievals of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) surface albedo (MCD43A3), high-resolution land-cover maps, and meteorological records to characterize climatological albedo variations in Norway across latitude, seasons, land-cover type (deciduous forests, coniferous forests, and cropland), and topography. We also investigate the net changes in surface albedo and surface air temperature through site pair analysis to mimic the effects of land-use transitions between forests and cropland and among different tree species. We find that surface albedo increases at increasing latitude in the snow season, and cropland and deciduous forests generally have higher albedo values than coniferous forests, but for few days in spring. Topography has a large influence on MODIS albedo retrievals, with values that can change up to 100% for the same land-cover class (e.g. spruce in winter) under varying slopes and aspect of the terrain. Cropland sites have surface air temperature higher than adjacent forested sites, and deciduous forests are slightly colder than adjacent coniferous forests. By integrating satellite measurements and high-resolution vegetation maps, our results provide a large semi-empirical basis that can assist future studies to better predict changes in a fundamental climate-regulating service such as surface albedo.     

Functional reliability analysis of Safety Grade Decay Heat Removal System of Indian 500 MWe PFBR

Passive systems are increasingly deployed in nuclear industry with an objective of increasing reliability and safety of operations with reduced cost. Methods for assessing the reliability of thermal-hydraulic passive systems, that is systems with moving working fluid, address the issues in natural buoyancy-driven flow that could result in a failure to meet the design safety limits under accident scenarios. This is referred as design functional reliability. This paper presents the results of functional reliability analysis carried out for the passive Safety Grade Decay Heat Removal System (SGDHRS) of Indian Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR). The analysis is carried out based on the overall approach reported in the Reliability Methods for Passive System (RMPS, European Commission) project. Functional failure probability is calculated using Monte-Carlo method and also with method of moments.     

Percolation Behavior of the Normal-State Resistivity and Superconductivity of the YBa2Cu3O7−δ-Ba2GdNbO6 Composite System

The percolation behavior of the normal-state resistivity and superconductivity of the YBa₂Cu₃O_7?δBa₂GdNbO₆ composite system were studied by X-ray diffraction and temperature-resistivity measurements. No detectable chemical reaction was observed between the YBa₂Cu₃O_7?δ superconductor and the ceramic insulator Ba₂GdNbO₆, even after severe heat treatment above 950°C. The normal-state and superconducting percolation threshold values were found to be 17 vol.% and 30 vol.% of YBa₂Cu₃O_7?δ respectively in the YBa₂Cu₃O_7?δ-Ba₂GdNbO₆ composite system. The values obtained for the critical exponents describing the normal-state pecolation behavior of the system matched fairly well with the theoretically expected values for an ideal metal-insulator composite system.     

Synthesis,optimization and characterization of biochar based catalyst from sawdust for simultaneous esterification and transesterification

The development of a benign environmental catalyst for the generation of biodiesel is an area of importance to reduce the overall usage of fossil fuels. In the current work, biochar was produced by slow pyrolysis of Irul wood sawdust. The optimization for biochar generation was carried out for different reaction temperatures and heating durations. The biochar was used to prepare solid acid catalysts by sulfonation process. The characterization of biochar and the sulfonated catalyst were carried out using Elemental analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Powder X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Surface area analyzer (BET). The characterization results showed that sulfonation of biochar resulted in biochar based solid acid catalyst containing various functional acidic groups like weak acidic OH groups, strong acidic COOH and SO₃H groups. The total acid density and sulfonic acid group density of catalyst were estimated and showed excellent acidic sites concentration which gives a good catalytic activity for biodiesel production through simultaneous esterification and transesterification. The enhanced catalytic activity is due to the high acid density of SO₃H groups and the reactant accessibility towards acidic sites as well as the strong affinity between the hydrophilic reactants and the neutral OH groups which are bonded with the polycyclic aromatic carbon rings. The performance of biochar catalyst for the production of biodiesel was evaluated by comparing the yield obtained. The FTIR and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectroscopy (GC–MS) were also carried out for the analysis of biodiesel produced.     

Barium Rare-Earth Hafnates: Synthesis, Characterization, and Potential Use as Substrates for YBa2Cu3O7-delta Superconductor

A new group of complex perovskites Ba₂REHfO_5.5 (where RE = La, Pr, Nd, and Eu) has been synthesized and sintered as single-phase materials with high sintered density and stability using a solid-state reaction method for the first time. The structure of Ba₂REHfO_5.5 has been studied by X-ray diffactometry (XRD) and all of the perovskites are isostructural and have a cubic structure. The dielectric constant and loss factor values of these materials are in a range suitable for their use as substrates for YBa₂Cu₃O_7-delta superconductors. XRD and resistivity measurements show that there is no detectable reaction between YBa₂Cu₃O_7-delta and Ba₂REHfO_5.5, even when the two substances are mixed thoroughly and sintered at 950°C for 15 h. The addition of Ba₂REHfO_5.5 up to 20 vol% in YBa₂Cu₃O_7-delta-Ba₂REHfO_5.5 composite shows no detrimental effect on the superconducting transition temperature of YBa₂Cu₃O_7-delta. Thick films of YBa₂Cu₃O_7-delta fabricated on polycrystalline Ba₂REHfO_5.5 substrate have a superconducting zero resistivity transition of 92 K, indicating the suitability of these new materials as substrates for YBa₂Cu₃O_7-delta films.     

Effect of surface particle interactions during pool boiling of nanofluids

The pool boiling characteristics of nanofluids is affected by the relative magnitudes of the average surface roughness and the average particle diameter. In the present work, an attempt has been made to study the interactions between the nanoparticles and the heater surface. The experimental methodology accounts for the transient nature of the boiling phenomena. The boiling curves of electro-stabilized Al₂O₃ water-based nanofluids at different concentrations on smooth and rough heaters and the burn-out heat flux have been obtained experimentally. Extensive surface profile characterization has been done using non-intrusive optical measurements and atomic force microscopy. A measure of the surface wettability has been obtained by determining the advancing contact angle. These results give an insight into the relative magnitudes of dominance of the prevalent mechanisms under different experimental conditions. Boiling on nanoparticle coated heaters has been investigated and presented as an effective solution to counter the disadvantageous transient boiling behavior of nanofluids.