Sulfonated poly(ether sulfone) electrolytes structured with mesonaphthobifluorene graphene moiety for PEMFC

Sulfonated poly(ether sulfone)s containing a mixture of cis and trans mesonaphthobifluorene moiety were synthesized, and their properties were characterized. The mesonaphthobifluorene graphene moiety contained 6 phenyl rings and was conjugated together to form planar sheets of sp²-bonded carbon. Poly(arylene ether sulfone)s containing a mixture of cis and trans tetraphenyl ethylene units were synthesized by polycondensation, and converted into graphene by intramolecular Friedel–Craft cyclization with Lewis acid (FeCl₃). The sulfonation was taken selectively on mesonaphthobifluorene units with concentrated sulfuric acid. The structural properties of the sulfonated polymers were investigated by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The membranes were studied with regard to ion exchange capacity (IEC), water uptake, and proton conductivity.     

Stress-dependent hardening-to-softening transition of hydrogen effects in nanoindentation of a linepipe steel

We explored the influences of hydrogen on small-scale strength of a linepipe steel through nanoindentation experiments with four pyramidal indenters. Interestingly, a transition from hydrogen-induced hardening to softening was observed as indenter sharpness increases. The transition was analyzed based on the enhancement in hydrogen's elastic shielding effects for a sharper indenter, which could be indirectly evidenced by the stress effects on indentation pile-up, dislocation density, and rate dependency of hardness.     

Multiple defect diagnostics of gas turbine engine using SVM and RCGA-based ANN algorithms

An artificial neural network (ANN) based on the real coded genetic algorithm (RCGA) has been used with the support vector machine (SVM) for developing the defect diagnostics of the turbo-shaft engine of an aircraft. Nonlinearity increases due to the ascending number of input data in the off-design region. If the ANN algorithm is used by itself to determine defects under this condition, the possibility of falling in the local minima becomes high because of the large amount of learning data. To solve this problem, the expanded multi-class SVM has been used to reduce nonlinearity of input data. The RCGA, which is effective to search the global minima, has been applied to the ANN algorithm to obtain the magnitude of defects. As results, the number of learning data has been decreased and convergence and accuracy have been improved.     

Synthesis and characterization of cation‐exchange membrane based on sulfonated sty/HEA/LMA terpolymer

A cation‐exchange membrane based on a styrene/hydroxyethyl acrylate/lauryl methacrylate (Sty/HEA/LMA) terpolymer was prepared via a postsulfonation reaction for various sulfonation times. Sulfonic groups were introduced into the membrane structure with sulfuric acid as the sulfonating agent and silver sulfate as an initiator in a nitrogen atmosphere. Sulfonated Sty/HEA/LMA terpolymer membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance as well as by determining the degree of sulfonation (DS), ion‐exchange capacity (IEC), water uptake (WU), and electrical property of the membranes. The presence of sulfonic groups in the sulfonated Sty/HEA/LMA terpolymer was confirmed by FTIR, and the resulting membrane showed an IEC of 1.29 meq/g and an electrical resistance of 0.1 Ω cm². The WU of the prepared membranes increased with the DS at the reaction time. The surface morphology obtained by atomic force microscopy clearly showed an increase of roughness with reaction time. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Effect of rapeseed protein–gelatin film containing grapefruit seed extract on ‘Maehyang’ strawberry quality

To develop a packaging film for ‘Maehyang’ strawberries, an edible film containing antimicrobial grapefruit seed extract (GSE) was manufactured. Addition of GSE to the rapeseed protein–gelatin (RG) film inhibited the growth of pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes. Packaging of ‘Maehyang’ strawberries with the RG film containing 1.0% GSE decreased the populations of total aerobic bacteria and of yeast and moulds in the strawberries by 1.03 and 1.34 log CFU g^?1, respectively, after 14 days of storage, compared to that of the control. Sensory evaluation of the GSE‐RG film‐packaged strawberries produced better sensory scores than did the control. These results suggest that RG film containing GSE can be used to package strawberries and to extend shelf life.     

A wedge crack in an anisotropic material under antiplane shear

A crack emanating from the apex of an infinite wedge in an anisotropic material under antiplane shear is investigated. An isotropic wedge crack subjected to concentrated forces is first solved by using the conformal mapping technique. The solution of an anisotropic wedge crack is obtained from that of the transformed isotropic wedge crack based on a linear transformation method. Expressions for the stress intensity factor for the anisotropic wedge crack with both concentrated and distributed loads are derived. The stress intensity factors are numerically calculated for generally orthotropic wedge cracks with various crack and wedge angles as well as anisotropic parameters.     

Robust optimal design of the FDBs in a HDD to reduce NRRO and RRO

This research proposes a robust optimal design methodology of the FDBs in a HDD to reduce RRO and NRRO. The critical mass, which determines the dynamic behavior of rotor-bearing system, was selected as an objective function, and the constraint equations were the friction torque of the FDBs, and the stiffness and damping coefficients related with under-damped vibration modes. Ten major design variables of the FDBs were chosen in this optimization problem. The steady-state whirl radius and the shock response at half-speed whirl of the rotating rigid spindle-bearing system were evaluated as RRO and NRRO, respectively. RRO and NRRO of the optimal design were compared with those of conventional one, and it showed that the proposed method could effectively reduce RRO and NRRO.     

Reduction of windage loss of an optical disk drive utilizing air-flow analysis and response surface methodology

This research analyzes the source of the power consumption in an optical disk drive (ODD) of a laptop computer. It shows that approximately 70?% of electrical input power is dissipated through the windage loss in the ODD. The windage loss is calculated by simulating the air flow around the rotating disk, and the simulated windage loss is verified by comparing with the measured one. It investigates the windage loss according to the variation of the upper and lower gaps between the rotating disk and case, and the optimal upper and lower gaps are determined by using the response surface methodology to reduce the windage loss. Finally, it shows experimentally that the proposed optimal model reduces total power consumption by 6.5?%.     

Elevated temperature nanoindentation behaviour of polyamide 6

It has been found, in this study, that there is no close correlation between the tensile and nanoindentation moduli of polyamide 6 (PA6) at high temperatures. It is demonstrated that heat modifies the surface of PA6 specimens, but its effect on the nanomechanical properties is minor. The main spurious factor which affects the nanoindentation results is adhesion, especially at low indentation depths. The overestimation in the measured indentation moduli can be corrected by performing indentations with loads high enough so that the modulus is independent of the applied load. It is concluded that the lack of strict correlations between the tensile and indentation moduli (after corrections of adhesion) is caused by the shift in the glass transition temperature of PA6 owing to the hydrostatic stress imposed by the indenter. Further proof is given with two examples on hydrostatic pressure‐dependent polymers: polytetrafluoroethylene and polycarbonate. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry