Microstructure evolution during batch annealing

Design of industrial annealing cycles requires recrystallization and grain growth studies, which are typically carried out under isothermal laboratory condition. The kinetics coefficients of these phase transformations are obtained from such studies, which are subsequently used in designing the industrial nonisothermal cycles using the additivity principles. However, the strong heating rate effects on the grain growth kinetics necessitate such kinetics studies using industrial thermal profiles. In the present work, the hot and cold spot cycles of an industrial batch annealing cycle for AIK grade steel have been simulated in a programmable laboratory furnace. Subsequently, the effect of annealing temperature, soaking time, and heating rate on the microstructural features, such as grain size distribution, grain shape anisotropy, and grain orientation, have been investigated through extensive quantitative microscopy. The implications of these results on the design of industrial batch annealing cycles have been discussed.     

Performance of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing based M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation in asymmetrical dual-hop mixed RF-FSO transmission system

This paper investigates the performance of a dual-hop mixed relay system with radio frequency (RF) and free-space optics (FSO) communication under the effect of pointing error (PE) and atmospheric turbulence (AT). This paper considers a system where RF and FSO links are cascaded. The RF link is modeled by Nakagami-m fading, and the FSO link is modeled as gamma–gamma (G-G) fading channel. Both the channel models use orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). The expressions for probability density function, cumulative distribution function, signal-to-noise ratio, and ergodic capacity are derived. The moment generating function (MGF) of fading and the bit error rate (BER) of the OFDM-based M-ary QAM scheme is derived in terms of Meijer's G-function. It has been observed that, in fixed gain relay systems, the modulation scheme's BER is dominated by the SNR of the RF link. While in a variable gain relay system, the turbulence conditions of the FSO system affect the SNR and the BER of the modulation method. The feasibility of heterodyne detection and intensity modulation direct detection (IM/DD) is analyzed in terms of outage probability and ergodic capacity. The results can be used to choose the optimal modulation order and relay system for QAM-OFDM-based optical wireless systems.     

Corrosion inhibition of mild steel in 1 M HCl using Tamarindus indica extract: electrochemical,surface and spectroscopic studies

Abstract

We report, here, the corrosion inhibition of mild steel specimen in 1?M HCl by tamarind fruit pulp aqueous (TFPA) extract. The inhibition property in the presence of TFPA extract is studied using weight loss, polarization measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The inhibitor efficiency is found to vary from 74% to 88% (weight loss method) with TFPA concentration of 100–600?ppm. The reduction in Tafel slopes shows that TFPA acts as a mixed-type inhibitor. The adsorption of the inhibitor on the metal surface follows Langmuir isotherm. The standard Gibbs free energy of adsorption value of –40?kJ/mol suggests the chemisorption of inhibitor molecules via coordinate bond. AFM results exhibit a decrease in the surface roughness of mild steel, exposed to 1?M HCl from 299?±?12 to 154?±?6.6?nm, with increasing concentration of inhibitor from 0 to 600?ppm due to the uniform coverage of inhibitor molecules on the metal surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy de-convoluted high resolution profiles of C 1?s (carbon) for mild steel exposed to 1?M HCl with 600?ppm inhibitor show major peaks corresponding to sp³ C–C/C–H (284.9?eV) and oxygen bondings in C–OH, C=O, COOH with a binding energy of 285.9, 286.9, 288.5?eV, respectively, thereby confirming the adsorption of organic moieties on mild steel surface. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy further confirms the adsorption of inhibitor molecules on the metal surface. Therefore, tamarind fruit pulp extract is a potential corrosion inhibitor for mild steel, which is cost-effective, green and non-toxic.     

Suppression of phonon‐mediated hot carrier relaxation in type‐II InAs/AlAsxSb1 − x quantum wells: a practical route to hot carrier solar cells

InAs/AlAs_xSb_{1 − x} quantum wells are investigated for their potential as hot carrier solar cells. Continuous wave power and temperature‐dependent photoluminescence indicate a transition in the dominant hot carrier relaxation process from conventional phonon‐mediated carrier relaxation below 90 K to a regime where inhibited radiative recombination dominates the hot carrier relaxation at elevated temperatures. At temperatures below 90 K, photoluminescence measurements are consistent with type‐I quantum wells that exhibit hole localization associated with alloy/interface fluctuations. At elevated temperatures, hole delocalization reveals the true type‐II band alignment, where it is observed that inhibited radiative recombination due to the spatial separation of the charge carriers dominates hot carrier relaxation. This decoupling of phonon‐mediated relaxation results in robust hot carriers at higher temperatures, even at lower excitation powers. These results indicate type‐II quantum wells offer potential as practical hot carrier systems. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Consortium Blockchain Based Overseas Fund Transfer System

Domestic fund transfers are all the time immediate, handier and obtainable however in overseas fund transfer, funds are transferred from payers account to payees account through the correspondent banks, central bank and messaging network which involves intermediaries and allied charges. Blockchain Technology has grabbed the interest of financial systems due to its inventive benefits such as decentralised structure, faster speed, cost-effectiveness and more security over conventional approaches. Adopting Blockchain Technology for overseas fund transfer can overcome the transaction delays, intermediaries’ failures and recurring costs involved in the current system. In this paper, a Consortium Blockchain based overseas fund transfer process is proposed to achieve faster operations, security and transparency. Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain framework has been used for overseas fund transfer process and web-user interface is developed for the same. Simulation results demonstrate the significance of Blockchain as a promising technology for overseas fund transfer process to facilitate speed, security, transparency and efficiency for overseas fund transfer.

     

Escherichia coli, enterococci, and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron qPCR signals through wastewater and septage treatment

Fecal indicators such as Escherichia coli and enterococci are used as regulatory tools to monitor water with 24 h cultivation techniques for possible input of sewage or feces and presence of potential enteric pathogens yet their source (human or animal) cannot be determined with routine methods. This critical uncertainty has furthered water pollution science toward new molecular approaches. Members of Bacteroides genus, such as Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron are found to have features that allow their use as alternative fecal indicators and for Microbial Source Tracking (MST). The overall aim of this study was to evaluate the concentration and fate of B. thetaiotaomicron, throughout a wastewater treatment facility and septage treatment facility. A large number of samples were collected and tested for E. coli and enterococci by both cultivation and qPCR assays. B. thetaiotaomicron qPCR equivalent cells (mean: 1.8 × 10⁷/100 mL) were present in significantly higher concentrations than E. coli or enterococci in raw sewage and at the same levels in raw septage. The removal of B. thetaiotaomicron target qPCR signals was similar to E. coli and enterococci DNA during the treatment of these wastes and ranged from 3 to 5 log₁₀ for wastewater and was 7 log₁₀ for the septage. A significant correlation was found between B. thetaiotaomicron marker and each of the conventional indicators throughout the waste treatment process for both raw sewage and septage. A greater variability was found with enterococci when compared to E. coli, and CFU and equivalent cells could be contrasted by various treatment processes to examine removal and inactivation via septage and wastewater treatment. These results are compared and contrasted with other qPCR studies and other targets in wastewater samples providing a view of DNA targets in such environments.     

Provitamin‐A and xanthophyll carotenoids in vegetables and food grains of nutritional and medicinal importance

This study reports carotenoid composition of vegetables (n = 56), cereals (n = 12), pulses and legumes (n = 12), analysed by HPLC. It was hypothesised that food grains, like vegetables may be good sources of carotenoids. Amongst vegetables, higher level (mg/100 g dry weight) of lutein (210–419) was detected in green/red/capsicum and yellow zucchini, whilst zeaxanthin was dominant in kenaf (4.59). β‐Carotene (mg/100 g dry weight) was higher in green capsicum and kenaf (48,159) whilst carrot, ivy gourd and green capsicum contain α‐carotene (22–110). Amongst food grains, chickpea, split red gram and flaxseed contain higher levels (μg/100 g dry weight) of lutein (185–200) whilst zeaxanthin level was highest in puffed chickpea (1.8). Red unpolished parboiled rice was richest (μg/100 g dry weight) in β‐carotene (67.6) whilst whole black gram contained higher levels of α‐carotene (52.7). Thus, results indicate that chickpea and red unpolished parboiled rice are good sources of carotenoids. These carotenoid‐rich vegetables and grains may be exploited to meet the lutein and β‐carotene requirement.     

Performance Analysis of Downlink W-CDMA Systems in Weibull and Lognormal Fading Channels Using Chaotic Codes

In this paper, a subspace based blind channel estimation scheme for downlink W-CDMA systems using chaotic codes under Weibull and Lognormal fading channel conditions is proposed and compared with W-CDMA system using PN codes. The algorithm provides estimates of multiuser channels by exploiting the structural information of the data output. The subspace of the (data + noise) matrix contains sufficient information for unique determination of channels and, hence, the signature waveforms and signal constellations. The proposed channel estimation algorithm is also implemented for multiuser—orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system. Performance measures like bit error rate (BER) and root mean square error (RMSE) are plotted for Weibull and Lognormal fading channels. Signal constellations under Weibull and Lognormal channels are also plotted. Analytical and Simulation results for BER and RMSE are compared for W-CDMA system using PN codes and chaotic codes. Simulation results show that, chaos-based W-CDMA outperforms the PN-based W-CDMA in terms BER and RMSE. Simulation results of multiuser-OFDM system shows that performance is further improved when compared to the W-CDMA system.     

Power allocation for enhancing energy efficiency in unmanned aerial vehicle networks

The non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) wireless networks are a robust multi-access mechanism that serves multiple clients accessing the same resource block simultaneously. The fifth-generation wireless networks offer huge efficiency in spectrum utilization, which can be exploited to deploy NOMA for LOS communication of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Previous research has extensively analyzed various aspects of NOMA-UAV communication systems, including user access fairness, coverage, maximizing system capacity, and total energy efficiency. However, only a few researchers have focused on maximizing the EE of NOMA-UAV wireless networks with user quality of service (QoS) constraints. This paper proposes a fuzzy logic-based crossover-based coati optimization algorithm for maximizing the energy efficiency of NOMA-UAV, along with user scheduling. The main objective of this model is to offer a solution to the joint energy efficiency and user QoS scheduling problem. The fuzzy decision-making strategy optimizes the energy efficiency (EE) of NOMA-UAV by selecting appropriate power and time resources. Additionally, the crossover-based coati optimization algorithm transforms the subchannel allocation problem into a two-sided matching procedure. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is evaluated concerning overall residual energy, number of remaining nodes, and time consumption. The experimental outcomes demonstrate the capability of the proposed model in optimizing the energy efficiency of the NOMA-UAV network by identifying the optimal resource set in terms of time and power while satisfying the clients' QoS.