Search results for: optical multicast

Authors: A.Farrag Farrag, A. M. El-Aziz Abdel Aziz, W. Khlifa Khlifa

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Ultrasonic treatment is a promising process nowadays in the engineering field due to its high efficiency and it is a low-cost process. It enhances mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and homogeneity of the microstructure. In this study, the effect of ultrasonic treatment and several casting conditions on microstructure, hardness and corrosion behavior of AC4C aluminum alloy was examined. Various ultrasonic treatments of the AC4C alloys were carried out to prepare billets for thixocasting process. Treatment temperatures varied from about 630oC and cooled down to under ultrasonic field. Treatment time was about 90s. A 600-watts ultrasonic system with 19.5 kHz and intensity of 170 W/cm2 was used. Billets were reheated to semisolid state and held for 5 minutes at 582 oC and temperatures (soaking) using high-frequency induction system, then thixocasted using a die casting machine. Microstructures of the thixocast parts were studied using optical and SEM microscopes. On the other hand, two samples were conventionally cast and poured at 634 oC and 750 oC. The microstructure showed a globular none dendritic grains for AC4C with the application of UST at 630-582 oC, Less dendritic grains when the sample was conventionally cast without the application of UST and poured at 624 oC and a fully dendritic microstructure When the sample was cast and poured at 750 oC without UST .The ultrasonic treatment during solidification proved that it has a positive influence on the microstructure as it produced the finest and globular grains thus it is expected to increase the mechanical properties of the alloy. Higher values of corrosion resistance and hardness were recorded for the ultrasound-treated sample in comparison to cast one.

Keywords: ultrasonic treatment, aluminum alloys, corrosion behaviour, mechanical behaviour, microstructure

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Authors: D. W. Mohammed, J. Bowen, S. N. Kukureka

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Successful design and fabrication of flexible devices for electrode components requires a low sheet resistance, high optical transmittance, high mechanical reliability. Indium tin oxide (ITO) film is currently the predominant transparent conductive oxide (TCO) film in potential applications such as flexible organic light- emitting diodes, flat-panel displays, solar cells, and thin film transistors (TFTs). However ITO films are too brittle and their resistivity is rather high in some cases compared with ITO/Ag/ ITO, and they cannot completely meet flexible optoelectronic device requirements. Therefore, in this work the mechanical properties of ITO /Ag/ITO multilayer film that deposited on Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) compared with the single layered ITO sample were investigated using bending fatigue, twisting fatigue and thermal cycling experiments. The electrical resistance was monitored during the application of mechanical and thermal loads to see the pattern of relationship between the load and the electrical continuity as a consequent of failure. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to provide surface characterization of the mechanically-tested samples. The effective embedment of the Ag layer between upper and lower ITO films led to metallic conductivity and superior flexibility to the single ITO electrode, due to the high failure strain of the ductile Ag layer. These results indicate that flexible ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer electrodes are a promising candidate for use as transparent conductor in flexible displays. They provided significantly reduced sheet resistance compared to ITO, and improved bending and twisting properties both as a function of radius, angle and thermal cycling.

Keywords: ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer, failure strain, mechanical properties, PET

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Authors: Hong-Min Kim, Da-Som Han, Myong-Hoon Lee

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CLCs (Cholesteric liquid crystals) draw tremendous interest due to their potential in various applications such as cholesteric color filters in LCD devices. CLC possesses helical molecular orientation which is induced by a chiral dopant molecules mixed with nematic liquid crystals. The efficiency of a chiral dopant is quantified by the HTP (helical twisting power). In this work, we designed and synthesized a series of new chiral dopants having a Schiff’s base imine structure with different alkyl chain lengths (butyl, hexyl and octyl) from chiral naphthyl amine by two-step reaction. The structures of new chiral dopants were confirmed by 1H-NMR and IR spectroscopy. The properties were investigated by DSC (differential scanning calorimetry calorimetry), POM (polarized optical microscopy) and UV-Vis spectrophotometer. These solid state chiral dopants showed excellent solubility in nematic LC (MLC-6845-000) higher than 17wt%. We prepared the CLC(Cholesteric Liquid Crystal) cell by mixing nematic LC (MLC-6845-000) with different concentrations of chiral dopants and injecting into the sandwich cell of 5μm cell gap with antiparallel alignment. The cholesteric liquid crystal phase was confirmed from POM, in which all the samples showed planar phase, a typical phase of the cholesteric liquid crystals. The HTP (helical twisting power) is one of the most important properties of CLC. We measured the HTP values from the UV-Vis transmittance spectra of CLC cells with varies chiral dopant concentration. The HTP values with different alkyl chains are as follows: butyl chiral dopant=29.8μm-1; hexyl chiral dopant= 31.8μm-1; octyl chiral dopant=27.7μm-1. We obtained the red, green and blue reflection color from CLC cells, which can be used as color filters in LCDs applications.

Keywords: cholesteric liquid crystal, color filter, display, HTP

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Authors: Andy Zhang, Awnik Roy, Trevor B. Chen, Bibik Oleksandar, Subodh Adhikari, Paul S. Hsu

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The durability of a combustor in gas-turbine engines is a strong function of its component temperatures and requires good control of these temperatures. Since the temperature of combustion gases frequently exceeds the melting point of the combustion liner walls, an efficient air-cooling system with optimized flow rates of cooling air is significantly important to elongate the lifetime of liner walls. To determine the effectiveness of the air-cooling system, accurate two-dimensional (2D) surface temperature measurement of combustor liner walls is crucial for advanced engine development. Traditional diagnostic techniques for temperature measurement in this application include the rmocouples, thermal wall paints, pyrometry, and phosphors. They have shown some disadvantages, including being intrusive and affecting local flame/flow dynamics, potential flame quenching, and physical damages to instrumentation due to harsh environments inside the combustor and strong optical interference from strong combustion emission in UV-Mid IR wavelength. To overcome these drawbacks, a compact and small borescope long-wave-infrared (LWIR) sensor is developed to achieve 2D high-spatial resolution, high-fidelity thermal imaging of 2D surface temperature in gas-turbine engines, providing the desired engine component temperature distribution. The compactLWIRborescope sensor makes it feasible to promote the durability of a combustor in gas-turbine engines and, furthermore, to develop more advanced gas-turbine engines.

Keywords: borescope, engine, low-wave-infrared, sensor

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Authors: Hicham Idriss

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Hydrogen production from water is one of the most promising methods to secure renewable sources or vectors of energy for societies in general and for chemical industries in particular. At present over 90% of the total amount of hydrogen produced in the world is made from non-renewable fossil fuels (via methane reforming). There are many methods for producing hydrogen from water and these include reducible oxide materials (solar thermal production), combined PV/electrolysis, artificial photosynthesis and photocatalysis. The most promising of these processes is the one relying on photocatalysis; yet serious challenges are hindering its success so far. In order to make this process viable considerable improvement of the photon conversion is needed. Among the key studies that our group has been conducting in the last few years are those focusing on synergism between the semiconductor phases, photonic band gap materials, pn junctions, plasmonic resonance responses, charge transfer to metal cations, in addition to metal dispersion and band gap engineering. In this work results related to phase transformation of the anatase to rutile in the case of TiO2 (synergism), of Au and Ag dispersion (electron trapping and hydrogen-hydrogen recombination centers) as well as their plasmon resonance response (visible light conversion) are presented and discussed. It is found for example that synergism between the two common phases of TiO2 (anatase and rutile) is sensitive to the initial particle size. It is also found, in agreement with previous results, that the rate is very sensitive to the amount of metals (with similar particle size) on the surface unlike the case of thermal heterogeneous catalysis.

Keywords: photo-catalysis, hydrogen production, water splitting, plasmonic

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Authors: Jigg L. Pelayo, Ricardo G. Villar, Einstine M. Opiso

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The advances of aerial laser scanning in the Philippines has open-up entire fields of research in remote sensing and machine vision aspire to provide accurate timely information for the government and the public. Rapid mapping of polygonal roads and roof boundaries is one of its utilization offering application to disaster risk reduction, mitigation and development. The study uses low density LiDAR data and high resolution aerial imagery through object-oriented approach considering the theoretical concept of data analysis subjected to machine learning algorithm in minimizing the constraints of feature extraction. Since separating one class from another in distinct regions of a multi-dimensional feature-space, non-trivial computing for fitting distribution were implemented to formulate the learned ideal hyperplane. Generating customized hybrid feature which were then used in improving the classifier findings. Supplemental algorithms for filtering and reshaping object features are develop in the rule set for enhancing the final product. Several advantages in terms of simplicity, applicability, and process transferability is noticeable in the methodology. The algorithm was tested in the different random locations of Misamis Oriental province in the Philippines demonstrating robust performance in the overall accuracy with greater than 89% and potential to semi-automation. The extracted results will become a vital requirement for decision makers, urban planners and even the commercial sector in various assessment processes.

Keywords: feature extraction, machine learning, OBIA, remote sensing

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Authors: Henrique Fernandes, Sofia Catalucci, Richard Leach, Kapil Sugand

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Background: Holograms are 3D images formed by the interference of light beams from a laser or other coherent light source. Pepper’s ghost is a form of hologram conceptualised in the 18th century. This Holographic visualisation with metrology measuring techniques by displaying measurements taken in real-time in holographic form can assist in research and education. New structural designs such as the Plexiglass Stand and the Hologram Box can optimise the holographic experience. Method: The equipment used included: (i) Zeiss’s ATOS Core 300 optical coordinate measuring instrument that scanned real-world objects; (ii) Cloud Compare, open-source software used for point cloud processing; and (iii) Hologram Box, designed and manufactured during this research to provide the blackout environment needed to display 3D point clouds in real-time measurements in holographic format, in addition to a portability aspect to holograms. The equipment was tailored to realise the goal of displaying measurements in an innovative technique and to improve on conventional methods. Three test scans were completed before doing a holographic conversion. Results: The outcome was a precise recreation of the original object in the holographic form presented with dense point clouds and surface density features in a colour map. Conclusion: This work establishes a way to visualise data in a point cloud system. To our understanding, this is a work that has never been attempted. This achievement provides an advancement in holographic visualisation. The Hologram Box could be used as a feedback tool for measurement quality control and verification in future smart factories.

Keywords: holography, 3D scans, hologram box, metrology, point cloud

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Authors: F. M. Pisano, M. Ciminello

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Aerospace, mechanical, and civil engineering infrastructures can take advantages from damage detection and identification strategies in terms of maintenance cost reduction and operational life improvements, as well for safety scopes. The challenge is to detect so called “barely visible impact damage” (BVID), due to low/medium energy impacts, that can progressively compromise the structure integrity. The occurrence of any local change in material properties, that can degrade the structure performance, is to be monitored using so called Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems, in charge of comparing the structure states before and after damage occurs. SHM seeks for any "anomalous" response collected by means of sensor networks and then analyzed using appropriate algorithms. Independently of the specific analysis approach adopted for structural damage detection and localization, textual reports, tables and graphs describing possible outlier coordinates and damage severity are usually provided as artifacts to be elaborated for information extraction about the current health conditions of the structure under investigation. Visual Analytics can support the processing of monitored measurements offering data navigation and exploration tools leveraging the native human capabilities of understanding images faster than texts and tables. Herein, a SHM system enrichment by integration of a Visual Analytics component is investigated. Analytical dashboards have been created by combining worksheets, so that a useful Visual Analytics tool is provided to structural analysts for exploring the structure health conditions examined by a Principal Component Analysis based algorithm.

Keywords: interactive dashboards, optical fibers, structural health monitoring, visual analytics

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Authors: Ariana Kilic, Serena Arapyan

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Water pollution is a serious concern in all seas around the world and one major cause of it is dye textile wastes mixing with seawater. This common incident alters aquatic life, putting organisms’ lives in danger and deteriorating the water's nature. There is a significant need for a natural approach to reduce the amount of dye textile waste in seawater and ensure marine organisms' safety. Consequently, using marine algae is a viable solution since it can eliminate the excess waste by absorbing the dye. Also, marine algae are non-vascular that absorb water and nutrients, meaning that having them as absorbers is a natural process and no inorganic matters will be added to the seawater that could result in further pollution. To test the efficiency of this approach, the optical absorbance of the seawater samples was measured before and after the addition of marine algae by utilizing colorimetry. A colorimeter is used to find the concentration of a chemical compound in a solution by measuring the absorbance of the compound at a specific wavelength. Samples of seawater that have equal amounts of water were used and textile dye was added as the constant variables. The initial and final absorbances, the dependent variable, of the water were measured before and after the addition of marine algae, the independent variable, and observed. The lower the absorbance showed us that there is lower dye concentration and therefore, the marine algae had done its job by using and absorbing the dye. The same experiment was repeated with same amount of water but with different concentrations of dye in order to determine the maximum concentration of dye the marine algae can completely absorb. The diminished concentration of dye demonstrated that pollution caused by factories’ dye wastes could be prevented with the natural method of marine algae. The involvement of marine algae is an optimal strategy for having an organic solution to absorbing the dye wastes in seas and obstructing water pollution.

Keywords: water pollution, dye textile waste, marine algae, absorbance, colorimetry

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Authors: Felipe Osorio Ospina, Maria Adelaida Mejia Arango, Esteban Onésimo Vallejo Agudelo, Victoria Lucía Dávila Osorio, Natalia Vargas Grisales, Lina María Martínez Sanchez, Camilo Andrés Agudelo Vélez, Ángela Maria Londoño García, Isabel Cristina Ortiz Trujillo

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Excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation, has shown to be a risk factor for photodamage, alteration of the immune mechanisms to recognize malignant cells and cutaneous pro-inflamatorios States and skin cancers. Objective: Identify the time of exposure to ultraviolet radiation for the production of chromosomal damage in human lymphocytes. Methodology: We conducted an in vitro study serial, in which samples were taken from heparinized blood of healthy people, who do not submit exposure to agents that could induce chromosomal alterations. The samples were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum, penicillin and streptomycin antibiotic. Subsequently, they were grouped and exposed to ultraviolet light for 1 to 20 seconds. At the end of the treatments, cytology samples were prepared, and it was colored with Giemsa (5%). Reading was carried out in an optical microscope and 100 metaphases analysed by treatment for posting chromosomal alterations. Each treatment was conducted at three separate times and each became two replicas. Results: We only presented chromosomal alterations in lymphocytes exposed to UV for a groups 1 to 3 seconds (p<0.05). Conclusions: Exposure to ultraviolet radiation generates visible damage in chromosomes from human lymphocytes observed in light microscopy, the highest rates of injury was observed between two and three seconds, and above this value, the reduction in the number of mitotic cells was evident.

Keywords: ultraviolet rays, lymphocytes, chromosome breakpoints, photodamage

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Authors: Felipe Osorio Ospina, Maria Adelaida Mejia Arango, Esteban Onésimo Vallejo Agudelo, Victoria Lucía Dávila Osorio, Natalia Vargas Grisales, Lina María Martínez Sanchez, Camilo Andrés Agudelo Vélez, Ángela Maria Londoño García, Isabel Cristina Ortiz Trujillo

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Excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation, has shown to be a risk factor for photodamage, alteration of the immune mechanisms to recognize malignant cells and cutaneous pro-inflamatorios states and skin cancers. Objective: To identify the time of exposure to ultraviolet radiation for the production of chromosomal damage in human lymphocytes. Methodology: We conducted an in vitro study serial, in which samples were taken from the heparinized blood of healthy people, who do not submit exposure to agents that could induce chromosomal alterations. The samples were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum, penicillin, and streptomycin antibiotic. Subsequently, they were grouped and exposed to ultraviolet light for 1 to 20 seconds. At the end of the treatments, cytology samples were prepared, and it was colored with Giemsa (5%). Reading was carried out in an optical microscope and 100 metaphases analysed by treatment for posting chromosomal alterations. Each treatment was conducted at three separate times and each became two replicas. Results: We only presented chromosomal alterations in lymphocytes exposed to UV for groups 1 to 3 seconds (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Exposure to ultraviolet radiation generates visible damage in chromosomes from human lymphocytes observed in light microscopy, the highest rates of injury was observed between two and three seconds, and above this value, the reduction in the number of mitotic cells was evident.

Keywords: chromosome breakpoints, lymphocytes, photodamage, ultraviolet rays

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Authors: Subodh Nath Patel, Raja Raman, Mananshi Adhikary, Jitendra Mathur, Sandip Bhattacharyya

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The composition adjustment by sealed argon bubbling–oxygen blowing (CAS-OB) process is a process designed for adjusting steel composition and temperature during secondary metallurgy. One of the equipment in the said process is a snorkel or bell, fixed to a movable bracket. Snorkel serves the purpose of feeding ferroalloys into the liquid metal simultaneously removing gases to the gas cleaning system through its port at its top. The bell-shaped snorkel consists of two parts. The upper part has an inside liner, and the lower part is lined on both side with high-alumina castable reinforced with 2% stainless steel needles. Both the parts are coupled with a flange bolt system. These flanges were found to get buckled during operation, and the gap was generating between them. This problem was chronic since its. It was expected to give a life of 80 heats, but it was failing within 45-50 heats. After every 25-30 heats, it had to be repaired by changing and/or tightening its nuts and bolts. Visual observation, microstructural analysis through optical microscopes and SEM, hardness measurement and thermal strain calculation were carried out to find out the root cause of this problem. The calculated thermal strain was compared with actual thermal strain; comparison of the two revealed that thermal strain was responsible for buckling. Finite element analysis (FEA) was carried out to reaffirm the effect temperature on the flanges. FEA was also used in the modification in the design of snorkel flange to accommodate thermal strain. Thermal insulation was also recommended which increased its life from 45 heats to 65 heats, impacting business process positively.

Keywords: CAS OB process, finite element analysis, snorkel, thermal strain

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Authors: P. Abachi, T. W. Coyle, P. S. Musavi Gharavi

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By applying coating onto a structural component, the corrosion and/or wear resistance requirements of the surface can be fulfilled. Since the layer adhesion of the coating influences the mechanical integrity of the coat/substrate interface during the service time, it should be examined accurately. At the present work, the tensile bonding strength of the 316 stainless steel plasma sprayed coating on aluminum substrate was determined by using tensile adhesion test, TAT, specimen. The interfacial fracture toughness was specified using four-point bend specimen containing a saw notch and modified chevron-notched short-bar (SB) specimen. The coating microstructure and fractured specimen surface were examined by using scanning electron- and optical-microscopy. The investigation of coated surface after tensile adhesion test indicates that the failure mechanism is mostly cohesive and rarely adhesive type. The calculated value of critical strain energy release rate proposes relatively good interface status. It seems that four-point bending test offers a potentially more sensitive means for evaluation of mechanical integrity of coating/substrate interfaces than is possible with the tensile test. The fracture toughness value reported for the modified chevron-notched short-bar specimen testing cannot be taken as absolute value because its calculation is based on the minimum stress intensity coefficient value which has been suggested for the fracture toughness determination of homogeneous parts in the ASTM E1304-97 standard. 

Keywords: bonding strength, four-point bend test, interfacial fracture toughness, modified chevron-notched short-bar specimen, plasma sprayed coating, tensile adhesion test

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Authors: Ho Seong Shin

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Introduction: A research in relation to wound healing also showed that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) was effective on normal tissue regeneration. Nonetheless, there is no evidence that when platelet-rich plasma was applied on diabetic wound, it normalize diabetic wound healing process. In this study, we have analyzed matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression to know the effect of PRP on diabetic wounds using Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of MMP-2, MMP-9 mRNA. Materials and Methods: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) was prepared from blood of 6 rats. The whole 120-mL was added immediately to an anticoagulant. Citrate phosphonate dextrose(CPD) buffer (0.15 mg CPDmL) in a ratio of 1 mL of CPD buffer to 5 mL of blood. The blood was then centrifuged at 220g for 20minutes. The supernatant was saved to produce fibrin glue. The participate containing PRP was used for second centrifugation at 480g for 20 minutes. The pellet from the second centrifugation was saved and diluted with supernatant until the platelet concentration became 900,000/μL. Twenty male, 4week-old OLETF rats were underwent operation; each rat had two wounds created on left and right sides. The each wound of left side was treated with PRP gel, the wound of right side was treated with physiologic saline gauze. Results: RT-PCR analysis; The levels of MMP-2 mRNA in PRP applied tissues were positively related to postwounding days, whereas MMP-2 mRNA expression in saline-applied tissues remained in 5day after treatment. MMP-9 mRNA was undetectable in saline-applied tissues for either tissue, except 3day after treatment. Following PRP-applied tissues, MMP-9 mRNA expression was detected, with maximal expression being seen at third day. The levels of MMP-9 mRNA in PRP applied tissues were reported high intensity of optical density related to saline applied tissues.

Keywords: diabetes, MMP-2, MMP-9, OLETF, PRP, wound healing MMP-9

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Authors: T. D. Ibragimov, A. R. Imamaliyev, G. M. Bayramov

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Influence of barium titanate particles on electro-optic properties of liquid crystal 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) with positive dielectric anisotropy and the liquid crystalline (LC) mixture Н-37 consisting of 4-methoxybezylidene-4'–butylaniline and 4-ethoxybezylidene-4'–butylaniline with negative dielectric anisotropy was investigated. It was shown that a presence of particles inside 5СВ and H-37 decreased the clearing temperature from 35.2 °С to 32.5°С and from 61.2 oC to 60.1oC, correspondingly. The threshold voltage of the Fredericksz effect became 0.3 V for the BaTiO3-5CB colloid while the beginning of this effect of the pure 5СВ was observed at 2.1 V. Threshold voltage of the Fredericksz effect increased from 2.8 V to up 3.1 V at additive of particles into H-37. A rise time of the BaTiO3-5CB colloid improved while a decay time worsened in comparison with the pure 5CB at all applied voltages. The inverse trends were observed for the H-37 matrix, namely, a rise time worsened and a decay time improved. Among other things, the effect of fast light modulation was studied at application of the rectangular impulse with direct bias to an electro-optical cell with the BaTiO3 particles+5CB and the pure 5CB. At this case, a rise time of the composite worsened, a decay time improved in comparison with the pure 5CB. The pecularities of electrohydrodynamic instability (EHDI) formation was also investigated into the composite with the H-37 matrix. It was found that the voltage of the EHDI formation decreased, a rise time increased and a decay time decreased in comparison with the pure H-37. First of all, experimental results are explained by appearance of local electric fields near the polarized ferroelectric particles at application of external electric field and an existence of the additional obstacles (particles) for movement of ions.

Keywords: liquid crystal, ferroelectric particles, composite, electro-optics

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Authors: Maydariana Ayuningtyas, Bambang Riyanto, Akhiruddin Maddu

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Industrial waste of crustacean shells, such as shrimp and crab, has been considered as one of the major issues contributing to environmental pollution. The waste processing mechanisms to form new, practical substances with added value have been developed. Chitosan, a derived matter from chitin, which is obtained from crab and shrimp shells, performs prodigiously in broad range applications. A chitosan composite-based diaphragm is a new inspiration in fiber optic acoustic sensor advancement. Elastic modulus, dynamic response, and sensitivity to acoustic wave of chitosan-based composite film contribute great potentials of organic-based sound-detecting material. The objective of this research was to develop chitosan diaphragm application in fiber optic microphone system. The formulation was conducted by blending 5% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution with dissolved chitosan at 0%, 1% and 2% in 1:1 ratio, respectively. Composite diaphragms were characterized for the morphological and mechanical properties to predict the desired acoustic sensor sensitivity. The composite with 2% chitosan indicated optimum performance with 242.55 µm thickness, 67.9% relative humidity, and 29-76% light transmittance. The Young’s modulus of 2%-chitosan composite material was 4.89×104 N/m2, which generated the voltage amplitude of 0.013V and performed sensitivity of 3.28 mV/Pa at 1 kHz. Based on the results above, chitosan from crustacean shell waste can be considered as a viable alternative material for fiber optic acoustic sensor sensing pad development. Further, the research in chitosan utilisation is proposed as novel optical microphone development in anthropogenic noise controlling effort for environmental and biodiversity conservation.

Keywords: acoustic sensor, chitosan, composite, crab shell, diaphragm, waste utilisation

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Authors: Hyehyeon Lee, Jiwon Yu, Juwon Kim, Raquel Kristina Leoni Tumiar, Taewon Kim, Juae Kim, Hongsuk Suh

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Photovoltaics, which have many advantages in cost, easy processing, and light-weight, have attracted attention. We synthesized pyrimidine-based conjugated polymers with 2-{4-[4,6-bis-(4-hexyl-thiophen-2-yl)-pyrimidin-2-yl]-phenyl}-thiazolo[5,4-b]pyridine (pPTP) which have an ability of powerful electron withdrawing and introduced into the PSCs. By Stille polymerization, we designed the conjugated polymers, pPTPBDT-12, pPTPBDT-EH, pPTPBDTT-EH and pPTPTTI. The HOMO energy levels of four polymers (pPTPBDT-12, pPTPBDT-EH, pPTPBDTT-EH and pPTPTTI) were at -5.61 ~ -5.89 eV, their LUMO (Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital) energy levels were at -3.95 ~ -4.09 eV. The device including pPTPBDT-12 and PC71BM (1:2) indicated a V_oc of 0.67 V, a J_sc of 1.33 mA/cm², and a fill factor (FF) of 0.25, giving a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.23%. The device including pPTPBDT-EH and PC71BM (1:2) indicated a V_oc of 0.72 V, a J_sc of 2.56 mA/cm², and a fill factor (FF) of 0.30, giving a power conversion efficiency of 0.56%. The device including pPTPBDTT-EH and PC71BM (1:2) indicated a V_oc of 0.72 V, a J_sc of 3.61 mA/cm², and a fill factor (FF) of 0.29, giving a power conversion efficiency of 0.74%. The device including pPTPTTI and PC71BM (1:2) indicated a V_oc of 0.83 V, a J_sc of 4.41 mA/cm², and a fill factor (FF) of 0.31, giving a power conversion efficiency of 1.13%. Therefore, pPTPBDT-12, pPTPBDT-EH, pPTPBDTT-EH, and pPTPTTI were synthesized by Stille polymerization. And We find one of the best efficiency for these polymers, called pPTPTTI. Their optical properties were measured and the results show that pyrimidine-based polymers especially like pPTPTTI have a great promise to act as the donor of the active layer.

Keywords: polymer solar cells, pyrimidine-based polymers, photovoltaics, conjugated polymer

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Authors: Jeroen Vinkx, Jan A. Delcour, Bart Goderis

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Complete aqueous dissolution of starch is notoriously difficult. A high-temperature autoclaving process is necessary, followed by cooling the solution below its boiling point. The cooled solution is inherently unstable over time. Gelation and retrogradation processes, along with aggregation-induced by undissolved starch remnants, result in starch precipitation. We recently observed the spontaneous gelatinization of native maize starch (MS) in aqueous sodium salicylate (NaSal) solutions at room temperature. A hydrotropic mode of solubilization is hypothesized. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM) of starch dispersions in NaSal solution were used to demonstrate the room temperature gelatinization of MS at different concentrations of MS and NaSal. The DSC gelatinization peak shifts to lower temperatures, and the gelatinization enthalpy decreases with increasing NaSal concentration. POM images confirm the same trend through the disappearance of the ‘Maltese cross’ interference pattern of starch granules. The minimal NaSal concentration to induce complete room temperature dissolution of MS was found to be around 15-20 wt%. The MS content of the dispersion has little influence on the amount of NaSal needed to dissolve it. The effect of the NaSal solution on the MS molecular weight was checked with HPSEC. It is speculated that, because of its amphiphilic character, NaSal enhances the solubility of MS in water by association with the more hydrophobic MS moieties, much like urea, which has also been used to enhance starch dissolution in alkaline aqueous media. As such small molecules do not tend to form micelles in water, they are called hydrotropes rather than surfactants. A minimal hydrotrope concentration (MHC) is necessary for the hydrotropes to structure themselves in water, resulting in a higher solubility of MS. This is the case for the system MS/NaSal/H₂O. Further investigations into the putative hydrotropic dissolution mechanism are necessary.

Keywords: hydrotrope, dissolution, maize starch, sodium salicylate, gelatinization

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Authors: Amani Abdallah, Isam Shahrour

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The quality of drinking water is a major concern of public health. The control of this quality is generally performed in the laboratory, which requires a long time. This type of control is not adapted for accidental pollution from sudden events, which can have serious consequences on population health. Therefore, it is of major interest to develop real-time innovative solutions for the detection of accidental contamination in drinking water systems This paper presents researches conducted within the SunRise Demonstrator for ‘Smart and Sustainable Cities’ with a particular focus on the supervision of the water quality. This work aims at (i) implementing a smart water system in a large water network (Campus of the University Lille1) including innovative equipment for real-time detection of abnormal events, such as those related to the contamination of drinking water and (ii) develop a numerical modeling of the contamination diffusion in the water distribution system. The first step included verification of the water quality sensors and their effectiveness on a network prototype of 50m length. This part included the evaluation of the efficiency of these sensors in the detection both bacterial and chemical contamination events in drinking water distribution systems. An on-line optical sensor integral with a laboratory-scale distribution system (LDS) was shown to respond rapidly to changes in refractive index induced by injected loads of chemical (cadmium, mercury) and biological contaminations (Escherichia coli). All injected substances were detected by the sensor; the magnitude of the response depends on the type of contaminant introduced and it is proportional to the injected substance concentration.

Keywords: distribution system, drinking water, refraction index, sensor, real-time

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Authors: Sharvare Palwai, Padmaja Guggilla

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Smart materials, also called as responsive materials, undergo reversible physical or chemical changes in their properties as a consequence of small environmental variations. They can respond to a single or multiple stimuli such as stress, temperature, moist, electric or magnetic fields, light, or chemical compounds. Hence smart materials are the basis of many applications, including biosensors and transducers, particularly electroactive polymers. As the polymers exhibit good flexibility, high transparency, easy processing, and low cost, they would be promising for the sensor material. Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF), being a ferroelectric polymer, exhibits piezoelectric and pyro electric properties. Pyroelectric materials convert heat directly into electricity, while piezoelectric materials convert mechanical energy into electricity. These characteristics of PVDF make it useful in biosensor devices and batteries. However, the influence of nanoparticle fillers such as Lithium Tantalate (LiTaO₃/LT), Potassium Niobate (KNbO₃/PN), and Zinc Titanate (ZnTiO₃/ZT) in polymer films will be studied comprehensively. Developing advanced and cost-effective biosensors is pivotal to foresee the fullest potential of polymer based wireless sensor networks, which will further enable new types of self-powered applications. Finally, nanocomposites films with best set of properties; the sensory elements will be designed and tested for their performance as electric generators under laboratory conditions. By characterizing the materials for their optical properties and investigate the effects of doping on the bandgap energies, the science in the next-generation biosensor technologies can be advanced.

Keywords: polyvinylidene fluoride, PVDF, lithium tantalate, potassium niobate, zinc titanate

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Authors: Keundong Lee, Dongha Yoo, Youngbin Tchoe, Gyu-Chul Yi

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Light emitting diode (LED) array is an ideal optical stimulation tool for optogenetics, which controls inhibition and excitation of specific neurons with light-sensitive ion channels or pumps. Although a fiber-optic cable with an external light source, either a laser or LED mechanically connected to the end of the fiber-optic cable has widely been used for illumination on neural tissue, a new approach to use micro LEDs (µLEDs) has recently been demonstrated. The LEDs can be placed directly either on the cortical surface or within the deep brain using a penetrating depth probe. Accordingly, this method would not need a permanent opening in the skull if the LEDs are integrated with miniature electrical power source and wireless communication. In addition, multiple color generation from single µLED cell would enable to excite and/or inhibit neurons in localized regions. Here, we demonstrate flexible and color tunable µLEDs for the optogenetic device applications. The flexible and color tunable LEDs was fabricated using multifaceted gallium nitride (GaN) nanorod arrays with GaN nanorods grown on InxGa1−xN/GaN single quantum well structures (SQW) anisotropically formed on the nanorod tips and sidewalls. For various electroluminescence (EL) colors, current injection paths were controlled through a continuous p-GaN layer depending on the applied bias voltage. The electric current was injected through different thickness and composition, thus changing the color of light from red to blue that the LED emits. We believe that the flexible and color tunable µLEDs enable us to control activities of the neuron by emitting various colors from the single µLED cell.

Keywords: light emitting diode, optogenetics, graphene, flexible optoelectronics

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Authors: Nazli Darkhal

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The use of gems and ornaments has been common in Iran since the beginning of history. The prosperity of the country, the wealth, and the interest of the people of this land in luxurious and glorious life, combined with beauty, have always attracted the attention of the gems and ornaments of the Iranian people. Iranians are famous in the world for having a long history of collecting and recognizing precious stones. In this case, we can use the unique treasure of national jewelry. Raman spectroscopy method is one of the oscillating spectroscopy methods that is classified in the group of nondestructive study methods, and like other methods, in addition to several advantages, it also has disadvantages and problems. Micro Raman spectroscopy is one of the different types of Raman spectroscopy in which an optical microscope is combined with a Raman device to provide more capabilities and advantages than its original method. In this way, with the help of Raman spectroscopy and a light microscope, while observing more details from different parts of the historical sample, natural or artificial pigments can be identified in a small part of it. The EDX electron microscope also functions as the basis for the interaction of the electron beam with the matter. The beams emitted from this interaction can be used to examine samples. In this article, in addition to introducing the micro Raman spectroscopy method, studies have been conducted on the structure of three samples of existing stones in the historic citadel of Bam. Using this method of study on precious and semi-precious stones, in addition to requiring a short time, can provide us with complete information about the structure and theme of these samples. The results of experiments and gemology of the stones showed that the selected beads are agate and jasper, and they can be placed in the chalcedony group.

Keywords: bam citadel, precious and semi-precious stones, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope

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Authors: Matthew Korey, Jeffrey Youngblood, John Howarter

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Background and Significance: Tannic acid (TA) is a bio-based high molecular weight organic, aromatic molecule that has been found to increase thermal stability and flame retardancy of many polymer matrices when used as an additive. Although it is biologically sourced, TA is a pollutant in industrial wastewater streams, and there is a desire to find applications in which to downcycle this molecule after extraction from these streams. Additionally, epoxy thermosets have revolutionized many industries, but are too flammable to be used in many applications without additives which augment their flame retardancy (FR). Many flame retardants used in epoxy thermosets are synthesized from petroleum-based monomers leading to significant environmental impacts on the industrial scale. Many of these compounds also have significant impacts on human health. Various bio-based modifiers have been developed to improve the FR of the epoxy resin; however, increasing FR of the system without tradeoffs with other properties has proven challenging, especially for TA. Methodologies: In this work, TA was incorporated into the thermoset by use of solvent-exchange using methyl ethyl ketone, a co-solvent for TA, and epoxy resin. Samples were then characterized optically (UV-vis spectroscopy and optical microscopy), thermally (thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry), and for their flame retardancy (mass loss calorimetry). Major Findings: Compared to control samples, all samples were found to have increased thermal stability. Further, the addition of tannic acid to the polymer matrix by the use of solvent greatly increased the compatibility of the additive in epoxy thermosets. By using solvent-exchange, the highest loading level of TA found in literature was achieved in this work (40 wt%). Conclusions: The use of solvent-exchange shows promises for circumventing the limitations of TA in epoxy.

Keywords: sustainable, flame retardant, epoxy, tannic acid

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Authors: A. Abbas, X. Tridon, J. Michelon

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In the electronic or in the photovoltaic industries, components are made from wafers which are stacks of thin film layers of a few nanometers to serval micrometers thickness. Early evaluation of the bounding quality between different layers of a wafer is one of the challenges of these industries to avoid dysfunction of their final products. Traditional pump-probe experiments, which have been developed in the 70’s, give a partial solution to this problematic but with a non-negligible drawback. In fact, on one hand, these setups can generate and detect ultra-high ultrasounds frequencies which can be used to evaluate the adhesion quality of wafer layers. But, on the other hand, because of the quiet long acquisition time they need to perform one measurement, these setups remain shut in punctual measurement to evaluate global sample quality. This last point can lead to bad interpretation of the sample quality parameters, especially in the case of inhomogeneous samples. Asynchronous Optical Sampling (ASOPS) systems can perform sample characterization with picosecond acoustics up to 106 times faster than traditional pump-probe setups. This last point allows picosecond ultrasonic to unlock the acoustic imaging field at the nanometric scale to detect inhomogeneities regarding sample mechanical properties. This fact will be illustrated by presenting an image of the measured acoustical reflection coefficients obtained by mapping, with an ASOPS setup, a 255nm thin-film tungsten layer deposited on a silicone substrate. Interpretation of the coefficient reflection in terms of bounding quality adhesion will also be exposed. Origin of zones which exhibit good and bad quality bounding will be discussed.

Keywords: adhesion, picosecond ultrasonics, pump-probe, thin film

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Authors: Bouanati Sidi Mohammed, N. E. Chabane Sari, Mostefa Kara Selma

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It is well-known that Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) are attracting great interest in the display technology industry due to their many advantages, such as low price of manufacturing, large-area of electroluminescent display, various colors of emission included white light. Recently, there has been much progress in understanding the device physics of OLEDs and their basic operating principles. In OLEDs, Light emitting is the result of the recombination of electron and hole in light emitting layer, which are injected from cathode and anode. For improve luminescence efficiency, it is needed that hole and electron pairs exist affluently and equally and recombine swiftly in the emitting layer. The aim of this paper is to modeling polymer LED and OLED made with small molecules for studying the electrical and optical characteristics. The first simulation structures used in this paper is a mono layer device; typically consisting of the poly (2-methoxy-5(2’-ethyl) hexoxy-phenylenevinylene) (MEH-PPV) polymer sandwiched between an anode usually an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate, and a cathode, such as Al. In the second structure we replace MEH-PPV by tris (8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum (Alq3). We choose MEH-PPV because of it's solubility in common organic solvents, in conjunction with a low operating voltage for light emission and relatively high conversion efficiency and Alq3 because it is one of the most important host materials used in OLEDs. In this simulation, the Poole-Frenkel- like mobility model and the Langevin bimolecular recombination model have been used as the transport and recombination mechanism. These models are enabled in ATLAS -SILVACO software. The influence of doping and thickness on I(V) characteristics and luminescence, are reported.

Keywords: organic light emitting diode, polymer lignt emitting diode, organic materials, hexoxy-phenylenevinylene

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Authors: Nurul Aqilah Mohd Zaini, Afroditi Chatzifragkou, Dimitris Charalampopoulos

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D-Lactic acid production is gaining increasing attention due to the thermostable properties of its polymer, Polylactic Acid (PLA). In this study, D-lactic acid was produced in microbial cultures using Lactobacillus coryniformis subsp. torquens as D-lactic acid producer and hydrolysates of Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS) as fermentation substrate. Prior to fermentation, DDGS was first alkaline pretreated with 5% (w/v) NaOH, for 15 minutes (121oC/ ~16 psi). This led to the generation of DDGS solid residues, rich in carbohydrates and especially cellulose (~52%). The carbohydrate-rich solids were then subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis with Accellerase® 1500. For Separate Hydrolysis and Fermentation (SHF), enzymatic hydrolysis was carried out at 50oC for 24 hours, followed by fermentation of D-lactic acid at 37oC in controlled pH 6. The obtained hydrolysate contained 24 g/l glucose, 5.4 g/l xylose and 0.6 g/l arabinose. In the case of Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF), hydrolysis and fermentation were conducted in a single step process at 37oC in pH 5. The enzymatic hydrolysis of DGGS pretreated solids took place mostly during lag phase of L. coryniformis fermentation, with only a small amount of glucose consumed during the first 6 h. When exponential phase was started, glucose generation reduced as the microorganism started to consume glucose for D-lactic acid production. Higher concentrations of D-lactic acid were produced when SSF approach was applied, with 28 g/l D-lactic acid after 24 h of fermentation (84.5% yield). In contrast, 21.2 g/l D-lactic acid were produced when SHF was used. The optical pu rity of D-lactic acid produced from both experiments was 99.9%. Besides, approximately 2 g/l acetic acid was also generated due to lactic acid degradation after glucose depletion in SHF. SSF was proved an efficient towards DDGS ulilisation and D-lactic acid production, by reducing the overall processing time, yielding sufficient D-lactic acid concentrations without the generation of fermentation by-products.

Keywords: DDGS, alkaline pretreatment, SSF, D-lactic acid

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Authors: Samaneh Nabavi, Hadi Shirzad, Somayeh Khanjani, Shirin Jalili

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Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor nanocrystals that exhibit intrinsic optical and electrical properties that are size dependent due to the quantum confinement effect. Quantum confinement is brought about by the fact that in bulk semiconductor material the electronic structure consists of continuous bands, and that as the size of the semiconductor material decreases its radius becomes less than the Bohr exciton radius (the distance between the electron and electron-hole) and discrete energy levels result. As a result QDs have a broad absorption range and a narrow emission which correlates to the band gap energy (E), and hence QD size. QDs can thus be tuned to give the desired wavelength of fluorescence emission.Due to their unique properties, QDs have attracted considerable attention in different scientific areas. Also, they have been considered for forensic applications in recent years. The ability of QDs to fluoresce up to 20 times brighter than available fluorescent dyes makes them an attractive nanomaterial for enhancing the visualization of latent fingermarks, or poorly developed fingermarks. Furthermore, the potential applications of QDs in the detection of nitroaromatic explosives, such as TNT, based on directive fluorescence quenching of QDs, electron transfer quenching process or fluorescence resonance energy transfer have been paid to attention. DNA analysis is associated tightly with forensic applications in molecular diagnostics. The amount of DNA acquired at a criminal site is inherently limited. This limited amount of human DNA has to be quantified accurately after the process of DNA extraction. Accordingly, highly sensitive detection of human genomic DNA is an essential issue for forensic study. QDs have also a variety of advantages as an emission probe in forensic DNA quantification.

Keywords: forensic science, quantum dots, DNA typing, explosive sensor, fingermark analysis

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Authors: Nthabiseng Portia Mahumapelo, Andre van Niekerk, Ndabenhle Sosibo, Nirdesh Singh

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The foundry industry generates large quantities of solid waste in the form of waste foundry sand. The ever-increasing quantities of this type of industrial waste put pressure on land-filling space and its proper management has become a global concern. The South African foundry industry is not different when it comes to this solid waste generation. Utilizing the foundry waste sand in other applications has become an attractive avenue to deal with this waste stream. In the present paper, an evaluation was done on the suitability of foundry waste sand as an additive in clay masonry products. Purchased clay was added to the foundry waste sand sample in a 50/50 ratio. The mixture was named FC sample. The FC sample was mixed with water in a pan mixer until the mixture was consistent and suitable for extrusion. The FC sample was extruded and cut into briquettes. Water absorption, shrinkage and modulus of rupture tests were conducted on the resultant briquettes. Foundry waste sand and FC samples were respectively characterized mineralogically using X-Ray Diffraction, and the major and trace elements were determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy. Adding purchased clay to the foundry waste sand positively influenced the workability of the test sample. Another positive characteristic was the low linear shrinkage, which indicated that products manufactured from the FC sample would not be susceptible to cracking. The water absorption values were acceptable and the unfired and fired strength values of the briquette’s samples were acceptable. In conclusion, tests showed that foundry waste sand can be used as an additive in masonry clay bricks, provided it is blended with good quality clay.

Keywords: foundry waste sand, masonry clay bricks, modulus of rupture, shrinkage

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Authors: Tarek Elnimr, Rabab El-kelany

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Heavy metals are environmental contaminants that may pose long-term health risks. Unfortunately, the consequent implementation of preventive measures was generally delayed, causing important negative effects to the exposed populations. The objective of this study was to determine whether co-consumption of nutritional supplements as selenium and vitamin E would treat the hazardous effects of exposure to mercury, lead and cadmium. 108 workers (60 males and 48 females) were the subject of this study, their ages ranged from 19-63 years, (M = 29.5±10.12). They were working in lamp factory for an average of 0.5-40 years (M= 5.3±8.8). Twenty control subjects matched for age and gender were used for comparison. All workers were subjected to neuropsychiatric evaluation. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) revealed that 44.4% were complaining of anxiety, 52.7% of depression, 41.6% of social dysfunction and 22.2% of somatic symptoms. Cognitive tests revealed that long-term memory was not affected significantly when compared with controls, while short term memory and perceptual ability were affected significantly. Blood metal levels were measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma – optical emission spectrometry(ICP-OES), and revealed that the mean blood mercury, lead and cadmium concentrations before treatment were 1.6 mg/l, 0.39 mg/l and 1.7 µg/l, while they decreased significantly after treatment to 1.2 mg/l, 0.29 mg/l and 1.3 µg/l respectively. Anti-oxidative enzymes (paraoxonase and catalase) and lipid peroxidation product (malondialdehyde) were measured before and after treatment with selenium and vitamin E, and showed significant improvement. It could be concluded that co-consumption of selenium and vitamin E produces significant decrease in mercury, lead and cadmium levels in blood.

Keywords: mercury, lead, cadmium, neuropsychiatric impairment, selenium, vitamin E

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Authors: Hicham Amar, Mustapha El Ghorfi, Yassine Taha, Abdellatif Elghali, Rachid Hakkou, Mostafa Benzaazoua

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Phosphate mine waste rock (PMWR) generated during ore extraction is continuously increasing, resulting in a significant environmental footprint. The main objectives of this study consist of i) elaboration of the sampling strategy of PMWR piles, ii) a mineralogical and chemical characterization of PMWR piles, and iii) 3D block model creation to evaluate the potential valorization of the existing PMWR. Destructive drilling using reverse circulation from 13 drills was used to collect samples for chemical (X-ray fluorescence analysis) and mineralogical assays. The 3D block model was created based on the data set, including chemical data of the realized drills using Datamine RM software. The optical microscopy observations showed that the sandy phosphate from drills in the PMWR piles is characterized by the abundance of carbonate fluorapatite with the presence of calcite, dolomite, and quartz. The mean grade of composite samples was around 19.5±2.7% for P₂O₅. The mean grade of P₂O₅ exhibited an increasing tendency by depth profile from bottom to top of PMWR piles. 3D block model generated with chemical data confirmed the tendency of the mean grades’ variation and may allow a potential selective extraction according to %P₂O₅. The 3D block model of P₂O₅ grade is an efficient sampling approach that confirmed the variation of P₂O₅ grade. This integrated approach for PMWR management will be a helpful tool for decision-making to recover the residual phosphate, adopting the circular economy and sustainability in the phosphate mining industry.

Keywords: 3D modelling, reverse circulation drilling, circular economy, phosphate mine waste rock, sampling

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