020032   Lin Z;Duoli C;Minhao Z;Zhenbing C;Chao H; Jinfang P (Tribology Research Institute, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials Tec, Southwest Jiaotong Univ, Chengdu 610031, China, Email: zhuminhao@139.com) : Damping properties of nitrile-butadiene rubber reinforced by graphene derivative. J Polym Mater 2016, 33(3), 513-27.

In this paper, graphene oxide (GO) was prepared by modified Hammer's method using graphite, which was then modified with silane coupling agent (MGO). With two-roll mill mixing method, GO was used as filler and composites like nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR)/GO(MGO) composites and nitrite-butadiene rubber (NBR)/2,2'-methylenebis(6-tert-butyl-4-methyl-phenol) (AO-2246)/ GO(MGO) composites were prepared. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) were used to observe and study the molecular structure and morphology of GO, MGO and the composites. Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA) was used to study the damping properties of the composites. The composites reinforced by GO and MGO exhibited better damping and mechanical property. The damping property of NBR/GO composites weakens but the damping property of NBR/ AO-2246/GO composites enhances with increase graphene oxide (GO). The damping property of the composites is enhanced by the addition of MGO. The main reason of the excellent properties of the graphene derivatives is its structural characteristics and the associated hydrogen bonds in the structure.

14 illus, 2 tables, 20 ref

020031   Li W;Xu Z;Zhang L;Wang X;Wei A (College of Textiles and Garments, Anhui Polytechnic Univ, Wuhu 241000, China, Email: fangzhiliweiwu@sina.com) : Blending of quaternized cornstarch-g-poly(acrylic acid) (QS-g-PAA) with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to improve adhesion-to-fibres and film property of cornstarch for surface coating application. J Polym Mater 2016, 33(3), 431-43.

The objective of this work was to examine the effects of blending of quaternized cornstarch-g-poly(acrylic acid) (QS-g-PAA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) on the mechanical property of starch film and adhesion-to-fibres of starch. The QS-g-PAA was synthesized via quaternization of acid-thinned cornstarch with N-(3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl) trimethylammonium chloride, and further graft copolymerization of the quaternized starch with acrylic acid in aqueous medium using Fe²⁺-H₂0₂ initiator. The influences of composition on the properties such as tensile strength, breaking elongation, stress-strain and bending endurance of QS-g-PAA/PVA blend films, and adhesion-to-fibres were investigated. It was found that blending of QS-g-PAA and PVA was not only able to enhance adhesion strengths of starch to cotton and polyester fibres, but also capable of toughening starch film. With the increase in PVA incorporated, increased adhesion strengths and film toughness were shown. The blending could be adopted to alleviate the intrinsic drawbacks (insufficient adhesion and film brittleness) of cornstarch - 296 - based on the results obtained in this study.

5 illus, 2 tables, 39 ref

020030   Kundu S;Maladkar R;Singh A K;Hussain M M (Atomic Fuels Div, Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, Email: hussain@barc.gov.in) : Role of precipitate in strain induced martensitic transformation during cold deformation of SS 321. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(1), 35-46.

Austenitic stainless - 295 - steels are extensively used in many areas of application because of their superior corrosion resistance and satisfactory mechanical properties. Amongst various grades of stainless steel, titanium stabilized SS 321 is chiefly used for high temperature structural application due to its extraordinary stability against sensitization at higher temperature. Titanium tends to form carbides/carbonitrides, thereby reducing the carbon content in the austenitic matrix. This helps preventing sensitization problem. The stability of austenitic phase at room temperature is key factor to govern the propensity of strain induced martensitic transformation during cold deformation of austenitic stainless steels. Titanium is a strong ferrite stabilizer. The effect of dissolved titanium content in austenite/the percentage precipitation of titanium on the stability of austenite were studied. Solutionized and as-received specimens were considered for experiments. Solutionizing was done at 1100° for 30 mins and then water quenched. One of the solutionized specimens was heated at a slow rate of approx. 5°/minute from room temperature to 1100°, while the other one was rapidly heated upto the solutionizing temperature. As received structure showed austenitic matrix along with coarse titanium carbide precipitates. Tensile tests on samples were carried out and the volume percentage of the strain induced martensite in each specimen was estimated with a calibrated ferritscopic measurement. Optical microscopy, SEM and EDAX were also performed to find out grainsize, morphology and composition of titanium rich precipitates and regions of austenitic matrix. The results showed a higher propensity of strain induced martensitic transformation in case of solutionized samples. The effect of strain rate on the transformation was also realized through carrying out tensile tests at different strain rates on as received specimens. Afaster test was seen to hinder martensitic transformation, quite expectedly, possibly because of adiabatic heating.

020029   Kumar Basanth K;Saxena K K;Dey S R;Pancholi V;Bhattacharjee A (Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad, Kandi, Sangareddy-502 285, Email: basanthkumar.kodli@gmail.com) : Microstructural evolution in hot compressed TiHy 600 titanium alloy. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(3), 147-52.

TiHy 600 alloy is a near alpha titanium alloy, widely used for gas turbine engine applications such as disc and blades for high pressure compressors. One drawback of this alloy is that it is susceptible to cold dwell fatigue, which is due to the presence of micro-textured zones. Thus, appropriate processing parameters (i.e. temperature, strain and strain rate) are required to reduce the size of the micro-textured region. In order to find out the optimized processing parameters, hot compression tests were performed up to 50% engineering strain at temperatures range of 900°-1050° and strain rate range of 10^-3 to 101 s^-1 using thermo-mechanical simulator (Gleeble 3800r). Flow behavior characteristics were studied from the data obtained during hot compression and processing map was developed at true strain of 0.6 using Dynamic Materials Modeling (DMM) approach. Microstructural examination of deformed TiHy 600 titanium alloy were carried out at a particular strain rate of 10^-3 s^-1 and temperatures of 900°, 950°, 975°, 1000° and 1050°. Microstructural examination consists of orientation image mapping along compression direction using electron backscatter diffraction. Hot compression mostly resulted into new dynamic recrystallized (DRX) alpha grains at 900°, mixture of deformed large alpha grains containing subgrain boundaries and transformed beta phase consisting of secondary alpha laths at 950° and 975° and alpha laths transformed from deformed beta grains at 1000° and 1050°.

020028   Jiang S;Ling J;Nie J;Meng Z;Wang M;Yu Q;Wang K (School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changzhou Univ, Changzhou, 213164, P.R. China, Email: kemin-wang@hotmail.com) : Photopolymerization of multifunctional methacrylic monomers: synthesis, properties and effects of the functional groups. J Polym Mater 2016, 33(3), 469-78.

Photopolymerizable multifunctional methacrylic monomers were prepared by two-step ring-opening reaction of n-butanol, maleic anhydride and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). The structure of multifunctional methacrylate monomers with different functional groups were characterized by FT-IR and ¹H-NMR. The photopolymerization kinetics of multifunctional methacrylate monomers with different functional groups was studied by real time FTIR. The results indicated that storage modulus, glass transition temperature and thermal stability all increased with the increase of functional groups.

5 illus, 2 tables, 21 ref

020027   Ganjoo I;Vinod Kumar (NO, Control Dynamics and Simulation Group ISRO Satellite Centre, HAL Airport Road, Bangalore-560 017, Email: ishita@isac.gov.in) : Smoothened absolute kinematic position estimation of leo satellite using GPS observables. J Aerospace Sci Technol 2017, 69(3), 373-9.

In this paper, the objective is to use the navigation signals (pseudorange and carrier phase measurements) from GPS to kinematically estimate the absolute position of a low Earth orbit satellite and its receiver clock biases. GPS observables can estimate the precise position of a satellite in near real time. The GPS satellite navigation file is downloaded from Scripps Orbit and Permanent Array Centre (SOPAC) website for starting epoch of 01-01-2016 00:00 UT. The observables are then generated for a Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite at an altitude of 901.4 km. The absolute position is estimated using pseudorange measurements. The accuracies obtained are (5.68 8.04 6.17) m in ECEF frame. This estimated absolute position is then smoothened with the time-differenced carrier phase measurements. The Kalman filter gains are computed in near real time. The smoothened accuracies obtained are (2.24 2.60 2.6982) m in ECEF frame, thus showing improved - 294 - estimated absolute position accuracy.

4 illus, 2 tables, 10 ref

020026   Dutta D;Goel S;Hait J;Jha M K (School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur-721 302, Email: maniskrjha@gmail.com) : E-waste generation, management, utilization and recycling. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(3), 89-98.

Increasing rate of market penetration, economic growth and rapid technological advancement lead to the massive generation of electronic waste or e-waste in the country. Lack of awareness and indecorous handling of e-waste causes a global menace. E-wastes comprise diverse range of metals, plastics and ceramics which when disposed in the environment with improper treatment have adverse impact to environment and human health. In India, the generation of e-waste is increasing by 10% per annum and is not managed properly. 95% of the recycling agencies are informal sectors and only 5% are formal sectors handling the e-waste in an environment unfriendly manner damaging the environment. The present review paper reports the generation rate, management options, different utility to increase product durability and the recycling techniques for having a systematic management of e-waste in the country. Based on the rigorous review of literature some recommendations have been made, which will be useful for the recyclers, policy makers and researchers working in this area.

^iia

020025   Dutta A K;Sivaprasad S;Bar H N;Prasad P;Kumar K (NO, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur-831 007, Email: akd@nmlindia.org) : Numerical modelling of dissipation energy of high tensile steel frames against cyclic earthquake excitations. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(3), 133-46.

The design of steel structures for ductile response requires (a) material ductility, (b) cross section and member ductility, and (c) structural ductility. Dissipating the earthquake input energy by means of plastic excursions has to be compatible with the plastic deformation capacity of the structure. This work concerns incremental approach of modeling for elastoplastic analysis of structural members subjected to harmonically varying severe earthquake loads and their parametric responses over a range of applied frequencies and amplitudes. Investigations have been carried out in respect of stable and reliable hysteretic energy dissipation mechanisms of high rise steel - 293 - structures against typical time-history loading of four hypothetical frequencies. Eigen-buckling responses for high rise steel structures subjected to earthquake forces are derived using general purpose software (STAAD). Finally critical structural component is identified for the high rise steel structure for estimation of available in-elastic dissipation energy from material ductility against earthquake excitations. The novelty allows for a very useful generalized formulation for the basic analysis procedures adopted in non-linear material problems. All essential features of a non-linear finite element solution are described in relation to one dimensional model for elasto-plastic beam bending. Solutions techniques are programmed in FORTRAN 90 for Newton-Raphson iteration for non-linear finite element analysis to derive hysteretic energy dissipation of high rise steel structures.

020024   Dixit A;Bag D (NO, Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment DM, G. T. Road, Kanpur-208 013, Email: ds_bag@rediffmail.com) : Novel double network hydrogel with high swelling and mechanical properties. J Polym Mater 2016, 33(2), 407-18.

In this investigation, we report double network (DN) hydrogels having high mechanical strength at their swollen state. Such a double network hydrogel is consisting of PVA-borax double strand in which P(AM-HEMA) crosslinked network was embedded by in-situ polymerization. Both the swelling property and tensile strength of the hydrogels (in their swollen state) depends on the composition of the hyrogels. The equilibrium swelling ratio was achieved as high as 1272% for a sample where AM/HEMA=100/0 was taken in the second network (no HEMA ). The compositional ratio of AM and HEMA in forming double network has also distinct influence on the mechanical properties of the hydrogels. The tensile strength values for DN hydrogels having 80 wt% water content were measured to be 21.77kPa, 31.47 kPa and 32.21 kPa for the DN hydrogels having AM/ HEMA weight ratio 67/33, 50/50 and 25/75 (PVA-borax content being constant). Elongation of more than 200% was also achieved in such a DN hydrogel. The results obtained in this system of DN hydrogels having PVA-borax network are comparable with those reported for other systems. The high mechanical properties of such hydrogels can be attributed to the reinforcing influence of PVA-borax complex crosslinking onto the P(AM-HEMA) networks.

8 illus, 1 table, 39 ref

020023   Dheeraj Kumar;Singh U K (Mining Engineering Dep, ISM, Dhanbad, Email: dheeraj@dkumar.org) : Development of strain rosette block for stress measurements. J Rock Mech Tunnelling Technol 2016, 22(1), 37-48.

A device named strain rosette block (SRB) was developed for stress measurement in concrete tunnel lining, dam wall and pillar. The strain rosette block consists of a resin block (of near elastic compound) with standard strain rosette (45°, 3- element rosette) mounted on one side of the block and a male 'D' connector on the other side. The SRB was connected with strain indicator and recorder through an interface - 292 - cable having female 'D' connector. The SRB was mounted on the concrete cubical block of 30 cm which was casted in the laboratory for testing purposes. Laboratory tests were conducted on the concrete cubical blocks for the development and testing of SRB. A test rig was fabricated in the laboratory to confine the cubical concrete sample along its side and to apply the desired stress level. A portable core drill was used to overcore the concrete block containing the Strain Rosette Block. A portable strain indicator with recorder was used for recording the strain. The readings were taken before and after coring of the blocks. On the bases of the results obtained during tests, calculations for the back stresses were done. This paper describes development of the SRB and the experimental setup for testing and evaluation. The experimental setup consists of a loading frame, a portable rock drilling machine, strain indicator and recorder.

8 illus, 11 ref

020022   Dharmalingam U;Dhanasekaran M;Balasubramanian K;Kandasamy R (Rubber and Plastics Technology Dep, Madras Institute of Technology Campus, Anna Univ, Chennai-600 044, Email: ravi@mitindia.edu ) : Modification of epoxy resin with silicone rubber and in-situ generated alumina silicates. J Polym Mater 2016, 33(2), 333-49.

In the present work epoxy resin was modified using amine containing liquid silicone rubber (ACS) and in-situ generated alumina silicates. Epoxy resin is a brittle material which is modified by using either an elastomer or filler or combination of the both. Fly ash and Bagasse ash are used as a precursor for the preparation of alumina silicate species (geopolymer) with sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide solution. The alumina silicates prepared from fly ash or bagasse ash with varying loadings from 5, 10 and 15 weight % was mixed with ACS modified epoxy matrix for further toughening. To improve the dispersion of alumina silicates in ACS modified epoxy resin, a silane - coupling agent Glycidoxyproptrimethoxysilane (GPTS) was added. FTIR spectroscopy, SEM with ED AX, and optical microscopy were used for characterization of fly ash and bagasse ash. The mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of ACS modified epoxy- alumina silicates composites were investigated. Morphological studies revealed that oh surface treatment of fly ash or bagasse ash with silane coupling agent improves the dispersion of alumina silicates in ACS modified epoxy composites.

14 illus, 3 tables, 26 ref

020021   Debbarman J;Roy P K;Pal M;Mazumdar A (NO, Jadavpur Univ, School of Water Resources Engineering, Kolkata-700 032) : Estimation of aquifer thickness of groundwater using resistivity survey in Tripura. Indian J envir Prot 2016, 36(8), 628-34.

Resistivity sounding using Schlumberger array was conducted in different parts of Tripura for locating aquifer zones as a part of water supply scheme for household and irrigation purpose. The areas broadly include Agartala valley, Udaipur valley, Kailasahar valley and Dharmanagar valley. These data were critically examined, processed and interpreted using curve matching technique and resistivity 1-D software of dynamic studies of groundwater in Tripura. Resistivity investigation data of 18 locations in the above valleys, where data collection was excellent, was selected for detail interpretation. Among these, 6 are in Agartala valley, 4 each in Udaipur, Dharmanagar and Kailasahar valley were found to be 71.25 m, 118 m, 85.18 m and 111.13 m, respectively.

1 illus, 1 table, 12 ref

020020   Datta A K;Sivaprasad S;Prasad P (NO, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur-831 007, Email: akd@nmlindia.org) : System approach of modeling of high rise steel structures against earthquake excitations. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(1), 25-33.

The ability of structural steel as a base material to dissipate large amount of seismic energy through inelastic deformations makes steel a material ideally suited for structures undergoing seismic excitations. The performance of a structure during a seismic event depends on many sources of randomness such as intensity and dynamic characteristics of ground motions, the material mechanical properties, the hysteretic behavior of dissipative elements, connections etc. The probabilistic approach can fully consider all of the uncertainties affecting the prediction of the seismic behavior and, therefore the actual seismic performance. In this work a system approach is explained for mathematical model of high rise steel structures against seismic - 291 - excitations. An objective function has been defined relating a criterion variable to the vector of unknowns and predictor variables encountered in a time history response of steel structure.

020019   Dasgupta A;Randhawa N S;Chandrasekhar S;Goel R P (NO, CSIR-National Metallurgical Lab, Jamshedpur, Email: arundasgupta2@gmail.com) : Filtration studies for separation of solid particles from slurry generated in hydrometallurgical processing of ores and concentrates. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(2), 69-79.

Polymetallic sea nodules are a source for the recovery of valuable non-ferrous metals. In this study the sea nodule residue from the leach slurry of Indian polymetallic sea nodules is filtered to separate solids from the leach solution. Separation of solid particles from slurry generated from hydrometallurgical processing of ores and concentrates. Separation of solid particles is usually carried out by the sedimentation and filtration operation. Sedimentation of slurry is done in a graduated cylindrical vessel. In filtration the slurry is filtered to get a clear filtrate solution and solid particles. Filtration of slurries such as sea nodule residue in ammoniacal liquor (20%) and Zinc carbonate slurry in water was carried out in a Buckner funnel attached to a graduated tube connected to a vacuum pump. The study was carried out under different conditions of pressure, slurry concentration, filter media et. The filtration studies have been carried out under vacuum pressure of 8 mm Hg to 100 mm Hg and 150 mm Hg gauge; slurry concentrations of 10%, 20% and 25%. Studies were done to know the filtration characteristicssuch as rate of filtration, plugging of pores in repeated use, filter cake resistance and filter medium resistance. The cake and medium resistance were calculated using the filtration equation. The cake and medium resistances were found to depend on filter medium pressure applied and nature of particles.

020018   Choudhury A;Biswas D K;Bose S;Datta T K (Mech. Engg. Dep, Megnad Saha Institute of Technology, Kolkata) : Development of various modules of environment friendly furnaces concerning melting and castings of iron, brass and bell metal products. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(3), 99-131.

Since over a decade there is a worldwide trend towards using fuel alternative to coal/coke concerning casting production due to the excessive emission undesirable level of suspended particulate material and toxic gases beyond acceptable limit with flue emitted from coal/coke based units. India is an important global player in the casting sector and the study on ferrous as well as non-ferrous casting reveals that: (i) there are above several thousand coke based foundries currently operating in different parts of India and (ii) there are numerous cottage based brass and bell metal industries in India which mainly use coal/coke/wood/wood charcoal as main fuel. Exhaust emission with flue from these coal/coke based industries normally carries lots of Suspended Particulate Materials (SPM), Toxic gases such as SO_x, NO_x, etc. Normal emission of SPM and SO_x from these foundries/melting and casting unit is about 1000-3000 mg/NM³ and beyond 700 mg/NM³ respectively. Stringent specifications set by not only Pollution Control Boards of various First & Second World countries but also by CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board of India) threaten the existence of most of the coke/coal based medium and small scale casting sectors as operation of these solid fuel based furnaces is reported extremely unhealthy because of the excessive presence of SPM and toxic gases. Coke less cupola using sulfur-stripped hydrocarbon based oils (LDO, Kerosene Oil)/Gases (LPG, LNG, NG) developed by M/s Richard Taft¹, Ducker², NML/CSIR³, in Russia⁴ as well as in Japan⁵ is presently in the process of replacing coke based cupola concerning iron casting/foundries. Therefore, an attempt had been made in this work to carry out research and development of environment-friendly furnaces of various sizes for brass and bell metal melting and casting in connection with the production of thin section of not only traditional items/utensils such as lota/small size pitcher, ghara/big size pitcher, tumbler, thali/saucer/plate, flower vase, but also of artifact. The desired furnace was designed - 290 - and developed in the premises of an entrepreneur at Bishnupur locality in Bankura District of West Bengal. No. of successful campaigns then carried out which reveals not only the acceptability and validity of the developed Furnace based on using Sulfur stripped domestic fuel such as mainly LPG [Liquid Petroleum Gas] as well as Kerosene but also market acceptability of the product i.e. Kalsi/Ghara/Pot. In near future, the developed technology is expected to be utilized by the Practitioner as well as Artisan of the Brass and Bell metal product cluster with sulfur stripped either LPG from west coast or NG [Natural Gas] from Assam when these are expected to be supplied through National Piping Net Working.

020017   Chen S;Wang T;Wang Q (State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China, Email: chenshoubing@licp.cas.cn) : Tribological damping and thermal properties of polyurethane/polystyrene interpenetrating polymer networks. J Polym Mater 2016, 33(3), 503-12.

A series of Poly (tetramethylene glycol) (PTMG)-based polyurethane (PU)/polystyrene (PS) interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) composites were prepared. The tribological behaviors, damping properties and thermal stability of the IPN composites were studied systematically in terms of composition. Results revealed that the tribological properties of PU/PS composites under seawater improved with PU content increase. When the PU content more than 40%, the friction coefficient lower than 0.25. The damping properties were best when the PU content was 30% with the damping temperature range was approx 53°C. The PU/PS IPN composites showed higher thermal stability with the PS component increasing. It is expected that the PU/PSIPN composites may be used in the marine environment as lubricating and damping materials.

7 illus, 2 tables, 24 ref

020016   Chawla P;Tripathi M (NO, , ) : Layered filler based nanocomposite polymer electrolyte for solar cell application. J Nanosci Nanoengng Applic 2017, 7(1), 15-19.

In the present work we fabricated natural dye sensitized solar cell using PVA based nanocomposite polymer electrolyte with MMT Clay (Montmorillonite) as layered filler in order to improve the conductivity of polymer electrolyte. In this work, we applied TiO₂-WO₃ to natural dye sensitizer solar cells as a photoelectrode to reduce the recombination rate by providing energy barrier and we also explore the use of natural dyes, betacyanin obtained from the beetroot which are characterized by a high content of red pigments with a high absorption coefficient in the visible part of the solar spectrum. The properties of the Polyvinyl alcohol based natural solid state dye sensitized solar cell have been studied by measuring their short-circuit photocurrent density (Jsc), open circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (ff) and conversion efficiency.

020015   Chavda T V;Singh P;Agravat S;Philip S K (Solar Energy Div, Sardar Patel Renewable Energy Research Institute (SPRERI), Vallabh Vidyanagar-388 120, Email: tilak_chavda@yahoo.co.in) : Design, development and demonstration of a shallow solar tunnel dryer for non-electrified areas. J appl nat Sci 2017, 9(4), 2461-8.

This paper presents the design, construction and performance evaluation of a shallow solar tunnel dryer for agro and industrial products. In the shallow solar tunnel dryer, there are three separate units viz.: an air heating unit, drying unit and air diversion unit. Total area of the solar tunnel dryer was 21 m². The heated air from a separate solar air heating zone is passed through a product bed, and at the same time, the drying tunnel bed absorbs solar energy directly through the transparent UV stabilized plastic sheet used as covering material. This dryer was not required any external sources of the power to operate the electrical fan. The system was designed to operate at a temperature of 50 to 60°C. The system was installed at the institute and initial testing was conducted. After that the system was also demonstrated at the actual potential user's site. The results obtained during the test period revealed that the temperatures inside the tunnel drying zone and solar air heating zone were much higher than the ambient air temperature during most hours of the day-light. The temperature rise inside the drying tunnel was up to 67.4°C at peak hour's period (noon). The drying rat e and thermal efficiency of the collector were 1.73 kg/h and 26.0% respectively. The high outlet temperature indicated the scope of loading the dryer further.

5 illus, 9 tables, 9 ref

020014   Chatterjee P P (Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Sangareddy-502 285, Email: cppartho@yahoo.co.in) : Recent developments in aerospace materials. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(2), 53-6.

Aerospace materials are materials, usuallymetal alloys or composites, that have eitherbeen developed for, or have come to prominence through, their application foraerospace purposes. These materials require exceptional fatigue resistance, high strength& toughness, low density, low ductile to brittle transition temperature, impact resistance, heat resistance, corrosion resistance, etc. These parameters are not to be conceded, even at - 288 - considerable cost of manufacturing. In the back drop of recent preferment, this paper dwells upon material and design advancement like smart aircraft wings, vibration absorbing lattice structure, lightweight membrane; which can reduce inflight noise, lightweight material for high stability, metallic foams etc. followed by suggestions/possible applications. The paper attempts to establish that there could be wide spread usage of these materials in future if harnessed techno-economically. The article is just a humble attempt from the academic point of view.

020013   Cai X;Yang Y;Qu A (NO, Guangdong Pharmaceutical Univ, Guangzhou 510006, Email: caixiulan78@126.com) : Effects of emulsifiers on properties of microcapsules as self-healing composite materials. J Polym Mater 2016, 33(3), 445-55.

Urea-formaldehyde (UF) microcapsules, used as self-healing materials, were prepared by in-situ polymerization. In this paper, UF resin was used as shell material and modified aliphatic amine (1618) as core material. The results indicated the emulsifier affected the particle size and distribution of microcapsules significantly. The encapsulation rates of microcapsules were 56.7% with SDBS and 48.3% with DBS as emulsifiers individually. SEM demonstrates uniform spherical microcapsules with bigger particle size (100-150 μm) with SDBS as the emulsifier and smaller particle size (1-1.5 μm) with DBS and GA as emulsifiers. FTIR spectra of microcapsules indicated the formation of UF polymer with successful encapsulation of the core materials in UF shell. TGA curves indicated that microcapsules prepared with SDBS as emulsifier are suitable for long-term storage. The results of mechanical properties indicated that the addition of microcapsules could improve mechanical properties of epoxy matrix. When the content of microcapsules was 5.0%, epoxy matrix showed the highest tensile property and elastic property. SEM images of specimens'fractured surfaces illustrated that microcapsules had effective and remarkable self-healing properties.

6 illus, 2 tables, 16 ref

020012   Blesson J;Reddy B S (NO, VTU Extension Centre - Honeywell Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab Pv, Doraisanipalya, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore-560 076, Email: subbareddy.bandi@honeywell.com) : Continuous descent approaches against modified timing requirements: a design study. J Aerospace Sci Technol 2017, 69(3), 394-400.

In order to meet the challenges of growing air traffic, many research activities have been initiated to come up with more efficient and safe flight operations including Trajectory Based Operations. One of the initiatives has been to control Time-of-Arrival during enroute descend phase of flight. The design studies presented in this paper investigate possibility of making minor adjustments using thrust control at near idle position to avoid final altitude errors. Nominal altitude time trajectories coupled with its boundaries using thrust control are adopted for the purpose. To synchronize with ground based Decision support Tools, message set requirements for Aircraft Intent, as proposed by Boeing, have been addressed. Simulation results on the flight path trajectories and typical case studies for changing the time of arrival are presented to validate the approach. Possible areas for further studies are highlighted.

6 illus, 3 tables, 13 ref

020011   Bhasin R;Pabst T;Bazin S;Aarset A (NO, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), Oslo, Norway, Email: rkb@ngi.no) : Airborne electromagnetic surveys for carrying out feasibility studies for constructing road and rail tunnels in himalaya. J Rock Mech Tunnelling Technol 2016, 22(2), 99-112.

The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) has been involved in several studies over the past two decades for constructing underground structures in the Himalaya. Recently, a detailed feasibility study was performed for a new road tunnel in the Bhutan Himalaya. The study included engineering geological mapping, rock mass characterization, geophysical investigations and numerical modelling for verifying the rock support requirements in the tunnel. Advanced airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys were performed along the tunnel corridor to provide information on the rock mass quality along the potential tunnel alignment and for visualizing the existing sub-surface geological conditions. Specifically, high resistivity areas i.e. competent bedrock was distinguished from low resistivity areas i.e., incompetent or weathered rock. The rock reinforcement requirements estimated from the Q-system of rock mass classification were verified through both finite element and distinct element modelling. This paper describes in detail the various studies performed along the proposed alignment for gaining an insight into the prevailing (in situ) rock mass conditions at the proposed site. In the Himalaya, which is generally characterized by steep slopes, lofty hills, and complex geological and tectonic settings, such studies are warranted for planning new and upcoming underground projects.

14 illus, 1 table, 8 ref

020010   Bai X Y;Yu R T;Hou X;Zhang S J;Liao S Q (College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Hainan Univ, Haikou 570228, Hainan, China) : Electrophoretic properties of associated proteins and lipids on the surface of raw natural rubber particles. J Polym Mater 2016, 33(3), 457-68.

Fresh natural rubber latex particles from Hevea brasiliensis trees are mainly stabilized by the charged groups, which are hydrolyzed from lipids as well as proteins and cover the surface of natural rubber molecules. In this article four colloidal solution of NR latex, i.e., fresh natural rubber latex by centrifugation, deproteinized natural rubber (DPNR), lipase-freed NR and saponated DPNR latex were utilized to investigate the effect of lipids and proteins on the stability of.NR particles with the characterization techniques such as Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Laser doppler velocimetry. TEM reveals that the distribution of lipids/ proteins on the surface of latex particles is non-uniform. The electrokinetic results imply that the electric double layer of latex particles is surrounded by heterogeneous charges, of which most of the negative mobility was provided by lipids. Generally, proteins have a greater contribution to the stability of the NR latex than lipids.

9 illus, 29 ref

020009   Ashok Kumar;Dibyendu S Bag;Tiwari R K; Tripathi D N;Prasad N E (Polymer Matrix Composites Div, Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment, DMSRDE, P.O., G.T. Road, Kanpur-208 013, Email: ds_bag@rediffmail.com) : Copper nanoparticles filled epoxy nanocomposites and their mechanical properties. J Polym Mater 2016, 33(3), 419-29.

Nanocomposites were prepared using copper nanoparticles as filler material and epoxy as matrix by casting process. The effect of copper nanoparticles on mechanical and wear properties of the nanocomposites were investigated in details. Copper nanofillers contributed significantly to improve the anti-wear property of the nanocomposites. The specific wear rate of epoxy was reduced by 80% due to incorporation of 1.5wt% of filler into the matrix resin. However, it marginally increased for further incorporation of copper nanoparticles from 1.5 wt% up to 2.5 wt%. This reduction of wear rate in first case is obvious due to uniform dispersion of copper nanoparticles in the matrix, whereas increase of wear rate in the second case may be the agglomeration of nanoparticles in the matrix at higher filler loading. The maximum flexural strength of 117.78 MPa and flexural modulus of 3.67 GPa were achieved in nanocomposites having 1.5 wt% copper nanoparticles, whereas such values are 106.89 MPa and 2.59 GPa respectively for neat - 286 - epoxy (without nanoparticles). The wear and mechanical properties of nanocomposites were correlated with SEM analysis of worn surfaces and fractured surfaces. Thermal properties of nanocomposites were also evaluated by Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA).

7 illus, 24 ref

020008   Arul Kumar K P;Soundararajan S (Plastics Technology Dep, Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology, Guindy, Chennai-600 032, Email: bssrajan13@gmail.com) : Mechanical, barrier, optical and physical properties of LDPE PLA blend for packaging films. J Polym Mater 2016, 33(3), 491-502.

LDPE was melt blended with PLA (90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50% (wt%)) using a twin screw extruder with LDPE-g-MAn compatibilizer (3%) and Benzophenone 3% (Photo degradable additive). Tubular blown films were made using a blown film extruder. The films obtained were subjected to various mechanical tests, Optical tests, Barrier properties (Oxygen gas permeability and WVTR). The tensile strength increased with the increase in percentage of PLA in the machine direction up to 40% of PLA and then decreased. In the transverse direction the strength was lowered with increase in percentage of PLA. Elongation at break was lower for certain formulations. Tear strength, Burst strength and the dart impact strength was lowered. The dynamic and static coefficient of friction values were increased with increase in percentage of PLA. WVTR was nearly similar as that of pure LDPE up to 80:20% (LDPE: PLA) and then the values started decreasing. Oxygen gas permeability was also decreased with increase in percentage of PLA. Luminous transmittance was decreasing and the Haze was found to be increasing with increase in percentage of PLA. SEM of 60:40% & 50:50% LDPE-PLA images show the blends are compatible and dispersed well in presence of compatibilizer. The LDPE-PLA with benzophenone additive (3 wt%) will be highly Photo/Bio-degradable and hence will not contaminate/pollute in the environment.

6 illus, 4 tables, 48 ref

020007   Adarsha H;Chaturvedi A;Chopda K;Nair N (NO, , ) : Composite coating techniques a review of process parameters and its impact on characterizations.. J Nanosci Nanoengng Applic 2017, 7(1), 1-7.

Surface modification with composite coating technology is the need of the hour in most of the industries. Changing the bulk properties of the material by surface modification is one of the simplest techniques to do so, and this also avoids industrial downtime. An attempt is made in summarizing - 285 - the processing techniques of developing composite coatings. The effects of coating parameters on the micro-structure, porosity, bond strength and micro-hardness have also been discussed. High velocity oxy- flame (HVOF) coating sounds to be a promising technology for the development of composite coatings.

019055   Wankhede V A;Gawande R M (NO, , ) : Design of FPGA based alu using reversible logic gates. J VLSI Des Tool Technol 2016, 6(3), 15-21.

Reversible or information misfortune less circuits has applications in computerized signal handling, correspondence, PC design and nanotechnology. Reversible technique is utilized to minimize heat that happens in traditional circuits by keeping the loss of data. This paper proposes a reversible configuration of an ALU. This ALU comprises of eight operations, five are of arithmetic category and three are from logical category operations. An arithmetic operations incorporate add, sub, increase by one, decrement by one, multiply whereas logical operations incorporate AND, OR, and XOR. Each module is being composed utilizing the fundamental reversible basic gates. The Area analysis, power analysis and delay analysis of the different sub modules is performed and a correlation with the conventional circuits is likewise completed. We designed the ALU in Verilog HDL and Simulated by using Modelsim 6.4c Software. The proposed ALU Design is synthesized by Xilinx and Implemented into FPGA Spartan 2 XC2S200PQ208.

019054   Wanjari M M;Agrawal P;Kshirsagar R (NO, , ) : VHDL implementation of network-on-chip router using round robin arbiter. J VLSI Des Tool Technol 2016, 6(3), 88-93.

As the technology progresses, a large number of devices can be incorporated into a single chip. So, the communication - 268 - between these devices becomes critical. The network-on-chip (NoC) is a technology used for such communication and overcomes the constraints of traditional bus-based system-on-chip (SoC). Router is the backbone of NoC and determines the performance to a great extent. This paper focuses on the implementation of five port virtual channel router which is considered as promising router architecture for NoC. The major building blocks of router are virtual channel buffer architecture, fairness arbiter, i.e. RRA and a crossbar switch. An arbiter employs a scheduling algorithm which is used to decide which one of several requests would be serviced. The round robin arbiter is based on the assignment of a fixed time slot per requester. The source code is written in VHDL. The proposed router is synthesized and simulated in Xilinx ISE Design Suite 13.1.

019053   Vohra H;Singh A (NO, , ) : Survey of system-on-chip modular test approach. J VLSI Des Tool Technol 2016, 6(3), 56-70.

Industry to develop new design and reuse methodologies referred as System-on-chip (SoC) design. These typically integrate heterogeneous mix of various complex analog and digital cores, with all their necessary electronic circuitry. The recent advancements have led to the use of the 3D structures (3D-SOCs) that brought along the benefits of higher performance, minimum average interconnect length, reduced power and smaller footprint. These revolutions have not only brought in new issues of design but also their testing which is becoming the major bottleneck in determining the overall system cost and a defect free delivery to market in time. To facilitate the testing of cores lying inside such complex SOCs modular approach, concurrency in test application are the only viable ways. However these come at their own costs of constraints like power, test bandwidth, resources like "through silicon vias", BIST etc. This paper first discusses in general the various challenges in testing of core-based system chips, the associated test factors and modular test approach. It is further followed up by the various ways of addressing the challenges and the corresponding research areas.

019052   Venkatrao G;Krishna M (NO, , ) : Design of high-speed and low-power carry skip adder. J VLSI Des Tool Technol 2016, 6(3), 35-44.

In this brief, we present a high speed and lower power consumption carry skip adder (CSKA) architecture compared with the conventional one. The increment of speed is attained by implementing concatenation and incrementation strategy to improve the efficiency of the conventional CSKA (Conv-CSKA) architecture. Instead of make use of multiplexer logic, the proposed architecture makes use of AND-OR-Invert (AOI) and OR-AND-Invert (OAI) combination gates for the carry skip logic. The structure possibly designed with both fixed stage size and variable stage size styles, wherein the latter further improves the speed and power parameters of the adder. This expansion utilizes a modified parallel structure for increasing the slack time, and enabling further voltage reduction. The proposed architectures are evaluated by comparing their speed, power, and area with those of other adders using 90-nm and 45-nm static CMOS technology.

019051   Uzun G;Aydemir D (Faculty of Forestry, Forest Products Engineering, Bartin Univ, 74100 Bartin, Turkey, Email: denizaydemir@bartin.edu.tr) : Biocomposites from polyhydroxybutyrate and bio-fillers by solvent casting method. Bull Mater Sci 2017, 40(2), 383-93.

Biocomposites from polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and some bio-fillers such as lignin (L), alpha cellulose (AC) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were prepared to investigate the effect of the bio-fillers on the properties of PHB by a solvent casting method. The thermal properties by thermogravimetry analysis (TGA-DTG and DTA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were determined; morphological characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and structural analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infraredspectroscopy (FTIR) of the biocomposites were performed. TGA curves showed that the highest values for T 10%, T_50% of the biocomposites were 278.2°C for PHB+2%AC and 291.7°C for PHB+2%CNFs; however, the bestvalue for T_75% was obtained as 381.5°C for PHB+2%L. According to DTG curves, the best results were found for PHB+0.5%L and PHB+0.5%CNFs. DTA showed an increase in temperature of maximum degradation withloading of lignin and CNFs. The addition of bio-fillers increases T_c and T_m for both first cooling/heating and second cooling/heating. T_c and T_m values for first cooling/healing were found to be lower as compared with second cooling/healing. Furthermore, the addition of bio-fillers - 267 - acts as a nucleating agent in PHB and SEM pictures showed the porous structure in all biocomposites. SEM images revealed uniform distribution of the reinforcing particles in the polymer at low loadings (0.5wt%), while higher loadings (2 wt%) of L and CNFs contributed to easy aggregation within the PHB matrix. In XRD studies, PHB in the range 5-55° shows 6 main peaks. XRD patterns of the PHBbiocomposites revealed 3 main peaks at 13.57°, 16.87° and 22.1°, and the other peaks disappeared in the patterns. The largest and lowest values of X_c were found for PHB+2%AC and PHB+2%CNFs, respectively.

13 illus, 6 tables, 34 ref

019050   Tripathi D K;Garg G;Agrawal U;Menezes V; Bhandarkar U V;Puranik B P (Aerospace Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai-400 076, Email: viren@aero.iitb.ac.in) : Ignition delay study of aluminium oxide liquid nano-fuel in a shock tube. Curr Sci 2017, 112(7), 1561-4.

The ignition delay of aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) liquid nano-fuel was compared with that of base-fuel to study the feasibility of its use for high-speed aerospace applications. The base-fuel was aviation turbine fuel that was mixed with Al₂O₃ nanoparticles to produce a nano-fuel which could be used for regenerative cooling of the combustor walls before injection. The experiments were carried out in a shock tube. The fuel was introduced into the shock tube in the form of a wall droplet. The ignition delay time of the nano-fuel was observed to increase slightly, by about 11% (maximum) in comparison with the baseline, at an equivalence ratio of unity.

4 illus, 2 tables, 9 ref

019049   Singh R;Pawar P (NO, , , Email: rana.singh@iitgn.ac.in) : Optimization and crashworthiness investigation of empty and aluminium foam filled square tubes. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(4), 231-41.

Foam-filled - 266 - thin-walled structures have drawn considerable attention and been widely applied in automotive and aerospace industries for their significant advantages in a high energy absorption and light weight. Recently the application of foam filled square tube in automobile industries has taken hike because of crashworthiness characteristic of foams. In the present study, energy absorption capacity of the empty (aluminum and mild steel) and foam in-filled (various aluminum alloys) square tubes have been numerically evaluated under car hitting condition. The finite element method (FEM) is applied in modeling the empty and foam-filled square tubes. The results show that the foam-filled square tubes have outstanding energy absorption characteristics under all the conditions considered. Based on the study results, best combination of materials in shell column wall and in-filled foam has been recommended.

019048   Singh C B;Gupta R N;Vaish A K;Roy B N (NO, O.P. Jindal Institute of Technology, Raigarh-496 109, Email: cbsingh@opjit.edu.in) : Effect of scale-up, design and process parameters on the productivity of ancient iron making process and recovery of iron in the product. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(4), 191-9.

Indian iron was famous in ancient times and it was exported to many countries throughout the world Though isolated pockets of iron making existed practically all over the country, yet there was no attempt of systematization and wider propagation. Recently an attempt has been made to establish proto-type furnace and scale it up with modifications in its design. The effect of scale-up.design and process parameters on the productivity of ancient iron making process and recovery of iron in the product has been discussed.

019047   Sahoo R K;Panda B P;Nayak S K;Mohanty S (Lab for Advanced Research in Polymeric Materials (LARPM), Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET), Bhubaneswar-751 024, Email: rajeshshreeparnasahoo@gmail.com) : Mechanical and morphological investigation of virgin polyethylene and silver nanoparticle-loaded nanocomposites film: Comprehensive analysis of kinetic models for non-isothermal crystallization. Bull Mater Sci 2017, 40(2), 307-20.

This research was accomplished to examine the mechanical, morphological and crystallization kinetics study of polyethylene/silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) nanocomposite films. In this research, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) nanocomposite films were prepared containing Ag-NPs using maleic-anhydride-grafted low-density polyethylene (LDPE-g-MAH) as a compatibilizer by the melt mixing process. From mechanical property evaluation, it is revealed that the LDPE/LDPE-g-MAH/Ag-NPs nanocomposite films showed decreased tensile strength as compared with virgin LDPE matrix. Thermal characteristics of the prepared virgin LDPE and its nanocomposite films were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Comprehensive analysis of different kinetic modelssuch as the Avrami and Mo model on non-isothermal crystallization kinetics was performed in order to correlate the rate of crystallization and its various kinetic parameters. Further, the macrokinetic equation as proposed by Malkinhas been applied to describe the kinetics of crystallization in the light of the Avrami equation. Concerning virgin LDPE and Ag-NP-reinforced LDPE, the former shows primary crystallization, whereas the later exhibits both primaryand secondary crystallization with varying Avrami exponents. Kinetic parameters are recognized, and confirm the influence of Ag-NPs on crystallization kinetics. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopicanalysis of the nanocomposite films were conducted to verify the dispersion of inorganic filler particles in the resulting hybrids.

19 illus, 8 tables, 41 ref

019046   Panda R;Archana Kumari;Hait J;Jha M K (Metal Extraction and Forming Div, CSIR-National Metallurgical Lab, Jamshedpur-831 007, Email: mkjha@nmlindia.org) : Extraction and separation of zinc and chromium from electroplating effluent. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(4), 181-90.

Toxicity of industrial effluent is mainly due to the presence of heavy metals like Zn, Cd, Cr, Pb, As, etc. The treatment of these effluents will not only reduce environmental pollution but also conserve the natural resources. Present paper reports selective extraction and separation of zinc and chromium from the electroplating effluent (<126>15 g/L Zn and <126>30 g/L Cr) using solvent extraction technique. Initial studies were carried out from synthetic solution containing Zn (1.78 g/L) and Cr (3.6 g/L) using 10% DE2PHA diluted with kerosene. Various process parameters viz. effect of pH, time, O/A ratio, loading capacity, etc. were studied and optimized. 98.17% Zn gets extracted in 5 min at equilibrium pH 2.5 maintaining O/A ratio 1. 10% H₂SO₄ was used for stripping the loaded organic. The optimum condition for extraction was validated with the original electroplating effluent supplied by M/s Sinha Electrochemical Plant, Jamshedpur, India. Complete extraction of Zn from the original effluent takes place in 5 min at an equilibrium pH 2.5 and phase ratio (O/A) 1, leaving 99% Cr in the raffinate. From - 265 - the pure solution obtained, metal or salt could be produced by evaporation, precipitation, electrowinning, crystallization, etc.

019045   Padhy S;Patro S;Swain M;Das J K (NO, , ) : Unified ultra low power architecture of probabilistic adder based on GDI technique. J VLSI Des Tool Technol 2016, 6(3), 45-55.

In the present arena of technology scaling, the power consumption in the deep submicron technology plays a pivotal role as the transistor counts increases dramatically. Therefore, the need of the hour is to focus on power dissipation. The rate of occurrences of errors in the present VLSI scenarios has become higher and inevitable, and is increasing along with technology scaling. Eradicating all the errors is a cumbersome task; still a semi accurate result in better performance instead of accurate one can be accepted in some specific applications. An error tolerance adder is one such application specific adder to overcome the power delay trade-off by eradicating carry propagation and introducing a little error. To further enhance its efficiency and performance, GDI technique is introduced. In this paper, the GDI based architecture of probabilistic error tolerant adder (III) has been introduced, thus inferring the simulation with much more reduced power, delay and enormously enhanced performance over conventional adder.

019044   Nyquist S;Manyika J (NO, , McKinsey's Houston office) : Renewable energy: Evolution, not revolution. Indian J Pwr River Valley Dev 2016, 66(11-12), 151-2.

Wind, solar, and geothermal energy are growing rapidly, but the world will also continue to rely on fossil fuel for decades to come.

3 illus, ref

019043   Naidu K C B;Madhuri W (Ceramic Composites Lab, Centre for Crystal Growth, VIT Univ, Vellore-632 014, Email: madhuriw12@gmail.com) : Hydrothermal synthesis of NiFe₂O₄ nano-particles: Structural, morphological, optical, electrical and magnetic properties. Bull Mater Sci 2017, 40(2), 417-25.

NiFe₂O₄ nano-crystallites with an average diameter of 8.9 nm are synthesized via hydrothermal method. The single-phase spinel structure is confirmed from X-ray diffractograms. Morphology is analysed by transmissionand field emission scanning electron microscopes. High specific surface area of 55.7 m² g^-1 is obtained for nano-particles. The M-H loop and M-T curve behaviours are investigated by vibrating sample magnetometry. The optical band - 264 - gap energy is estimated from the UV-visible spectrum. In addition, the frequency dependence of dielectric properties is investigated. Cole-Cole plots are drawn to study electrical conduction mechanism and thekind of relaxation-Debye or non-Debye type. Low a.c. conductivity and low magnetic losses are noticed at 5 MHz frequency, which are suitable for microwave device applications.

14 illus, 3 tables, 41 ref

019042   Mukherjee G S (NO, Defence Research & Development Organization, Metcalf House DRDO Complex, Delhi-110 054) : Importance of battery system for modern hi-tech battle field. Indian Sci Cruiser 2017, 31(1), 42-6.

Battle or war, in some form or other, was known even in the prehistoric era of civilization and was well documented even in the epic literature - be it in Ramayana and Mahabharata or in the Iliad and Odyssey [1, 2]. With the progress of civilization and culture, the pattern and form of war changed over the years. Obviously the requirements of soldiers' need have also changed enormously with time.

1 illus, 29 ref

019041   Meng P;Lu Q;Huang R;Dong J (School of Basic Courses, Guangdong Pharmaceutical Univ, Guangzhou 510006 P.R. China, Email: mengpan200e@163.com) : Bursting transitions in a two-compartment neuronal model with current feedback control. Far East J mathl Sci 2016, 100(2), 333-42.

A two-compartment neural model with current feedback control to the soma is introduced to investigate the effect of the reversal potential E_K of the K⁺ ionic channel. First, two-parameter bifurcation analysis of the fast subsystem is performed in the parameter plane. Then different types of bursting and the associated bifurcation mechanisms are presented. The results obtained may enrich the variety of bursting in neurons and provide us a better insight to neural encoding and information processing.

6 illus, 11 ref

019040   Mehta M I;Kashyap B P;Singh R K P (NO, Kalyani Centre for Technology and Innovation, Bharat Forge Ltd., Pune-411 036, Email: mohan.mehta@bharatforge.com) : Flow properties of rotor grade steel. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(4), 221-9.

Compression tests were performed on Gleeble 3800 Thermo-Mechanical Simulator to study the flow properties of rotor grade steel 28CrMoNiV59. Compression specimens were deformed at a constant strain rate of 10^-3 s^-1. The temperature range during tests was between room temperature and 1000°C with an interval of 100øC. When the normalized flow stress was plotted as a function of temperature, it exhibited three different regions. In regions I and III flow stress decreases with increase in temperature but the same increases with temperature in region II. Microstructural changes and work hardening behaviour have been studied for the deformed specimen. Furthermore, TEM analysis was also done for the samples of these three different regions (I, II & III). Strain hardening rate as a function of the normalized flow stresses decreases at larger strain and become negligible at higher temperature.

019039   May A (Laboratoire Genie des Materiaux, Ecole Militaire Polytechnique, BP 17, Bordj El Bahri 16046, Algeria, Email: abdelghani1980@yahoo.fr) : On the origins of the anisotropic mechanical behaviour of extruded AA2017 aluminium alloy. Bull Mater Sci 2017, 40(2), 395-406.

This paper presents some experimental investigations about the origins of the anisotropic behaviour in cyclic loadings of AA2017 aluminium alloy. In the first step, fatigue damage evolutions were quantified for controlled proportional cyclic loadings in axial and shear directions. In this stage, the aim was to confirm the anisotropic mechanical behaviour, which has recently been revealed. To this end, severalmodels of fatigue damage quantification were used. After a comparative study between the obtained results we confirmed the anisotropic nature of the used material. In the second step, microstructural investigations were performed in order to understand the origins of the anisotropic mechanical behaviour. We used scanning electron microscopy to analyse phases and precipitates inthe transversal and the longitudinal sections. It was deduced that the structure and the morphology of these entities are responsible for the anisotropic behaviour of the used aluminium alloy. Moreover, the results obtained usingKikushi diagrams, poles figure and inverse poles figures have also confirmed these conclusions. Indeed, these results have shown great differences in crystallographic texture of the material.

17 illus, 2 tables, 62 ref

019038   Llarena Z M (Program Chair. St. Cabrini College of Allied Medicine Pharmacy Dep, Lyceum of Philippines Univ, Calamba, Philippines, Email: zharllarena21@yahoo.com.ph) : Pharmacokinetic derivation of rates and orders of reactions in multi-compartment model using matlab. Int J pharm Sci Res 2016, 7(11), 4456-60.

Pharmacokinetic modeling is the representation of the logarithmic mathematical equations in order to measure the physiologic response of the body to the drug. Absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion follow drug kinetic principles according to specific reaction mechanisms in which concentration of the drug may either be dependent or independent of drug-body interactions. Michaelis-Menten equation exhibits association between drug concentration and its mass transfer through a kinetics transport mechanism, a principle also known as Fick's Law of Diffusion. Reaction orders are the sum of the powers of drug concentrations being raised to a certain degree that follows a certain pattern of drug kinetics according to rate laws being established. Reactions between the drug and the body usually follows first and second order rate. First order rate of reaction can be described as drug concentration dependent, whereas, zero order reaction rate can be explained as drug concentration independent. This paper aims to describe the derivation of pharmacokinetic principles acting in multi-compartment model as the drug enters and exits the body using partial differential equations. It explains mathematically the mechanism behind clinical pharmacokinetics through mass diffusivity. Hence, drug-body interactions can be understood mathematically using logarithmic derivations by quantitative response between drug concentration and the human body according to laws governed by each order of reaction.

14 ref

019037   Liu Y;Li Y;Zhao X;Chi W;Huang Q;Yu C;Xiang Y (Key Lab of Carbon Fibers and Functional Polymers of Ministry of Educat, Beijing Univ of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, People's Republic of China, Email: liuyunfang@mail.buct.edu.cn) : Effect of magnetite nanoparticles on dye absorption properties of magnetite@ carbon composites. Bull Mater Sci 2017, 40(2), 367-73.

Magnetite@carbon (Fe₃O₄@C) composites were prepared using three kinds of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs). All the Fe₃O₄@C composites could be easily separated from water by an external magnet. The Fe₃O₄ NPs synthesized by a microreactor system have the smallest size and narrowest size distribution among the three kinds of Fe₃O₄ NPs. The saturated capacity of the Fe₃O₄@C composite originating from microreactor-prepared Fe₃O₄ NPs to absorb Rhodamine B at 20°C exceeds 135 mg g^-1, which is 1.35 times as much as the value of the Fe₃O₄@C composite originating from traditional Fe₃O₄ NPs. This value for the Fe₃O₄@C composite using commercial Fe₃O₄ NPs as core is only 76 mg g^-1. The Fe₃O₄@C composite using microreactor-prepared Fe₃O₄ NPs also has good retrievability and reusability.

8 illus, 37 ref

019036   Hebalkar N (Centre for Nanomaterials, Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, Balapur PO, Hyderabad-500 005, Email: neha@arci.res.in) : Development of nanoporous aerogel-based thermal insulation products: "Make in India' initiative. Curr Sci 2017, 112(7), 1413-20.

The technology of manufacturing a silica aerogel thermal insulation product has been developed with the objective of indigenization under the 'Make in India' initiative. This world class product is now ready for commercial production. It possesses all the features and properties required for any ideal industrial thermal insulation material such as low thermal conductivity, light weight, good compressive strength, moisture, fire, corrosion and chemical resistance, antifungal, low shrinkage, sound-proof, non-toxic and ecofriendly. The increasingly gaining attention towards this highly efficient thermal insulation material is a hope to significantly contribute in achieving targets of energy conservation and saving.

6 illus, 3 tables, 41 ref

019035   Hadri M E;Ahamdane H;Raghni M A E I (Lab for Materials Science, Cadi Ayyad Univ, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, 2390 Marrakech, Morocco, Email: simokom313@hotmail.com) : Effect of sol-gel method on colour properties of the clasical cobalt olivine - 261 - (Co₂SiO₄) ceramic pigment. Bull Mater Sci 2017, 40(2), 375-82.

A sol-gel method based on (H₂S₂O₅)_aq as silicon precursor in the presence of NaCl and KCl mineralizers was used for the synthesis of the classical cobalt olivine (Co₂SiO₄) ceramic pigment. The effect of this synthesisroute on the colour properties was studied. Highly pure olivine phase was obtained after firing at 1200°C for 3 h. The resulting powders exhibited very intense violet colour, while their addition at only 1 wt% to an industrial transparent glaze was enough to produce a very intense blue-violet colouration. Based on the aspect of glazed ceramics, addition of pigments even at 0.5 wt% to the glaze resulted in a very interesting colour and opacity. By this appropriateminimization of the used pigment amount without compromising the colouring properties required during application, the obtained Co olivine could be more efficient, less toxic and less expensive.

6 illus, 2 tables, 22 ref

019034   Habibi A;Khoie S M M;Mahboubi F;Urgen M (Mining and Metallurgical Engineering Dep, Amirkabir Univ of Technology, Tehran 15875-4413, Iran, Email: mmousavi@aut.ac.ir) : Effect of process parameters on coating composition of cathodic-plasma-electrolysis-treated copper. Bull Mater Sci 2017, 40(2), 355-65.

Cathodic plasma electrolysis is a novel technique to form nanostructured layers on metallic surfaces by application of high voltage in a suitable aqueous electrolyte. In the present study, copper is treated by plasma electrolysisin 50 vol% ethanol electrolyte and coatings comprising carbon nanostructure and copper oxide are formed on the copper. The effect of some process parameters such as electrical conductivity, volume and temperature of electrolyte and ratio of anode to cathode surface area on current-voltage behaviour and subsequently coating compositions are investigated at 150V deposition voltage. The composition and morphology of these coatings are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Different current-voltage behaviours, temperatures of substrate and the contents and energies of radicals and ions around the substrate by changes in the mentioned parameters cause different compositions from 100 vol% copper oxide to different ratios of copper oxide to carbon, the structure changing from amorphous to graphitic structure in carbon and amorphous to cubic morphology in copper oxide on the substrate. Therefore, the understanding of cathodic plasma electrolysiscan be developed.

9 illus, 3 tables, 35 ref

019033   Gupta S K;Sanjeev Kumar;Patwari K;Ganvir A; Chatterjee A;Ghosh S (NO, RDCIS, SAIL, Ispat Bhavan, Doranda, Ranchi, Jharkhand, Email: skgupta@sail-rdcis.com) : Control of sulphur and minimisation of centre line segregation for rail steel. J Metall Mater Sci 2016, 58(4), 243-50.

Rail is the most important constituent of the track structure and plays a very vital role in the reliability of railway system as a whole. Quality of rail steel with reference to its chemical composition has been a matter of prime importance for the manufacturers as well as Railways. Sulphur is a detrimental element in rails since it causes hot shortness during rolling, centerline segregation during casting, poor weldability for the rails etc. To improve quality of rails, a substantially low range of sulphur <60> 0.015% (Railway's specified norms <60>0.03%) has been targeted in Bhilai Steel Plant by adequate sulphur control measures in steelmaking process. A two stage desulphurisation treatment is now employed in which the blast furnace hot metal is first treated by co-injection of Mg and CaC₂ reagents, and subsequent treatment with a synthetic slag former (CaO-Al₂O₃) added to the ladle during tapping from the Basic Oxygen furnace. Improvement in the internal quality of the cast bloom has been established by introduction of Electro Magnetic Stirring. The centerline segregation is minimized vis-a-vis the properties of the cast product and rails improved by the successful implementation of step by step control measures.

019032   Goma Kumari K C;Ghadi H;Samudraiah D R M; Charabarti S (Electrical Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai-400 076, Email: subho@ee.iitb.ac.in) : Indigenous development of 320 x 256 focal-plane array using InAs/InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots-in-a-well infrared detectors for thermal imaging. Curr Sci 2017, 112(7), 1568-73.

We report here the indigenous development of a 320 x 256 infrared focal-plane imager fabricated using an InAs quantum dots-in-a-well heterostructure, whose photoluminescence peak is at 1162 nm and activation energy is 187 meV. We discuss the fabrication and characterization of single-pixel detectors that can measure intersubband spectral responses with peak intensity at 9.3 μm. Using the fabricated device, infrared images were captured at 50-90 K. Device optimization led to approximately 95% of the pixels in the imaging array being operational and a reasonably low noise equivalent temperature of approximately 100 mK at 50-60 K.

9 illus, 12 ref