Operations research in the space industry

Operations research techniques have been used in the space industry since its infancy, and various competing methods and codes, with widely varying characteristics, have been used over time. This survey is intended to give an overview of current application cases of different operations research techniques and methodologies in the domain of space engineering and space science.     

Calixarene Dimers as Host Molecules for Biologically Important Di‐ and Oligophosphates

A dimeric calixarene, with an aliphatic C₆‐bridge and six anilinium head groups at its upper rim, preferably complexes diphosphates and oligonucleotides with more than 10 bonds between both anionic moieties. Free binding energies correlate with the length of the aliphatic bridge in a roughly linear fashion. The binding event, which is monitored by fluorescence titrations and competition experiments, relies on Coulomb interactions, as opposed to a nonpolar variant with tert‐butyl instead of ammonium groups; here, hydrophobic forces prevail, rendering the calixarene dimer selective for less polar cofactors such as FAD. The best guest for the hexaanilinium dimer is found in ssDNA, which carries multiple copies of the optimal trinucleotide for maximum attraction towards the extended cationic host. The recognition event is also observed in the environment of a lipid monolayer, and provides a means to quantify dimer diphosphate interactions by measuring p/A shifts.     

Investigation of the Morphological and Mechanical Properties of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)/Ethylene Propylene Diene Rubber (EPDM) Blends in the Presence of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

In this study the blends of polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) in the presence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) (1 and 3?wt %) were prepared by melt compounding in an internal mixer. Mechanical and morphological properties of the nanocomposites were investigated. The thermal behaviors of the PET/EPDM nanocomposites were also investigated, by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results of the mechanical tests showed that the tensile strength, elastic modulus and the hardness of the blends were increased with increasing CNT, while the impact strength and elongation at break decreased. The DSC and TGA results showed an increase of melting temperature (T_m) and degradation temperature of the nanocomposites with the addition of the carbon nanotubes, because the carbon nanotubes serve both as nucleating agents to increase T_m and prevent the composite from degradation to increase the thermal stability. The microstructure of the composites was evaluated through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and the results showed a good distribution of the MWCNT within the polymer blend.     

Fabrication of new nanocomposites based on NiO-MWCNT-sodium dodecyl sulfate in the presence of Gundelia tournefortii extract: application for methanol electrooxidation in alkaline solution

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In this study, new nanocomposites were fabricated based on NiO, multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Next, they were...     

The synergistic co‐operation of N—H…O=P hydrogen bonds and C—H…OX weak intermolecular interactions (X is =P or —C) in the (CH3O)2P(O)(NH–NHC6F5) amidophosphoester: a combined X‐ray crystallographic and theoretical study

The asymmetric unit of O,O′‐dimethyl [(2,3,4,5,6‐pentafluorophenyl)hydrazinyl]phosphonate, C₈H₈F₅N₂O₃P, is composed of two symmetry‐independent molecules with significant differences in the orientations of the C₆F₅ and OMe groups. In the crystal structure, a one‐dimensional assembly is mediated from classical N—H…O hydrogen bonds, which includes R₂²(8), D(2) and some higher‐order graph‐set motifs. By also considering weak C—H…O=P and C—H…O—C intermolecular interactions, a two‐dimensional network extends along the ab plane. The strengths of the hydrogen bonds were evaluated using quantum chemical calculations with the GAUSSIAN09 software package at the B3LYP/6‐311G(d,p) level of theory. The LP(O) to σ*(NH) and σ*(CH) charge‐transfer interactions were examined according to second‐order perturbation theory in natural bond orbital (NBO) methodology. The hydrogen‐bonded clusters of molecules, including N—H…O and C—H…O interactions, were constructed as input files for the calculations and the strengths of the hydrogen bonds are as follows: N—H…O [R₂²(8)] > N—H…O [D(2)] > C—H…O. The decomposed fingerprint plots show that the contribution portions of the F…H/H…F contacts in both molecules are the largest.     

Determination of Sulfite in Real Sample by an Electrochemical Sensor Based on Ni/Poly(4-Aminobenzoic Acid)/Sodium Dodecylsulfate/Carbon Paste Electrode

In this research, a modified electrode has been produced during the electropolymerization of 4-Aminobenzoic acid in the presence of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and then Ni(II) ions were incorporated to the polymer by immersion of the modified electrode in a 0.1 M Ni(II) ions solution. The electrochemical behavior of Ni/poly(4-aminobenzoic acid)/sodium dodecylsulfate/carbon paste electrode (Ni/poly(4-AB)/SDS/CPE) was investigated by using cyclic voltammetry. The experimental results exhibited the stable redox behavior of the Ni(III)/Ni(II) couple immobilized at the polymeric electrode. This polymeric modified electrode has a very good activity toward the sulfite electrooxidation in a phosphate buffer solution (pH 11). By comparison of the different responses to sulfite oxidation using electrodes Ni/poly(4-AB)/SDS/CPE, poly(4-AB)/SDS/CPE and CPE, we observed that the former electrode is a more effective catalyst for the electrooxidation of sulfite. Under optimal experimental conditions, the peak current response increased linearly with sulfite concentration over the range of 0.1–1 and 1–10 mM. The detection limit of the method was 0.063 mM. Finally, the method was applied to the determination of sulfite in weak liquor sample.     

Extensions of the sequential stochastic assignment problem

The sequential stochastic assignment problem (SSAP) allocates N workers to N IID sequentially arriving tasks so as to maximize the expected total reward. This paper studies two extensions of the SSAP. The first one assumes that the values of any two consecutive tasks are dependent on each other while the exact number of tasks to arrive is unknown until after the final arrival. The second extension generalizes the first one by assuming that the number of workers is also random. Optimal assignment policies for both problems are derived and proven to have the same threshold structure as the optimal policy of the SSAP.     

Carbon paste electrode modified by cobalt ions dispersed into poly (N-methylaniline) preparing in the presence of SDS: application in electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrogen peroxide

Conducting and stable poly (N-methylaniline) film was prepared by using the repeated potential cycling technique in aqueous solution containing N-methylaniline, sulfuric acid, and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at the surface of carbon paste electrode (CPE). The transition metal ions of Co(ІІ) were incorporated to the polymer by immersion of the modified electrode in 0.1 M cobalt chloride solution for 10 min. The electrochemical characterization of this modified electrode exhibits stable redox behavior of Co(ІІ)→Co(ІІІ) and formation of insoluble oxide/hydroxide cobalt species on the CPE surface. The modified electrode showed well-defined and stable redox couples in alkaline aqueous solution. The modified electrode showed excellent electrocatalytic activity for oxidation of hydrogen peroxide. The response of modified electrode toward the H₂O₂ oxidation was examined using cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry, square wave voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. This modified electrode has many advantages such as simple preparation procedure, good reproducibility, and high catalytic activity toward the hydrogen peroxide oxidation. Such characteristics were explored for the specific determination of hydrogen peroxide in cosmetics product sample, giving results in excellent agreement with those obtained by standard method.