Crystal structure of a novel interrupted aluminosilicate,CNU-1 with an unusual framework

The crystal structure of a novel interrupted aluminosilicate, CNU-1, was synthesized hydrothermally at 433 K and was found to have a hexagonal crystal system, P-62c, in which an unusual T–O–T angle of 180°, similar to that of MWW, was discovered. Further, one of the hydroxyl groups in the interrupted structure was disordered systematically.     

Application of electromagnetic processing for development of high-performance sintered powder metal parts

Electromagnetic processing was used to study the effects of electro-magneto forming on the dimensional control and thermal stability of sintered powder metal (PM) parts. The investigation was carried out on sinter-hardened, low chromium-molybdenum bainitic steel. The results show an increase in the microhardness of about 14% for the electromagnetic processed parts compared to the as-sintered parts. This was attributed to the 2% increase in the density, 17% and 29% reduction in the volume fraction of porosity and width of the bainitic lath, respectively, due to the electromagnetic processing. Dimensional characterization was carried out using a vertically aligned push-rod dilatometer. After four thermal cycles of heating and cooling, at a controlled rate of 5 °C/min to 1000 °C, the electromagnetic processed parts exhibited reduced dimensional change of about 44% lower than for the as-sintered parts. This is significantly important for applications that demand high dimensional tolerance and performance, especially at elevated temperatures.     

Multidimensional space groups: Tables and standards

The previous speakers have dealt with tangible physical objects; I am to deal with organizational and symbolic problems. The symbolic problems are of greater scientific importance, but I must begin with those of human organization and in particular with the structure of the International Union of Crystallography (acronym IUCr).     

The Acceleration Severity Index in the impact of a vehicle against permanent road equipment support structures

The acceleration Severity Index (ASI), described in European Standard EN12767 (The passive safety of support structures for road equipment. Requirements, classification and the test method) is regarded as the most important indicator of impact on the occupants. The requirements for experiments are described, having in mind that the results depend on many factors. One of them is the selection of a vehicle to be used in the crash test. To perform numerical vehicle crash simulation, the finite-element models of permanent road equipment support structures were developed using the LS Dyna software available. To examine the response of the vehicle upon the impact, the acceleration severity index curves were calculated and visualised in Matlab.     

Phase retrieval from fringe pattern with 1-D discrete wavelet transform

This paper proposes a novel method to obtain frequency modulation (FM) signals from a single fringe pattern for phase retrieval. First, a 1D discrete Meyer wavelet is employed to decompose the pattern image signal row by row and the soft-thresholding approach is applied to remove noise. The low frequency coefficients of the wavelet decomposition are then set to 0, and the signal is reconstructed. Moreover, the optimal wavelet decomposition level is adaptively determined using a cost function-based method. The reconstructed signal, which no longer contains a background component, is normalized using a nonlinear and piecewise normalization method. The proposed method is faster and more accurate than some other phase retrieval approaches, which is illustrated with two test cases.     

Influence of relative humidity on the electrostatic charging of lactose powder mixed with salbutamol sulphate

In this study, electrostatic charging of lactose and its mixtures with salbutamol sulphate (SS) were studied as a function of relative humidity (RH). Powder adhesion onto a steel pipe surface was also investigated. The powders were charged by sliding in a steel pipe. Increase in RH decreased the charging of lactose and mixtures, but the effect on SS was not evident. Furthermore, the charge of the mixtures reversed from negative to positive as RH was increased and remained positive as the samples were again dried. Humidification also changed the adhesion behavior of the mixtures onto the pipe surface.     

Gaussian pre-filtering for uncertainty minimization in digital image correlation using numerically-designed speckle patterns

This paper discusses the effect of pre-processing image blurring on the uncertainty of two-dimensional digital image correlation (DIC) measurements for the specific case of numerically-designed speckle patterns having particles with well-defined and consistent shape, size and spacing. Such patterns are more suitable for large measurement surfaces on large-scale specimens than traditional spray-painted random patterns without well-defined particles. The methodology consists of numerical simulations where Gaussian digital filters with varying standard deviation are applied to a reference speckle pattern. To simplify the pattern application process for large areas and increase contrast to reduce measurement uncertainty, the speckle shape, mean size and on-center spacing were selected to be representative of numerically-designed patterns that can be applied on large surfaces through different techniques (e.g., spray-painting through stencils). Such “designer patterns” are characterized by well-defined regions of non-zero frequency content and non-zero peaks, and are fundamentally different from typical spray-painted patterns whose frequency content exhibits near-zero peaks. The effect of blurring filters is examined for constant, linear, quadratic and cubic displacement fields. Maximum strains between ±250 and ±20,000 µε are simulated, thus covering a relevant range for structural materials subjected to service and ultimate stresses. The robustness of the simulation procedure is verified experimentally using a physical speckle pattern subjected to constant displacements. The stability of the relation between standard deviation of the Gaussian filter and measurement uncertainty is assessed for linear displacement fields at varying image noise levels, subset size, and frequency content of the speckle pattern. It is shown that bias error as well as measurement uncertainty are minimized through Gaussian pre-filtering. This finding does not apply to typical spray-painted patterns without well-defined particles, for which image blurring is only beneficial in reducing bias errors.     

Biochemical study for the effect of henna (Lawsonia inermis) on Escherichia coli

Leaf samples of Lawsonia inermis (Li) were examined for their antimicrobial potential. Broth extracts in different concentrations were prepared and bioassayed in vitro for the growth of Escherichia coli. The growth of E. coli pathogen was inhibited to various degrees by increasing the concentration of the herbal powder. In addition to the observed alterations which were detected electrophoretically in the protein pattern, were activities of the amylase enzyme and glycoprotein fractions. The protein pattern has one common band of Rf 0.47 and two characteristic bands of Rf 0.36 and Rf 0.42 for E. coli sample. The quantitative mutation was observed in the bacteria with different concentrations of L. inermis compared with the control. Some types of proteins in E. coli completely disappeared upon being S.I affected. The amylase pattern showed one common band with Rf 0.037 and two characteristic bands with Rf 0.18 and Rf 0.37 for E. coli sample. The obvious quantitative mutation observed in bacteria with different concentrations of L. inermis compared with E. coli. The glycoprotein pattern recorded one common band at R₁ with Rf 0.94 for E. coli sample and bacteria inoculated with different concentrations of L. inermis. These results confirmed the antibacterial activity of henna leaves and supported the traditional use of the plant in therapy of bacterial infections and disturbances that occurred at the biochemical level. The broth extract of the L. inermis leaves showed obvious antibacterial activity against E. coli.     

Nonrandom adsorption of polyelectrolyte chains on finite regularly charged surfaces

Adsorption phenomena are relevant in a wide variety of subjects, from biophysics to technological applications. Different aspects, such as molecular recognition, multilayer deposition, and dynamics of polymer adsorption have been addressed. The methodologies used range from analytical and numerical methods to molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo simulations. In this work, a coarse‐grained model is used to explore the adsorption of charged backbones to oppositely charged regions of a surface. These regions encompass those small enough to prevent complete adsorption, but extend to surfaces sufficiently large to promote adsorption with minimal effect on the three‐dimensional conformation in bulk. Apart from the different surface areas explored, variations on the surface charge density, polyelectrolyte chain length, and chain stiffness were also considered. The degree of compaction of the polyelectrolyte, on adsorption, is different from that found in the bulk. Also, results indicate an nonuniform adsorption pattern on regularly charged surfaces. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Effects of ball-to-powder diameter ratio and powder particle shape on EDEM simulation in a planetary ball mill

The effects of the ball-to-powder diameter ratio (BPDR) and the shape of the powder particles on EDEM simulation results and time in the planetary ball mill was investigated. BPDR was varied from 1 to 40/3 by changing the powder particle diameter from 8 to 0.6 ?mm. The size and shape of the powder particles do not give a significant change in both the ball motion pattern and simulation results when BPDR is over 20/3. It can be assumed that the kinetic energy of the ball has nothing to do with the size and shape of the powder particle. The simulation time and data size increase exponentially as BPDR increases. The effect of change of the powder particle shape on the calculated data size is not significant, but the more complicated its shape, the longer the simulation time, which is linearly related to the number of spheres composing a particle.