Optimization of Transducer Location for Novel Non-Intrusive Methodologies of Diagnosis in Diesel Engines

The health monitoring has been studied to ensure integrity of design of engine structure by detection, quantification, and prediction of damages. Early detection of faults may allow the downtime of maintenance to be rescheduled, thus preventing sudden shutdown of machines. In cylinder pressure developed, vibrations and noise emissions data provide a rich source of information about condition of engines. Monitoring of vibrations and noise emissions are novel non-intrusive methodologies for which positioning of various transducers are important issue. The presented work shows applicability of these diagnosis methodologies adopted in case of diesel engines. The effects of changing various fuel injection parameters was analyzed. Scope of using non-intrusive technique has been analyzed by changing locations of microphone. Novelty of this worklies in exploring signal processing methods for various locations around the engine test set up. Various frequency ranges of contributing noise and vibration sources were identified. Time-Frequency analysis showed the onset of various cyclic. Based on the identification of various frequency bands, it is possible to device suitable filters in order to extract more information.     

A real algorithm for the Hermitian eigenvalue decomposition

Modifying complex plane rotations, we derive a new Jacobi-type algorithm for the Hermitian eigendecomposition, which uses only real arithmetic. When the fast-scaled rotations are incorporated, the new algorithm brings a substantial reduction in computational costs. The new method has the same convergence properties and parallelism as the symmetric Jacobi algorithm. Computational test results show that it produces accurate eigenvalues and eigenvectors and achieves great reduction in computational time.The work of this author was supported in part by the National Science Foundation grant CCR-8813493 and by the University of Minnesota Army High Performance Computing Research Center contract DAAL 03-89-C-0038.The work of this author was supported in part by the University of Minnesota Army High Performance Computing Research Center contract DAAL 03-89-C-0038.     

Microwave promoted methylation of plant polysaccharides

O-Methylation is of outstanding importance in structural polysaccharide chemistry. A novel method for the methylation of polysaccharides using microwave (MW) irradiation is described. Seed gum from Cyamopsis tetragonolobus (Guar) was fully methylated with dimethyl sulphate and sodium hydroxide using 100% microwave power for 4 min in 68% yield. The completely methylated seed gum thus obtained was hydrolyzed by 70% formic acid followed by 0.5N H₂SO₄ under full microwave power for 1.16 and 1.66 min, respectively. The partially methylated monosaccharides were separated and identified.     

Auditory evoked responses: A tool to assess the fetal neurological activity

An intact auditory system at birth is requisite for the successful accomplishment of many developmental skills. Evoked responses to auditory stimuli have been used as a sensitive test to determine the functional status of the adult and neonatal brain. It has been established that fetuses can hear in utero and respond to external acoustic stimuli. We present an overview of the transmission of sound through the maternal abdomen to the fetal ear and the recordings of an auditory evoked response obtained from the fetus using a non-invasive magnetoencephalography technique. The investigation of cortical activity of the fetus in response to auditory stimulation can help understand and track the neurological development of the fetus.     

Anomalous elastic behaviour of Bi-Pb-Ag composites

Bi-Pb and Bi-Pb-Ag superconducting composites have been prepared by the solid state reaction method. After the usual characterization, ultrasonic longitudinal velocity and attenuation studies have been undertaken over a temperature range 80–300 K by the pulse transmission technique. In contrast to normal solids, the ultrasonic velocities of both the samples in the temperature range 200-100 K are found to decrease with decreasing temperature (softening), followed by a velocity maximum. The samples are also found to exhibit longitudinal attenuation peaks at TEMPERATURES = 260, 160 and 120 K. An attempt has also been made to verify whether the Wachtman's equations can theoretically explain the low-temperature behaviour of the Young's modulus of these materials. A qualitative explanation for both the phenomena of softening of velocity as well as the occurrence of attenuation peaks is given.     

Ring resonators with N × M couplers

Multiple-zero multiple-pole optical filter transfer functions may be implemented more efficiently in an integrated optics architecture if higher order N × M optical couplers are utilized. For example, a coherent ring resonator made from two 3×3 couplers offers some advantages over the three mirror Fabry-Perot etalon, which is its analog. To this end we develop the formalism for obtaining the transfer functions and scattering matrices of ring resonators made from two N × M couplers. We then present a methodology for analyzing serial and parallel systems of N × M optical coupler ring resonators.     

Surfactant tail length-dependent lipase activity profile in cationic water-in-oil microemulsions

The catalytic activity of Chromobacterium viscosum lipase (CV-lipase) was estimated across varying surfactant tail lengths (C-10-C-18) in water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsions of cationic surfactants containing four different hydroxyethyl-substituted head groups. An attempt to find a correlation, if any, between the activity of interfacially solubilized lipase and the varying surfactant tails was made for the first time in micellar enzymology. The second-order rate constant, k2, in lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl-n-hexanoate at pH 6.0 and 25 degrees C shows an improvement in enzyme activity (approximately 30-140%) across different head groups of amphiphiles with increasing tail lengths in varying solution compositions. Improvement of enzyme activity is prominent in ascending from C-10 to C-14/C-16, depending on the nature of polar head group. The hydrolytic activity of lipase in different surfactant (50 mM)/water/isooctane/n-hexanol with varying z= [alcohol]/[surfactant] (6.4 or 4.8) was amplified by 25-250% with increment in surfactant tail length in comparison with widely used cationic w/o microemulsions having solution compositions (z=16). As a notable outcome of this research, we found w/o microemulsions of 25 mM tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide/water/isooctane/n-hexanol (z=8) producing the highest ever activity of lipase in any w/o microemulsions.     

Synthesis of 3‐(substituted)‐2,4,8,15‐tetroxa‐3‐phosphadispiro[5.2.5]hexadecane‐3‐oxides

Novel 3‐(substituted)‐2,4,8,15‐tetroxa‐3‐phosphadispiro[5.2.5]hexadecane‐3‐oxides (3‐12) have been synthesized by cyclization of 1,5‐dioxaspiro[5.5]undecande‐3,3‐dimethanol (1) with various substituted aryl phosphorus dichloridates (2) in dry toluene‐THF in the presence of triethylamine at 40‐60 ^oC. Their molecular structures were determined by ir, nmr and mass spectral studies and were screened for antifungal activity against Curvularia lunata and Aspergillus niger, and antibacterial activity on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Most of them possess significant activity.     

Thermodynamic study of N-trifluoroacetyl-O-alkyl nipecotic acid ester enantiomers on diluted permethylated beta-cyclodextrin stationary phase

Thermodynamic studies were performed on 12 pairs of N-trifluoroacetyl-O-alkyl nipecotic acid ester enantiomers on diluted permethylated beta-cyclodextrin stationary phase (CP Chirasil-Dex CB). The influence of ester alkyl group structure on interaction with permethylated beta-cyclodextrin (Me-CD) and enantioselectivity was studied. The types of alkyl groups studied included n-alkyl (C1-C5) and groups containing branching at differing locations relative to the chiral center of the molecule. The results show that for a given molecular weight, the n-alkyl esters have stronger interactions with Me-CD than esters containing branched alkyl groups. However, although having weaker interactions with Me-CD, esters containing alpha-branched alkyl groups exhibit higher enantioselectivity than the corresponding n-alkyl or beta-branched isobutyl esters. From the retention data, thermodynamic parameters were estimated using the retention increment method and enthalpy-entropy compensation plots (ln R' versus deltaH) were constructed. The results suggest that ester enantiomers with branching at the alpha-carbon of the ester alkyl group have additional and/or different types of enantioselective interactions with Me-CD than the C1-C5 n-alkyl esters or beta-branched isobutyl ester. In order to obtain a qualitative sense of the interaction with Me-CD, structures of the diastereomeric complexes formed between Me-CD and some of the ester enantiomers were modeled using simulated annealing molecular dynamics.