• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.35-43
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• 2015

The critical element for sustainable growth in the construction industry is the development of alternative cements. A new technological process called geopolymerization provides an innovative solution, and the presence of aluminum and silicon oxides in fly ash has encouraged its use as a source material. Many previous investigations have involved curing the binder in a heated environment. To reduce energy consumption during the synthesis of geopolymers, the present study investigated the properties of ambient cured geopolymer mortar at early ages. An experimental program was executed to establish a relationship between the activator composition and the properties of geopolymer mortar in fresh and hardened states. Concentrations of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate were ascertained that are advantageous for constructability and mechanical behavior. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques were also used to characterize the material. Test results indicate that there is potential for the concrete industry to use fly ash based geopolymer as an alternative to portland cement.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.53-59
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• 2007

In order to utilize skin of bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana Shaw) as an alternative source of collagen, we investigated and compared biochemical and physical properties of collagens isolated from bullfrog skin. Two kinds of collagen (BSASC; bullfrog skin acid-soluble collagen and BSPSC; bullfrog skin pepsin-solubilized collagen) were isolated by subsequent treatments with acetic acid and pepsin. The amounts of skin collagen isolated in the subsequent treatments were 7.3% BSASC and 18.2% BSPSC on the basis of lyophilized bullfrog skin weight, respectively. According to the electrophoretic pattern and CM-cellulose column chromatogram, the BSASC has the chain composition of ${\alpha}1{\alpha}2{\alpha}3$ heterotrimer, and the BSPSC consists of two ${\alpha}$ chains of ${\alpha}1{\alpha}2$. In addition, the denaturation temperatures of all collagens tested were ranged from $30^{\circ}C\;to\;38^{\circ}C$. This study suggests that there is a possibility to use bullfrog skin collagen as an alternative source of collagen for industrial purposes, and subsequently it may increase the economical value of the bullfrog.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.16-25
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• 2015

Transition metal oxide nanocrystalline materials are playing major role in energy storage application in this scenario. Nickel oxide is one of the best antiferromagnetic materials which is used as electrodes in energy storage devices such as, fuel cells, batteries, electrochemical capacitors, etc. In this research work, nickel oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by combustion route in presence of organic fuels such as, glycine, glucose and and urea. The prepared nickel oxide nanoparticles were calcined at 600℃ for 3 h to get phase pure materials. The calcined nanoparticles were preliminarily characterized by XRD, particle size analysis, SEM and EDAX. To prepare nickel oxide electrode materials for application in supercapacitors, the calcined NiO nanoparticles were mixed with di-methyl-acetamide and few drops of nafion solution for 12 to 16 h. The above slurry was coated in the graphite sheet and dried at 50℃ for 2 to 4 h in a hot air oven to remove organic solvent. The dried sample was subjected to electrochemical studies, such as cyclic voltammetry, AC impedance analysis and chrono-coulometry studies in KOH electrolyte medium. From the above studies, it was found that nickel oxide nanoparticles prepared by combustion synthesis using glucose as a fuel exhibited resulted in low particle diameter (42.23 nm). All the nickel oxide electrodes have shown better good capacitance values suitable for electrochemical capacitor applications.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.196-201
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• 2011

Near-field properties of light emanated from a subwavelength double slit of finite length in a thin metal film, which is essential for understanding fundamental physical mechanisms for near-field optical beam manipulations and various potential nanophotonic device applications, is investigated by using a three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method. Near-field intensity distribution along the propagation direction of light after passing through the slit has been obtained from the phase relation of transverse electric and magnetic fields and the wave impedance. It is found that the near field of emerged light from the both slits is evanescent, that is consistent with conventional surface plasmon localization near the metal surface. Due to the finite of the slit, the amplitude of this evanescent field does not monotonically approach to than of the infinite slit as the slit length increases, i.e. the near-field of the longer slit along the center line can be weaker than that of the shorter one.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.563-573
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• 2017

Transparency, excellent toughness, thermal stability and a very good dimensional stability make Polycarbonate (PC) one of the most widely used engineering thermoplastics. Polycarbonate market include electronics, automotive, construction, optical media and packaging. One alternative for reducing the environmental pollution caused by polycarbonate from electronic waste (e-waste), is to use it in cement concretes. In this work, physical and chemical characterization of recycled polycarbonate from electronic waste was made, through the analysis by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Then cement concrete was made with Portland cement, sand, gravel, water, and this recycled polycarbonate. Specimens without polycarbonate were produced for comparison purposes. The effect of the particle sizes and concentrations of recycled polycarbonate within the concrete, on the compressive strength and density was studied. Results show that compressive strength values and equilibrium density of concrete depend on the polycarbonate particle sizes and its concentrations; particularly the highest compressive strength values were 20% higher than that for concrete without polycarbonate particles. Moreover, morphological, structural and crystallinity characteristics of recycled polycarbonate, are suitable for to be mixed into concrete.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.10
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• pp.3164-3170
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• 2021

The increasing interest that GEANT4 is gaining nowadays, because of its special capabilities, prompted us to address its reliability in neutronic calculation for the realistic and complex spallation target MEGAPIE of the Paul Scherrer Institute of Switzerland. In this paper we have specifically addressed the neutronic characterization of the active zone of this target. Three physical quantities are evaluated: neutron flux spectra and total neutron fluxes on target's z-axis, and the neutron yield as a function of the target's altitude and radius. Comparison of the obtained results with those of the MCNPX reference code and some experimental measurements have confirmed the impact of the geometrical and proton beam models on the neutron fluxes. It has also allowed to reveal the intrinsic influence of the code type. The resulting differences reach a factor of ~2 for the beam model and 4-18% for the other parameters cumulated. The analysis of the neutron yield has led us to conclude that: 1) Increasing the productivity of the MEGAPIE target cannot be achieved simply by increasing the thickness of the target, if the irradiation parameters are not modified. 2) The size of the spallation area needs to be redefined more precisely.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.24-27
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• 2007

The purpose of this work is to develop, integrate, and implement an optical characterization method to evaluate physical properties in coated conductors and investigate the local distribution of the causes of degraded performance. The method that we selected at this moment is Raman scattering spectroscopy, which is accompanied with measurements of local supercurrent transport, phase composition, microstructure, and epitaxy quality for coated conductors that range in size up to multi-meter-length tapes and that embrace the entire tape embodiment (substrate through cap layer). The establishment of Raman spectroscopy as an on-line process monitoring tool is our eventual goal of research, but it requires very robust and cost-effective equipments. We analyzed $YBa_2Cu_3O_7(YBCO)$ thin films grown at various substrate temperatures by using Raman spectroscopy. YBCO films were grown by a high-rate electron-beam co-evaporation method. Raman spectra of YBCO films with lower-transport properties exhibit additional phonon modes at ${\sim}300cm^{-1}$, ${\sim}600cm^{-1}$ and ${\sim}630cm^{-1}$, which are related to second-phases such as $Ba_2Cu_3O_{5.9}$ and $BaCuO_2$. We propose a new method to characterize Raman spectra of coated conductors for an in-line quality control.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.10
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• pp.3535-3542
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• 2023

Eutectic reactions of five kinds of Cr-coated Zr alloy cladding with different base materials (Zr-Nb-Sn alloy or Zr-Nb alloy), different coating thicknesses (6~22.5 mm), and different coating materials (Cr single layer or Cr/CrN bilayer) were studied using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The DSC experiments demonstrated that the onset temperatures of the Cr single layer coated specimens were almost identical to ~1308 ℃, regardless of base materials or coating thicknesses. This study demonstrated that the Cr/CrN bilayer coated Zr-Nb-Sn alloy has a slightly (~10 ℃) higher eutectic onset temperature compared to the single Cr-coated specimen. The eutectic region characterized by post-eutectic microstructure proportionally increases with coating thickness. The post-eutectic characterization with different holding times at high temperature (1310-1330 ℃) reveals that progression of Zr-Cr eutectic requires time, and it dramatically changed with exposure time and temperature. The practical value of the time gain in non-instantaneous eutectic formation in terms of safety margin, however, seems to be limited.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.481-496
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• 2024

Internal erosion around pipes can lead to the failure of earth dams through various mechanisms. This study investigates the displacement patterns in earth dam models under three different failure modes due to internal erosion, using digital image correlation (DIC) methods. Three failure modes—erosion along a pipe (FM1), pipe leakage leading to soil erosion (FM2), and erosion in a pipe due to defects (FM3)—are analyzed using two- and three-dimensional image- processing techniques. The internal displacement of the cross-sectional area and the surface displacement of the downstream slope in the dam models are monitored using an image acquisition system. Physical model tests reveal that FM1 exhibits significant displacement on the upper surface of the downstream slope, FM2 shows focused displacement around the pipe defect, and FM3 demonstrates increased displacement on the upstream slope. The variations in internal and surface displacements with time depend on the segmented area and failure mode. Analyzing the relationships between internal and surface displacements using Pearson correlation coefficients reveals various displacement patterns for the segmented areas and failure modes. Therefore, the image-based characterization methods presented in this study may be useful for analyzing the displacement distribution and behavior of earth dams around pipes, and further, for understanding and predicting their failure mechanisms.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.91-109
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• 2024

Carbon nanotubes are drawing wide attention of research communities and several industries due to their versatile capabilities covering mechanical and other multi-physical properties. However, owing to extreme operating conditions of the synthesis process of these nanostructures, they are often imposed with certain inevitable structural deformities such as single vacancy and nanopore defects. These random irregularities limit the intended functionalities of carbon nanotubes severely. In this article, we investigate the mechanical behaviour of double-wall carbon nanotubes (DWCNT) under the influence of arbitrarily distributed single vacancy and nanopore defects in the outer wall, inner wall, and both the walls. Large-scale molecular simulations reveal that the nanopore defects have more detrimental effects on the mechanical behaviour of DWCNTs, while the defects in the inner wall of DWCNTs make the nanostructures more vulnerable to withstand high longitudinal deformation. From a different perspective, to exploit the mechanics of damage for achieving defect-induced shape modulation and region-wise deformation control, we have further explored the localized longitudinal and transverse spatial effects of DWCNT by designing the defects for their regional distribution. The comprehensive numerical results of the present study would lead to the characterization of the critical mechanical properties of DWCNTs under the presence of inevitable intrinsic defects along with the aspect of defect-induced spatial modulation of shapes for prospective applications in a range of nanoelectromechanical systems and devices.