The present paper is based on a recent success of the second-order stochastic fluctuation theory in describing time autocorrelations of equilibrium and nonequilibrium physical systems. In particular, it was shown to yield values of the related deterministic parameters of the Langevin equation for a Couette flow in a microscopic molecular dynamics model of a simple fluid. In this paper we find all the remaining constants of the stochastic dynamics, which then is simulated numerically and compared directly with the original physical system. By using these data, we study in detail the accuracy and precision of a second-order Langevin model for nonequilibrium physical systems theoretically and computationally. We find an intriguing relation between an applied external force and cumulants of the resulting flow fluctuations. This is characterized by a linear dependence of an athermal cumulant ratio, an apposite quantity introduced here. In addition, we discuss how the order of a given Langevin dynamics can be raised systematically by introducing colored noise.
A statistical approach using a polynomial linear model in combination with a probability distribution model was developed to mathematically represent the process of bacterial attachment and study its mechanism. The linear deterministic model was built based on data from experiments investigating bacterial and substratum surface physico-chemical factors as predictors of attachment. The prediction results were applied to a normal-approximated binomial distribution model to probabilistically predict attachment. The experimental protocol used mixtures of Streptococcus salivarius and Escherichia coli, and mixtures of porous poly(butyl methacrylate-co-ethyl dimethacrylate) and aluminum sec-butoxide coatings, at varying ratios, to allow bacterial attachment to substratum surfaces across a range of physico-chemical properties (including the surface hydrophobicity of bacterial cells and the substratum, the surface charge of the cells and the substratum, the substratum surface roughness and cell size). The model was tested using data from independent experiments. The model indicated that hydrophobic interaction was the most important predictor while reciprocal interactions existed between some of the factors. More importantly, the model established a range for each factor within which the resultant attachment is unpredictable. This model, however, considers bacterial cells as colloidal particles and accounts only for the essential physico-chemical attributes of the bacterial cells and substratum surfaces. It is therefore limited by a lack of consideration of biological and environmental factors. This makes the model applicable only to specific environments and potentially provides a direction to future modelling for different environments.
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can be used in agriculture to provide farmers with a large amount of information. Precision agriculture (PA) is a management strategy that employs information technology to improve quality and production. Utilizing wireless sensor technologies and management tools can lead to a highly effective, green agriculture. Based on PA management, the same routine to a crop regardless of site environments can be avoided. From several perspectives, field management can improve PA, including the provision of adequate nutrients for crops and the wastage of pesticides for the effective control of weeds, pests, and diseases. This review outlines the recent applications of WSNs in agriculture research as well as classifies and compares various wireless communication protocols, the taxonomy of energy-efficient and energy harvesting techniques for WSNs that can be used in agricultural monitoring systems, and comparison between early research works on agriculture-based WSNs. The challenges and limitations of WSNs in the agricultural domain are explored, and several power reduction and agricultural management techniques for long-term monitoring are highlighted. These approaches may also increase the number of opportunities for processing Internet of Things (IoT) data.
This paper establishes a novel control strategy for a nonlinear bilateral macro-micro teleoperation system with time delay. Besides position and velocity signals, force signals are additionally utilized in the control scheme. This modification significantly improves the poor transparency during contact with the environment. To eliminate external force measurement, a force estimation algorithm is proposed for the master and slave robots. The closed loop stability of the nonlinear micro-micro teleoperation system with the proposed control scheme is investigated employing the Lyapunov theory. Consequently, the experimental results verify the efficiency of the new control scheme in free motion and during collision between the slave robot and the environment of slave robot with environment, and the efficiency of the force estimation algorithm.
The steady two-dimensional stagnation-point flow and heat transfer past a permeable stretching/shrinking sheet with effects of viscous dissipation, Joule heating and partial velocity slip in the presence of a magnetic field is investigated. The partial differential equations are reduced to nonlinear ordinary differential equations by using a similarity transformation, before being solved numerically by shooting technique. Results indicate that the skin friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number increase as magnetic parameter increases. It is found that for the stretching sheet the solution is unique while for the shrinking sheet there exist nonunique solutions (dual solutions) in certain range of parameters. The stability analysis shows that the upper branch solution is stable while the lower branch solution is unstable.
The optical characteristics of graphene oxide (GO) were explored to design and fabricate a GO-based optical humidity sensor. GO film was coated onto a SU8 polymer channel waveguide using the drop-casting technique. The proposed sensor shows a high TE-mode absorption at 1550 nm. Due to the dependence of the dielectric properties of the GO film on water content, this high TE-mode absorption decreases when the ambient relative humidity increases. The proposed sensor shows a rapid response (<1 s) to periodically interrupted humid air flow. The transmission of the proposed sensor shows a linear response of 0.553 dB/% RH in the range of 60% to 100% RH.
This paper utilizes the background oriented schlieren (BOS) technique to measure the velocity field of a variable density round jet. The density field of the jet is computed based on the light deflection created during the passage of light through the understudy jet. The deflection vector estimation was carried out using phase-based optical flow algorithms. The density field is further exploited to extract the axial and radial velocity vectors with the aid of continuity and energy equations. The experiment is conducted at six different jet-exit temperature values. Additional turbulence parameters, such as velocity variance and power spectral density of the vector field, are also computed. Finally, the measured velocity parameters are compared with the hot wire anemometer measurements and their correlation is displayed.
The paper deals with a stagnation-point boundary layer flow towards a permeable stretching/shrinking sheet in a nanofluid where the flow and the sheet are not aligned. We used the Buongiorno model that is based on the Brownian diffusion and thermophoresis to describe the nanofluid in this problem. The main purpose of the present paper is to examine whether the non-alignment function has the effect on the problem considered when the fluid suction and injection are imposed. It is interesting to note that the non-alignment function can ruin the symmetry of the flows and prominent in the shrinking sheet. The fluid suction will reduce the impact of the non-alignment function of the stagnation flow and the stretching/shrinking sheet but at the same time increasing the velocity profiles and the shear stress at the surface. Furthermore, the effects of the pertinent parameters such as the Brownian motion, thermophoresis, Lewis number and the suction/injection on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are also taken into consideration. The numerical results are shown in the tables and the figures. It is worth mentioning that dual solutions are found to exist for the shrinking sheet.
A grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system operates under fluctuated weather condition has been modeled and characterized based on specific test bed. A mathematical model of a small-scale PV system has been developed mainly for residential usage, and the potential results have been simulated. The proposed PV model based on three PV parameters, which are the photocurrent, IL, the reverse diode saturation current, Io, the ideality factor of diode, n. Accuracy of the proposed model and its parameters evaluated based on different benchmarks. The results showed that the proposed model fitting the experimental results with high accuracy compare to the other models, as well as the I-V characteristic curve. The results of this study can be considered valuable in terms of the installation of a grid-connected PV system in fluctuated climatic conditions.
This paper describes cooperate the co-absorbance (CdS QDs) and the plasmonic core-shell nanoparticles (Ag@PVP) of dye synthesized solar cells in which CdS QDs and Ag@PVP are incorporated into the TiO2 layer. Cooperative nanoparticles show superior behavior on enhancing light absorption in comparison with reference cells. Cooperated DSSC exhibits the best performance with the power conversion efficiency of 7.64% which is superior to that of the free-modified DSSC with the PCE of 5%. Detailed studies offer an effective approach to enhance the efficiency of dye synthesized solar cells.
Resource bound security solutions have facilitated the mitigation of spatio-temporal attacks by altering protocol semantics to provide minimal security while maintaining an acceptable level of performance. The Dynamic Window Secured Implicit Geographic Forwarding (DWSIGF) routing protocol for Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) has been proposed to achieve a minimal selection of malicious nodes by introducing a dynamic collection window period to the protocol's semantics. However, its selection scheme suffers substantial packet losses due to the utilization of a single distance based parameter for node selection. In this paper, we propose a Fuzzy-based Geographic Forwarding protocol (FuGeF) to minimize packet loss, while maintaining performance. The FuGeF utilizes a new form of dynamism and introduces three selection parameters: remaining energy, connectivity cost, and progressive distance, as well as a Fuzzy Logic System (FLS) for node selection. These introduced mechanisms ensure the appropriate selection of a non-malicious node. Extensive simulation experiments have been conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed FuGeF protocol as compared to DWSIGF variants. The simulation results show that the proposed FuGeF outperforms the two DWSIGF variants (DWSIGF-P and DWSIGF-R) in terms of packet delivery.
The Josephson effect describes the generic appearance of a supercurrent in a weak link between two superconductors. Its exact physical nature deeply influences the properties of the supercurrent. In recent years, considerable efforts have focused on the coupling of superconductors to the surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator. In such a material, an unconventional induced p-wave superconductivity should occur, with a doublet of topologically protected gapless Andreev bound states, whose energies vary 4π-periodically with the superconducting phase difference across the junction. In this article, we report the observation of an anomalous response to rf irradiation in a Josephson junction made of a HgTe weak link. The response is understood as due to a 4π-periodic contribution to the supercurrent, and its amplitude is compatible with the expected contribution of a gapless Andreev doublet. Our work opens the way to more elaborate experiments to investigate the induced superconductivity in a three-dimensional insulator.
In this paper, we propose an energy-efficient transmission technique known as the sleep/wake algorithm for a bicycle torque sensor node. This paper aims to highlight the trade-off between energy efficiency and the communication range between the cyclist and coach. Two experiments were conducted. The first experiment utilised the Zigbee protocol (XBee S2), and the second experiment used the Advanced and Adaptive Network Technology (ANT) protocol based on the Nordic nRF24L01 radio transceiver chip. The current consumption of ANT was measured, simulated and compared with a torque sensor node that uses the XBee S2 protocol. In addition, an analytical model was derived to correlate the sensor node average current consumption with a crank arm cadence. The sensor node achieved 98% power savings for ANT relative to ZigBee when they were compared alone, and the power savings amounted to 30% when all components of the sensor node are considered. The achievable communication range was 65 and 50 m for ZigBee and ANT, respectively, during measurement on an outdoor cycling track (i.e., velodrome). The conclusions indicate that the ANT protocol is more suitable for use in a torque sensor node when power consumption is a crucial demand, whereas the ZigBee protocol is more convenient in ensuring data communication between cyclist and coach.
The title compound, [Sn(CH(3))(2)(C(5)H(10)NO(2)S(2))(2)], has crystallographic mirror symmetry (C-Sn-C on mirror plane) and the coordination polyhedron around the Sn atom is a tetrahedron [C-Sn-C 139.3 (2) degrees and S-Sn-S 82.3 (1) degrees ] distorted towards a skew-trapezoidal bipyramid owing to an intramolecular Sn.S contact [3.0427 (6) A]. The molecules are linked into a linear chain by intermolecular O-H.O hydrogen bonds [O.O 2.646 (3) A].
The theoretical basis for simultaneous oscillation of 2N - 3 laser lines is due to interference of N (for all even N > or = 2) pump beams in a distributed-feedback dye laser is described. Multiple gratings are produced in a dye solution by interference patterns of N/2 pairs of a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser. N/2 pairs of mutually time-delayed pulses induce multiple gratings of different periodicities, of which 2N - 3 gratings support oscillation of 2N - 3 lines and the remaining gratings, because of their larger periods, cannot support Bragg scattering. The maximum number of laser lines depends on the mutual delay between adjacent pairs of beams, coherence, states of polarization, pulse lengths, and of course the number of pulses. For three pairs of excitation beams derived from the same source through wave-front or amplitude phase division techniques, the output lasing lines varied from a minimum of three to a maximum of nine. This research was carried out by pumping of a dye solution with two, four, and six pulses, but the principle may be extended to multiple output lines, depending on the number of pump pulses and on the gain of the dye solution.
This paper investigated the static behaviour of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) built-up hollow and concrete filled built-up beams tested under four-point bending with a span-to-depth ratio of 1.67, therefore focusing their shear performance. Two parameters considered for hollow sections were longitudinal web stiffener and strengthening at the web-flange junction. The experimental results indicated that the GFRP hollow beams failed by web crushing at supports; therefore, the longitudinal web stiffener has an insignificant effect on improving the maximum load. Strengthening web-flange junctions using rectangular hollow sections increased the maximum load by 47%. Concrete infill could effectively prevent the web crushing, and it demonstrated the highest load increment of 162%. The concrete filled GFRP composite beam failed by diagonal tension in the lightweight concrete core. The finite element models adopting Hashin damage criteria yielded are in good agreement with the experimental results in terms of maximum load and failure mode. Based on the numerical study, the longitudinal web stiffener could prevent the web buckling of the slender GFRP beam and improved the maximum load by 136%. The maximum load may be further improved by increasing the thickness of the GFRP section and the size of rectangular hollow sections used for strengthening. It was found that the bond-slip at the concrete-GFRP interface affected the shear resistance of concrete-GFRP composite beam.
It is necessary to consider the influence of moisture damage on the interlaminar fracture toughness for composite structures that are used for outdoor applications. However, the studies on the progressive variation of the fracture toughness as a function of moisture content M (%) is rather limited. In this regard, this study focuses on the characterization of mode II delamination of carbon/epoxy composites conditioned at 70 °C/85% relative humidity (RH). End-notched flexure test is conducted for specimens aged at various moisture absorption levels. Experimental results reveal that mode II fracture toughness degrades with the moisture content, with a maximum of 23% decrement. A residual property model is used to predict the variation of the fracture toughness with the moisture content. Through numerical simulations, it is found that the approaches used to estimate the lamina and cohesive properties are suitable to obtain reliable simulation results. In addition, the damage initiation is noticed during the early loading stage; however, the complete damage is only observed when the numerical peak load is achieved. Results from the present research could serve as guidelines to predict the residual properties and simulate the mode II delamination behavior under moisture attack.
Air heating by solar collectors is renewable technology providing hot air for different purposes. The present research
emphasizes on analysis of energy, exergy and efficiency of a flat plate solar air heater. The analysis model was tested
on five different air mass flow rates of 0.5 (Natural), 1.31, 2.11, 2.72 and 3.03 kgs-1 under three different tilt angles of
25, 35 (Recommended) and 50o
. The data was replicated three times making a total of 45 treatments. A two factorial
completely randomized design was used to find if there is any significant difference among the treatments. The results
showed that the solar collector gave better performance at air mass flow of 3.03 kgs-1 under tilt of 35o
. At maximum
air mass flow rate of 3.03 kgs-1and optimum tilt angle of 35o
the maximum energetic efficiency of 51%, while minimum
exergetic efficiency of 24% and maximum overall efficiency of 71% were recorded. It was concluded that to get maximum
thermal efficiencies of 71% from flat plate solar collector used as an air heater must be operated at high air mass flow
rates of 3.03 kgs-1under 35o
tilt angle at Peshawar, Pakistan.
This study offers the numerical solutions for the problem of mixed convection stagnation-point flow along a permeable
vertical flat plate in an Oldroyd-B fluid. The present investigation considers the effects of thermal radiation and heat
generation/absorption in the fluid flow. The similarity transformation simplifies the complex model and the bvp4c function
generates the numerical solutions according to the variations in the governing parameters. A higher degree of shrinking
hastens flow separations. The dual solutions are visible in the range of buoyancy opposing flow. The results from this study
may be useful for the scientist to understand the behaviour of the dilute polymer solutions in the industrial applications,
for example, the drag reduction in pipe flows.
In this study, the effects of suction and injection on the mixed convection flow of a nanofluid, over a moving permeable
vertical plate were discussed. A similarity variable was used to transform the governing equations to the ordinary
differential equations, which were then solved numerically using the bvp4c programme from MATLAB. Dual solutions
(upper and lower branches) were found within a certain range of the mixed convection parameter in assisting and
opposing flow regions. A stability analysis was implemented to confirm that the upper branch solution was stable, while
the lower branch solution was unstable.