Ultrasonic Lamb wave based monitoring of corrosion type of damage in plate using a circular array of piezoelectric transducers

In this paper we propose a concept and report experimental results based on a circular array of Piezoelectric Wafer Active Sensors (PWASs) for rapid localization and parametric identification of corrosion type damage in metallic plates. Implementation of this circular array of PWASs combines the use of ultrasonic Lamb wave propagation technique and an algorithm based on symmetry breaking in the signal pattern to locate and monitor the growth of a corrosion pit on a metallic plate. Wavelet time-frequency maps of the sensor signals are employed to obtain an insight regarding the effect of corrosion growth on the Lamb wave transmission in time-frequency scale. We present here a method to eliminate the time scale, which helps in identifying easily the signature of damage in the measured signals. The proposed method becomes useful in determining the approximate location of the damage with respect to the location of three neighboring sensors in the circular array. A cumulative damage index is computed from the wavelet coefficients for varying damage sizes and the results appear promising. Damage index is plotted against the damage parameters for frequency sweep of the excitation signal (a windowed sine signal). Results of corrosion damage are compared with circular holes of various sizes to demonstrate the applicability of present method to different types of damage. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exact controllability of generalized Hammerstein type equation

In this article, we study the exact controllability of an abstract model described by the controlled generalized Hammerstein type integral equation $$ x(t) = int_0^t h(t,s)u(s)ds+ int_0^t k(t,s,x)f(s,x(s))ds, quad 0 leq t leq T less than infty, $$ where, the state $x(t)$ lies in a Hilbert space $H$ and control $u(t)$ lies another Hilbert space $V$ for each time $t in I=[0,T]$, $T$ greater than 0. We establish the controllability result under suitable assumptions on $h, k$ and $f$ using the monotone operator theory.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Electronic Structure of New Type of Heterometallic Boride Clusters

The reaction of [Cp*TaCl(4)], 1 (Cp* = eta(5)-C(5)Me(5)), with [LiBH(4)center dot THF] at -78 degrees C, followed by thermolysis in the presence of excess [BH(3)center dot THF], results in the formation of the oxatantalaborane cluster [(Cp*Ta)(2)B(4)H(10)O], 2 in moderate yield. Compound 2 is a notable example of an oxatantalaborane cluster where oxygen is contiguously bound to both the metal and boron. Upon availability of 2, a room temperature reaction was performed with [Fe(2)(CO)(9)], which led to the isolation of [(Cp*Ta)(2)B(2)H(4)O{H(2)Fe(2)(CO)(6)BH} ] 3. Compound 3 is an unusual heterometallic boride cluster in which the [Ta(2)Fe(2)] atoms define a butterfly framework with one boron atom lying in a semi-interstitial position. Likewise, the diselenamolybdaborane, [(Cp*Mo)(2)B(4)H(4)Se(2)], 4 was treated with an excess of [Fe(2)(CO)(9)] to afford the heterometallic boride cluster [(Cp*MoSe)(2)Fe(6)(CO)(13)B(2)(BH)(2)], 5. The cluster core of 5 consists of a cubane [Mo(2)Se(2)Fe(2)B(2)] and a tricapped trigonal prism [Fe(6)B(3)] fused together with four atoms held in common between the two subclusters. In the tricapped trigonal prism subunit, one of the boron atoms is completely encapsulated and bonded to six iron and two boron atoms. Compounds 2, 3, and 5 have been characterized by mass spectrometry, IR, (1)H, (11)B, (13)C NMR spectroscopy, and the geometric structures were unequivocally established by crystallographic analysis. The density functional theory calculations yielded geometries that are in close agreement with the observed structures. Furthermore, the calculated (11)B NMR chemical shifts also support the structural characterization of the compounds. Natural bond order analysis and Wiberg bond indices are used to gain insight into the bonding patterns of the observed geometries of 2, 3, and 5.

Topology Optimization of Micromachined Structures with Surface Micromachining Manufacturing Constraints

Topology optimization methods have been shown to have extensive application in the design of microsystems. However, their utility in practical situations is restricted to predominantly planar configurations due to the limitations of most microfabrication techniques in realizing structures with arbitrary topologies in the direction perpendicular to the substrate. This study addresses the problem of synthesizing optimal topologies in the out-of-plane direction while obeying the constraints imposed by surface micromachining. A new formulation that achieves this by defining a design space that implicitly obeys the manufacturing constraints with a continuous design parameterization is presented in this paper. This is in contrast to including manufacturing cost in the objective function or constraints. The resulting solutions of the new formulation obtained with gradient-based optimization directly provide the photolithographic mask layouts. Two examples that illustrate the approach for the case of stiff structures are included.

Coloured Petri net models for automated manufacturing systems

In this paper, we propose an approach, using Coloured Petri Nets (CPN) for modelling flexible manufacturing systems. We illustrate our methodology for a Flexible Manufacturing Cell (FMC) with three machines and three robots. We also consider the analysis of the FMC for deadlocks using the invariant analysis of CPNs.

Investigation on the High Vacuum Tribological Characteristics of Surface Treated Nuclear Grade Stainless Steel Type AISI 316 LN at 25 to 500 degrees C

Although some researchers have published friction and wear data of Plasma Nitride (PN) coatings, the tribological behavior of PN/PN Pairs in high vacuum environment has not been published so far In order to bridge this knowledge gap, tribological tests under dry conditions have been conducted on PN/PN Pairs for varying temperatures of 25, 200, 400 and 500 degrees C in high vacuum (1.6 x 10(-4) bar) environment. The PN coatings showed good wear resistance layer on the ring surface. The PN coatings were removed only from the pin surface for all the tests since it contacts at a point. The friction and wear were low at lower temperatures and it eliminated adhesion between the contact surfaces until the coating was completely removed from the pin surface. (C) 2011 Journal of Mechanical Engineering. All rights reserved.

Automatic extraction of free-form surface features (FFSFs)

This paper presents a new algorithm for extracting Free-Form Surface Features (FFSFs) from a surface model. The extraction algorithm is based on a modified taxonomy of FFSFs from that proposed in the literature. A new classification scheme has been proposed for FFSFs to enable their representation and extraction. The paper proposes a separating curve as a signature of FFSFs in a surface model. FFSFs are classified based on the characteristics of the separating curve (number and type) and the influence region (the region enclosed by the separating curve). A method to extract these entities is presented. The algorithm has been implemented and tested for various free-form surface features on different types of free-form surfaces (base surfaces) and is found to correctly identify and represent the features irrespective of the type of underlying surface. The representation and extraction algorithm are both based on topology and geometry. The algorithm is data-driven and does not use any pre-defined templates. The definition presented for a feature is unambiguous and application independent. The proposed classification of FFSFs can be used to develop an ontology to determine semantic equivalences for the feature to be exchanged, mapped and used across PLM applications. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inhibition of type IA topoisomerase by a monoclonal antibody through perturbation of DNA cleavage-religation equilibrium

Type IA DNA topoisomerases, typically found in bacteria, are essential enzymes that catalyse the DNA relaxation of negative supercoils. DNA gyrase is the only type II topoisomerase that can carry out the opposite reaction (i.e. the introduction of the DNA supercoils). A number of diverse molecules target DNA gyrase. However, inhibitors that arrest the activity of bacterial topoisomerase I at low concentrations remain to be identified. Towards this end, as a proof of principle, monoclonal antibodies that inhibit Mycobacterium smegmatis topoisomerase I have been characterized and the specific inhibition of Mycobacterium smegmatis topoisomerase I by a monoclonal antibody, 2F3G4, at a nanomolar concentration is described. The enzyme-bound monoclonal antibody stimulated the first transesterification reaction leading to enhanced DNA cleavage, without significantly altering the religation activity of the enzyme. The stimulated DNA cleavage resulted in perturbation of the cleavagereligation equilibrium, increasing single-strand nicks and proteinDNA covalent adducts. Monoclonal antibodies with such a mechanism of inhibition can serve as invaluable tools for probing the structure and mechanism of the enzyme, as well as in the design of novel inhibitors that arrest enzyme activity.

Mechanistic insights into type III restriction enzymes

Type III restriction-modification (R-M) enzymes need to interact with two separate unmethylated DNA sequences in indirectly repeated, head-to-head orientations for efficient cleavage to occur at a defined location next to only one of the two sites. However, cleavage of sites that are not in head-to-head orientation have been observed to occur under certain reaction conditions in vitro. ATP hydrolysis is required for the long-distance communication between the sites prior to cleavage. Type III R-M enzymes comprise two subunits, Res and Mod that form a homodimeric Mod(2) and a heterotetrameric Res(2)Mod(2) complex. The Mod subunit in M-2 or R2M2 complex recognizes and methylates DNA while the Res subunit in R2M2 complex is responsible for ATP hydrolysis, DNA translocation and cleavage. A vast majority of biochemical studies on Type III R-M enzymes have been undertaken using two closely related enzymes, EcoP1I and EcoP15I. Divergent opinions about how the long-distance interaction between the recognition sites exist and at least three mechanistic models based on 1D- diffusion and/or 3D-DNA looping have been proposed.

On the two dimensional effective electron mass in quantum wells, inversion layers and NIPI superlattices of Kane type semiconductors in the presence of strong light waves: Simplified theory and relative comparison

An attempt is made to study the two dimensional (2D) effective electron mass (EEM) in quantum wells (Qws), inversion layers (ILs) and NIPI superlattices of Kane type semiconductors in the presence of strong external photoexcitation on the basis of a newly formulated electron dispersion laws within the framework of k.p. formalism. It has been found, taking InAs and InSb as examples, that the EEM in Qws, ILs and superlattices increases with increasing concentration, light intensity and wavelength of the incident light waves, respectively and the numerical magnitudes in each case is band structure dependent. The EEM in ILs is quantum number dependent exhibiting quantum jumps for specified values of the surface electric field and in NIPI superlattices; the same is the function of Fermi energy and the subband index characterizing such 2D structures. The appearance of the humps of the respective curves is due to the redistribution of the electrons among the quantized energy levels when the quantum numbers corresponding to the highest occupied level changes from one fixed value to the others. Although the EEM varies in various manners with all the variables as evident from all the curves, the rates of variations totally depend on the specific dispersion relation of the particular 2D structure. Under certain limiting conditions, all the results as derived in this paper get transformed into well known formulas of the EEM and the electron statistics in the absence of external photo-excitation and thus confirming the compatibility test. The results of this paper find three applications in the field of microstructures. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.