Search

The present work primarily focuses on the thermo-mechanical and physical properties of polymer composites. The effects of normal load, sliding frequency, and temperature on the reciprocating sliding performance of Carbon fiber (CF) segments are evaluated. These CF segments are coated with graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), and carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (epoxy) composites (CFRPs). Experiments are carried out at three different normal loads (55 N, 75 N, and 95 N), sliding frequency (8 Hz, 12 Hz, and 16 Hz), and temperature (25°C, 40°C, and 60°C). The experiments are conducted for 20 min with a constant stroke length of 1.5 mm against a 62 HRC hardened chrome steel ball as a counter surface material. Optical microscopy and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) have been used to examine the worn surfaces. In addition, an artificial neural network (ANN) is applied to model the coefficient of friction on the basis of different parameters. It has been observed that adding GNPs to carbon fiber strands improves the strand's bonding tendency with the matrix, resulting in an increase in wear resistance. With the addition of GNPs on carbon fiber strands, the specific wear rate decreased by 32.39%, respectively, while the thermal conductivity increased by 47.95%. The coefficient of friction increases with the normal load up to 75 N and then drops. This is due to fiber fragments and friction film at high loads. As the sliding frequency and temperature increase, the friction coefficient gets reduced. It has been found that the ANN model is able to predict the coefficient of friction with high accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of fiber surface treatment on the structural, thermal, and tribological properties of sisal fibers and their epoxy composites were investigated in this research work. Sisal fibers were modified with alkali (NaOH), glutamic acid, and a combination of both alkali and glutamic acid. To analyze the effect of chemical modification on the properties of sisal fibers, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were performed. It is observed from the experimental results that there is an improvement in the surface roughness, crystallinity, and thermal stability of chemically treated fibers in comparison to untreated fibers. Microhardness properties of chemically treated sisal fiber reinforced epoxy composites (SFREC) also showed minor improvement. The dry sliding wear experiments were carried out according to Taguchi design of experiment (DOE) methods. The results of the wear test showed an increase in the wear resistance of chemically modified SFREC relative to untreated SFREC. The best wear properties were demonstrated by alkali treated SFREC. It is also observed from the findings of ANOVA that the applied load and sliding distance have the most defining effect on wear volume loss of SFREC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is endowed with a largest livestock population in the world having a total bovine population of 304 million compared to the world total bovine population of 1400 million. There has been a major improvement in milk production, which increased from 17 mt in 1951 to 127.9 mt during 2011-12. Per capita availability of the milk has reached a level of 290 g day-1 during the year 2011-12, which more than the world average of 284 g day-1. Most of the milk in the country is produced by small, marginal farmers and landless laborers. In order to increase milk production, the government has approved national dairy plan phase-1 (NDP-1) in February, 2012 with a total investment of about '2242 core to be implemented from 2011-12 to 2016-17. Department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries, ministry of agricultural Government of India is also implementing "national program on bovine breeding and dairy development (NPBBDD) from 2013-14 to 2016-17 through the state implementing agencies/end implementing agencies/participating agencies. The organized dairy sector (both cooperative and private) is presently handling about 15% of the total milk production in the country. Dairy products form one of the fastest growing segments in livestock product export. India's export of dairy product was 25928.52 mt to the world for the worth of '4318.53 cores during the year 2015-16. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Adhesive capsulitis or frozen shoulder is a painful condition affecting up to 5% of the general population. We conducted this study with the aim of evaluating the results of physiotherapy plus intra-articular methylprednisolone injection versus physiotherapy alone in idiopathic frozen shoulder.Methods: This prospective clinical study was conducted in a tertiary care center between August 2016 and August 2018. Patients who were diagnosed with idiopathic frozen shoulder were included in the study, and each patient was randomly allocated to one of two groups: physiotherapy alone (group A) and physiotherapy plus intra-articular steroid injection (group B).Results: A total of 52 cases diagnosed with idiopathic frozen shoulder were included and treated with the two modalities. There was a significant improvement in group B compared to group A at 6 weeks and 3 months in the range of flexion, abduction, and external rotation. The Shoulder Pain and Disability Index showed improvement in both pain and disability score in group B -compared to group A, and improvement was significant at 6 weeks and 3 months.Conclusion: The results demonstrate the advantages of physiotherapy plus intra-articular steroid injection in idiopathic frozen shoulder. The predictability of results with physiotherapy plus intra-articular steroid injection in selected patients is excellent, and it is a better modality of treatment compared to physiotherapy alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism industry of any country is not only related with the economic profit of the country but it is also a way to communicate heritage, cultural, social and environmental values between two nations. The United Nations declared 2017 as the "International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development." Tourism industry creates jobs, generate prosperity and drives export sector of the country. Tourism industry in India contributed 9.6 per cent in total GDP of country in 2016 with the value US $ 71.55 billion and it is third largest sector contributed in foreign exchange earnings. The estimated compound annual growth rate for direct contribution of tourism and hospitality industry to GDP for 2016-17 was 14.05 per cent. As per the report of world travel and tourism council's economic impact 2017 forecasted contribution of tourism industry to GDP by 2027 is 147.96 billion. In 2016, 8.8 million foreign tourists arrived in India which is forecasted 15.3 million by 2025. A government perspective and promotion to tourism industry and favorable tourism policy and facility availability of e-visas increased the tourist visits in India. In recent years India has attracted tourists from UK, US and Bangladesh. The present study is designed to analyze the growth rate of tourism industry in India. The finding of the study suggests that Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEE) from the foreign tourists is significant for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India whereas the impact of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA) on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in India is not significant. It is also clear that 1% increase in Foreign Exchange Earning (FEE) in India leads to about 7.86% increase in Gross Domestic Product GDP) in India. Furthermore, R-squared value is 0.99 which is very close to 1 which indicates the relationship between the variables is very strong over the sample period. The data used for the study is from various secondary sources such as indiastat.com, annual report from various ministries of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic noise maps are typically prepared for large-scale areas, towns and cities. However, some comparatively smaller industries are given less importance during preparation of noise maps. Very few studies have been reported worldwide providing insight on industrial noise mapping, and similar reports from India are negligible. This study provides a noise map of a forging plant and also investigates noise distribution pattern within 2 km of surrounding area. The complete study is evaluated in two types of scenario; in the first scenario all individual noise sources of the plant were considered as point sources whereas in the second scenario complete plant was treated as an area source. Furthermore, a regression graph is generated between the predicted and measured values for both scenarios individually which gives coefficients of determination of 0.4689 and 0.6382. This study reveals that the second scenario provides more precise noise prediction map than the first scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AA5052/ZrB2 particulate aluminum matrix composites (PAMCs) have been produced by in situ reaction of K2ZrF6 and KBF4 compounds with molten alloy at about 860 °C. Dry sliding wear and friction of composites have been investigated for a particular sliding velocity and sliding distance at different loads from ambient temperature to 200 °C. It is revealed that for a particular load and temperature, wear rate and normalized wear rate decrease with increase in the volume percentage of ZrB2 particles whereas coefficient of friction (COF) shows a reverse trend. Wear rate and COF also increase with increase in temperature for a constant load and composition. Whereas with load for a particular temperature, wear rate and wear rate per unit vol. % ZrB2 increase while COF decreases. Worn suiface and wear debris morphology examined under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and profilometer to understand the wear mechanism revealed that wear mode transition takes place from mildoxidative to severe-metallic at 100°C for unreinforced alloy, whereas a shifting is observed in transition temperature from 100 to 150°C for composite with 9 vol. % ZrB2 particles. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of worn suiface confirms the oxidative wear mode. Profilometry results indicate that wear surface has higher suiface roughness at higher values of load and temperatures. Prior to wear and friction studies, composites were also characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and SEM for morphology and microstructural characteristics to correlate with wear results. The findings are very helpful to make the AA5052IZrB2 composites suitable for the applications, where high-temperature wear is a limiting factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminum based composites find diverse applications due to their superior mechanical and physical properties. Aluminum matrix nanocomposites have been synthesized with AljFe nanociystalline intermetallics reinforcement using the powder metallurgy route. The prepared composites have been characterized for various physical and mechanical properties such as density measurement, bulk hardness, compressive strength, and tribological properties. The theoretical coefficient of the linear thermal expansion has also been predicted. The composite shows a high strength to weight ratio and excellent wear resistance, along with a low coefficient of friction. The obser\>ed wear rate is superior to other composites iirespective of the load and sliding velocity chosen for the study and it continuously decreases withan increasing amount of dispersoid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]