024060   Suma M N;Narasimhan S V;Kanmani B (NO, BMS College of Engineering, Bull Temple Road, Bangalore 19, Email: suma.bms@gmail.com) : Analytic discrete cosine harmonic wavelet transform based OFDM system. Sadhana 2015, 40(1), 173-81.

OFDM based on Analytic Discrete Cosine Harmonic Wavelet Transform (ADCHWT_OFDM) has been proposed in this paper. Analytic DCHWT has been realized by applying DCHWT to the original signal and to its Hilbert transform. ADCHWT has been found to be computationally efficient and very effective in improving Bit Error Rate (BER) and Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) performance. Improvement compared to that of Haar-WT OFDM and DFT OFDM is achieved without employing Cyclic Prefix BER is 0.002 for ADCHWT OFDM compared to Haar WT, DFT OFDM which have BER of 0.06 and 0.4, respectively, at 15 dB SNR. PAPR is also reduced by 3 dB compared to DFT OFDM and 0.3 dB reduction compared to Haar WT OFDM.

4 illus, 2 tables, 12 ref

024059   Sivaraman B;Eswaramoorthy C;Shanmugham E P (ME-Engineering Design, Paavai Engineering College, Anna Univ, India, Email: b.sivaraman01@gmail.com) : Optimal control parameters of machining in CNC wire-cut EdM for titanium. Int J appl Sci Engng Res 2015, 4(1), 102-21.

The objective of this project is to study the effect of machining parameters of wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) on TITANIUM, which are now widely used in many medical, aerospace applications due to their high technical benefits. Conventional method of machining the material will damages the work piece due to chipping, presence of burrs and cracking. Wire cut Electrical discharge machining (WEDM) techniques have been already tried with other materials, which is difficult to cut to prove the feasibility of machining the titanium. Hence as steps a head wire electrical discharge machining process is to be used to machine the material (titanium) and the effect of various control parameters on the response parameters were studied. As a part of the project, titanium is machined in wire cut EDM machine and the optimal combination of control parameters were found to get higher metal removal rate and surface finish using Taguchi method.

7 illus, 10 tables, 9 ref

024058   Sinha N;Singh R (NO, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur-831 007, Email: neeta_sinha17@yahoo.com) : Beneficiation and purification of a low grade and finely disseminated graphite ore. J Metall Mater Sci 2014, 56(1), 15-22.

Paper presents the results of beneficiation and purification of a low grade and finely disseminated graphite sample from Palamu district of Jharkhand. The sample contained 8.46% fixed carbon with 85.75% ash. Beneficiation and purification of the sample were attempted by physical, physico-chemical and chemical methods. Froth flotation of the ground sample led to enrichment of graphite above 96% fixed carbon centent. Further purificatin of the graphite flotation concentrate by chemical method involving alkali roasting followed by hydrochloric acid leaching resulted in product assaying 98.4% fixed carbon.

024057   Singh C B;Gupta R N;Vaish A K;Singh S D; Goswami N G (Metallurgical Engg. Dep, OP Jindal Institute of Technology, Raigarh) : Ancient iron making from lean grade ores in India - an introspection. J Metall Mater Sci 2014, 56(2), 93-105.

In India iron making commenced for more than 3000 years back in small furnaces having slight variation in their designs, making use of lean grade iron ores freely available in rural/tribal areas as surface cape of hills and mostly sal wood charcoal as fuel cum reductant. The iron so produced was being used for preparing agricultural and household articles, arrows, daggers etc. The process of iron making is not well documented and the recovery of iron is poor due to major loss of iron in slag. In view of this fact, an attempt has been made to introspect the minute details of iron making process at tribal sites namely around Jamshedpur and Bishunpur in Jharkhand and Bastar in Chhattisgarh states, India. The special features of the ancient iron making processes have been discussed in detail with a view to improve the design of the furnace and overall performance of the process.

024056   Singh A K;Singh U;Singh A K;Singh N;Singh N P;Rajput J S (Mathematics Dep, C.L. Jain (P.G.) College, Firozabad-283 203, Email: aksinghnpsingh@rediffmail.com) : Combined effect of hall current and rotation on MHD radiative convection flow past an accelerated porous plate with suction/injection and heat generation/absorption. J Energy Heat Mass Transfer 2013, 35(3), 179-96.

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) radiative convection flow of an incompressible, homogeneous, electrically conducting, viscous liquid past an accelerated porous plate with thermal radiation and Hall current in rotating system is investigated analytically using Laplace transform technique. The plate is subjected to constant suction/injection and heat generation/absorption. The solutions for velocity distribution and temperature field are obtained in terms of complementary error function. The whole system is considered in a state of solid body rotation with constant angular velocity about the axis, normal to the porous plate. The effects of the parameters entered into the equations of momentum and energy are evaluated shown graphically and discussed.

6 illus, 3 tables, 19 ref

024055   Shashank Gautam (NO, , ) : Low power and high speed techniques for sequential circuit. J Pwr Elect Pwr Syst 2014, 4(3), 41-5.

This paper proposes techniques like MT-CMOS, power gating, dual stack, Galeor and Lector to reduce the leakage power. A D-Flip Flop has been designed using these techniques and power dissipation is calculated and is compared with general CMOS logic of D Flip Flop. Simulation results show the validity of the proposed techniques is effective to save power dissipation and to increase the speed of operation of the circuits to a large extent.

024054   Sharma S;Azad S C;Khan M S;Rajiv Ranjan; Banarji B;Choudhary R N P (Jamshedpur Co-operative College, Kolhan Univ, Jharkhand) : Effect of Gd<. J Metall Mater Sci 2014, 56(2), 137-42.

Polycrystalline samples of Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) ceramics substituted with rare earth element Gadolinium (Gd^{3+) with the chemical composition Pb_1-x Gd_x (Zr_0.55 Ti_0.45)_1-x/4 O₃; x = 0.00, 0.06 and 0.09 were prepared by high-temperature mixed oxide method. Structure of the materials has been analyzed using XRD-technique. Dielectric properties of the materials were investigated within a wide range of temperature at selected frequencies. AC-conductivity of the materials has been analyzed at different temperatures and selected frequencies.}

024053   Sharma R;Chaturvedi V (NO, , ) : Multi-response optimization of process parameter of spark erosion electric discharge machining using principal component analysis coupled with topsis. J expl appl Mech 2015, 6(2), 70-80.

Electric Discharge Machining (EDM) is a thermo-electric non-traditional machining process in which material removal takes place through the process of controlled spark generation between a pair of electrodes submerged in a dielectric fluid. Due to difficulty in the availability of EDM, it is very complicated to determine optimal process parameters for improving performance. Therefore, optimization of process parameters is an important action in machining, especially for nontraditional machining procedures like EDM. Due to wide range proper selection of process parameters for the EDM process it heavily depends on the operator's technologies and experience. The Machining parameters cannot meet the operator's requirements which are given by the machine tool manufacturer. Therefore they are not able to give the optimal conditions. To solve this problem multi-response optimization technique of principal component analysis coupled with TOPSIS are used to determine the optimal machining parameters in spark erosion electric discharge machine. To conduct the experiments die steel is taken as material of the work piece and copper is taken as the material of electrode. In this present work input parameters such as current, voltage, pulse on time and pulse off time considered as a control variable and performance characteristics surface finish (Ra), material removal rate (MRR) and tool wear rate (TWR) have been studied to get the optimal machining parameters. Here for four control factors and four level, L16 orthogonal array was used for experimental run. Finally the confirmation test is carried out to check the validity of optimization technique.

024052   Sharma A;Chaturvedi V;Gaur M K (NO, , ) : Optimization of process parameters of two way abrasive flow machining by grey relational analysis coupled with principle component analysis. J expl appl Mech 2015, 6(2), 44-56.

Now a days as the advancement of technology is increasing rapidly, expectation of human, from industry also increased. To fulfil these expectations new technologies are coming into existence. In this regard unconventional machining processes are playing an important role. Abrasive flow machining is a non-traditional finishing process used for finishing parts with predominantly irregular geometry. In AFM, material removal and surface finish takes place by flowing visco elastic abrasive carrier across the surface to be machined. The media (carrier+abrasive) is the key element in the process because of its ability to precisely abrade the selected area along its flow path. In this study an attempt is made to develop an optimum level of process parameters by using grey relational analysis coupled with principle component analysis. A work piece made of brass having inner diameter 7.7 mm, outer diameter 10 mm and length 17.2 mm is machined in this experimental work. Result shows the effect of various input parameters on material removal rate, surface roughness and find out a set of parametric combination which is optimum.

024051   Shahi M;Mazinan A H (Electrical Engineering Dep, Birjand Branch, Islamic Azad Univ (IAU), Birjand) : Automated adaptive sliding mode control scheme for a class of real complicated systems. Sadhana 2015, 40(1), 51-74.

Class of real complicated systems, including chemical reactions, biological systems, information processing, laser systems, electrical circuits, information exchange, brain activities modelling, secure communication and other related ones can be presented through nonlinear and non-identical hyper-chaotic systems. The main goal of the present investigation is to synchronize two non-identical hyper-chaotic master/slave systems, which are given as the models of the complicated systems, based on the realization of an efficient automated adaptive sliding mode control scheme. In the research presented here, the mentioned systems need to be dealt with through the proposed control scheme, since two non-identical systems are completely synchronized. In one such case, the whole of the chosen states of the master and slave systems should be coincided after a few time steps, as long as the effect of the external disturbance, uncertainty arid unknown parameters could truly be ignored. Due to the fact that the investigated hyper-chaotic systems have taken into consideration as the representation of a number of complicated processes under mentioned external disturbance, uncertainty and unknown parameters, the traditional control approaches cannot actually be realized, in satisfactory manners. With this purpose, the proposed control scheme has been designed to cope with synchronization error, in a reasonable amount of time, in order to drive applicable hyper-chaotic systems. Consequently, the performance of the proposed control scheme is considered and verified through the numerical simulations.

25 illus, 13 ref

024050   Shahbabaei M;Saedodin S (Mechanical Engineering Dep, Semnan Univ, Seman, Iran, Email: m_shahbabaei@gmail.com ) : Exact analytic solution on convective-radiative heat transfer in porous fins by using HPM and VIM. J Energy Heat Mass Transfer 2013, 35(3), 215-37.

One of the newest analytical methods to solve the nonlinear convection and radiation heat transfer equations arising in porous fin are using Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) and Variational Iteration Method (VIM). To formulate the heat transfer equation, the energy balance and Darcy 's model used. The calculations are done for three different types of the fin such as, the infinite fin, the finite-length fin with insulated tip and the finite-length fin with tip exposed to a known convection coefficient. The obtained solutions are compared with a type of numerical analysis as Boundary Value Problem (BVP) in solving this problem. All the examples show that the results of the present method are in excellent agreement with those obtained by the numerical solution. Also the HPM and VIM does not require small parameters in the equation, so that the limitations of the traditional perturbation methods can be eliminated, and also the calculations in the HPM and VIM are simple.

11 illus, 6 tables, 25 ref

024049   Shahbabaei M;Sadeghi S;Rahimipetroudi I; Saedodin S (Mechanical Engineering Dep, Azad Univ, Shirgah Branch, Iran, Email: siamak.sadeghi1986@gmail.com) : Analytic solution of spine cylindrical porous fin with temperature heat transfer coefficient and emissivity via CM and HPM. J Energy Heat Mass Transfer 2013, 35(3), 165-78.

In the present study, the problem of nonlinear equations arising in Spine Cylindrical Porous Fin with Temperature Dependent Heat transfer Coefficient and Emissivity is investigated. The Maxwell equations have been used, and also Rosseland approximation for radiation heat transfer and Darcy model for simulating the flow in porous medium have been adapted. The governing equations are reduced to a nonlinear ODE. The fin is supposed to be an insulated tip fin, which is exposed to a magnetic field. The Collocation Method (CM) is employed to compute an approximation to the solution of the system of nonlinear differential equations governing on the problem. It has been attempted to show the capabilities and wide-range applications of the CM in comparison with Homotopy Perturbation Method and numerical method namely Boundary Value Problem method (BVP) in solving this problems. The results reveal that CM is very effective and simple and can be applied for other nonlinear problems.

5 illus, 15 ref

024048   Sengupta A;Dalal S (Civil Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur-721 302, Email: sengupta@civil.iitkgp.ernet.in) : Railway embankment reinforced with jute tassels. Sadhana 2015, 40(1), 277-93.

This paper presents the results of laboratory model tests and corresponding numerical analyses carried out on a model slope representing an actual railway embankment which failed on several occasions after overnight heavy rainfall. In the absence of any field data, the displacement behaviour and failure pattern of the model embankment slope are observed in the laboratory under fully saturated condition and under a static load at the crest simulating the actual rail loads. A study is also performed by reinforcing the slope with thin jute tassels of 1 mm diameter. The numerical simulation of the model tests is performed by a commercial program called FLAC. The responses of the model slope with and without jute tassels are observed in fully saturated condition. Significant improvement in deformation of the slope is observed both in the case of numerical analyses and laboratory experiments when jute tassels are utilized as a slope protection measure. The study indicates that the stability of the railway embankment can be improved significantly at low cost by reinforcing it with jute tassels.

14 illus, 7 tables, 19 ref

024047   Saritha K;Rajasekhar M N;Shashidar Reddy B (Sciences Dep, Teegala Krishna Reddy Engineering College, Meerpet, Hyderabad-500 079, Email: bsreddy_shashi@yahoo.com) : Quasi-linearization approach to effects and heat source/sink on MHD flow of non-newtonian power-law fluid past a continuously moving porous flat plate with heat flux and viscous dissipation. Int J appl Sci Engng Res 2015, 4(1), 36-56.

The MHD flow and heat transfer of the non-Newtonian power-law fluid flow past a continuously moving flat porous plate in the presence of heat source /sink with heat flux and viscous dissipation is studied. The non-linear partial differential equations governing the flow and heat transfer are transformed into non-linear ordinary differential equations using appropriate transformations and then solved numerically by an implicit finite difference scheme. The solution is found to be dependent on various governing parameters including magnetic field parameter M, power-law index n, suction/injection parameter fw, heat source/sink parameter S, Radiation parameter Rd and Eckert number Ec. A systematical study is carried out to illustrate the effects of these major parameters on the fluid velocity and temperature distribution in the boundary layer. The results for the skin friction coefficient, rate of heat transfer and the local Nusslet number are tabulated and discussed.

15 illus, 3 tables, 18 ref

024046   Saied M M (NO, , ) : Time and frequency response of shielded transformer windings. J Pwr Elect Pwr Syst 2014, 4(2), 33-7.

A distributed-parameter model is presented for the transient and frequency analysis of power transformers' windings in the presence of electrostatic shielding, a technique occasionally applied for improving their initial voltage distribution. The s-domain solution takes into account the windings' circuit parameters with special emphasis on the additional distributed capacitances between the windings' conductors and the conducting shield which is connected to the windings' line terminal. The closeness of the resulting initial voltage profile to the ideal case of uniform distribution is suggested as a criterion for assessing the achieved improvement in the windings' voltage stresses. This leads to the determination of the optimal shielding arrangement. The sensitivity of the modified initial and transient responses to step and double-exponential voltage stimuli is investigated. Moreover, the resulting change in the windings' series and parallel resonance frequencies is also addressed.

024045   Saied M M (NO, , ) : Modeling of transformer windings having non-uniform inductance distribution. J Pwr Elect Pwr Syst 2014, 4(3), 12-25.

A direct analytical procedure for analyzing power transformer windings with location-dependent series inductance is presented. This dependence is typically introduced in order to take the inter-turn mutual inductive coupling into consideration. The paper addresses the frequency domain analysis conducted in the complex s- or the j?-domains. Results for the frequency-dependent winding's input impedance with different treatments of the transformer's neutral point will be available. The frequency characteristics including the resonance frequencies are also presented. If required, the resulting expressions for the voltage and current distributions can be efficiently used for finding the winding's response in the time-domain using the numerical inverse Laplace transform. The suggested approach is validated by its application to case studies for which solutions are available elsewhere.

024044   Sahu N P;Khande D K;Patel G C;Sen P K;Bohidar S K (Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Kirodimal Institute of Technology, Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, Email: npsahu21993@gmail.com) : Improvements in glass fibre and estabilising comparison with carbon fibre. Int J appl Sci Engng Res 2015, 4(1), 31-5.

Glass fibres (GFs) are the best composite where need of light weight, good strength, low cost, maximum load bearing, high corrosive resistance etc are necessary. Every industries want good composite materials for production at low cast and low wastages. Present paper concentrate on improvement of glass fibre and comparison with carbon fibre (CFs). Glass fibres are widely used in industrial and daily environment because of their low cost and good properties. It is better rather than metal but it has toxic property in their production which affect the human harmfully. Therefore improvement is necessary. So natural fibre is used for improvement of glass fibre which is user friendly and pocket friendly.

2 illus, 3 tables, 8 ref

024043   Saha S;Ganguly N;Guria A (Computer Science and Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur-721 302, Email: niloy@cse.iitkgp.ernet.in) : Coverage maximization under resource constraints using proliferating random walks. Pramana J Phys 2015, 84(2), 273-84.

Dissemination of information has been one of the prime needs in almost every kind of communication network. The existing algorithms for this service, try to maximize the coverage, i.e., the number of distinct nodes to which a given piece of information could be conveyed under the constraints of time and energy. However, the problem becomes challenging for unstructured and decentralized environments. Due to its simplicity and adaptability, random walk (RW) has been a very useful tool for such environments. Different variants of this technique have been studied. In this paper, we study a history-based non-uniform proliferating random strategy where new walkers are dynamically introduced in the sparse regions of the network. Apart from this, we also study the breadth-first characteristics of the random walk-based algorithms through an appropriately designed metrics.

6 illus, 38 ref

024042   Ray A K;Goswami B;Raj A;Singh M P (NO, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur-831 007, Email: ray.ashok@rediffmail.com) : Frontiers of micro-alloyed steel for industrial merchandising-2. J Metall Mater Sci 2014, 56(1), 1-14.

Increasing rates of plastic production by injection moulding and production of larger parts have required larger die blocks of steel. Microalloying of vanadium as a substitute of nickel has induced hardenability improvement to increase size of these dies. This has referred to that nickel substituted by vanadium has been future reactor steel. Microalloying of thin slab castings by V, Ti, Nb and Zr have changed microstructure and mechanical properties in final products, e.g. stripes. Strategically this has referred to reduce coarse grained precipitation those have been formed during solidification and has not been dissolved at any greater austenitization temperature. Thin slab direct charge (TSDC) vanadium microalloyed steel has been standardized for optimization of properties and cost benefits in manufacture, e.g. compact strip processing. Investigation of yield strength (YS) in high strength low alloy (HSLA) - vanadium (V) steel have been estimated to range within 78 to 82 Knops per square inches (ksi) for cases of long span truss members. Conservative prediction of steel joist institute (SJI) has been referred not to exceed 50 ksi in long span steel joists and deep long span steel joists.

024041   Ray A K;Goswami B;Raj A;Singh M P (NO, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur-831 007, Email: asokroy@nmlindia.org) : Frontiers of micro-alloyed steel for industrial merchandising-3. J Metall Mater Sci 2014, 56(2), 77-91.

Micro-alloyed steel for industrial merchandising have been evolution of microalloyed steel for business purpose. Microalloyed steels have added advantages of lower weight and more strength. Present review has described about utilization of these added advantages in springs, rotor, pressure vessel, rolls, tubes, strips, etc. Load bearing capacity in terms of long term service exposure has increased popularity of these series of alloys. Design of rotor steel preparation has been referred to assessment of schedule of preparation from casting to finish heat-treatment effects. Bainite classification has better clarifications for rotor steels. In pressure vessels design, V has been a highly suitable element to enhance properties; however V has been hydrogen scavenger to induce embrittlement effects above limit. Retained austenite has increased thermal shock resistance in rolls, where as fresh martensite and dispersion of indigenous precipitates have improved strength properties.

024040   Rao A M;Sharma D N (NO, The Singareni Collieries Company Ltd., Kothagudem, Telangana, Email: adikamanoharrao@yahoo.co.in) : Stress orientation in the Godavari gondwana graben, India. J Rock Mech Tunnelling Technol 2014, 20(2), 109-119.

Roadway stability in underground coal mines directly affects production and productivity, and can be strongly influenced by the direction of the drivage. Stress studies provide a framework for understanding the influence of drivage direction on roadway conditions, and illustrate how mapping techniques can enhance this understanding. Mining can concentrate and re-orient the original stresses. Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. (SCCL) conducts coal mining operations in the Godavari valley coalfield, India. This paper presents a study to understand the stress conditions prevailing on the mine blocks in the Godavari valley coalfield, with a goal to improve mine safety and achieve higher production.

8 illus, 2 tables, 25 ref

024039   Rajani S V;Pandya V J (Electrical Engineering Dep, R.K. Univ, Rajkot-360 020, Email: sachin_3541@rediffmail.com) : Simulation and comparison of perturb and observe and incremental conductance MPPT algorithms for solar energy system connected to grid. Sadhana 2015, 40(1), 139-53.

Solar energy is a clean, green and renewable source of energy. It is available in abundance in nature. Solar cells by photovoltaic action are able to convert the solar energy into electric current. The output power of solar cell depends upon factors such as solar irradiation (insolation), temperature and other climatic conditions. Present commercial efficiency of solar cells is not greater than 15% and therefore the available efficiency is to be exploited to the maximum possible value and the maxi-mum power point tracking (MPPT) with the aid of power electronics to solar array can make this possible. There are many algorithms proposed to realize maximum power point tracking. These algorithms have their own merits and limitations. In this paper, an attempt is made to understand the basic functionality of the two most popular algorithms viz. Perturb and Observe (P & O) algorithm and Incremental conductance algorithm. These algorithms are compared by simulating a 100 kW solar power generating station connected to grid. MATLAB M-files are generated to understand MPPT and its dependency on insolation and temperature. MATLAB Simulink software is used to simulate the MPPT systems. Simulation results are presented to verify these assumptions.

6 illus, 2 tables, 16 ref

024038   Rahbar-Ranji A (Ocean Engineering Dep, AmirKabir Univ of Technology, Hafez Ave., Tehran 15914, Iran, Email: rahbar@aut.ac.ir) : Elastic buckling analysis of corroded stiffened plates with irregular surfaces. Sadhana 2015, 40(1), 199-213.

Numerical simulation is used to study the influence of corrosion damage in stiffened plates focusing on elastic buckling strength. Three-dimensional specta are used to simulate geometries of corroded surfaces and finite element method is employed for computing Euler stress of stiffened plates. The influence of corrosion patterns, amount of corrosion loss and roughness of surface are investigated. Ratio of Euler stress of corroded stiffened plate over Euler stress of un-corroded stiffened plate is used to characterize the effects of corrosion on reduction of buckling strength. Results show that reduction of buckling strength is very sensitive to the amount of corrosion loss and roughness of surface, but less sensitive to the location of corroded region. The potential for decrease in buckling strength as a consequence of corrosion is found to depend on the dominant buckling mode. Residual buckling strength is reduced by as much as 12% for the interaction of plate-web-torsional buckling mode, and by 2% for column buckling.

13 illus, 3 tables, 18 ref

024037   Patel A K;Trivedi P;Balani K (NO, , ) : Processing and mechanical characterization of compression-molded ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene biocomposite reinforced with aluminum oxide. J Nanosci Nanoengng Applic 2014, 4(3), 1-12.

Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has been widely used as a bone implant material in orthopedic surgical applications in trauma due to its low coefficient of friction, good biocompatibility, and excellent wear and corrosion resistance properties in comparison to other polyolefins. But, due to the formation of wear debris, implants loosen and fail after 12-15 years of implantation. In order to enhance lifespan, the role of alumina (Al2O3) reinforcement on the mechanical properties (like hardness, elastic modulus, etc.) of compression-molded UHMWPE biocomposites is evaluated. The phase characterization (performed using X-ray diffraction and FT-IR spectroscopy) of starting raw materials and composites elicited retention of starting phases in the blended powders as well as compression-molded composites. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis exhibited increases in crystallinity with alumina reinforcement by (<126>18%), though a <126>39% improvement in the Vickers hardness was observed, when compared to that of virgin UHMWPE. The mechanical characterization showed an increase in modulus by <126>6%, decrease in the tensile strength by <126>20% and strain to failure from 501.63 to 486.17% with Al2O3 reinforcement. The fracture surface of tensile-tested samples showed the cyclic stress failure under tensile stress.

024036   Parmar K;Bhattacharjee S (NO, Central Univ of Jharkhand, Brambe, Ranchi-835 205) : Pb(II) and Cd(II) adsorption by Fe(II) and Fe(III) silicate precipitation tubes in aqueous medium. J Metall Mater Sci 2014, 56(2), 125-35.

Adsorption of Pb(II) and Cd(II) on Fe(II) and Fe(III) silicate precipitation tubes (FeII SPT and FeIII SPT) in aqueous medium has been studied and reported. FeIII SPT is a better adsorbent than FeII SPT with reference to Pb(II) and Cd(II). Adsorption varies nonlinearly with initial concentration and adsorbent dose. Experimental adsorption data are modeled with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms and isotherm parameters are obtained through regression of linearized isotherm equations as well as through direct and robust optimization of parent equations. Robust optimization always yields better fits as opposed to linear regression in terms of Sum Square Error (SSE) and goodness of the fit (R2) between experimental and optimized model data. Pb(II) adsorption on both FeII SPT and FeIII SPT and Cd(II) adsorption on FeII SPT may be better represented by Freundlich isotherm while Cd(II) adsorption on FeIII SPT is more amenable to Langmuir form. Modifications to traditional Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms are proposed in which initial adsorbate concentration is introduced into the original form. The fit of experimental data into the modified Langmuir form is remarkable. Both FeII SPT and FeIII SPT are identified with very high Pb(II) and Cd(II) loading capacities.

024035   Panda S P;Salunkhe K A;Kulkarni A M (Electrical Engineering Dep, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai-400 076, Email: sakti@ee.iitb.ac.in) : Experimental validation of waveform relaxation technique for power system controller testing. Sadhana 2015, 40(1), 89-106.

Waveform Relaxation (WR) based iterative real-time playback scheme for controller testing was recently proposed in the literature along with proof-of-concept simulations. This scheme can be a low-cost alternative to Hardware-in-Loop simulation, as it does not require a real-time simulator. To demonstrate practical feasibility of the WR scheme, this paper presents results of experiments with real-time implementation of controllers, iteratively interacting with simulated models of power apparatus via storage and real-time play-back. Two systems are considered: a HVDC controller tested with a detailed model of the converters, and a TCSC based damping controller tested with a low frequency model of a power system. The results are validated with those obtained using simulated models of the controllers. We also present results of an experiment in which the tested HVDC controller is used to control the scaled real-life HVDC apparatus, for which a simulated model was used during controller testing. Convergence and a good match between simulated and real-time implementation are obtained for the HVDC system. The experiments on the TCSC damping controller drawn our attention to a potential convergence problem which may arise due to iteration-dependent round-off noise.

21 illus, 2 tables, 10 ref

024034   Pal S;Shahri V (NO, Engineers India Ltd., New Delhi, Email: saikatindia@yahoo.co.in) : Geological overbreak: a viewpoint of storage cavern excavation. J Rock Mech Tunnelling Technol 2014, 20(2), 121-9.

Geological overbreak is an inseparable part of underground construction by rock excavation, more so in case of drill and blast method. In view of structural stability and cost factor associated with the geological overbreak, the role of engineering geologist includes: prediction, prevention & control, demarcation and documentation (PPDD). In the present paper an attempt has been made towards deciphering of geological overbreak resulting during the excavation of large underground cavern. The project, being constructed for storage of crude oil, is located within granite gneiss of Archaean age. The rockmass is good with occasional shear seams and mafic dolerite dykes traversing the country rock. The emplacements of dykes are associated with hydrothermal alteration of country rock. Geological overbreak were observed to be mainly associated with crown instability due to low cover in near surface excavation of portal area, block failure associated with weak geological features like intrusion of mafic dolerite dykes & shear zones, slaking and softening of mafic dykes and hydrothermally altered zone. These encountered details have been recorded during regular face mapping. The rock classes as per Q-system were compared to geological overbreak to find correlation between them. The major geological factors influencing overbreak have been observed to be persistence or continuity of features and joint conditions. The joint conditions are governed by both roughness and alteration factor. Structural projections of features were made with the help of 3D modelling to predict areas susceptible to overbreak during subsequent stages of excavation. The same was shared with blasting expert so that areas necessitating modification in blast pattern could be identified in advance. Pre-excavation measures like fore polling, pilot excavation and control blasting were adopted to minimize overbreak. Post-excavation measures of site specific rock supports like directional spot bolting and sealing fibercrete or fibre reinforced shotcrete were recommended to prevent secondary overbreak. At times, the constructional overbreak becomes almost inseparable from geological overbreak and there can be inadvertent inclusion of constructional overbreak as geological overbreak and vice versa. The site observations are used to identify certain constructional factors influencing overbreak. Survey discrepancies, change in tunnel alignment, repeat/undercut blasting are some such identified factors. In the project, the above PPDD methodology has been adopted to control geological overbreak satisfactorily. The observations are documented to provide an insight of geological overbreak in the present project and to aid engineering geologists in understanding and minimizing geological overbreaks in future projects.

10 illus, 1 table, 2 ref

024033   Pakpahan E N;Isa M H;Kutty S R M;Chantara S; Wiriya W;Farooqi I H (Hazardous & Toxic Substances Registration & Notification Div, Deputy Minister for Harardous & Toxic Substances, Hazardous & Toxic Wastes and Garbage Management - Ministry of Environment, Republic of Indonesia, Email: hasnain_isa@petronas.com.my) : Effect of excess air on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons removal from petroleum sludge using thermal treatment with additives. J scient ind Res 2015, 74(4), 245-9.

Petroleum sludge contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which are hazardous compounds due to their toxic and carcinogenic-mutagenic characteristics. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has identified 16 of these compounds as priority pollutants. This study evaluates the effectiveness of excess air addition in thermal removal of priority PAH from petroleum sludge treated in a rotary-drum electric heater at 650°C with Ca(OH)₂ (1 mole) + NaHCO₃ (1 mole) (1:1) additives. The concentrations of PAH in flue gas and residue phases were determined using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The samples were extracted with acetonitrile by ultra-sonication prior to GC-MS analysis. The concentrations of 2-3 ring PAH, 4-6 ring PAH, suspect carcinogenic PAH, ΣSPAH and ΣSTEF were also determined. Excess air addition was found to be instrumental in PAH removal.

1 illus, 3 tables, 19 ref

024032   Nwosu A W;Mbachu C B (Electrical/Electronic Engineering Dep, Anambra State Univ, Uli, P.M.B. 02, Anambra State, Nigeria, Email: talk2nordy@yahoo.com) : Modeling and monitoring of high voltage alternating current (AC) circuit breaker using wireless communication. Int J appl Sci Engng Res 2015, 4(1), 11-21.

This paper discusses modeling and monitoring of high voltage alternating current (ac) circuit breaker using wireless communication. Circuit breakers have a very important role in generation and transmission of electricity and represent a vital of the power system. Reliable operation and monitoring the high voltage circuit breakers represent an important challenge when this activity must be acquired online. This paper presents the architecture of an online monitoring and diagnosis System of electrical equipment which has the role to acquire, to transfer and to process information about the monitored equipment. An interface is designed on top of which different local and system applications can be recorded by the system. The data acquisition allows a utility operator to monitor and view the signals of the circuit breakers online while in service by the use of graphical user interface. Improve maintenance method in circuit breaker increases life time and reliability of the circuit breaker.

7 illus, 4 tables, 17 ref

024031   Niasar A H;Khoei H R (NO, , ) : Direct power control of induction motor drive. J Pwr Elect Pwr Syst 2014, 4(2), 48-55.

Different variable frequency strategies have been developed for control of induction motors including V/f scalar control; field oriented control (FOC), and direct torque control (DTC). Recently, direct power control (DPC) has been developed to control dual-fed induction generators (DFIGs) and permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSGs). In this paper, DPC is employed for speed control of induction motors fed by a voltage source inverter. DPC is basically similar to DTC method in structure and response. Moreover, the measuring of feedback power is easier than prediction of feedback torque in DTC and there is no need to model parameters of the motor. Simulation results are presented in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed DPC technique.

024030   Narayana P V S;Venkateswarlu B;Venkataramana S (Fluid Dynamics Div, VIT Univ, Vellore-632 014, Email: pvsatya8@yahoo.co.in) : Chemical reaction and radiation absorption effects on MHD micropolar fluid past a vertical porous plate in a rotating system. J Energy Heat Mass Transfer 2013, 35(3), 197-214.

This paper considers the effect of radiation absorption and chemical reaction on MHD free convection heat and mass transfer flow of a micropolar fluid in a rotating system. A uniform magnetic field acts perpendicular to the porous surface in which absorbs micropolar fluid with a constant suction velocity. The entire system rotates about the axes normal to the plate with uniform angular velocity Ω. The governing dimensionless equations for this investigation are solved analytically by using regular perturbation method. The effects of the various flow parameters and physical properties on the velocity, microrotation, temperature and concentration profiles across the boundary layer are investigated through graphs. Also the numerical results of velocity profiles of micropolar fluids are compared with the corresponding flow problems for a Newtonian fluid.

6 illus, 1 table, 28 ref

024029   Mustafa M;Chhanda N J (NO, , ) : Analysis of hydrodynamic characteristics of a squeeze film in o-ring assembly under the oscillating motion. J expl appl Mech 2015, 6(2), 1-12.

In the most of the non-contacting face seals, squeezing occurs in the fluid film between the O-ring surface and the mating surfaces in the gland assembly. Therefore, hydrodynamic characteristics are easily simulated by considering a fluid film between a rubber surface (O-ring surface) and a rigid surface (machined surface). In this paper, effects of surface roughness of rubber block on leakage flow rate and hydrodynamic force developed in fluid film between a cylindrical rigid surface and a cylindrical rubber surface are analyzed. The modified Reynolds equation, Laplace equation and governing equation for three parameter viscoelastic model are solved simultaneously to obtain pressure developed in fluid film between the mating surfaces as well as in the porous matrix and viscoelastic deformation of rubber surface. It is seen that with increasing standard deviation and center line average (CLA) of surface height of rubber block, load carrying capacity increases significantly developing huge hydrodynamic force in the fluid film. Leakage flow rate also decreases slightly with increasing standard deviation and CLA of surface height of rubber block. Spatial distribution of the surface of rubber block has no effect on leakage flow rate as well as hydrodynamic force developing in the fluid film during squeezing motion. The results obtained from the present model are compared with experimental results available in the literature and a very good agreement is found.

024028   Mosavi S M;Nik A S (Civil Engineering Dep, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad Univ, Tonekabon, Iran, Email: dr.sayedmohammadmosavi@gmail.com) : Strengthening of steel-concrete composite girders using carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates. Sadhana 2015, 40(1), 249-61.

Applying composites in order to strengthen and renew the infrastructures has globally been accepted. Traditional methods to strengthen the out-of-standard structures are costly, time consuming and requires a lot of labour. Today, new techniques are hired using light and strong substances which also resist against corrosion, known as Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) plates. Regarding the high tensile strength and proper module of elasticity, CFRP plates are considered as a suitable alternative to strengthen girders. The behaviour of steel-concrete composite girders being statically loaded and strengthened by CFRP plates in this study. The CFRP plates used in this study have been stuck, with epoxy adhesive, under the tensile sections of three steel girders. The results accompanied with analytical study of moment-curvature and numerical analysis done with ANSYS, show that CFRP plates with epoxy adhesive increases the ultimate loading capacity of steel-concrete composite girder. Plastic stiffness of the girders was also increased.

14 illus, 22 ref

024027   Moravej H;Hatami M;Naghshbandi R;Siamakani Y M (NO, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Email: hmoravej0085@gmail.com) : Wind load analysis of buildings in hill-shape zone. Int J appl Sci Engng Res 2015, 4(1), 94-101.

Influence of wind load as a natural phenomenon on structures, especially tall buildings cannot be ignored. It is significant to consider the effect of wind in design and analysis of buildings. The magnitude of wind velocity alters significantly for equivalent structures located at various locations due to the changes in local roughness. In this study wind shear force for one case study building with application of hospital, located in Washington, D.C. with three different heights (Low-Rise, Mid-Rise and High-Rise) was evaluated based on two structural codes, namely UBC97 and IBC2000. The building is posed on top of hill-shape zone. A model of the structure was created in SAP2000 software to validate results of manual calculations based on two codes. The outcome of study demonstrates by increasing building's height, wind load also increases. Also, it is shown that wind shear force applied on the building in three different heights based on UBC97 is higher than IBC2000, so UBC97 is more conservative. Moreover, the distribution of wind load along the height of building based on two codes is different. IBC 2000 considers more details about topographic features of area and presents more accurate distribution of wind load along the height of building.

6 illus, 2 tables, 17 ref

024026   Mohanta G;Brar N S;Rupesh Kumar;Paul A K; Akash Deep (NO, , ) : Photo-assisted room temperature synthesis of brightly fluoresce ZNSE quantum dots in aqueous medium. J Nanosci Nanoengng Applic 2014, 4(2), 5-13.

The ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) have gained considerable research interest as an alternative to heavy-metal-based QDs and are non-toxic, have strong emission in UV-blue region, and with wider band gap are suitable for doping various ions to tune their optical and electronics properties. For biological applications, aqueous stability of QDs is an indispensable prerequisite. Mercapto-carboxylic acids such as mercaptopropionic acids (MPA), thioglycolic acids (TGA), etc., are commonly used for providing aqueous stability to the QDs. They also provide surface functional groups suitable for bioconjugation as well as restrict size of QDs during synthesis. Photo-assisted synthesis of ZnSe QDs has been studied previously but requires refluxing of QDs at relatively high temperatures for longer durations. Here, the authors report a photo-assisted synthesis of ZnSe QDs capped with either MPA or TGA at room temperature in aqueous medium. The as-synthesized QDs were probed for their structural, optical and chemical properties through various characterization techniques. The synthesized QDs were ca 2-3 nm in diameter; surface functionalized with carboxylic group and showed bright fluorescence in UV-blue region.

024025   Mishra A (Mechanical Engineering Dep, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal, Email: aadarshm9@gmail.com) : Films of tin sulphide for use in thin film solar cell devices. J Metall Mater Sci 2014, 56(1), 73-6.

Direct normal irradiance (DNI), ambient temperature, latitude effect, wind velocity, air quality, etc. are various external-natural factors that influence efficiency of solar photovoltaics (SPV), whereas materials used, technology adopted, etc. are important internal design parameters that enhance efficiency of SPV. The recent development in the field of materials engineering and technology may create a revolution in the field of SPV if harnessed techno-economically. In the back drop of these developments, this article dwells upon the material issues like aluminium (Al) nano particles, birefringent liquid crystal polymer homeotropic films, and technological issues like utilisation of acoustic vibrations using piezo-electric material, radiative recombination, generation of pulses using pyroelectric mlowed by suggestions and possible applications in real life situations and conaterials, etc. to enhance efficiency and the effectiveness of SPV. The article is folcluding lines. The article is just a humble attempt from the academic point of view in the field of SPV.

024024   Mazinani V;Nosrati H (NO, Malek-e-Ashtar Univ of Technology, Lavizan, Tehran, Iran, Email: vahid.mazinani@gmail.com ) : Effect of primary materials ratio and their stirring time on SiC nanoparticle production efficiency through sol gel process. J Metall Mater Sci 2014, 56(1), 29-34.

In this article, SiC (silicon carbide) Nanopowder was synthesized by sol-gel method. TEOS and sucrose were used as pricier source. Final gel were prepared by mixing in different stirring times and different ratio in pH=4 and drying. This mixture was heated at 650°C and carbothermal reduction was carried out at 1500°C. XRD analyses showed that produced powder in this condition are only β-Sic. Investigating SEM and TEM images and PS diagrams for different samples one can realize that in TEOS/sucrose=4 and stirring time, 5 hours, maximum efficiency and minimum grain size and minimum agglomeration occurs. Experiment result indicated that nano silicium carbide along with tetraethoxysilane, ethanol, sucrose and water can be used as carbon supply. Average grain size which has been seen by SEM was less than 100 nm.

024023   Mannan M A;Murata T;Tamura J (NO, , ) : Single-input fuzzy logic controllers for efficiency maximized separately excited DC motor. J Pwr Elect Pwr Syst 2014, 4(2), 24-32.

In this paper, three single-input fuzzy logic controllers are designed to control field current, armature current and speed of efficiency maximized separately excited DC motor. The necessary of field controller is to maximize the efficiency by tracking the optimized field current for different operating points. In contrary to the conventional fuzzy logic controller which requires at least two inputs variables and nine rules, the proposed controller requires one input and seven rules. However, the performance of the controller is not degraded. The proposed single-input fuzzy logic controllers can be realized by using a simple look-up table which makes faster fuzzy calculation even using an inexpensive digital processor. Using the Matlab/Simuink simulations, it can be shown that the proposed controller exhibits good performance by reducing the steady-state error, and overshoot problems and robustness under the variation of load torque.

024022   Mannan M A;Haque M E;Dhar R K (NO, , ) : Design and simulation of IRFOC for SPWM inverter-fed induction motor considering core loss and stray load loss. J Pwr Elect Pwr Syst 2014, 4(2), 1-11.

The principle of field oriented control (FOC) or vector control (VC) of induction motors (IMs) is based on the control of both the magnitude and the phase of each phase current and voltage to achieve the decoupling control strategies between flux and torque. To control the flux and the torque precisely based on the FOC, core losses (CL) and stray load losses (SLL), which are generally neglected, should be considered in the mathematical model of IM to design the controller. In order to achieve the precise flux and torque control of IM, some of literatures have proposed to detuning method for FOC of IM to compensate the effects of CL and SLL. But it has seen that the mathematical modeling of detuning process is very complex which makes the complexity in the case of implementation also. In this paper, a novel FOC of IM with consideration of both CL and SLL is proposed. In this novel FOC of IM includes the decoupling control strategy which is easier than the detuning strategy. The effectiveness of proposed FOC of IM considering CL and SLL has been verified by the simulation work which has been done by using Matlab/Simulink. The simulation results show that the speed control with decoupling of flux and torque control for high performance of IM with considering CL and SLL based the proposed FOC can be achieved.

024021   Manjesh (NO, , ) : Evaluation of reliability in five-phase induction motor operated at low speed by V/F control method using FPGA. J Pwr Elect Pwr Syst 2014, 4(2), 56-61.

This paper presents the study of performance and reliability evaluation of five-phase induction motor by finding various parameters in the induction motor. Induction motors have increased demand for low cost and size, simple construction, least maintenance, operational simplicity and brush-less construction with cage rotor. Industrial applications demand high efficiency, and reliable and long life-time electrical machines. The fault modes of induction machines are very complex; many researchers are plagued to find fault evidences for reliability verifications. The reliability evaluation has been studied with various parameters, like efficiency, line current, working of motor with variable voltage with fixed frequency and measurement of torque at various loads. Harmonics have major effect on reliability of the motor, because the heat generated in the five-phase induction motor due to harmonics [1, 2] leads to probability of failure in the induction motor. The temperature at various parts of the five-phase induction motor has been estimated experimentally to evaluate the reliability of the Induction motor presented in this paper.

024020   Li J;Song W;Han X;Fu Q;Niu J;Xue W (School of Power and Energy, Northwestern Polytechnical Univ, 127 West Youyi Road, Shaanxi Provinece, 710072, People's Republic of China) : Design and experiments of the fuel control method for the scramjet engine. Sadhana 2015, 40(1), 155-71.

Control method is one of the key application technologies of the engine. And the pore of the scramjet control system is the fuel-based control method. The design and the experimental verification of the scramjet fuel-based control method were mainly carried out in this paper. The correlation between the engine thrust, the wall pressure and the equivalence ratio was obtained by means of the numerical simulation. Combined with the results of experiments, the fuel control method and the verification method of the experiment, which chose the wall pressure as the feedback signal, were designed and developed, and the ground test of the fuel control method was carried out. The results of the numerical simulation and the experiment showed that (i) the magnitude of the wall pressure at some axial locations of the combustor was proportional to the fuel flow rate and (ii) the fuel control method based on the feedback signal, i.e., the wall pressure, and the choice of the location of the wall pressure control point were feasible and rational.

16 illus, 7 tables, 10 ref

024019   Kuyuk H S (NO, , Seismological Laboratory, UC Berkeley, McCone Hall, Berkeley, California 94720, USA, Email: serdarkuyuk@gmail.com) : On the use of stockwell transform in structural dynamic analysis. Sadhana 2015, 40(1), 295-306.

Time-frequency analysis of earthquake records using Fourier transform is a fundamental, reliable and useful tool in earthquake engineering and engineering seismology. It will be however no longer functional if the frequency variation is analysed in time domain. Short time Fourier transform is utilized for the same purpose but this has also its own limitations and restrictions. In this research, Stockwell transform (S-transform), is evaluated in investigating frequency content of signal in time domain. First, the effectiveness of S-transform was tested by a non-stationary synthetic signal series with a sum of various instantaneous time varying frequency functions. Then, transform was employed to three different earthquake waveforms of Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake (M_w 6.9, 2008); recorded in near, moderate and far sites. Finally, an application was demonstrated for determining dynamic response of three-story frame structure by using El Centro earthquake compiled with harmonic motion. Unlike widely used continuous wavelet transform, which provides temporal and spectral information simultaneously, S-transform is very straightforward and easy to manipulate for interpretations. All cases considered in this research showed that S-transform can be implemented for further research activities related with frequency-dependent strong motion analysis by practitioners and engineers. S-transform can distinguish abrupt frequency changes in structures effectively and accurately.

8 illus, 1 table, 21 ref

024018   Kothari K D;Jhala R L (NO, , ) : Parametric investigation of deep drawing process for different materials. J expl appl Mech 2015, 6(2), 22-6.

Process known as Deep Drawing is used to force the metal sheet to flow between punch's surfaces and die. Thus it is a process of Transformation of Shape with material retaining. A part is said to be deep drawn if the depth of the part is at more than half of its diameter. Number of defects can occur in the deep drawn product. There are several parameters which affects deep drawing process. By regulating these parameters many defects can be reduced. These parameters are mainly Blank holder force, punch force and punch speed, friction forming limits, stress and strain distribution, thickness variation etc. The paper aims to review effects of these parameters on the process of deep drawing.

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024017   Karunamoorthy B;Somasundareswari D (Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dep, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore-641 049, Email: karunamoorthy.b.eee@kct.ac.in) : Effect of stability analysis using electromagnetic interference in grid-connected z-source inverters. J scient ind Res 2015, 74(4), 212-16.

The paper focuses on using Z-Source inverter (ZSI) as an alternate for voltage source inverters (VSI) in order to avert the instability in the power distribution system. An inner inverter-output-current loop with high bandwidth is also designed to get better disturbance rejection capability. This paper elaborates on comparative performance of traditional and Z-Source inverter(ZSI) apart from analysing the selection of weighting functions, inner inverter-output-current loop design, and system disturbance rejection capability. In this control strategy, the inverter is controlled by means of robust H∞ controller along with stability is analyzed The proposed control method is tested with simulation results obtained using Matlab/Simulink.

3 illus, 18 ref

024016   Kang'ethe S M;Manomano T (Social Work and Social Development Dep, Fort Hare Univ, Box X1314, Alice 5700 South Africa, Email: skangethe@ufh.ac.za) : Pitting the reconstruction and development program (RDP) housing quality against international housing quality norms: the case of 2011-2013 golf course study, Eastern Cape province. J hum Ecol 2015, 49(1-2), 111-20.

The present study sought to pit the 2011-2013 of Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) houses' quality against the international housing norms. The study triangulated both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The quantitative approach was in the form of a mini survey while the qualitative approach was in the form of a case study. The study used an interview guide and a questionnaire as data collection instruments. The findings from this study revealed that the quality of houses did not meet the international standards because: they were too small and had inadequate space; were built with poor building material for the roofs, floors, walls and their doors and windows were weak threatening occupants' state of security; and had not been connected to sources of water. The researchers recommended that the government needs to map out renovations plans for the houses so that they can meet international standards. These houses need to be connected to sources of water and sewer. This is to ensure the occupants are fairly satisfied and the houses are hygienic.

7 tables, 29 ref

024015   Kalwane U B;Dahake A G;Upadhye V R (NO, , ) : Effect of polymer modified steel fiber reinforced concrete on bond strength. J expl appl Mech 2015, 6(2), 33-43.

In this experimental investigation, the effect on bond strength (pullout test) of polymer modified steel fibers in concrete is studied. Varying volume fraction of steel fibers from 0 to 7% at the interval of 1% of fiber and SBR latex polymer of fixed volume of 15% by weight of cement were used. For this test, specimen of size 150 mm 150 mm 150 mm with 16 mm high yield deformed bar of length 650 mm is placed at the centre of cube and 150 mm embedded in concrete. Pullout test on specimens were carried out on universal testing machine.

024014   Kalage A A;Ghawghawe N D (NO, , ) : Impact of the multiplier setting range on optimum coordination of directional overcurrent relays. J Pwr Elect Pwr Syst 2014, 4(3), 33-40.

Over-current relays especially Inverse Definite Minimum Time (IDMT) relays are most commonly used protective device in the distribution system. It is vital that during abnormalities or faults, the IDMT relays must be capable to isolate only the faulty part of power system from the healthy system. The operating time of IDMT relays can be reduced with proper coordination between primary and backup relays by selecting optimum settings. Heuristic-based optimization techniques are used to find the optimum solution for time multiplier setting (TMS) and plug setting (PS) of IDMT relays. In this paper, investigations are carried out to explore the impact of TMS range selected in the optimization problem on optimum settings of IDMT relays. The results of these investigations have shown that better results can be obtained with a minimum range of TMS. Three case studies are presented to show the impact of TMS range on optimum relay settings.

024013   Joshi Z;Dhruv D;Shah N A (NO, , ) : Effect of sintering temperature on current-voltage characteristics of nanostructured manganites. J Nanosci Nanoengng Applic 2014, 4(1), 1-5.

In the present communication, nanostructured Y_0.95Ca_0.05MnO₃ manganites using low cost sol-gel method have been synthesized. Samples were sintered at different temperatures in order to change the particle size of the samples. The crystallite size is found to increase with sintering temperature due to crystal agglomeration effect. To understand the transport properties of the presently studied samples, current-voltage (I-V) characteristics have been carried out at room temperature. Effect of crystallite size on the transport has been discussed in detail. The variation in conduction and transport mechanism with sintering temperature has been discussed in the context of oxygen non-stoichiometry and crystallite boundary density.

024012   Jirapure S C;Borade A B;Kongre U V (Mechanical Engg. Dep., JD Institute of Engg. & Tech., Yavatmal, Maharashtra, Email: npsahu21993@gmail.com) : A new approach of strengthening- spinodal decomposition. Int J appl Sci Engng Res 2015, 4(1), 77-85.

The combination of physical properties such as strength, ductility, conductivity, corrosion resistance and machinability makes copper suitable for a wide range of applications. Copper alloys that are hardened through heat treatment are divided into two general types: those that are softened by high-temperature quenching and hardened by lower-temperature treatments, and those that are hardened by quenching from high temperatures through martensitic-type reactions. Alloys that harden during low-to-intermediate temperature treatments following solution quenching include spinodal-hardening. Spinodal decomposition is regarded as small composition fluctuations over a large space, while a classical nucleation process is categorized by large composition fluctuations over a small space. The consequential microstructure contains a homogeneous distribution of diminutive, coherent interconnected particles. In this study, after detection the theories of spinodal reactions and hardening mechanisms experimental research and numerical studies on spinodal decomposition are reviewed. Also, future developments in spinodal decomposition are predicted and criticized in an outlook.

6 illus, 21 ref

024011   Jayanthy S;Bhuvaneswari M C (Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) Dep, Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College, Coimbatore-641 022) : Fuzzy delay model based fault simulator for crosstalk delay fault test generation inasynchronous sequential circuits. Sadhana 2015, 40(1), 107-19.

In this paper, a fuzzy delay model based crosstalk delay fault simulator is proposed. As design trends move towards nanometer technologies, more number of new parameters affects the delay of the component. Fuzzy delay models are ideal for modelling the uncertainty found in the design and manufacturing steps. The fault simulator based on fuzzy delay detects unstable states, oscillations and non-confluence of settling states in asynchronous sequential circuits. The fuzzy delay model based fault simulator is used to validate the test patterns produced by Elitist Non-dominated sorting Genetic Algorithm (ENGA) based test generator, for detecting crosstalk delay faults in asynchronous sequential circuits. The multi-objective genetic algorithm, ENGA targets two objectives of maximizing fault coverage and minimizing number of transitions. Experimental results are tabulated for SIS benchmark circuits for three gate delay models, namely unit delay model, rise/Ml delay model and fuzzy delay model. Experimental results indicate that test validation using fuzzy delay model is more accurate than unit delay model and rise/fall delay model.

3 illus, 7 tables, 18 ref