Synthesis of silicon carbide has been carried out using thermal plasma processing technique using SiO2 as the solid feed and CH4 as the gaseous reducing agent. Thermochemical calculations have been performed varying the molar ratio of silicon dioxide and methane to determine the feasibility of the reaction. Experiments using a molar ratio of SiO2:CH4 equal to 1:2 produced maximum yield of SiC of about 65 mol % at a solid feed rate of 5 g/min. Mostly spherical morphology with some nanorods has been observed. The presence of Si had been observed and was quantified using XRD, HRTEM, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS). Si acts as a nucleating agent for SiC nanorods to grow.

Several applications of Origami have been tested in industrial area. However, Origami based design is found only in lamp shade and wrapping in design area, and has not been practically applied especially in clothing. In this paper, the conical truss model is applied in the clothing skirt, and the simulation software from 2D to 3D is developed by parametric Origami module (POM). Finally, the pattern is copied on felt clothing, and the scaled model of skirt on the basis of conical reverse truss model design is made.

This paper reviewed the main research work in the field of remaining life prediction of crankshaft remanufacturing core by Science and Technology on Remanufacturing Laboratory. Based on the results of finite element analysis, the R angle zone of crankshaft was determined as a major measuring position. A special measuring probe is developed, and bending fatigue bench tests were carried out to collect electromagnetic damage information during fatigue process. A neural network model was established to identify damage degree of crankshaft core, and a damage evaluation equipment for crankshaft core was developed.

The integration of nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into microsystems is highly desirable, in order to make use of the unique nanomaterial properties in real devices. However, the CNT-to-microsystem integration is challenging to implement in a manufacturable, cost-effective industrial process. This paper presents our work towards a process for making complete, integrated CMOS / MEMS systems with integrated CNT. We demonstrate the feasibility of the process, using room-temperature processing, low-cost equipment and consumables, and electrical control with automation possibilities. CNTs are directly integrated at the desired positions in the Si microsystem, forming closed Si / CNT / Si circuits. We explore different designs with the aim to obtain uniform and well-defined CNT synthesis conditions, and show that simplified designs can perform comparably to more complex ones. The Si / CNT / Si circuits obtained can show rectifying (Schottky-like) or near-ohmic behavior. Gas sensing possibilities are demonstrated, indicating the possibility of monitoring aging/ fermenting of food. Functionalization of CNTs is demonstrated, using thermal evaporation of Sn and Pd, opening for selective and sensitive sensors for various gases and analytes. Detailed microscopic characterization of the obtained CNTs are presented.

Multiferroic nanodots can be harnessed to aid the development of the next generation of nonvolatile data storage and multi-functional devices. In this paper, we review the computational aspects of multiferroic nanodot materials and designs that hold promise for the future memory technology. Conception, methodology, and systematical studies are discussed, followed by some up-to-date experimental progress towards the ultimate limits. At the end of this paper, we outline some challenges remaining in multiferroic research, and how the first principles based approach can be employed as an important tool providing critical information to understand the emergent phenomena in multiferroics.

An opposite phenomenon to the flying ice cube where kinetic energy is drained from the high frequency vibrational motion to the low frequency translational motion and rotational motion (Harvey et al., J Comput Chem 19:726–740, 1998) is reported in molecular dynamics simulations of the flexible TIP3P water. It is found that kinetic energy is drained from the low frequency translational motion and rotational motion to the high frequency vibrational motion of the flexible TIP3P water. In addition, the equipartition theorem is not applicable to the flexible TIP3P water, but applicable to the rigid TIP3P water. However, the Maxwell–Boltzmann velocity distribution is satisfied for cases even the equipartition theorem is not applicable.

Conventionally, image object recognition and pose estimation are two independent components in machine vision. This paper presented a simple but effective method KNN-SNG, which tightly couples these two components within a single algorithm framework. The basic idea of this method came from the bionic pattern recognition and the manifold ways of perception. Firstly, the shortest neighborhood graphs (SNG) are established for each registered object. SNG can be regarded as a covering and triangulation for a hypersurface on which the training data are distributed. Then for recognition task, the determined test image lies on which SNG by employing the parameter “k”, which could be calculated adaptively. Finally, the local linear approximation method was adopted to build a local map between high-dimensional image space and low-dimensional manifold for pose estimation. The projective coordinates on manifold can depict the pose of object. Experiment results manifested the effectiveness of the method.

Zinc oxide was synthesized from zinc sulphate using different reducing agents under microwave irradiation. The influence of sodium borohydride, hydrazine hydrate and urea on the shape and size of the products were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM showed the nano-sized spherical and rectangular shaped structures in case of sodium borohydride and hydrazine hydrate, whereas micro-sized hexagonal structures were formed in case of urea under the same irradiation power. The reducing agents played an important role in forming the various structures. Thus different shapes and size of structures were produced by only varying the reducing agent, which had wide applications in various fields.

Alumina nanoparticles (AlNP) were synthesized from aluminium nitrate using extracts of tea, coffee and triphala—a well known herbal plant as well as a non-toxic and eco—friendly green material. The synthesis was carried out taking 1:4 ratio of metal salt and these extracts under microwave irradiations at 540 W, which gave better yield of nanoparticles. Water was taken as solvent medium. The formations of AlNP were initially monitored by the colour changes occurring in the reaction mixture during the incubation period. As synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV–Visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The AlNP were found to be spherical in shape in case of tea and coffee extracts with a size of 50–200 nm and to be oval shaped in case of triphala extract with an average size of 200–400 nm. The formation of AlNP with the microwave-assistance using these plant extracts has proved to be very faster than any other methods. In addition, excellent reproducibility of these nanoparticles, without the use of any additional capping agent or stabilizer will have great advantages in comparison with microbial synthesis, avoiding all the tedious and hygienic complications.