Preparation of superhydrophobic and self-cleaning polysulfone non-wovens by electrospinning: influence of process parameters on morphology and hydrophobicity

Electrospinning is used to prepare hydrophobic and self-cleaning polysulfone (PSf) surfaces. The effects of PSf concentration in Dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent and electrospinning process parameters on the surface structure and hydrophobicity are investigated. The experimental results show that depending on PSf concentration, three types of morphologies are obtained: beads, beads-on-strings, and free-beads fibers. The surface hydrophobicity depends mainly on the resultant surface morphology, and the existence of beads increases hydrophobicity. The contact angle (CA) is found to increase from 73° for smooth PSf surface to more than 160° for surfaces formed by electrospinning. Moreover, the contact angle hysteresis (CAH) was generally less than 10° for all the chemistries. It is noted that increasing the PSf concentration leads to the formation of beads-on-string and free-beads fiber structures; this morphological change is accompanied by a reduction in the contact angle. Surface structures are found to be more sensitive to electrospinning feed rate than to electrospinning voltage; however, these two parameters have a negligible influence on the hydrophobicity. Porosity measurements of different chemistries show an average pore size in the range 3–8 microns. The thickness of PSf mats was variable, from as low as 10 μm to as high as 70 μm.King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM-MIT Project No. R16-DMN-11)King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (Saudia Arabia) (Project No. 11-ADV2134- 04

A Global Collaborative Effort to Enhance Design in a Mechanical Engineering Curriculum in Saudi Arabia

In 2008, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Saudi Arabia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) partnered together to develop project-based curricular material to be tested out in a new undergraduate course offering in KFUPM’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. This paper details some of the unique challenges to collaborating across countries and time zones, and the approaches the KFUPM-MIT team used to address these. These approaches have so far included the establishment of a shared vision for the project and the use of an array of technologies to facilitate distance communication. The paper concludes with a description of lessons learned that might be useful for future programs that plan to engage in international collaboration on design education.Jāmiʻat al-Malik Fahd lil-Batrūl wa-al-Maʻādi

Knowledge Based System for Diabetes Diagnosis Using SL5 Object

Diabetes is a major public health issue that affects the nations of our time to a large extent and is described as a non-communicable epidemic. Diabetes mellitus is a common disease where there is too much sugar (glucose) floating around in your blood. This occurs because either the pancreas can’t produce enough insulin or the cells in body have become resistant to insulin. The concentration in this paper is on diagnosis diabetes by designing a proposed expert system. The main goal of this expert system is to get the appropriate diagnosing of the illness, dealing with it quickly, and tips for permanent treatment whenever possible is given out. SL5 object expert system language was used for designing and implementing the proposed expert syste

Laser texturing of plasma electrolytically oxidized aluminum 6061 surfaces for improved hydrophobicity

Laser surface texturing of plasma electrolytically oxidized aluminum 6061 alloy has been carried out through a controlled surface ablation under a high pressure nitrogen gas assistance. Morphological and metallurgical changes in the laser-treated region were examined using optical, scanning electron, and atomic force microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction phase analysis. The hydrophobicity of the textured surface was assessed through water droplet contact angle measurements. It was found that a dense layer with a nanotexture/microtexture is developed at the surface after the laser treatment process. The assessment of the surface characteristics reveals that a superhydrophobic surface results from the laser treatment process; in which case, high water droplet contact angles are measured over the treated surface, which can be explained by known models of texture-induced superhydrophobicity.</jats:p