Effect of process parameters and VC content on structural and mechanical properties of WC-20Co nano composites

58-66The effect of process parameters and vanadium carbide on hardness, toughness and structural properties of the tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co) nanocomposite has been investigated using micro-hardness tester, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with attached energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. To suppress grain growth, a high percentage (upto 10 wt. %) of vanadium carbide (VC) has been taken as a grain growth inhibitor as well as a hardener. WC-20Co composite with 7.5 wt% VC, heat treated at 1100 °C holding time for 2 hours, possesses high hardness (1687 HV) when the volume fraction of tungsten carbide (WC) and Co6W6C phases have been taken in the ratio of 2:1. High hardness and toughness have been obtained at 1100 °C for 2 h heat-treated sample. High VC content with 8 h holding time has increased the porosity in the samples

Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of diethyl phthalate using Zn doped rutile TiO2

A simple, room temperature sol gel synthesis approach has been made to obtain undoped and Zn doped TiO2 samples using titanium tetraisopropoxide and zinc acetate as precursors. The synthesized samples are predominantly in rutile phase which are rarely reported at the calcination temperature of 450 °C. The samples are characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance (DRS), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Raman spectroscopy. The as prepared samples have been used for the photocatalytic degradation of diethyl phthalate. Phthalate esters are one of the persistent organic pollutants found in the environment. Diethyl phthalate has been taken as a model pollutant. Zn doped TiO2 sample shows better photocatalytic activity as compared to undoped TiO2. The kinetic studies reveal that the photocatalytic degradation reaction follows a pseudo first order equation. The diethyl phthalate is almost completely degraded in about 200 min using 0.2 mol % Zn doped rutile TiO2

Thermal requirements, growth and yield of pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] genotypes under different agroclimatic zones of Punjab

A field experiment was carried out at four locations i.e. Ludhiana, Bathinda, Faridkot and Gurdaspur to study the influence of diverse environments on symbiotic traits, thermal requirements, growth in terms of plant height (cm) and yield (kg/ha) of pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] genotypes under different agroclimatic zones of Punjab. Results indicated that crop sown on 15 May recorded the higher grain yield than later sowing dates of 1 June and 15 June at all the locations; 15 May sowing provided 23.3, 22.1 and 46.7% higher grain yield over 1 May, 1 June and 15 June sowing, respectively. Early sown crop acquired higher agro-climatic indices than delayed sowings. The crop sown on 15 May provided the maximum gross returns, net returns and B:C ratio as evident from the additional income of Rs 13599, 13040 and 22865 Rs/ha over 1 May, 1 June and 15 June sowing, respectively. Among the genotypes, AL 201 at Ludhiana and Gurdaspur, AL 1578 at Bathinda and PAU 881 at Faridkot resulted in the highest grain yield and maximum returns. The genotype AL 201 took more days to 50% flowering and maturity at all the locations. It can be concluded that 15 May is the optimum sowing date and AL 201 and PAU 881 are the promising genotypes for providing high productivity of pigeonpea under different agroclimatic zones of Punjab

Metallurgical analysis of SA-106 Gr. B pipe failure during hot bending

AbstractThis investigation deals with failure analysis of SA-106 Gr. B pipe which is a Carbon-Manganese steel used for moderately high temperature applications in industries. A transverse/ circumferential crack was formed in SA-106 Gr. B steel pipe during hot-bending operation. Visual examination and stereo-microscopic analysis indicated the presence of globules on the intrados surface of the pipe and towards the inner section on the crack surface. The globules had dendritic morphology which indicated the melting of the metal caused by temperature hike. Detailed analysis of the microstructure clearly indicated the presence of groups of inclusions. These inclusions coupled with over-stress due to sudden increase in temperature during induction heating led to the formation of cracks and caused failure of the pipe

Effect of process parameters and VC content on structural and mechanical properties of WC-20Co nano composites

The effect of process parameters and vanadium carbide on hardness, toughness and structural properties of the tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co) nanocomposite has been investigated using micro-hardness tester, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with attached energy dispersive spectroscopy, respectively. To suppress grain growth, a high percentage (upto 10 wt. %) of vanadium carbide (VC) has been taken as a grain growth inhibitor as well as a hardener. WC-20Co composite with 7.5 wt% VC, heat treated at 1100 C holding time for 2 hours, possesses high hardness (1687 HV) when the volume fraction of tungsten carbide (WC) and Co6W6C phases have been taken in the ratio of 2:1. High hardness and toughness have been obtained at 1100 °C for 2 h heat-treated sample. High VC content with 8 h holding time has increased the porosity in the samples

Creep Modelling of P91 Steel for High Temperature Power Plant Applications

AbstractThere has been considerable interest in the development of continuum damage (CDM) mechanism based model for creep life predictions of 9CrMoNbV steel. It is reported that the steel has high dislocation density in normalized and tempered condition whereas with creep exposure it goes down significantly. The paper examines one of the recent models and attempts to incorporate this as an additional damage parameter. This has resulted in much better prediction of creep stain time plots for this steel

Reduced tillage and subsurface fertigation improve productivity and economic benefits in the cotton-wheat cropping system

Soil compaction under repetitive tillage and surface flood method of irrigation (SFMI) are significant hurdles for sustaining crop production in India, necessitating the adoption of efficient soil and water management strategies. Hence, a 3-year field study was conducted at two diverse agro-climatic locations (Abohar and Faridkot) to investigate the impact of subsurface drip (SUSD) fertigation on crop and water productivity of cotton-wheat cropping system (CWCS), over traditional practice (TP) (conventional tillage with SFMI and manual application of nutrients). The experiment was conducted in a factorial randomized complete block design with three levels of subsurface drip irrigation (SUSDI) [100, 80, and 60% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc)] and two fertigation levels [75% recommended dose of nutrients (RDN) and 100% RDN], where TP and surface drip (SD) fertigation at 80% ETc coupled with 100% RDN (Control 2), served as two control treatments. Cotton was raised through reduced tillage, while zero till drill was used for sowing wheat. The results revealed that, barring SUSDI at 60% ETc, both crops exhibited improved yield under all drip combinations of reduced or zero tillage over TP. Better mass and higher length of cotton roots in drip fertigation were evident due to improved steady-state infiltration rates (SSIR) and reduced bulk density (BD) under conservation tillage. When 100% RDN was applied, the 100% and 80% ETc SUSDI resulted in 26.7% and 24.7% higher seed cotton yield (SCY) than TP. Similarly, wheat yield with 100% RDN was improved by 10.5% and 14.4% under SUSDI of 80% and 100% ETc, respectively, over the TP. The results indicated that SUSD can be clubbed with reduced tillage for better soil health, improved crop yield, and higher apparent water productivity. The improved benefit to cost (B:C) owing to enhanced monetary returns over TP also substantiated that reduced tillage with SUSD is a viable and remunerative practice for CWCS. The study elucidated that reduced tillage exercised a beneficial effect on physical soil properties by lowering BD and improving SSIR. At the same time, SUSD could save huge amounts of irrigation water besides enhanced input use efficiency leading to higher crop productivity

Potential Role of Plant Growth Regulators in Administering Crucial Processes Against Abiotic Stresses

Plant growth regulators are naturally biosynthesized chemicals in plants that influence physiological processes. Their synthetic analogous trigger numerous biochemical and physiological processes involved in the growth and development of plants. Nowadays, due to changing climatic scenario, numerous biotic and abiotic stresses hamper seed germination, seedling growth, and plant development leading to a decline in biological and economic yields. However, plant growth regulators (PGRs) can potentially play a fundamental role in regulating plant responses to various abiotic stresses and hence, contribute to plant adaptation under adverse environments. The major effects of abiotic stresses are growth and yield disturbance, and both these effects are directly overseen by the PGRs. Different types of PGRs such as abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), ethylene (ET), and jasmonates (JAs) are connected to boosting the response of plants to multiple stresses. In contrast, PGRs including cytokinins (CKs), gibberellins (GAs), auxin, and relatively novel PGRs such as strigolactones (SLs), and brassinosteroids (BRs) are involved in plant growth and development under normal and stressful environmental conditions. Besides, polyamines and nitric oxide (NO), although not considered as phytohormones, have been included in the current review due to their involvement in the regulation of several plant processes and stress responses. These PGRs are crucial for regulating stress adaptation through the modulates physiological, biochemical, and molecular processes and activation of the defense system, upregulating of transcript levels, transcription factors, metabolism genes, and stress proteins at cellular levels. The current review presents an acumen of the recent progress made on different PGRs to improve plant tolerance to abiotic stress such as heat, drought, salinity, and flood. Moreover, it highlights the research gaps on underlying mechanisms of PGRs biosynthesis under stressed conditions and their potential roles in imparting tolerance against adverse effects of suboptimal growth conditions.Fil: Sabagh, Ayman EL. Kafrelsheikh University; EgiptoFil: Mbarki, Sonia. National Institute Of Research In Rural Engineering; TúnezFil: Hossain, Akbar. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute; BangladeshFil: Iqbal, Muhammad Aamir. University Of Poonch Rawalakot; PakistánFil: Islam, Mohammad Sohidul. Hajee Mohammad Danesh And Technology University; BangladeshFil: Raza, Ali. Fujian Agriculture And Forestry University; ChinaFil: Llanes, Analia Susana. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Cs.exactas Fisicoquimicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnologicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Cordoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnologicas.; ArgentinaFil: Reginato, Mariana Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Cs.exactas Fisicoquimicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnologicas. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Cordoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnologicas.; ArgentinaFil: Rahman, Md Atikur. Grassland And Forage Division National Institute; Corea del SurFil: Mahboob, Wajid. Nuclear Institute Of Agriculture,; PakistánFil: Singhal, Rajesh Kumar. Indian Council Of Agricultural Research; IndiaFil: Kumari, Arpna. Guru Nanak Dev University; IndiaFil: Rajendran, Arvind. Vellore Institute Of Technology; IndiaFil: Wasaya, Allah. Bahauddin Zakariya University; PakistánFil: Javed, Talha. Fujian Agriculture And Forestry University; JapónFil: Shabbir, Rubab. University Of Poonch Rawalakot; PakistánFil: Rahim, Junaid. University Of Çukurova; PakistánFil: Barutçular, Celaleddin. Institute Of Crop Science And Resource Conservation; AlemaniaFil: Habib Ur Rahman, Muhammad. Sichuan Agricultural University; ChinaFil: Raza, Muhammad Ali. Sichuan Agricultural University; ChinaFil: Ratnasekera, Disna. University Of Ruhuna; Sri LankaFil: Konuskan l, Ömer. Mustafa Kemal University; TurquíaFil: Hossain, Mohammad Anwar. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute; BangladeshFil: Meena, Vijay Singh. Indian Council Of Agricultural Research; IndiaFil: Ahmed, Sharif. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute; BangladeshFil: Ahmad, Zahoor. Bangladesh Wheat And Maize Research Institute; BangladeshFil: Mubeen, Muhammad. Sichuan Agricultural University; ChinaFil: Singh, Kulvir. Punjab Agricultural University; IndiaFil: Skalicky, Milan. Czech University Of Life Sciences Prague; República ChecaFil: Brestic, Marian. Slovak University Of Agriculture; EslovaquiaFil: Sytar, Oksana. Slovak University Of Agriculture; EsloveniaFil: Karademir, Emine. Siirt University; TurquíaFil: Karademir, Cetin. Siirt University; TurquíaFil: Erman, Murat. Siirt University; TurquíaFil: Farooq, Muhammad. College Of Agricultural And Marine Sciences Sultan; Omá

Progression of drip irrigation and fertigation in cotton across the globe and its future perspectives for sustainable agriculture: an overview

Abstract Sustainable use and efficient management of water as an agricultural input have become a major global challenge. Agriculture consumes 70% of global freshwater sources, of which cotton alone is consuming 11%, and thus necessitates for appropriate water and fertilizer savvy strategies such as drip irrigation and fertigation. Drip irrigation has slowly progressed from being a novelty in 1960s to be now an accepted method among farmers. However, documented information on progress of drip fertigation in cotton over the last two decades is little available. In this global review, we have summarized a total of 124 studies not only from developed countries like China, USA but also from developing countries like India, and the Middle East showcasing the adoption and practice of drip fertigation in major cotton growing regions over the last 20 years, besides its role in improving productivity and rational resource use in a sustainable manner. Present findings reveal that drip fertigation could save 20–30% fertilizer and around 50–60% of water besides improving cotton yield. However, despite distinguished advantages, its adoption is limited in most of developing countries with the main impediment being the high initial investment. The area in India alone can be increased 15 folds as compared to present acreage under drip, which can translate into huge saving of water and fertilizer resources. Since, the long-term benefits can help to compensate for the initial cost, farmer friendly policies are required to popularize this technology. While providing quantitative evidence of the significant water and fertilizer savings achieved through drip fertigation, this study could significantly contribute to the existing body of knowledge besides helping to reduce water footprint of cotton across the globe