Various loading conditions—cyclic, quasi-static, and dynamic—can induce transverse matrix cracks in cross-ply and woven composite structures. Identification and quantification of this damage on a composite’s surface can provide valuable information on the overall damage state of the structure. This work seeks to develop automated methods for identifying and quantifying transverse matrix crack damage on the surface of composites. To this end, model plain weave glass–epoxy composite specimens were developed that were consistent in geometry and manufacturing process and for which the loading conditions and resulting damage quantity and damage mode could be controlled. High-resolution images (80 megapixel) were captured of the model composite specimen surfaces. These images were then subjected to a manual transverse crack identification method, which established a control with known quantity and spatial location of transverse cracks. Two automated methods were developed to identify and quantify transverse cracks. The first used 8-bit (256 shades of gray) images, an ImageJ preprocessing step, and finally used MATLAB to identify the damage. The second used 16-bit (65,536 shades of gray) images processed directly by MATLAB (no ImageJ preprocessing) to identify the damage. It was found that the 8-bit method more accurately assessed the quantity of transverse cracks because the preprocessing step reduced error-causing high-contrast artifacts (e.g., reflections, composite material inconsistencies, dirt, and ink/marks). Finally, binned scatterplot maps indicating damage quantity and spatial location were created to provide at-a-glance assessment of composite damage condition.

Adsorption processes can be applied to the separation of alkane/alkene mixtures. Process modeling is a key tool used to assess if the operating and capital cost of these processes can compete with the industry standard (e.g., cryogenic distillation for ethylene/ethane). These process models rely on experimental adsorbent data, which, due to simplicity, is typically gathered using only pure gases at equilibrium conditions. Gas separations are fundamentally mixed-gas processes, raising the following question: is equilibrium pure gas adsorption data suitable to predict mixed-gas separation performance? To answer this, our work provides process modeling data sets for ethylene and ethane on Mordenite, Zeolite 13X, and ZJU-74a and illustrates that pure gas kinetic measurements are sufficient to predict mixed-gas behavior and provides caution on relying on equilibrium conditions predicted by the ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) and extended-Sips methods. Using a modification of the volumetric method for measuring adsorption, we report pure gas kinetics as a function of temperature (20–80 °C) and pressure (<100 kPa) for the adsorption of ethylene and ethane onto Mordenite, Zeolite 13X, and ZJU-74a to supplement isotherms and aid in process modeling. At 293 K, the pseudo-second-order adsorption rate constants of ethylene and ethane, respectively, on Mordenite (4.2 and 2.0 kg·mol–1·s–1) and Zeolite 13X (6.4 and 10 kg·mol–1·s–1) increase with increasing pore size, whereas ZJU-74a (4.9 and 6.6 kg·mol–1·s–1) does not. Only Mordenite exhibited kinetic selectivity (3.2), with the ratio of rate constants for Zeolite 13X and ZJU-74a near unity, suggesting that process models of Zeolite 13X and ZJU-74a will not benefit from considering kinetics. Rate constants of all materials follow an Arrhenius trend with temperature, and the effect of pressure was within measurement error and considered negligible, allowing for simple implementation of these results into process models. Additionally, we show that the extended-Sips isotherm and IAST methods for predicting binary equilibria from pure isotherms perform poorly at predicting the equilibrium condition observed in mixed-gas kinetic experiments.

14We report the proof-of-principle demonstration of a methodology, called Metal-Assisted 15 and Microwave-Accelerated Germination, to modulate the germination of plant seeds and growth 16 of plants using gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) and microwave heating. As a model plant seed, basil 17 seeds were heated in a solution of 20 nm Au NPs using a microwave waveguide fiber connected 18 to a solid-state microwave operating at 8 GHz at 20 W, which resulted in the development of 19 longer basil gum as observed by optical microscopy. In control experiments, Au NPs or 20 microwave heating was omitted to establish a baseline growth level under standard experimental 21 conditions (no microwave heating or no Au NPs). Our results also show that hydroponic growth 22 and soil growth of basil plants can be delayed with the use of 20 nm Au NPs at room temperature 23 without microwave heating. The combined use of 20 nm Au NPs and microwave heating at 10 24 W for 6 minutes results in accelerated growth prolonged life of basil plants. 25 26 treatment of seeds. 28 29 30 31As humanity continue to face food shortage issues, (Perfecto and Vandermeer, 2010; 33 Clay, 2011; Crist et al., 2017) a number of methods are developed with the aim of greater food 34 production (Townsend and Porder, 2012;Scott et al., 2018; Jacobsen et al., 2019; Tiberius et al., 35 2019). To increase the production of food from plants, their seeds are subjected to a number of 36 physical methods, such as, ultraviolet light treatment,(Noble, 2002) magnetic field 37 treatment,(Maffei, 2014) and hot water soaking, (Hsu et al., 2003) and chemical 38 methods(Farajollahi et al., 2014) with the specific goal of reducing the natural germination times 39 of seeds. The above-mentioned methods are either time-consuming, labor-intensive, or produce 40 harmful by-product; thus, alternative techniques for the acceleration of the plant germination 41 process are being pursued. Recently, emerging techniques, such as, cold plasma treatment,(Ling 42 et al., 2014; de Groot et al., 2018) radio frequency,(Mildažienė et al., 2019) or a combined use of 43 the three(Mildaziene et al., 2016) were developed for the potential rapid germination of plant 44 seeds. Although these techniques enhance the germination process, several limitations including 45 lack of reduction of germination time, inconsistent results, and unsuitable moisture around the 46 seeds hinder their wide-spread application. 47 phytosynthesized silver (Ag) NPs improved germination and seedling vigor when compared to 54 an unprimed control, silver nitrate priming, and conventional hydropriming. A key observation 55 of this study is the production of more reactive oxygen species in germinating seeds undergoing 56 nano-priming treatment. Mahakham et. al. (Mahakham et al., 2017) proposed several 57 mechanisms for germinations process, which includes creation of nanopores for water uptake, 58 rebooting of ROS antioxidant systems in seeds, generation of hydroxyl radicals for the loosening 59 of cell wall, and formation of n...