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DLC coatings have attracted an enormous amount of interest for science and engineering applications. DLC occurs in several different kinds of amorphous carbon materials. Owing to the extensive diversity in their properties, DLC coatings find applications in mechanical, civil, aerospace, automobile, biomedical, marine, and several other manufacturing industries. The coating life of DLC is predominately influenced by its constituent elements and manufacturing techniques. Numerous researchers have performed multiple experiments to achieve a robust understanding of DLC coatings and their inherent capabilities to enhance the life of components. In this review, a wide range of DLC coatings and their classification, properties, and applications are presented. Their remarkable performance in various applications has made DLC coatings a promising alternative over traditional solitary-coating approaches.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has proven to be the preferred process over traditional processes in a wide range of industries. This review article focused on the progressive development of aero-turbine blades from conventional manufacturing processes to the additive manufacturing process. AM is known as a 3D printing process involving rapid prototyping and a layer-by-layer construction process that can develop a turbine blade with a wide variety of options to modify the turbine blade design and reduce the cost and weight compared to the conventional production mode. This article describes various AM techniques suitable for manufacturing high-temperature turbine blades such as selective laser melting, selective laser sintering, electron beam melting, laser engineering net shaping, and electron beam free form fabrication. The associated parameters of AM such as particle size and shape, powder bed density, residual stresses, porosity, and roughness are discussed here.

This paper shows the novel approach of Taguchi-Based Grey Relational Analysis of Ti6Al4V Machining parameter. Ti6Al4V metal matrix composite has been fabricated using the powder metallurgy route. Here, all the components of TI6Al4V machining forces, including longitudinal force (Fx), radial force (Fy), tangential force (Fz), surface roughness and material removal rate (MRR) are measured during the facing operation. The effect of three process parameters, cutting speed, tool feed and cutting depth, is being studied on the matching responses. Orthogonal design of experiment (Taguchi L9) has been adopted to execute the process parameters in each level. To validate the process output parameters, the Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) optimization approach was applied. The percentage contribution of machining parameters to the parameter of response performance was interpreted through variance analysis (ANOVA). Through the GRA process, the emphasis was on the fact that for TI6Al4V metal matrix composite among all machining parameters, tool feed serves as the highest contribution to the output responses accompanied by the cutting depth with the cutting speed in addition. From optimal testing, it is found that for minimization of machining forces, maximization of MRR and minimization of Ra, the best combinations of input parameters are the 2nd stage of cutting speed (175 m/min), the 3rd stage of feed (0.25 mm/edge) as well as the 2nd stage of cutting depth (1.2 mm). It is also found that hardness of Ti6Al4V MMC is 59.4 HRA and composition of that material remain the same after milling operation.

Brackets are the load-bearing components in a satellite. The current age of satellites comprises specific brackets that set out as a link between the bodies of the satellite, reflector parts, and feeder facilities mounted at its upper end. Brackets are used to carry loads of the satellite body frame, supporting elements, batteries, and electronic goods. The article explicates the various brackets used in satellites and aircrafts. The strength of the bracket is of utmost importance since it is an important load supporting member in several assemblies of aircraft and satellites. In addition to the mechanical strength, the weight of the bracket is a major concern as it adds to the total weight of the aircraft and satellite. Thus, weight savings of brackets can be of paramount importance and Additive Manufacturing (AM) is found as an overall solution to achieve the same. Hence, in addition to various brackets used in satellites, the article presents an exhaustive review of the processing of various advanced functional materials using various AM techniques to make high strength-to-weight ratio satellite brackets. The use of DFAM by various satellite manufacturers globally for optimizing the structure of the brackets resulting in a significant weight saving of the brackets is also presented in the article.

This work presents a novel approach by considering teaching learning based optimization (TLBO) and radial basis function neural networks (RBFNs) for building a classifier for the databases with missing values and irrelevant features. The least square estimator and relief algorithm have been used for imputing the database and evaluating the relevance of features, respectively. The preprocessed dataset is used for developing a classifier based on TLBO trained RBFNs for generating a concise and meaningful description for each class that can be used to classify subsequent instances with no known class label. The method is evaluated extensively through a few bench-mark datasets obtained from UCI repository. The experimental results confirm that our approach can be a promising tool towards constructing a classifier from the databases with missing values and irrelevant attributes.

Despite being a biodiversity hotspot, the Mahanadi delta is facing groundwater salinization as one of the main environmental threats in the recent past. Hence, this study attempts to understand the dynamics of groundwater and its sustainable management options through numerical simulation in the Jagatsinghpur deltaic region. The result shows that groundwater in the study area is extensively abstracted for agricultural activities, which also causes the depletion of groundwater levels. The hydraulic head value varies from 0.7 to 15 m above mean sea level (MSL) with an average head of 6 m in this low-lying coastal region. The horizontal hydraulic conductivity and the specific yield values in the area are found to vary from 40 to 45 m/day and 0.05 to 0.07, respectively. The study area has been calibrated for two years (2004–2005) by using these parameters, followed by the validation of four years (2006–2009). The calibrated numerical model is used to evaluate the net recharge and groundwater balance in this study area. The interaction between the river and coastal unconfined aquifer system responds differently in different seasons. The net groundwater recharge to the coastal aquifer has been estimated and varies from 247.89 to 262.63 million cubic meters (MCM) in the year 2006–2007. The model further indicates a net outflow of 8.92–9.64 MCM of groundwater into the Bay of Bengal. Further, the outflow to the sea is preventing the seawater ingress into the shallow coastal aquifer system.

Aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) are well known for their excellent wear resistance and low weight. In the present work, in-situ synthesis of Al-Si-TiB 2 composites with near eutectic and hypereutectic compositions of Al-Si alloys has been attempted through salt-metal reaction (K 2 TiF 6 and KBF 4 halide salts) by stir casting route. The fabricated composites were subjected to microstructure analysis, XRD study, sliding wear test, hardness and density measurements. The combined effect of Si and TiB 2 is the novelty of this investigation to alter the structure–property correlation as well as hardness and tribological properties. Optical Emission Spectroscopy analysis indicated some amount of Si loss during stir casting and revealed the final composition of the cast composites. Though the increase in the density of the composite was not considerable due to incorporation of TiB 2 particles, there was remarkable improvement in hardness and tribological properties attributed to clear interface between the matrix and the reinforcement as a result of in-situ process of fabrication. Wear resistance was found to be improved with increasing amount of Si content with a fixed TiB 2 content in the composites under a constant load. TiB 2 acts as a good grain refiner and improves the wear properties of the hypereutectic Al-Si alloy composites by decreasing the brittle primary silicon particle size.

Aluminum alloy-based surface composites have been in numerous applications since the introduction of the Friction Stir Processing (FSP) method to develop multifunctional properties owing to its ease of use and control in process parameters to obtain desired properties. AA6061-T651 is used as a substitute for AA6082 in structural applications due to its higher strength in comparison. To further improve the surface properties of AA6061, the friction stir processing technique was employed to reinforce Boron Carbide (B4C) particles by the Blind-Hole method. To achieve uniformity in distribution, FSP with a different direction strategy has been adopted. The surfaces thus developed were characterized using Optical Microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques. The grain size measurement was made on the processed samples using Heyn lineal intercept method. Tension and microhardness tests were also conducted to study the change in mechanical properties. The dark carbide zones with clear boundaries were identified in single pass processed specimens. Uniformity in the B4C distribution was observed on the dual-pass surface. In addition, Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) results have shown the presence of B4C embedded regions in the nugget zones along with the AA6061 matrix. Higher ultimate tensile strength was observed with the single-pass processed surface by 11% than the dual-pass processed surface.

Considering water as a limiting factor for socio-economic development, especially in arid/semi-arid regions, both scientific communities and policymakers are interested in groundwater recharge-related data. India is fast moving toward a crisis of groundwater due to intense abstraction and contamination. There is a lack of understanding regarding the occurrence, movement, and behaviors of groundwater in a fractured basement terrane. Therefore, integrated environmental isotopes (δ18O, δ2H, and 3H) and hydrogeochemical studies have been used to understand the recharge processes and geochemical evolution of groundwater in the fractured basement terranes of Gujarat, NW India. Our results show that the relative abundance of major cations and anions in the study basin are Ca2+ > Na+ > Mg2+ > K+ and HCO3− > Cl− > SO42− > NO3−, respectively. This suggests that the chemical weathering of silicate minerals influences the groundwater chemistry in the aquifer system. A change in hydrochemical facies from Ca-HCO3 to Na-Mg-Ca-Cl. HCO3 has been identified from the recharge to discharge areas. Along the groundwater flow direction, the presence of chemical constituents with different concentrations demonstrates that the various geochemical mechanisms are responsible for this geochemical evolution. Furthermore, the chemical composition of groundwater also reflects that the groundwater has interacted with distinct rock types (granites/granulites). The stable isotopes (δ18O and δ2H) of groundwater reveal that the local precipitation is the main source of recharge. However, the groundwater recharge is affected by the evaporation process due to different geological conditions irrespective of topographical differences in the study area. The tritium (3H) content of groundwater suggests that the aquifer is mainly recharged by modern rainfall events. Thus, in semi-arid regions, the geology, weathering, and geologic structures have a significant role in bringing chemical changes in groundwater and smoothening the recharge process. The findings of this study will prove vital for the decision-makers or policymakers to take appropriate measures to design water budgets as well as water management plans more sustainably.

Background Diarrhea, exacerbated by poor hygiene and contaminated water, causes significant child mortality globally. Vibrio cholerae O1 is a primary pathogen, with outbreaks linked to specific biotypes and regions like India. This study documents an acute diarrheal disease outbreak in Rourkela (urban setting), Odisha. Methods A matched case-control study was carried out followed by preliminary investigations. Additionally, laboratory investigations were carried out to confirm the cholera outbreak. Results The current outbreak reported 1812 Acute Diarrheal Disease (ADD) cases, with a daily incidence rate of 32.7 per one lakh population as of 20th December 2023. Hospitalizations peaked at 58.7%, and six deaths occurred, yielding a case fatality rate of 3.3 per 1000 cases. Sudden rise in cases of ADD was seen in five of the healthcare facilities situated in the urban Rourkela. The mean diarrheal frequency per day among cases was 6.24 ± 2.61 with watery discharge, abdominal pain, and vomiting being reported commonly. And a significant association of cases was found with type of toilet used. Among all the cases; 20.59% were identified as Vibrio cholerae 01 and 2.94% as Shigella flexneri upon culture serotyping. Conclusions The emergence of multi-drug resistant strains has a significant impact on outbreak control. Holistic approaches are imperative in combating cholera transmission and minimizing its public health impact in India.