Sustainable Water Allocation in Umarkhed Taluka through Optimization of Reservoir Operation in the Wardha Sub-Basin, India

Climate change is causing shifts in seasonal weather patterns and variation in seasonal time scales in India. Factors including uneven distribution of water, faulty agricultural practices and water policies, low prices of farm products, and debt are leading farmers to commit suicide in Umarkhed Taluka of the Yavatmal District. This study aimed to develop a sustainable solution to water scarcity in the surrounding watershed by introducing optimization modeling in reservoir operation. Past studies have conducted different hydrologic analyses to address the water scarcity issue in this region. However, none of the studies incorporated optimization in their models. This study developed an integrated hydrologic and optimization model that can predict the daily reservoir releases for climate change scenarios from 2020 to 2069 based upon Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP-4.5 and RCP-8.5) climate change scenarios from 2020 to 2069. The integrated simulations were able to deliver around 19% more water than the historical discharge at the most downstream station of the Wardha Watershed. The simulated approaches store less water than the actual unoptimized scenario and deliver water when there is a need at the downstream locations. Finally, because the downstream locations of the Wardha Watershed receive more water, a localized storage system can be developed and a transfer method can be utilized to deliver sufficient water to the Umarkhed Taluka.

Functionalization of Gold Nanoparticles with Monosaccharide Mannose

Gold nanoparticles have found a wide range of application in biomedical sciences. Unique properties of these metal nanoparticles include surface plasmon resonance and size dependent colour change. Various molecules have been functionalized on the gold nanoparticles surface but carbohydrates have garnered attention due to their properties and their role in living systems. However certain challenges make carbohydrate-gold nanoparticles association difficult to obtain and stabilize. This study was carried out to chemically remodel gold nanoparticles by adding a monosaccharide mannose to its surface. A modified phase transfer method was used to synthesize gold nanoparticles. The surface of the nanoparticles was fixed with cyanuric chloride to serve as a linker. Mannose was then linked to the linker molecule. All three stages of the process, gold nanoparticles, and gold nanoparticles with linker and gold nanoparticles with the carbohydrate were analyzed for size and stability. Zeta potential and UV-vis data exhibited stable gold nanoparticles dispersion, successful binding of linker molecule as well as the carbohydrate. This study shows a simple, cost-effective and robust method of glycomodification of gold nanoparticles surface which can further find use in wide ranging applications.

Residue-Free Suspended Graphene Transferred by Perforated Template

A residue-free transfer method for graphene is proposed in this study, especially for the fabrication of suspended structures. Using perforated polymer templates, graphene can be precisely transferred onto the specific position in the perforated target SiO2/Si substrates without the need for polymer removal and the subsequent thermal annealing process. The surface of the transferred graphene by the proposed method was analyzed and corroborated via Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy. The results of these analyses suggest that the graphene surface has no polymeric residues resulting from the transfer process. The proposed method provides a powerful approach for the transfer of 2D materials and it enables the exploitation of their suspended structures for device applications as well as the physical characterizations without worry on the effect of contaminants.

The Assistance in developing religious-based tourism villages in Susut Village, Bangli

The natural and cultural potential of Susut Village, Banjar District is a tourist attraction that has not been fully developed by the community considering the lack of knowledge about the development of tourist villages. The purpose of this community service is to provide an understanding of the community in Susut Village, especially through village officials regarding the management of the accommodation business (home stay), assisting the registration of tourism awareness groups, and the formation of tourist villages. The knowledge and skill transfer method are used to overcome the problems experienced by village officials in Susut Village. The result of this community service is that village officials can propose pokdarwis as an institution that cares about tourism development which will eventually be able to realize the formation of a Tourism Village in Susut Village, Bangli Regency.

Fabrication of graphene–ZnO heterostructure-based flexible and thin platform-based UV detector

This work presents the performance evaluation of Graphene/ZnO Schottky junctions grown on flexible indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. The fabricated structures include chemical vapour deposition grown graphene layer on ITO-coated PET substrates. Polymethyl methacrylate assisted transfer method has been employed for the successful transfer of graphene from Cu substrate to PET. The smaller D-band intensity (1350 cm−1) compared to G-band (1580 cm−1) indicates good quality of carbon lattice with less number of defects. High-quality ZnO has been deposited through RF sputtering. The deposited ZnO with grain size 50–95 nm exhibited dislocation densities of 1.31270 × 10–3 nm−2 and compressive nature with negative strain of − 1.43156 GPa. Further, the electrical and optical characterization of the devices has been done through device I–V characterization and UV detection analysis. The UV detection capability of the device has been carried out with the aid of a UV-lamp of 365 nm wavelength. The fabricated graphene/ZnO photodetector showed good response to UV illumination. The device performance analysis has been done through a comparison of the device responsivity and detectivity with the existing detectors. The detectivity and responsivity of the fabricated detectors were 7.106 × 109 mHz1/2 W−1 and 0.49 A W−1, respectively.

Optimization of the Interface Between Catalyst Layer and Proton Exchange Membrane via rolled technique

Optimization of the interface between the catalyst layer (CL) and the proton exchange membrane (PEM) plays an important role in performance enhancement in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Here, a rolled technique was used to optimize the PEM|CL interface to obtain a smooth CL surface with decreased roughness from 0.347 to 0.266 μm due to the reduction of protrusions after the rolled process. Advantages of the optimized PEM|CL interface formed after decal transfer method were carefully evaluated. First, the internal resistance of the rolled CL is significantly reduced from 61.5 to 47.5 mΩ cm2@2000 mA/cm2, which is ascribed to the higher contact area between CL and PEM. Meanwhile, owning to the alleviation of liquid water accumulation at the interface, the oxygen transport resistance at no back pressure of CL dropped from 0.21 to 0.15 s/cm. The relieved ohm polarization and mass transfer polarization promote a 28.5% increase of performance. Rolled technique with proper calendrer roll space could result in an optimized interface with well-maintained internal structural integrity of CL. However, a lower calendrer roll gap will damage the structure of CL and have a negative effect on the interface optimization.

Installation Engineering Challenges of the World's Heaviest Topside on Steel Substructure

As part of a green field development project for ADNOC offshore, NPCC here in after called as "contractor", successfully completed installation of an oil and gas processing super complex at offshore Abu Dhabi. This super complex consisted of four large interconnected platforms of different functionalities and an accommodation platform. Associated flare structures and interconnecting bridges were also installed as part of this project. Weights of the topsides in this project were varying from 7,000MT to a ∼32,000 MT. All these topsides were installed by float-over method using contractors own cargo /launch barge fleet. Gas treatment platform topside installed as part of the above project is the world's heaviest single-module topside Installed by float-over on a fixed steel jacket. Float-over is the process of installing the topside on a preinstalled jacket by ballasting and/or by other methods of load transfer such as hydraulic jacks. This installation method is widely used for heavy topsides, due to its cost effectiveness and efficiency. By float over installation method, the topside can be installed as a single integrated unit after completion of all hookup and commissioning works onshore. This paper outlines installation engineering challenges during EPC phase for the gas treatment platform topside. Design of this topside went through phenomenal changes in terms of its size and weight during EPC phase and posed several challenges to install this unit as a single module. This paper presents the installation method, and various parameters considered during installation and also includes discussion on selection of float-over barge, importance of weight control & layout design, finalization of topside support height on barge and installation aids. This paper also presents various installation engineering analyses required during design stage. Float-over installation of the gas treatment platform was carried out by the conventional load transfer method (by ballasting) and using normal spread mooring arrangement.