Search results for: prototype fuel cell electric vehicles

Authors: Ugochukwu Ejike Akpudo, Jank-Wook Hur

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The increasing demand for improved productivity, maintainability, and reliability has prompted rapidly increasing research studies on the emerging condition-based maintenance concept- Prognostics and health management (PHM). Varieties of fuel pumps serve critical functions in several hydraulic systems; hence, their failure can have daunting effects on productivity, safety, etc. The need for condition monitoring and assessment of these pumps cannot be overemphasized, and this has led to the uproar in research studies on standard feature extraction techniques for optimized condition assessment of fuel pumps. By extracting time-based, frequency-based and the more robust time-frequency based features from these vibrational signals, a more comprehensive feature assessment (and selection) can be achieved for a more accurate and reliable condition assessment of these pumps. With the aid of emerging deep classification and regression algorithms like the locally linear embedding (LLE), we propose a method for comprehensive condition assessment of electromagnetic fuel pumps (EMFPs). Results show that the LLE as a comprehensive feature extraction technique yields better feature fusion/dimensionality reduction results for condition assessment of EMFPs against the use of single features. Also, unlike other feature fusion techniques, its capabilities as a fault classification technique were explored, and the results show an acceptable accuracy level using standard performance metrics for evaluation.

Keywords: electromagnetic fuel pumps, comprehensive feature extraction, condition assessment, locally linear embedding, feature fusion

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Authors: B. Casper

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The energy transition towards renewable energies and drastically reduced carbon dioxide emissions in Germany drives multiple sectors into a transformation process. Photovoltaic and on-shore wind power are predominantly feeding in the low and medium-voltage grids. The electricity grid is not laid out to allow an increasing feed-in of power in low and medium voltage grids. Electric mobility is currently in the run-up phase in Germany and still lacks a significant amount of charging stations. The additional power demand by e-mobility cannot be supplied by the existing electric grids in most cases. The future demands in heating and cooling of commercial and residential buildings are increasingly generated by heat-pumps. Yet the most important part in the energy transition is the storage of surplus energy generated by photovoltaic and wind power sources. Water electrolysis is one way to store surplus energy known as power-to-gas. With the vehicle-to-grid technology, the upcoming fleet of electric cars could be used as energy storage to stabilize the grid. All these processes use direct current (DC). The demand of bi-directional flow and higher efficiency in the future grids can be met by using DC. The Flexible Electrical Networks (FEN) research campus at RWTH Aachen investigates interdisciplinary about the advantages, opportunities, and limitations of DC grids. This paper investigates the impact of DC grids as a technological innovation on the urban form and urban life. Applying explorative scenario development, analyzation of mapped open data sources on grid networks and research-by-design as a conceptual design method, possible starting points for a transformation to DC medium voltage grids could be found. Several fields of action have emerged in which DC technology could become a catalyst for future urban development: energy transition in urban areas, e-mobility, and transformation of the network infrastructure. The investigation shows a significant potential to increase renewable energy production within cities with DC grids. The charging infrastructure for electric vehicles will predominantly be using DC in the future because fast and ultra fast charging can only be achieved with DC. Our research shows that e-mobility, combined with autonomous driving has the potential to change the urban space and urban logistics fundamentally. Furthermore, there are possible win-win-win solutions for the municipality, the grid operator and the inhabitants: replacing overhead transmission lines by underground DC cables to open up spaces in contested urban areas can lead to a positive example of how the energy transition can contribute to a more sustainable urban structure. The outlook makes clear that target grid planning and urban planning will increasingly need to be synchronized.

Keywords: direct current, e-mobility, energy transition, grid planning, renewable energy, urban planning

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Authors: Maryam Kiani

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In order to enhance the efficiency and stability of an electrocatalyst for formic acid electro-oxidation reaction (FAOR), we developed a method to create Pt/Ni nanoparticles with carbon black. These nanoparticles were prepared using a simple impregnation reduction technique. During the observation, it was found that the nanoparticles had a spherical shape. Additionally, the average particle size remained consistent, falling within the range of about 4 nm. This approach aimed to obtain a loaded Pt-based electrocatalyst that would exhibit improved performance and stability when used in FAOR applications. By utilizing the impregnation reduction method and incorporating Ni nanoparticles along with Pt, we sought to enhance the catalytic properties of the material. By incorporating Ni atoms into the Pt structure, the electronic properties of Pt are modified, resulting in a delay in the chemisorption of harmful CO intermediate species. This modification also promotes the dehydrogenation pathway of the formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR). Through electrochemical analysis, it has been observed that the Pt3Ni-C catalyst exhibits enhanced performance in FAOR compared to traditional Pt catalysts. This means that the addition of Ni atoms improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the Pt3Ni-C catalyst in facilitating the FAOR process. Overall, the utilization of these alloy nanoparticles as electrocatalysts represents a significant advancement in fuel cell technology.

Keywords: electrocatalyst, impregnation reduction method, formic acid electro-oxidation reaction, fuel cells

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Authors: Akshita Swaminathan, Vinayak Malhotra

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Smoldering is one of the most persistent types of combustion which can take place for very long periods (hours, days, months) if there is an abundance of fuel. It causes quite a notable number of accidents and is one of the prime suspects for fire and safety hazards. It can be ignited with weaker ignition and is more difficult to suppress than flaming combustion. Upward spread smoldering is the case in which the air flow is parallel to the direction of the smoldering front. This type of smoldering is quite uncontrollable, and hence, there is a need to study this phenomenon. As compared to flaming combustion, a smoldering phenomenon often goes unrecognised and hence is a cause for various fire accidents. A simplified experimental setup was raised to study the upward spread smoldering, its effects due to varying forced flow and its effects when it takes place in the presence of external heat sources and alternative energy sources such as acoustic energy. Linear configurations were studied depending on varying forced flow effects on upward spread smoldering. Effect of varying forced flow on upward spread smoldering was observed and studied: (i) in the presence of external heat source (ii) in the presence of external alternative energy sources (acoustic energy). The role of ash removal was observed and studied. Results indicate that upward spread forced smoldering was affected by various key controlling parameters such as the speed of the forced flow, surface orientation, interspace distance (distance between forced flow and the pilot fuel). When an external heat source was placed on either side of the pilot fuel, it was observed that the smoldering phenomenon was affected. The surface orientation and interspace distance between the external heat sources and the pilot fuel were found to play a huge role in altering the regression rate. Lastly, by impinging an alternative energy source in the form of acoustic energy on the smoldering front, it was observed that varying frequencies affected the smoldering phenomenon in different ways. The surface orientation also played an important role. This project highlights the importance of fire and safety hazard and means of better combustion for all kinds of scientific research and practical applications. The knowledge acquired from this work can be applied to various engineering systems ranging from aircrafts, spacecrafts and even to buildings fires, wildfires and help us in better understanding and hence avoiding such widespread fires. Various fire disasters have been recorded in aircrafts due to small electric short circuits which led to smoldering fires. These eventually caused the engine to catch fire that cost damage to life and property. Studying this phenomenon can help us to control, if not prevent, such disasters.

Keywords: alternative energy sources, flaming combustion, ignition, regression rate, smoldering

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Authors: Bahareh Asefi, Fereidoun Farzaneh, Ghazaleh Asefi

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Continuous increasing food waste produced on a global as well as national scale may lead to burgeoning environmental and economic problems. Simultaneously, decreasing the use efficiencies of natural resources such as land, water, and energy is occurring. On the other hand, food waste has a high-energy content, which seems ideal to achieve dual benefits in terms of energy recovery and the improvement of resource use efficiencies. Therefore, to decrease the environmental impacts of food waste and resource conservation, the researcher has focused on traditional methods of using food waste as a resource through different approaches such as anaerobic digestion, composting, incineration, and landfill. The adverse environmental effects of growing food waste make it difficult for traditional food waste treatment and management methods to balance social, economic, and environmental benefits. The old technology does not need to develop, but several new technologies such as microbial fuel cells, food waste disposal, and bio-converting food waste technology still need to establish or appropriately considered. It is pointed out that some new technologies can take into account various benefits. Since the information about food waste and its management method is critical for executable policy, a review of the latest information regarding the source of food waste and its management technology in some counties is provided in this study.

Keywords: food waste, management technology, innovative method, bio converting food waste, microbial fuel cell

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Authors: Abid Ali Abid

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One-dimensional (1-D) particle-in-cell (PIC) electrostatic simulations are carried out to investigate the electrostatic waves, whose constituents are hot, cold and beam electrons in the background of motionless positive ions. In fact, the electrostatic modes excited are electron acoustic waves, beam driven waves as well as Langmuir waves. It is assessed that the relevant plasma parameters, for example, hot electron temperature, beam electron drift speed, and the electron beam density significantly modify the electrostatics wave's profiles. In the nonlinear stage, the wave-particle interaction becomes more evident and the waves have obtained its saturation level. Consequently, electrons become trapped in the waves and trapping vortices are clearly formed. Because of this trapping vortices and mixing of the electrons in phase space, finally, lead to electrons thermalization. It is observed that for the high-density value of the beam-electron, the solitary waves having a bipolar form of the electric field. These solitons are the nonlinear Brenstein-Greene and Kruskal wave mode that attributes the trapping of electrons potential well of phase-space hole. These examinations revealed that electrostatic waves have been exited in beam-plasma model and producing waves having broad-frequency ranges, which may clarify the broadband electrostatic noise (BEN) spectrum studied in the auroral zone.

Keywords: electron acoustic waves, trapping of cold electron, Langmuir waves, particle-in cell simulation

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Authors: Sh. Heidari, A. J. Andrews, A. Oberoi

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Electrochemical storage of hydrogen in activated carbon electrodes as part of a reversible fuel cell offers a potentially attractive option for storing surplus electrical energy from inherently variable solar and wind energy resources. Such a system – which we have called a proton flow battery – promises to have a roundtrip energy efficiency comparable to lithium ion batteries, while having higher gravimetric and volumetric energy densities. In this paper, a theoretical model is presented of the process of H+ ion (proton) conduction through an acid electrolyte into a highly porous activated carbon electrode where it is neutralised and absorbed on the inner surfaces of pores. A Butler-Volmer type equation relates the rate of adsorption to the potential difference between the activated carbon surface and the electrolyte. This model for the hydrogen storage electrode is then incorporated into a more general computer model based on MATLAB software of the entire electrochemical cell including the oxygen electrode. Hence a theoretical voltage-current curve is generated for given input parameters for a particular activated carbon electrode. It is shown that theoretical VI curves produced by the model can be fitted accurately to experimental data from an actual electrochemical cell with the same characteristics. By obtaining the best-fit values of input parameters, such as the exchange current density and charge transfer coefficient for the hydrogen adsorption reaction, an improved understanding of the adsorption reaction is obtained. This new model will assist in designing improved proton flow batteries for storing solar and wind energy.

Keywords: electrochemical hydrogen storage, proton flow battery, butler-volmer equation, activated carbon

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Authors: Eduardo Remirez, Luis Moreno

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The rapid growth of the private satellite launchers sector is leading the space race. Hence, with the privatization of the sector, all the companies are racing for a more efficient and reliant way to set satellites in orbit. Having detected the current needs for power management in the launcher vehicle industry, the Modular Power Bus is proposed as a technology to revolutionize power management in current and future Launcher Vehicles. The MPBus Project is committed to develop a new power bus architecture combining ejectable batteries with the main bus through intelligent nodes. These nodes are able to communicate between them and a battery controller using an improved, data over DC line technology, expected to reduce the total weight in two main areas: improving the use of the batteries and reducing the total weight due to harness. This would result in less weight for each launch stage increasing the operational satellite payload and reducing cost. These features make the system suitable for a number of launchers.

Keywords: modular power bus, Launcher vehicles, ejectable batteries, intelligent nodes

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Authors: Siming Wang, Qing Ni, Yu Wu, Ruihai Xu, Hong Ye

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Porous electric heaters, compared to conventional electric heaters, exhibit excellent heating performance due to their large specific surface area. Porous electric heaters employ porous metallic materials or conductive porous ceramics as the heating element. The former attains a low heating power with a fixed current due to the low electrical resistivity of metal. Although the latter can bypass the inherent challenges of porous metallic materials, the fabrication process of the conductive porous ceramics is complicated and high cost. This work proposed a porous ceramic electric heater with dielectric honeycomb ceramic as a substrate and surface conductive coating as a heating element. The conductive coating was prepared by the sol-gel method using silica sol and methyl trimethoxysilane as raw materials and graphite powder as conductive fillers. The conductive mechanism and degradation reason of the conductive coating was studied by electrical resistivity and thermal stability analysis. The heating performance of the proposed heater was experimentally investigated by heating air and deionized water. The results indicate that the electron transfer is achieved by forming the conductive network through the contact of the graphite flakes. With 30 wt% of graphite, the electrical resistivity of the conductive coating can be as low as 0.88 Ω∙cm. The conductive coating exhibits good electrical stability up to 500°C but degrades beyond 600°C due to the formation of many cracks in the coating caused by the weight loss and thermal expansion. The results also show that the working medium has a great influence on the volume power density of the heater. With air under natural convection as the working medium, the volume power density attains 640.85 kW/m3, which can be increased by 5 times when using deionized water as the working medium. The proposed honeycomb ceramic electric heater has the advantages of the simple fabrication method, low cost, and high volume power density, demonstrating great potential in the fluid heating field.

Keywords: conductive coating, honeycomb ceramic electric heater, high specific surface area, high volume power density

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Authors: Isobel Hambleton, Mark Carrington

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Trypanosoma brucei, the causal agent of a range of diseases in humans and livestock, evades the mammalian immune system through a population survival strategy based on the expression of a series of antigenically distinct variant surface glycoproteins (VSGs). RNAi mediated knockdown of the active VSG gene triggers a precytokinesis cell cycle arrest. To determine whether this phenotype is the result of reduced VSG transcript or depleted VSG protein, we used morpholino antisense oligonucleotides to block translation of VSG mRNA. The same precytokinesis cell cycle arrest was observed, suggesting that VSG protein abundance is monitored closely throughout the cell cycle. An inducible expression system has been developed to test various GPI-anchored proteins for their ability to rescue this cell cycle arrest. This system has been used to demonstrate that wild-type VSG expressed from a T7 promoter rescues this phenotype. This indicates that VSG expression from one of the specialised bloodstream expression sites (BES) is not essential for cell division. The same approach has been used to define the minimum essential features of a VSG necessary for function.

Keywords: bloodstream expression site, morpholino, precytokinesis cell cycle arrest, variant surface glycoprotein

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Authors: P. Lauk, K. E. Seegel, T. Tähemaa

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The fuel consumption of modern, high wing loading, commercial aircraft in the first stage of flight is high because the usable flight level is lower and the weather conditions (jet stream) have great impact on aircraft performance. To reduce the fuel consumption, it is necessary to raise during first stage of flight the L/D ratio value within Cl 0.55-0.65. Different variable geometrical wing trailing edge modifications of SC(2)-410 airfoil were compared at M 0.78 using the CFD software STAR-CCM+ simulation based Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. The numerical results obtained show that by increasing the width of the airfoil by 4% and by modifying the trailing edge airfoil, it is possible to decrease airfoil drag at Cl 0.70 for up to 26.6% and at the same time to increase commercial aircraft L/D ratio for up to 5.0%. Fuel consumption can be reduced in proportion to the increase in L/D ratio.

Keywords: L/D ratio, miniflaps, mini-TED, supercritical airfoil

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Authors: Ghada S. Moussa

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With the increase in population along with economic prosperity, an enormous increase in the number and types of vehicles on the roads occurred. This fact brings a growing need for efficiently yet effectively classifying vehicles into their corresponding categories, which play a crucial role in many areas of infrastructure planning and traffic management. This paper presents two vehicle-type classification approaches; 1) geometric-based and 2) appearance-based. The two classification approaches are used for two tasks: multi-class and intra-class vehicle classifications. For the evaluation purpose of the proposed classification approaches’ performance and the identification of the most effective yet efficient one, 10-fold cross-validation technique is used with a large dataset. The proposed approaches are distinguishable from previous research on vehicle classification in which: i) they consider both geometric and appearance attributes of vehicles, and ii) they perform remarkably well in both multi-class and intra-class vehicle classification. Experimental results exhibit promising potentials implementations of the proposed vehicle classification approaches into real-world applications.

Keywords: appearance attributes, geometric attributes, support vector machine, vehicle classification

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Authors: Bayan Almofty, Yuto Yamaki, Tadamasa Terai, Sadahito Uto

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Myopathy (muscles disease) treatment are expected in the field of regenerative medicine and applied research of cultured muscle to bio actuator is performed in Biomedical Engineering as applied research of cultured muscle. This study is about cultured myoblast C2C12 from mouse skeletal muscle and a mechanism of cultured muscle contraction by electric stimulation is investigated. Grayanotoxins (GTXs) belong to neurotoxins known to enhance the permeability of cell membrane for Na ions. Grayanotoxins are extracted from a famous Pieris japonica and Ericaceae as a phytotoxin. We investigated the functional role of GTXs on muscle cells (C2C12) contraction and membrane potential. A change in membrane potential is measured using a micro glass tube electrode contraction of myotubes is induced by applying an external electrical stimulation. The contraction and membrane potential change induced by injection of current using the micro glass electrode are also measured. From the result, contraction and membrane potential of muscle cells was affected by GTXs treatment, suggesting that the diverse chemical structures of GTXs are responsible for contraction and membrane potential of muscle cells.

Keywords: skeletal muscle, C2C12, myoblast, myotubes, contraction, Grayanotoxins, membrane potential, neurotoxins, phytotoxin

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Authors: Hamed Karimian, Noraziah Nordin, Mohamad Ibrahim Noordin, Syam Mohan, Mahboubeh Razavi, Najihah Mohd Hashim, Happipah Mohd Ali

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Satureja bachtiarica Bunge is a perennial medicinal plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family and endemic species in Iran. Satureja bachtiarica Bunge with the local name of Marzeh koohi is edible vegetable use as flavoring agent, anti-bacterial and to relieve cough and indigestion. In this study, the anti-cancer effect of Satureja bachtiarica Bunge on the MDA-MB-231 cell line as an Breast cancer cell model has been analyzed for the first time. Satureja bachtiarica Bunge was extracted using different solvents in the order of increasing polarity. Cytotoxicity activity of hexane extract of Satureja bachtiarica Bunge (SBHE) was observed using MTT assay. Acridine orange/Propidium iodide staining was used to detect early apoptosis; Annexin-V-FITC assay was carried out to observe the detection of cell-surface Phosphatidylserine (PS), with Annexin-Vserving as a marker for apoptotic cells. Caspase 3/7, 8 and-9 assays showed significantly activation of caspase-9 where lead intrinsic mitochondrial pathway. Bcl-2/Bax expressions and cell cycle arrest were also investigated. SBHE had exhibited significantly higher cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 Cell line compare to other cell lines. A significant increase in chromatin condensation in the cell nucleus was observed by fluorescence analysis. Treatment of MDA-MB-231 cells with SBHE encouraged apoptosis, by down-regulating Bcl-2 and up-regulating Bax, which lead the activation of caspase 9. Moreover, SBHE treatment significantly arrested MDA-MB-231 cells in the G1 phase. Together, the results presented in this study demonstrated that SBHE inhibited the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells, leading cell cycle arrest and programmed cell death, which was confirmed to be through the mitochondrial pathway.

Keywords: Satureja bachtiarica Bunge, MDA-MB-231, apoptosis, annexin-V, cell cycle

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Authors: Draou Azeddine, Mazin Alahmadi, Abdulrahmane Alkassem, Alamri Abdullah

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The demand for electric power in Saudi Arabia is steadily increasing with economic growth. More power plants should be installed to increase generation capacity and meet demand. Electricity in Saudi Arabia is mainly dependent on fossil fuels, which are a major problem as they deplete natural resources and increase CO₂ emissions. In this research work, performance and techno-economic analyzes are conducted to evaluate a microgrid system based on hybrid PV/wind diesel power sources as a stand-alone system for rural electrification in Saudi Arabia. The total power flow, maximum power point tracking (MPPT) efficiency, effectiveness of the proposed control strategy, and total harmonic distortion (THD) are analyzed in MATLAB/Simulink environment. Various simulation studies have been carried out under different irradiation conditions. The sizing, optimization, and economic feasibility analysis were performed using Homer energy software.

Keywords: WIND, solar, microgrid, energy

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Authors: Dorottya Guban, Irina Borbath, Istvan Bakos, Peter Nemeth, Andras Tompos

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One of the greatest challenges of the implementation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is to find active and durable electrocatalysts. The cell performance is always limited by the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on the cathode since it is at least 6 orders of magnitude slower than the hydrogen oxidation on the anode. Therefore high loading of Pt is required. Catalyst corrosion is also more significant on the cathode, especially in case of mobile applications, where rapid changes of loading have to be tolerated. Pt-Sn bulk alloys and SnO2-decorated Pt3Sn nanostructures are among the most studied bimetallic systems for fuel cell applications. Exclusive formation of supported Sn-Pt alloy phases with different Pt/Sn ratios can be achieved by using controlled surface reactions (CSRs) between hydrogen adsorbed on Pt sites and tetraethyl tin. In this contribution our results for commercial and a home-made 20 wt.% Pt/C catalysts modified by tin anchoring via CSRs are presented. The parent Pt/C catalysts were synthesized by modified NaBH4-assisted ethylene-glycol reduction method using ethanol as a solvent, which resulted either in dispersed and highly stable Pt nanoparticles or evenly distributed raspberry-like agglomerates according to the chosen synthesis parameters. The 20 wt.% Pt/C catalysts prepared that way showed improved electrocatalytic performance in the ORR and stability in comparison to the commercial 20 wt.% Pt/C catalysts. Then, in order to obtain Sn-Pt/C catalysts with Pt/Sn= 3 ratio, the Pt/C catalysts were modified with tetraethyl tin (SnEt4) using three and five consecutive tin anchoring periods. According to in situ XPS studies in case of catalysts with highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles, pre-treatment in hydrogen even at 170°C resulted in complete reduction of the ionic tin to Sn0. No evidence of the presence of SnO2 phase was found by means of the XRD and EDS analysis. These results demonstrate that the method of CSRs is a powerful tool to create Pt-Sn bimetallic nanoparticles exclusively, without tin deposition onto the carbon support. On the contrary, the XPS results revealed that the tin-modified catalysts with raspberry-like Pt agglomerates always contained a fraction of non-reducible tin oxide. At the same time, they showed increased activity and long-term stability in the ORR than Pt/C, which was assigned to the presence of SnO2 in close proximity/contact with Pt-Sn alloy phase. It has been demonstrated that the content and dispersion of the fcc Pt3Sn phase within the electrocatalysts can be controlled by tuning the reaction conditions of CSRs. The bimetallic catalysts displayed an outstanding performance in the ORR. The preparation of a highly dispersed 20Pt/C catalyst permits to decrease the Pt content without relevant decline in the electrocatalytic performance of the catalysts.

Keywords: anode catalyst, cathode catalyst, controlled surface reactions, oxygen reduction reaction, PtSn/C electrocatalyst

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Authors: O. S. Adeyemi, C. G. Whiteley

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The present study determined the toxic potential of metal nanoparticles in cell culture system. Silver and gold nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized following established "green" protocols. The synthesized nanoparticles, in varying concentrations ranging from 0.1–100 µM were evaluated for toxicity in metastatic MDA-MB-231 cells. The nanoparticles promoted a generation of reactive oxygen species and reduced cell viability to less than 50% in the demonstration of cellular toxicity. The nanoparticles; gold and the silver-gold mixture had IC50 values of 56.65 and 18.44 µM respectively. The IC50 concentration for silver nanoparticles could not be determined. Furthermore, the probe of the cell death using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy revealed the partial involvement of apoptosis as well as necrosis. Our results revealed cellular toxicity caused by the nanoparticles but the mechanism remains yet undefined.

Keywords: cell death, nanomedicine, nanotoxicology, toxicity

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Authors: Emmanuel Nsengiyumva

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The complementary feature of batteries and supercapacitors (SC) in terms of energy density and power density makes the battery-supercapacitor hybrid energy storage system (HESS) an effective energy storage solution in application scenarios requiring a high power density and high energy density as it is for electric vehicle (EV). An appropriate topology and energy management strategy (EMS) for HESS is required to coordinate the power distribution among different power sources. Currently, commercial carbon-based supercapacitors are usually applied in HESS. However, the energy density of such supercapacitors is too low. On the other hand, new types of electrochemical capacitors, like hybrid supercapacitors, were reported to have increased energy density. This could lead to an improvement in the energy efficiency of a HESS. Thus, this study aims to build an adaptive EMS for battery/supercapacitor considering these new types of capacitors to increase the performance of the system. Effects of electrochemical capacitor model parameters on efficiency are studied after obtaining the model through parameter characterization of experimental data. Also, the charging mechanism's effect on energy efficiency is studied in this project. Firstly, a rule-based EMS with the aim of considering battery as a primary energy storage system is proposed. Then, dynamic programming (DP) is used with the purpose of minimizing the energy losses in the system, thereby improving energy efficiency. The DP optimization algorithm was chosen for our work to reach optimal global results. Since this optimization method can be used to refine rule-based methods or be considered as a tool to prepare training datasets for further usage in data-based EMSs, it will be used to refine the rule-based method for our case, which is a promising solution for real-time implementation.

Keywords: energy management strategy, hybrid energy storage system, battery, supercapacitor

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Authors: Yeng Min Yi, Rosli Md Illias, Salehhuddin Hamdan

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Industrial biocatalysis is mainly based on the use of cell free or intracellular enzyme systems. However, the expensive cost and relatively lower operational stability of free enzymes limit practical use in industries. Cell surface display system can be used as a cost-efficient alternative to overcome the laborious purification and substrate transport limitation. In this research, TibA autotransporter from E. coli was used to display Aspergillus fumigatus xylanase (xyn). The amplified xyn was fused in between N-terminal signal peptide and C-terminal β-barrel of TibA. The cloned was transformed and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). Outer membrane localization of TibA-xyn fusion protein was confirmed by SDS PAGE and western blot with expected size of 62.5 kDa. Functional display of xyn was examined by activity assay. Cell surface displayed xyn exhibited the highest activity at 37 °c, 0.3 mM IPTG. As a summary, TibA displaying system has the potential for further industrial applications. Moreover, this is the first report of the display of xylanase using TibA on the surface of E. coli.

Keywords: biocatalysis, cell surface display, Escherichia coli, TibA autotransporter

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Authors: Fawwaz Eniola Fajingbesi, Nur Shahida Midia, Elsheikh M. A. Elsheikh, Siti Hajar Yusoff

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Empirical analysis of lightning related phenomena in real time is extremely dangerous due to the relatively high electric discharge involved. Hence, design and optimization of efficient grounding systems depending on real time empirical methods are impeded. Using numerical methods, the dynamics of complex systems could be modeled hence solved as sets of linear and non-linear systems . In this work, the induced current distribution as lightning strike traverses the soil have been numerically modeled in a 2D axial-symmetry and solved using finite element method (FEM) in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.2 AC/DC module. Stratified and non- stratified electrode system were considered in the solved model and soil conductivity (σ) varied between 10 – 58 mS/m. The result discussed therein were the electric field distribution, current distribution and soil ionization phenomena. It can be concluded that the electric field and current distribution is influenced by the injected electric potential and the non-linearity in soil conductivity. The result from numerical calculation also agrees with previously laboratory scale empirical results.

Keywords: current distribution, grounding systems, lightning discharge, numerical model, soil conductivity, soil ionization

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Authors: Benmoussa Dennai, H. Benslimane, A. Helmaoui

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Photo voltaic conversion is the direct conversion of electromagnetic energy into electrical energy continuously. This electromagnetic energy is the most solar radiation. In this work we performed a computer modelling using AMPS 1D optimization of hetero-junction solar cells GaInP/GaAs configuration for p/ n. We studied the influence of the thickness the base layer in the cell offers on the open circuit voltage, the short circuit current and efficiency.

Keywords: optimization, photovoltaic cell, GaInP / GaAs AMPS-1D, hetetro-junction

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Authors: Manal Bouasria, Mohammed-Hichem Benzaama, Valérie Pralong, Yassine El Mendili

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Reducing the quantity of cement in cementitious composites can help to reduce the environmental effect of construction materials. By-products such as ferronickel slags (FNS), fly ash (FA), and Crepidula fornicata (CR) are promising options for cement replacement. In this work, we investigated the relevance of substituting cement with FNS-CR and FA-CR on the mechanical properties of mortar and on the thermal properties of concrete. Foraging intervals ranging from 2 to 28 days, the mechanical properties are obtained by 3-point bending and compression tests. The chosen mix is used to construct a prototype in order to study the material’s hygrothermal performance. The data collected by the sensors placed on the prototype was utilized to build an artificial neural network.

Keywords: artificial neural network, cement, circular economy, concrete, by products

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Authors: Christian C. Vaso, Rinlee Butch M. Cervera

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One of the most promising anode materials for solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) application is the Sr-doped LaMnO₃ (LSM) which is known to have a high electronic conductivity but low ionic conductivity. To increase the ionic conductivity or diffusion of ions through the anode, Yttria-stabilized Zirconia (YSZ), which has good ionic conductivity, is proposed to be combined with LSM to create a composite electrode and to obtain a high mixed ionic and electronic conducting anode. In this study, composite of lanthanum strontium manganite and YSZ oxide, La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃/Zr_0.92Y_0.08O₂ (LSM/YSZ), with different wt.% compositions of LSM and YSZ were synthesized using solid-state reaction. The obtained prepared composite samples of 60, 50, and 40 wt.% LSM with remaining wt.% of 40, 50, and 60, respectively for YSZ were fully characterized for its microstructure by using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and Scanning electron microscope/Energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) analyses. Surface morphology of the samples via SEM analysis revealed a well-sintered and densified pure LSM, while a more porous composite sample of LSM/YSZ was obtained. Electrochemical impedance measurements at intermediate temperature range (500-700 °C) of the synthesized samples were also performed which revealed that the 50 wt.% LSM with 50 wt.% YSZ (L50Y50) sample showed the highest total conductivity of 8.27x10^-1 S/cm at 600 ^oC with 0.22 eV activation energy.

Keywords: ceramics, microstructure, fuel cells, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

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Authors: A. M. Ashraful, H .H. Masjuki, M. A. Kalam

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Comparative investigations were performed on the particles matter emitted from a DI diesel engine utilizing palm biodiesel. In this experiment, palm biodiesel PB10 (90% diesel and 10% palm biodiesel), PB20 (80% diesel, 20% palm biodiesel) and diesel fuel samples exhaust were investigated at different working condition (25% and 50% load at 1500 rpm constant speed). Observation of this experiment it clearly seen that at low load condition particle matter concentration of palm biodiesel exhaust were de-creased than that of diesel fuel. At no load and 25% load condition PB10 biodiesel blend exhibited 2.2 times lower PM concentration than that of diesel fuel. On the other hand, elemental carbon (EC) and organic emission for PB10 showed decreases trend as varies 4.2% to 6.6% and 32 to 39% respectively, while elemental carbon percentage increased by 0.85 to 10% respectively. Similarly, metal composition of PB10 biodiesel blend increased by 4.8 to 26.5% respectively. SEM images for B10 and B20 demonstrated granular structure particulates with greater grain sizes compared with diesel fuel. Finally, the experimental outcomes showed that the blend composition and degree of unsaturation of the methyl ester present in biodiesel influence on the particulate matter formation.

Keywords: particulate matter, elemental carbon, organic carbon, biodiesel

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Authors: Muhammad Jum’at Dasuki

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This study investigates the ethical implications of post-fuel subsidy removal support initiatives in Kwara State, Nigeria, with a focus on the application of Islamic principles. The contentious issue of subsidy removal carries significant social and economic consequences, emphasizing the crucial role of ethical considerations in policy implementation. The research provides a comprehensive background on fuel subsidy removal in Nigeria and its implications. Examining post-fuel subsidy removal palliative measures in Kwara State, the study focuses on design and implementation challenges, ethical considerations, transparency, equity, and public trust. Utilizing a case study approach offers insights and best practices. The methodology includes primary sources through in-depth oral interviews and secondary sources like textbooks and journals, aiming for a holistic understanding of the ethical dimensions of support initiatives within the context of Islamic principles in Kwara State. The objective is to contribute to policy decisions and community development. The study recommends an ethically sound implementation of post-fuel subsidy removal support initiatives, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and inclusivity. It advocates for the inclusiveness of governmental palliatives, reaching both civil servants and common individuals in the state. Continuous distribution during fuel subsidy removal challenges is deemed vital. Additionally, extending free or subsidized transportation beyond higher institutions to the general populace is suggested. Consideration should also be given to reducing governmental hospital bills or providing free health services. The study underscores the importance of Islamic ethics in Nigerian governance and employs a case study approach to assess palliative measures in Kwara State, offering practical insights for policymakers and stakeholders.

Keywords: considerations, ethical, palliative, post-fuel subsidy removal

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Authors: Catherine Wheatley, Emma L. Davies, Helen Dawes

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The health benefits of exercise are widely recognised, but numerous interventions have failed to halt a sharp decline in physical activity during early adolescence. Many such projects are underpinned by the Theory of Planned Behaviour, yet this model of rational decision-making leaves variance in behavior unexplained. This study investigated whether the Prototype Willingness Model, which proposes a second, reactive decision-making path to account for spontaneous responses to the social environment, has potential to improve understanding of adolescent exercise behaviour in school by exploring constructs in the model with young people. PE teachers in 4 Oxfordshire schools each nominated 6 pupils who were active in school, and 6 who were inactive, to participate in the study. Of these, 45 (22 male) aged 12-13 took part in 8 focus group discussions. These were transcribed and subjected to deductive thematic analysis to search for themes relating to the prototype willingness model. Participants appeared to make rational decisions about commuting to school or attending sports clubs, but spontaneous choices to be inactive during both break and PE. These reactive decisions seemed influenced by a social context described as more ‘judgmental’ than primary school, characterised by anxiety about physical competence, negative peer evaluation and inactive playground norms. Participants described their images of typical active and inactive adolescents: active images included negative social characteristics including ‘show-off’. There was little concern about the long-term risks of inactivity, although participants seemed to recognise that physical activity is healthy. The Prototype Willingness Model might more fully explain young adolescents’ physical activity in school than rational behavioural models, indicating potential for physical activity interventions that target social anxieties in response to the changing playground environment. Images of active types could be more complex than earlier research has suggested, and their negative characteristics might influence willingness to be active.

Keywords: adolescence, physical activity, prototype willingness model, school

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Authors: Wojciech J. Nowak, Natalia Maciaszek, Marcin Drajewicz

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A constant requirement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in combination with the desire to increase gas turbine efficiency results in a continuous trend to increase the operating temperature of gas turbines. An increase in operating temperature will result in lower fuel consumption, and a higher combustion temperature will result in lower pollution release. Moreover, there is a strong trend for hydrogen to be used as an alternative and clean fuel. However, using hydrogen or hydrogen-rich fuel results in a higher combustion temperature, as well as an increase in the water vapor content in the exhaust gases. Commonly used Ni-base alloys have their limits. Moreover, the presence of water vapor worsens the oxidation behavior of Ni-based alloys at a high temperature. Therefore, a new brand of materials is demanded to be used in gas turbines operated with hydrogen-rich fuel. High-entropy alloys (HEAs) seem to be very promising materials to replace commonly used Ni-based alloys. HEAs are the group of materials consisting of at least five main equiatomic elements. These alloys can be doped by other elements in amounts less than 5 at. % in total. Thus, in the present study, NiCoCrAlFe-X alloys are studied in terms of oxidation behavior during exposure to dry and wet atmospheres up to 1000 h. NiCoCrAlFe-X alloys are doped with minor alloying elements in amounts ranging from 1-5 at.%. The effect of the chemical composition on oxidation resistance in dry and wet atmospheres will be shown and discussed.

Keywords: high entropy alloys, oxidation resistance, hydrogen fuel, water vapor

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Authors: Zafar Mahmood, Fahimullah Babar, Surriyia Naz, Hafiz Ur Rehman

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Cadmium Sulphide (CdS) was deposited on a Tec 15 glass substrate with the help of CBD (chemical bath deposition process) and then cadmium telluride CdTe was deposited on CdS with the help of CSS (closed spaced sublimation technique) for the construction of a solar cell. The thicknesses of all the deposited materials were measured with the help of Elipsometry. The IV graphs were drawn in order to observe the current voltage output. The efficiency of the cell was graphed with the fill factor as well (graphs not given here).The efficiency came out to be approximately 16.5 % and the CIGS (copper- indium –gallium- selenide) maximum efficiency is 20 %.The efficiency of a solar cell can further be enhanced by adapting quality materials, good experimental devices and proper procedures. The grain size was analyzed with the help of scanning electron microscope using RBS (Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy).

Keywords: CBD, CdS, CdTe, CSS

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Authors: Qi LI, Xu Lin, Nengming Lin

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Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of desmocollin 2 (DSC2) protein in the proliferation, migration and drug resistance of lung cancer cells. Method: CCK-8 assays and colony formation assays were used to evaluate the effect of dsc2 regulation on cancer cell viability and colony formation. Transwell assays and wound healing assays were also performed. Cell flow double staining was used to detect the apoptosis rate of cells with DSC2, which was added cisplatin. Western blot assay was used to detect cell cycle, PI3k/Akt and apoptosis-related proteins. Results: Our data showed that dsc2 is upregulated in clinical lung cancer tissues compared with pericarcinomatous tissues, and it is differentially expressed in lung cancer cell lines. The down-regulation of dsc2 in A549 and H358 lung cancer cells significantly suppressed the cell proliferation, metastasis, and motility. In contrast, the opposite effects were observed in overexpression of dsc2 both in H23 and PC9 cell lines. In addition to lung adenocarcinoma cell lines, we also examined its expression in lung squamous cell lines, such as H226. Western blotting showed that dsc2 could reduce the level of phosphorylated Akt (Ser 473) and p-mTOR. Thus, it is speculated that dsc2 up-regulation promotes proliferation and invasiveness through activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway. Also, knockdown of dsc2 in A549 and H226 could significantly decreased in the levels of cyclinB and wee1 protein. Additionally, flow cytometry showed that dsc2 knockdown combined with cisplatin could significantly enhance cell apoptosis rate. Conclusion: These data suggest that dsc2 promotes the proliferation and migration of lung cancer cells in vitro. Also, the results suggested that dsc2 could affect the cell cycle and apoptosis of lung cells. Furthermore, knockdown of dsc2 could sensitize cisplatin in both lung adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell lines. Thus we suggested that dsc2 can be used as a therapeutic target for lung cancer.

Keywords: desmocollin 2, cisplatin, lung cancer, PI3K/AKT, lung squamous cell

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Authors: Touati Mawloud

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Between electronics and electrical systems has developed a new technology that is power electronics, also called electronic of strong currents, this application covers a very wide range of use particularly in the industrial sector, where direct current engines are frequently used, they control their speed by the use of the converters (DC-DC), which aims to deal with various mechanical disturbances (fillers) or electrical (power). In future, it will play a critical role in transforming the current electric grid into the next generation grid. Existing silicon-based PE devices enable electric grid functionalities such as fault-current limiting and converter devices. Systems of future are envisioned to be highly automated, interactive "smart" grid that can self-adjust to meet the demand for electricity reliability, securely, and economically. Transforming today’s electric grid to the grid of the future will require creating or advancing a number of technologies, tools, and techniques—specifically, the capabilities of power electronics (PE). PE devices provide an interface between electrical system, and electronics system by converting AC to direct current (DC) and vice versa. Solid-state wide Bandgap (WBG), semiconductor electronics (such as silicon carbide [SiC], gallium nitride [GaN], and diamond) are envisioned to improve the reliability and efficiency of the next-generation grid substantially.

Keywords: Power Electronics (PE), electrical system generation electric grid, switching frequencies, converter devices

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