Search results for: mechanical characterizations

Authors: Franciele G. Esteves, Jose R. A. dos Santos-Pinto, Caroline L. de Souza, Mario S. Palma

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Orb-weaving spiders use a very strong, stickiness, and elastic web to catch the prey. These web properties would be enough for the entrapment of prey; however, these spiders may be hiding venomous secrets on the web, which are being revealed now. Here we provide strong proteome, peptidome, and transcriptomic evidence for the presence of toxic components on the web silk from Nephila clavipes. Our scientific outcomes revealed, both in the web silk and in the silk-producing glands, a wide diversity of toxins/neurotoxins, defensins, and proteolytic enzymes. These toxins/neurotoxins are similar to toxins isolated from animal venoms, such as Sphigomyelinase D, Latrotoxins, Zodatoxins, Ctenitoxin Pn and Pk, Agatoxins and Theraphotoxin. Moreover, the insect-toxicity results with the web silk crude extract demonstrated that these toxic components can be lethal and/or cause paralytic effects to the prey. Therefore, through OMICs approaches, the results presented until now may contribute to a better understanding of the chemical and ecological interaction of these compounds in insect-prey capture by spider web N. clavipes, demonstrating that the web is not only a simple mechanical tool but has a chemical-active involvement in prey capture. Moreover, the results can also contribute to future studies of possible development of a selective insecticide or even in possible pharmacological applications.

Keywords: web silk toxins, silk-produncing glands, de novo transcriptome assembly, LCMS-based proteomics

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Authors: Pello Alfonso-Muniozguren, Madeleine Bussemaker, Devendra Saroj, Judy Lee

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Wastewater treatment is becoming a worldwide concern due to new and tighter environmental regulations, and the increasing need for fresh water for the exponentially growing population. The meat industry has one of the highest consumption of water producing up to 10 times more polluted (BOD) wastewaters in comparison to domestic sewage. Therefore, suitable wastewater treatment methods are required to ensure the wastewater quality meet regulations before discharge. In the present study, a combined lab scale activated sludge-sonication system was used to treat pre-treated abattoir wastewater. A hydraulic retention time of 24 hours and a solid retention time of 13 days were used for the activated sludge process and using ultrasound as tertiary treatment. Different ultrasonic frequencies, powers and sonication times were applied to the samples and results were analysed for chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids, pH, total coliforms and total viable counts. Additionally, both mechanical and chemical effects of ultrasound were quantified for organic matter removal (COD and BOD) and disinfection (microorganism inactivation) using different techniques such as aluminum foil pitting, flow cytometry, and KI dosimetry.

Keywords: abattoir wastewater, ultrasound, wastewater treatment, water disinfection

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Authors: Mohammad Hamed Asosheh

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The development of nanobiomaterials has opened new avenues in the field of biomedical engineering, offering unparalleled possibilities for advanced therapeutic applications. This study explores the synthesis and characterization of a distinct class of nanobiomaterials designed to enhance drug delivery systems and support tissue engineering. By integrating biodegradable polymers with bioactive nanoparticles, we have engineered a multifunctional platform that ensures controlled drug release, targeted delivery, and improved biocompatibility. Our findings demonstrate that these nanobiomaterials not only exhibit excellent mechanical properties but also promote cell proliferation and differentiation, making them ideal candidates for regenerative medicine. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo assessments reveal that the engineered materials significantly reduce cytotoxicity while enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of encapsulated drugs. This research presents a promising approach to addressing current challenges in drug delivery and tissue regeneration, with the potential to revolutionize the treatment of chronic diseases and injury repair. Future work will focus on optimizing the material composition for specific clinical applications and conducting large-scale studies to evaluate long-term safety and effectiveness.

Keywords: nanobiomaterials, drug delivery systems, therapeutic efficacy, bioactive nanoparticles

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Authors: Marouen Hamdi, Johannes A. Poulis

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This study investigates the impact of UV/ozone treatment on the adhesion of ethylene propylene diene methylene (EPDM) rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) materials. The experimental tests consist of contact angle measurements, standardized adhesion tests, and spectroscopic and microscopic observations. Also, commonly-used surface free energy models were applied to characterize the wettability of the materials. Preliminary results show that the treatment enhances the wettability of the examined polymers. Also, it considerably improved the adhesion strength of PVC and ABS and shifted their failure modes from adhesive to cohesive, without a significant effect on EPDM. Spectroscopic characterization showed significant oxidation-induced changes in the chemical structures of treated PVC and ABS surfaces. Also, new morphological changes (microcracks, micro-holes, and wrinkles) were observed on these two materials using the SEM. These chemical and morphological changes on treated PVC and ABS promote more reactivity and mechanical interlocking with the adhesive, which explains the improvement in their adhesion strength. After characterizing the adhesion strength of the systems, accelerated ageing tests in controlled environment chambers will be conducted to determine the effect of temperature, moisture, and UV radiation on the performance of the polymeric bonded joints.

Keywords: accelerated tests, adhesion strength, ageing of polymers, UV/ozone treatment

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Authors: Gamze Karanfil Celep, Kevser Dincer

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The effects of polymer concentration and electrospinning process parameters on the average diameters of electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers were experimentally investigated. Besides, mechanical and thermal properties of PAN nanofibers were examined by tensile test and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. For this purpose, the polymer concentration, solution feed rate, supply voltage and tip-to-collector distance were determined as the control factors. To succeed these aims, Taguchi’s L16 orthogonal design (4 parameters, 4 level) was employed for the experimental design. Optimal electrospinning conditions were defined using the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio that was calculated from diameters of the electrospun PAN nanofibers according to "the-smaller-the-better" approachment. In addition, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was evaluated to conclude the statistical significance of the process parameters. The smallest diameter of PAN nanofibers was observed. According to the S/N ratio response results, the most effective parameter on finding out of nanofiber diameter was determined. Finally, the Taguchi design of experiments method has been found to be an effective method to statistically optimize the critical electrospinning parameters used in nanofiber production. After determining the optimum process parameters of nanofiber production, electrical conductivity and fuel cell performance of electrospun PAN nanofibers on the carbon papers will be evaluated.

Keywords: nanofiber, electrospinning, polyacrylonitrile, Taguchi method

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Authors: Dita Mayasari, Zahrina Mardina, Riki Siswanto, Agresta Ifada, Ova Oktavina, Prihartini Widiyanti

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Heart failure is a serious major health problem with high number of mortality per year. Bypass is one of the solutions that has often been taken. Natural vascular graft (xenograft) as the substitute in bypass is inconvenient due to ethic problems and the risk of infection transmission caused by the usage of another species transgenic vascular. Nowadays, synthetic materials have been fabricated from polymers. The aim of this research is to make a synthetic vascular graft with great physical strength, high biocompatibility, and good affordability. The method of this research was mixing PLGA and collagen by magnetic stirrer. This composite were shaped by spinneret with water as coagulant. Then it was coated by chitosan with 3 variations of weight (1 gram, 2 grams, and 3 grams) to increase hemo and cytocompatibility, proliferation, and cell attachment in order for the vascular graft candidates to be more biocompatible. Mechanical strength for each variation was 5,306 MPa (chitosan 1 gram), 3,433 MPa (chitosan 2 grams) and 3,745 MPa (chitosan 3 grams). All the tensile values were higher than human vascular tensile strength. Toxicity test showed that the living cells in all variations were more than 60% in number, thus the vascular graft is not toxic.

Keywords: chitosan, collagen, PLGA, spinneret

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Authors: Med. A. Djeridane, M. Ferhat, H. A. Benhorma, O. Bouledroua

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This research is dedicated to exploring the failure of a turbine blade within a gas transportation plant, with a primary focus on conducting a comprehensive examination through advanced metallurgical and mechanical analyses of the identified failed blade. Crafted from the nickel superalloy Inconel IN738LC, the turbine engine had accumulated approximately 61,000 operational hours before the blades failed, causing severe damage to the transportation plant and necessitating a prolonged shutdown. The investigative procedure commenced with an in-depth visual inspection of the blade surfaces, succeeded by fractography analysis of the fracture surfaces, microstructural investigations, chemical analysis, and hardness measurements. The findings unveiled distinctive fatigue marks on the fracture surface. Critical microstructural changes were identified as a consequence of the blade's operation at high temperatures. The investigation determined that the crack initiation resulted from coating damage at the leading edge, subsequently propagating through fatigue. Ultimately, due to a reduction in cross-sectional area, the fracture was completed. This comprehensive analysis sheds light on the intricate factors contributing to turbine blade failure and offers valuable insights for enhancing operational reliability in similar environments.

Keywords: gas turbine, blade failure, TCP phases, fatigue, quantitative analysis

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Authors: Daniel Phifer, Anna Prokhodtseva

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DualBeam (FIB-SEM) has long been the technology of choice to sub-sample and characterize materials at site-specific locations which are difficult or impossible to extract by conventional embedding/polishing methods. Whereas Ga based FIB provides excellent resolution and enables precise material removal, the current is usually limited and only allows the extraction of small material biopsies typically ranging from 5-70um wide. Xe Plasma FIB, by contrast, has around 38x more current and can remove more material at the same time to extract significant sized chunks (100-1000um) of materials for further analysis. This increased volume has enabled time-prohibitive investigations like large grain 3D serial sectioning and EBSD and micro-machining for micro-mechanical testing. Investigation of the pore spaces with 3D modeling can determine the relative characteristics of the materials to help design or select properties for best function. Pore spaces can be described with a tortuosity number which is calculated by modules in the 3D analysis software. Xe Plasma FIB technology provides a workflow with sufficient volume to characterize porosity when both large-volume 3D materials characterization and nanometer resolution is required to understand the system.

Keywords: dual-beam, FIB-SEM, porosity, SOFC, solid oxide fuel cell

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Authors: Ali Kadivar, Kaveh Niayesh

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MVDC markets for green power generations, Navy, subsea oil and gas electrification, and transportation electrification are extending rapidly. The lack of fast and powerful DC circuit breakers (CB) is the most significant barrier to realizing the medium voltage DC (MVDC) networks. A concept of hybrid circuit breakers (HCBs) benefiting from ultrafast disconnectors (UFD) is proposed. A set of mechanical switches substitute the power electronic commutation switches to reduce the losses during normal operation in HCB. The success of current commutation in such breakers relies on the behaviour of elongated, wall constricted arcs during the opening across the contacts inside the UFD. The arc voltage dependencies on the contact speed of UFDs is discussed through multiphysics simulations contact opening speeds of 10, 20 and 40 m/s. The arc voltage at a given current increases exponentially with the contact opening velocity. An empirical equation for the dynamic arc characteristics is presented for the tested UFD, and the experimentally verfied characteristics for voltage-current are utilized for the current commutation simulation prior to apply on a 14 kV experimental setup. Different failures scenarios due to the current commutation are investigated

Keywords: MVDC breakers, DC circuit breaker, fast operating breaker, ultra-fast elongated arc

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Authors: Ezzati Givi M., Ezzatigivi N., Eimani H.

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Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) consists of painful attacks often triggered with general activities, which cause impairment and disability. The first line of treatment consists of pharmacotherapy. However, the occurrence of many side-effects limits its application. Acute pain relief is crucial for titrating oral drugs and making time for neurosurgical intervention. This study aimed to examine the long-term anesthetic effect of QX-314 and capsaicin in trigeminal neuralgia using an animal model. TN was stimulated by surgical constriction of the infraorbital nerve in rats. After seven days, anesthesia infiltration was done, and the duration of mechanical allodynia was compared. Thirty-five male Wistar rats were randomly divided into seven groups as follows: control (normal saline); lidocaine (2%); QX314 (30 mM); lidocaine (2%)+QX314 (15 mM); lidocaine (2%)+QX314 (22 mM); lidocaine (2%)+QX314 (30 mM); and lidocaine (2%)+QX314 (30 mM) +capsaicin (1μg). QX314 in combination with lidocaine significantly increased the duration of anesthesia, which was dose-dependent. The combination of lidocaine+QX314+capsaicin could significantly increase the duration of anesthesia in trigeminal neuralgia. In the present study, we demonstrated that the combination of QX-314 with lidocaine and capsaicin produced a long-lasting, reversible local anesthesia and was superior to lidocaine alone in the fields of the duration of trigeminal neuropathic pain blockage.

Keywords: trigeminal neuralgia, capsaicin, lidocaine, long-lasting

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Authors: Sena Su, Burak Ozbek, Yesim M. Sahin, Sevil Yucel, Dilek Kazan, Faik N. Oktar, Nazmi Ekren, Oguzhan Gunduz

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In recent years, protein, lipid or polysaccharide-based polymers have been used in order to develop biodegradable materials and their chemical nature determines the physical properties of the resulting films. Among these polymers, proteins from different sources have been extensively employed because of their relative abundance, film forming ability, and nutritional qualities. In this study, the biodegradable composite nanofiber films based on fish sarcoplasmic protein (FSP) were prepared via electrospinning technique. Biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) was blended with the FSP to obtain hybrid FSP/PCL nanofiber mats with desirable physical properties. Mixture solutions of FSP and PCL were produced at different concentrations and their density, viscosity, electrical conductivity and surface tension were measured. Mechanical properties of electrospun nanofibers were evaluated. Morphology of composite nanofibers was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) studies were used for analysis chemical composition of composite nanofibers. This study revealed that the FSP based nanofibers have the potential to be used for different applications such as biodegradable packaging, drug delivery, and wound dressing, etc.

Keywords: edible film, electrospinning, fish sarcoplasmic protein, nanofiber

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Authors: Gurmeet Singh Cheema, Gurjinder Singh, Amardeep Singh Kang

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Aluminium alloy 6061 is a medium to high strength heat-treatable alloy which has very good corrosion resistance and very good weldability. Friction Stir Welding was developed and this technique has attracted considerable interest from the aerospace and automotive industries since it is able to produce defect free joints particularly for light metals i.e aluminum alloy and magnesium alloy. In the friction stir welding process, welding parameters such as tool rotational speed, welding speed and tool shoulder diameter play a major role in deciding the weld quality. In this research work, an attempt has been made to understand the effect of tool rotational speed, welding speed and tool shoulder diameter on friction stir welded AA6061 aluminium alloy joints. Statistical tool such as central composite design is used to develop the mathematical relationships. The mathematical model was developed to predict mechanical properties of friction stir welded aluminium alloy joints at the 95% confidence level.

Keywords: aluminium alloy, friction stir welding, central composite design, mathematical relationship

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Authors: Michael Bach

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Extensive weld repair was carried out in 2009 after a leak was detected in the aluminum 5052 vessel of the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor. This was the second vessel installed since 1974. In support of the NRU vessel leak repair and fitness for service assessments, an estimate of property changes due to irradiation exposure is required to extend the service of the reactor until 2018. In order to fully evaluate the property changes in the vessel wall, an Iodine-125 rod (I rod) made from the same material and irradiated in the NRU reactor from 1974 1991, was retrieved and sectioned for microstructure characterization and mechanical testing. The different sections of the I rod were exposed to various levels of thermal neutron fluences from 0 to a maximum of 11.9 x 1022 n/cm2. The end of life thermal neutron fluence of the NRU vessel is estimated to be 2.2 x 1022 n/cm2 at 35 years of service. Tensile test and fracture toughness test was performed on the I-rod material at various axial locations. The changes in tensile properties were attributed primarily to the creation of finely dispersed Mg-Si precipitates that harden the material and reduced the ductility. Despite having a reduction in fracture toughness, the NRU vessel is still operation at the current fluence levels.

Keywords: aluminum alloy, fitness-for-service assessment , fracutre toughness, nuclear reactor, precipitate strengthening, radiation damage, tensile strength

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Authors: Sandeep Das

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Terminal post is one of the most important features of a Battery. The design and manufacturing of post are very much critical especially when threaded inserts (Bolt-on type) are used since all the collected energy is delivered from the lead part to the threaded insert (Cu or Cu alloy). Any imperfection at the interface may cause Voltage drop, high resistance, high heat generation, etc. This may be because of sudden change of material properties from lead to Cu alloys. To avoid this problem, a scheme of material gradation is proposed for achieving continuous variation of material properties for the Post used in commercially available lead acid battery. The Functionally graded (FG) material for the post is considered to be composed of different layers of homogeneous material. The volume fraction of the materials used corresponding to each layer is calculated by considering its variation along the direction of current flow (z) according to a power law. Accordingly, the effective properties of the homogeneous layers are estimated and the Post composed of this FG material is modeled using the commercially available ANSYS software. The solid 186 layered structural solid element has been used for discretization of the model of the FG Post. A thermal electric analysis is performed on the layered FG model. The model developed has been validated by comparing the results of the existing Post model& experimental analysis

Keywords: ANSYS, functionally graded material, lead-acid battery, terminal post

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Authors: Elisaveta Kirilova, Wilfried Becker, Jordanka Ivanova, Tatyana Petrova

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The study is a continuation of the research on the hygrothermal piezoelectric response of a smart patch/layer joint with undesirable interface defect (gap) at dynamic time harmonic mechanical and electrical load and environmental conditions. In order to find the axial displacements, shear stress and interface debond length in a closed analytical form for different positions of the interface gap, the 1D modified shear lag analysis is used. The debond length is represented as a function of many parameters (frequency, magnitude, electric displacement, moisture and temperature, joint geometry, position of the gap along the interface, etc.). Then the Genetic algorithm (GA) is implemented to find this position of the gap along the interface at which a vanishing/minimal debond length is ensured, e.g to find the most harmless position for the safe work of the structure. The illustrative example clearly shows that analytical shear-lag solutions and GA method can be combined successfully to give an effective prognosis of interface shear stress and interface delamination in patch/layer structure at combined loading with existing defects. To show the effect of the position of the interface gap, all obtained results are given in figures and discussed.

Keywords: genetic algorithm, minimal delamination, optimal gap position, shear lag solution

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Authors: Yousef Almutairi, Yajue Wu

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Various large-scale trends have characterized the current century thus far, including increasing shifts towards urbanization and greater movement. It is predicted that there will be 9.3 billion people on Earth in 2050 and that over two-thirds of this population will be city dwellers. Moreover, in larger cities worldwide, mass transportation systems, including underground systems, have grown to account for the majority of travel in those settings. Underground networks are vulnerable to fires, however, endangering travellers’ safety, with various examples of fire outbreaks in this setting. This study aims to increase knowledge of the impacts of extreme climatic conditions on fires, including the role of the high ambient temperatures experienced in Middle Eastern countries and specifically in Saudi Arabia. This is an element that is not always included when assessments of fire safety are made (considering visibility, temperatures, and flows of smoke). This paper focuses on a tunnel within Riyadh’s underground system as a case study and includes simulations based on computational fluid dynamics using ANSYS Fluent, which investigates the impact of various ventilation systems while identifying smoke density, speed, pressure and temperatures within this tunnel.

Keywords: fire, subway tunnel, CFD, mechanical ventilation, smoke, temperature, harsh weather

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Authors: Sarish Rehman, Kishwar Khan, Yanglong Hou

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Among the existed myriad energy-storage technologies, lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) show the appealing potential for the ubiquitous growth of next-generation electrical energy storage application, owing to their unparalleled theoretical energy density of 2600 Wh/kg that is over five times larger than that of conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Despite its significant advances, its large scale implementations are plagued by multitude issues: particularly the intrinsic insulating nature of the sulfur (10-30 S/cm), mechanical degradation of the cathode due to large volume changes of sulfur up to 80 % during cycling and loss of active material (producing polysulfide shuttle effect). We design a unique structure, namely silicon/silica (Si/SiO2) crosslink with hierarchical porous carbon spheres (Si/SiO2@C), and use it as a new and efficient sulfur host to prepare Si/SiO2@C-S hybrid spheres to solve the hurdle of the polysulfides dissolution. As results of intriguing structural advantages developed hybrids spheres, it acts as efficient polysulfides reservoir for enhancing lithium sulfur battery (LSB) in the terms of capacity, rate ability and cycling stability via combined chemical and physical effects.

Keywords: high specific surface area, high power density, high content of sulfur, lithium sulfur battery

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Authors: Mehmet Fahri Sarac, Gokcen Akgun

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Ti–6Al–4V alloys are widely used in biomedical industries because of its attractive mechanical and physicochemical properties. However, they have poor wear resistance. High velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) coatings were investigated as a way to improve the wear resistance of this alloy. In this paper, different mass ratio of Al₂O₃-TiO₂ powders (60/40, 87/13 and 97/3) was employed to enhance the tribological properties of Ti–6Al–4V. The tribological behavior was investigated by wear tests using ball-on-disc and pin-on-disc tribometer. The microstructures of the contact surfaces were determined by a scanning electron microscopy before and after the test to study the wear mechanism. Uncoated and coated surfaces after wear test are also subjected to micro-hardness tests. The tribological test results showed that the microhardness, friction and wear resistance of coated Ti-6Al-4V alloys increases by increasing TiO₂ content in the powder composite when other experimental conditions were constant. Finally, Al₂O₃-TiO₂ powder composites for the investigated conditions, both coating samples had satisfactory values of friction and wear resistance, and they could be suitable candidates for Ti–6Al–4V material.

Keywords: HVOF (High Velocity Oxygen Fuel), Al₂O₃-TiO₂, Ti-6Al-4V, tribology

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Authors: H. G. Noh, H. G. Park, B. S. Kang, J. Kim

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Electromagnetic forming process (EMF) is one of high-velocity forming processes using Lorentz force. Advantages of EMF are summarized as improvement of formability, reduction in wrinkling, non-contact forming. In this study, numerical simulations were conducted to determine the practical parameters for EMF process. A 2-D axis-symmetric electromagnetic model was considered based on the spiral type forming coil. In the numerical simulation, RLC circuit coupled with spiral coil was made to consider the design parameters such as system input current and electromagnetic force. In order to deform the sheet in the patter shape die, two types of spiral shape coil were considered to deform the pattern shape sheet. One is a spiral coil that has 6turns with dead zone at centre point. Another is a normal spiral coil without dead zone that has 8 turns. In the electric analysis, input current and magnetic force were compared and then plastic deformation was treated in the mechanical analysis for two coil cases. Deformation behaviour of dead zone coil case has good agreement with pattern shape die. As a result, deformation behaviour could be controlled by giving dead zone at centre of the coil in spiral shape coil case.

Keywords: electromagnetic forming, spiral coil, Lorentz force, manufacturing

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Authors: Faik Derya Ince, Ugur Topgul, Alp Gunay, Can Bayoglu, Dante J. Dorantes-Gonzalez

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Explosive attacks are arguably the most lethal threat that may occur in terrorist attacks. In order to counteract this issue, explosive ordnance disposal operators put their lives on the line to dispose of a possible improvised explosive device. Robots can make the disposal process more accurately and saving human lives. For this purpose, there is a demand for more accurate and dexterous manipulating robotic hands that can be teleoperated from a distance. The aim of this project is to design a robotic hand that contains two active and two passive DOF for each finger, as well as a minimum set of tools for mechanical cutting and screw driving within the same robotic hand. Both hand and toolset, are teleoperated from a distance from a haptic robotic glove in order to manipulate dangerous objects such as improvised explosive devices. SolidWorks® Computer-Aided Design, computerized dynamic simulation, and MATLAB® kinematic and static analysis were used for the robotic hand and toolset design. Novel, dexterous and robust solutions for the fingers were obtained, and six servo motors are used in total to remotely control the multi-tooled robotic hand. This project is still undergoing and presents currents results. Future research steps are also presented.

Keywords: Explosive Manipulation, Robotic Hand, Tele-Operation, Tool Integration

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Authors: S. S. Amoor

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Insecurity is becoming a major tool in the hand of Nigeria’s enemies to increase poverty and hatred among the citizens and split the county into several political segments. It is based on this background that this paper critically examines Vocational and Technical Education as a practical and realistic approach to reducing insecurity in Nigeria so as to save the country from total disintegration. The paper discusses the concept of insecurity, types, causes and effects of insecurity, and how vocational and technical education and its variables are fundamental and practical measures to reducing insecurity in Nigeria. The paper concludes that the large army of unemployed and unskilled youths in Nigeria requires immediate attention in the area of provision of marketable vocational and technical skills, creativity and competences that will prepare them for employment or self-reliance. It is hoped that government jobs or self-employment will keep the teeming youths busy and therefore take their minds away from odd jobs that threaten the security of the country. In line with these, the paper recommends, among others, that since the teeming unemployed and unskilled youths are mostly from the rural areas, the state governments in collaboration with the local governments should take appropriate steps to provide the youths with vocational skills in carpentry, fashion designing, hair-dressing, driving, welding, mechanical works, among others. Once the youths are involved in one skilled trade or the other, insecurity would be reduced.

Keywords: vocational and technical education, insecurity, practical approach to reducing insecurity, unemployment

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Authors: Seyyed Mohammad Hasheminia, Heoung Jae Chun, Jong Chan Park, Hong Suk Chang

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Composite joints have been getting attention recently due to their high specific mechanical strength to weight ratio that is crucial for structures such as aircrafts and automobiles. In this study on hybrid joints, quasi-static experiments and finite element analysis were performed to investigate the failure mechanism of hybrid composite joint with respect to the joint properties such as the adhesive material, clamping force, and joint geometry. The outcomes demonstrated that the stiffness of the adhesive is the most imperative design parameter. In this investigation, two adhesives with various stiffness values were utilized. Regarding the joints utilizing the adhesive with the lower stiffness modulus, it was observed that the load was exchanged promptly through the adhesive since it was shared more proficiently between the bolt and adhesive. This phenomenon permitted the hybrid joints with low-modulus adhesive to support more prominent loads before failure when contrasted with the joints that utilize the stiffer adhesive. In the next step, the stress share between the bond and bolt as a function of various design parameters was studied using a finite element model in which it was understood that the geometrical parameters such as joint overlap and width have a significant influence on the load sharing between the bolt and the adhesive.

Keywords: composite joints, composite materials, hybrid joints, single-lap joint

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Authors: M. Sivakumar, D. Chamundeeswari

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Glycosmis pentaphylla is one of the medicinally important plants belonging to the family Rutaceae, commonly known as “Anam or Panal” in Tamil. Traditionally, leaves are useful in fever, hepatopathy, eczema, skin disease, helminthiasis, wounds, and erysipelas. The fruits are sweet and are useful in vitiated conditions of vata, kapha, cough, and bronchitis. The roots are good for facial inflammations, rheumatism, jaundice, and anemia. The preliminary phytochemical investigations indicated the presence of alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins, sugar, glycoside, and phenolic compounds. In the present study, the root part of Glycosmis pentaphylla was used, and the root was collected from Western Ghats of South India. The root was sun/shade dried and pulverized to powder in a mechanical grinder. The powder was successively extracted with various solvents, and the ethyl acetate extract of Glycosmis pentaphylla has been subjected to the GC-MS analysis. Amongst the 46 chemical constituents identified from this plant, three major phytoconstituents were reported for the first time. Marmesin, a furanocumarin compound with the chemical structure 7H-Furo (3,2-G) (1)Benzopyran-7-one,2,3–dihydro–2 - (1-Hydroxy-1methylethyl)-(s) is one of the three compounds identified for the first time at the concentration of 11-60% in ethyl acetate extract of Glycosmis pentaphylla. Others include, Beta.-Fagarine (4.71%) and Paverine (13.08%).

Keywords: ethyl acetate extract, Glycosmis pentaphylla, GC-MS analysis, Phytochemicals

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Authors: Jing Lin, Zou Yiming, Goei Ronn, Li Yun, Amanda Ong Jiamin, Alfred Tok Iing Yoong

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High-entropy alloy (HEA) coatings comprise multiple (five or more) principal elements that give superior mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. However, the current synthesis methods of HEA coating still face huge challenges in facile and controllable preparation, as well as conformal integration, which seriously restricts their potential applications. Herein, we report a controllable synthesis of conformal quinary HEA coating consisting of noble metals (Rh, Ru, Ir, Pt, and Pd) by using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) with a post-annealing approach. This approach realizes low temperature (below 200 °C), precise control (nanoscale), and conformal synthesis (over complex substrates) of HEA coating. Furthermore, the resulting quinary HEA coating shows promising potential as a platform for catalysis, exhibiting substantially enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performances as compared to other noble metal-based structures such as single metal coating or multi-layered metal composites.

Keywords: high-entropy alloy, thin-film, catalysis, water splitting, atomic layer deposition

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Authors: Shaker Alsharif, Xavier Banquy

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Controlled drug delivery technology represents one of the most rapidly advancing areas of science in which chemists and chemical engineers are contributing to human health care. Such delivery systems provide numerous advantages compared to conventional dosage forms including improved efficacy, and improved patient compliance and convenience. Such systems often use synthetic polymers as carriers for the drugs. As a result, treatments that would not otherwise be possible are now in conventional use. The role of bilayered vesicles as efficient carriers for drugs, vaccines, diagnostic agents and other bioactive agents have led to a rapid advancement in the liposomal drug delivery system. Moreover, the site avoidance and site-specific drug targeting therapy could be achieved by formulating a liposomal product, so as to reduce the cytotoxicity of many potent therapeutic agents. Our project focuses on developing and building hydrogel with nanoinclusion of liposomes loaded with active compounds such as proteins and growth factors able to release them in a controlled fashion. In order to achieve that, we synthesize several liposomes of two different phospholipids concentrations encapsulating model drug. Then, formulating hydrogel with specific mechanical properties embedding the liposomes to manage the release of active compound.

Keywords: controlled release, hydrogel, liposomes, active compounds

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Authors: Shivi Rastogi, Suman Pant

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Khadi is an Indian fabric and also known by another name “Khaddar”. During pre-independence era, the movement of khadi manufacturing gained momentum. Over the years, khadi fabrics that were generally considered as the “second skin” of the Swadesh revolutionists changed its uniqueness. It underwent a metamorphosis from that of a patriot’s fabric, and a farmer’s apparel, to become a “fashion fabric”. Drape of garment is governed by draping quality of fabric used. Drape is an essential parameter to decide both appearance and handle of fabric. It is also a secondary determinant of fabric mechanical properties as influenced by the low stress properties, like bending length, formability, tensile and shear properties and compressibility of the fabric. In finishing, fabric is treated to add something to coat the fabric or fiber and thereby temporarily or permanently fix. Film forming agents such as thermoplastic and thermosetting resins and other surface deposits alter hand. In this study, resins were used to modify fabric hand. Three types of resins have been applied on the khadi fabric at three concentration. The effect of these finishes on drapeability, crease recovery, stiffness, tearing strength and smoothness of khadi fabrics were assessed. Silicone gave good results in imparting properties specially drape, smoothness and softness and hand of cotton and khadi fabric. KES result also showed that silicone treated samples enhanced THV rating amongst all treated samples when compared to the control fabric.

Keywords: crease recovery, drapeability, KES, silicone, THV

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Authors: T. Aldeeb, M. Abduelmula

Abstract:

This study examines the fatigue life of S275 mild steel at room temperature. Mechanical components can fail under cyclic loading during period of time, known as the fatigue phenomenon. In order to prevent fatigue induced failures, material behavior should be investigated to determine the endurance limit of the material for safe design and infinite life, thus leading to reducing the economic cost and loss in human lives. The fatigue behavior of S275 mild steel was studied and investigated. Specimens were prepared in accordance with ASTM E3-11, and fatigue tests of the specimen were conducted in accordance with ASTM E466-07 on a smooth plate, with a continuous radius between ends (hourglass-shaped plate). The method of fatigue testing was applied with constant load amplitude and constant frequency of 4 Hz with load ratio (Fully Reversal R= -1). Surface fractures of specimens were investigated using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The experimental results were compared with the results of a Finite Element Analysis (FEA), using simulation software. The experiment results indicated that the endurance fatigue limit of S275 mild steel was 195.47 MPa.

Keywords: fatigue strength, fatigue life, finite element analysis(FEA), S275 mild steel, scanning electron microscope (SEM)

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Authors: Rouaz Idriss, Bourahla Nour-Eddine, Kahlouche Farah, Rafa Sid Ali

Abstract:

The stability of structures made of light-gauge steel depends highly on the contribution of Shear Wall Panel (SWP) systems under horizontal forces due to wind or earthquake loads. Steel plate sheathing is often used with these panels made of cold formed steel (CFS) to improve its shear strength. In order to predict the shear strength resistance, two methods are presented in this paper. In the first method, the steel plate sheathing is modeled with plats strip taking into account only the tension and compression force due to the horizontal load, where both track and stud are modeled according to the geometrical and mechanical characteristics of the specimen used in the experiments. The theoretical background and empirical formulations of this method are presented in this paper. However, the second method is based on a micro modeling of the cold formed steel Shear Wall Panel “CFS-SWP” using Abaqus software. A nonlinear analysis was carried out with an in-plan monotonic load. Finally, the comparison between these two methods shows that the micro modeling with Abaqus gives better prediction of shear resistance of SWP than strips method. However, the latter is easier and less time consuming than the micro modeling method.

Keywords: cold formed steel 'CFS', shear wall panel, strip method, finite elements

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Authors: Stepan Hysek, Petra Gajdacova

Abstract:

In recent years, alternative materials, such as annual plants or recycled and waste materials are becoming more and more popular input material for the production of composite materials. They can be used for the production of insulation boards, construction boards or furniture boards. Surface finishing of those boards is essential for utilization in furniture. However, some difficulties could occur during coating of boards from alternative materials; physical and chemical differences from conventional particleboards need to be considered. From the physical aspects, surface soundness and surface roughness mainly determine the quality of the surface. Since surface layers of boards from alternative materials have often lower density, these characteristics could be deteriorated and thus the production process needs to be optimized. Also, chemical reactions of board’s material with coating could be undesirable. The objective of this study is to evaluate the parameters affecting the surface quality of boards made form alternative materials and to find possibilities of the coating of these boards. In this study, boards of particles from rapeseed stems were produced using a laboratory press. Surface soundness, as representatives of mechanical properties and surface roughness, as representative of physical properties, were measured on boards from rapeseed stems. Results clearly indicated that produced boards had lower surface quality than commercially produced particle boards from wood. Therefore, higher thickness of surface coating on rapeseed based boards is needed.

Keywords: coating, surface, annual plant, composites, particleboard

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Authors: Kyeong Hoon Park, Taiji Mazuda

Abstract:

High damping rubber (HDR) bearings are dissipating devices mainly used in seismic isolation systems and have a great damping performance. Although many studies have been conducted on the dynamic model of HDR bearings, few models can reflect phenomena such as dependency of experienced shear strain on initial history. In order to develop a model that can represent the dependency of experienced shear strain of HDR by Mullins effect, dynamic loading test was conducted using HDR specimen. The reaction of HDR was measured by applying a horizontal vibration using a hybrid actuator under a constant vertical load. Dynamic program analysis was also performed after dynamic loading test. The dynamic model applied in program analysis is a bilinear type double-target model. This model is modified from typical bilinear model. This model can express the nonlinear characteristics related to the initial history of HDR bearings. Based on the dynamic loading test and program analysis results, equivalent stiffness and equivalent damping ratio were calculated to evaluate the mechanical properties of HDR and the feasibility of the bilinear type double-target model was examined.

Keywords: base-isolation, bilinear model, high damping rubber, loading test

Procedia PDF Downloads 120