Search results for: flexible furniture

Authors: Joshua Kaufman, Felix Tan, Morgan Monroe, Ayman Abouraddy

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Textiles and clothing have been a staple of human existence for millennia, yet the basic structure and functionality of textile fibers and yarns has remained unchanged. While color and appearance are essential characteristics of a textile, an advancement in the fabrication of yarns that allows for user-controlled dynamic changes to the color or appearance of a garment has been lacking. Touch-activated and photosensitive pigments have been used in textiles, but these technologies are passive and cannot be controlled by the user. The technology described here allows the owner to control both when and in what pattern the fabric color-change takes place. In addition, the manufacturing process is compatible with mass-producing the user-controlled, color-changing yarns. The yarn fabrication utilizes a fiber spinning system that can produce either monofilament or multifilament yarns. For products requiring a more robust fabric (backpacks, purses, upholstery, etc.), larger-diameter monofilament yarns with a coarser weave are suitable. Such yarns are produced using a thread-coater attachment to encapsulate a 38-40 AWG metal wire inside a polymer sheath impregnated with thermochromic pigment. Conversely, products such as shirts and pants requiring yarns that are more flexible and soft against the skin comprise multifilament yarns of much smaller-diameter individual fibers. Embedding a metal wire in a multifilament fiber spinning process has not been realized to date. This research has required collaboration with Hills, Inc., to design a liquid metal-injection system to be combined with fiber spinning. The new system injects molten tin into each of 19 filaments being spun simultaneously into a single yarn. The resulting yarn contains 19 filaments, each with a tin core surrounded by a polymer sheath impregnated with thermochromic pigment. The color change we demonstrate is distinct from garments containing LEDs that emit light in various colors. The pigment itself changes its optical absorption spectrum to appear a different color. The thermochromic color-change is induced by a temperature change in the inner metal wire within each filament when current is applied from a small battery pack. The temperature necessary to induce the color change is near body temperature and not noticeable by touch. The prototypes already developed either use a simple push button to activate the battery pack or are wirelessly activated via a smart-phone app over Wi-Fi. The app allows the user to choose from different activation patterns of stripes that appear in the fabric continuously. The power requirements are mitigated by a large hysteresis in the activation temperature of the pigment and the temperature at which there is full color return. This was made possible by a collaboration with Chameleon International to develop a new, customized pigment. This technology enables a never-before seen capability: user-controlled, dynamic color and pattern change in large-area woven and sewn textiles and fabrics with wide-ranging applications from clothing and accessories to furniture and fixed-installation housing and business décor. The ability to activate through Wi-Fi opens up possibilities for the textiles to be part of the ‘Internet of Things.’ Furthermore, this technology is scalable to mass-production levels for wide-scale market adoption.

Keywords: activation, appearance, color, manufacturing

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Authors: Diana Isabel Torres Silva

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Doris Salcedo is the most prominent sculptor from Colombia ever and currently, one of the most prestigious Latin-American artists in the world. Her artwork, intended as political art, has war as a background, in particular the Colombian civil conflict, and it addresses the way that its violence affects victims’ lives irreparably. While Salcedo is internationally recognized as a talented and a politically committed artist, some Colombian critics consider her artwork as the propagandist and influenced by the interest of multinational companies and the organizations that fund it. This paper, as part of a more extended research project, attempts to demonstrate that Doris Salcedo’s artwork makes visible the victims suffering and mourning and compels the viewers’ sympathy, although its approach is superficial. It does not achieve a complete or complex understanding of the social and historical causes underneath the war and maybe because of that has become a successful commodity for the international arts market. The paper considers, firstly, the influence that Colombian Nuevo Teatro, from the sixties, had on Salcedo’s early political perspective and, secondly, analyzes in detail the first series of her artwork (1992-1998) and how those works address grieving. The focus point of this analysis will be the domestic furniture sculptures, which are the main symbolic element of Salcedo’s oeuvre.

Keywords: Arts and politics, Doris Salcedo, Colombian art, Political Art

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Authors: Amina Farooq, Nauman Zafar Butt

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This paper is about methods and tools for counting particles of interest, such as cells. A microfluidic system with interconnected electronics on a flexible substrate, inlet-outlet ports and interface schemes, sensitive and selective detection of cells specificity, and processing of cell counting at polymer interfaces in a microscale biosensor for use in the detection of target biological and non-biological cells. The development of fluidic channels, planar fluidic contact ports, integrated metal electrodes on a flexible substrate for impedance measurements, and a surface modification plasma treatment as an intermediate bonding layer are all part of the fabrication process. Magnetron DC sputtering is used to deposit a double metal layer (Ti/Pt) over the polypropylene film. Using a photoresist layer, specified and etched zones are established. Small fluid volumes, a reduced detection region, and electrical impedance measurements over a range of frequencies for cell counts improve detection sensitivity and specificity. The procedure involves continuous flow of fluid samples that contain particles of interest through the microfluidic channels, counting all types of particles in a portion of the sample using the electrical differential counter to generate a bipolar pulse for each passing cell—calculating the total number of particles of interest originally in the fluid sample by using MATLAB program and signal processing. It's indeed potential to develop a robust and economical kit for cell counting in whole-blood samples using these methods and similar devices.

Keywords: impedance, biochip, cell counting, microfluidics

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Zhipeng Feng, Huanhuan Qi, Pingchuan Shen, Fenggang Zang, Yixiong Zhang

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Numerical simulations of vortex-induced vibration of a three-dimensional flexible tube under uniform turbulent flow are calculated when Reynolds number is 1.35×10⁴. In order to achieve the vortex-induced vibration, the three-dimensional unsteady, viscous, incompressible Navier-Stokes equation and LES turbulence model are solved with the finite volume approach, the tube is discretized according to the finite element theory, and its dynamic equilibrium equations are solved by the Newmark method. The fluid-tube interaction is realized by utilizing the diffusion-based smooth dynamic mesh method. Considering the vortex-induced vibration system, the variety trends of lift coefficient, drag coefficient, displacement, vertex shedding frequency, phase difference angle of tube are analyzed under different frequency ratios. The nonlinear phenomena of locked-in, phase-switch are captured successfully. Meanwhile, the limit cycle and bifurcation of lift coefficient and displacement are analyzed by using trajectory, phase portrait, and Poincaré sections. The results reveal that: when drag coefficient reaches its minimum value, the transverse amplitude reaches its maximum, and the “lock-in” begins simultaneously. In the range of lock-in, amplitude decreases gradually with increasing of frequency ratio. When lift coefficient reaches its minimum value, the phase difference undergoes a suddenly change from the “out-of-phase” to the “in-phase” mode.

Keywords: vortex induced vibration, limit cycle, LES, CFD, FEM

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Authors: Imran Altaf Wasil, Dinesh Ganvir

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Due to a scarcity of virgin aggregates, the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) as a substitute for natural aggregates has gained popularity. Despite the fact that RAP is recycled in asphalt pavement, there is still excess RAP, and its use in concrete pavements has expanded in recent years. According to a survey, 98 percent of India's pavements are flexible. As a result, the maintenance and reconstruction of such pavements generate RAP, which can be reused in concrete pavements as well as surface course, base course, and sub-base of flexible pavements. Various studies on the properties of reclaimed asphalt pavement and its optimal requirements for usage in concrete has been conducted throughout the years. In this study a total of four different mixes were prepared by partially replacing natural aggregates by RAP in different proportions. It was found that with the increase in the replacement level of Natural aggregates by RAP the mechanical and durability properties got reduced. In order to increase the mechanical strength of mixes 40% Glass Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) was used and it was found that with replacement of cement by 40% of GGBS, there was an enhancement in the mechanical and durability properties of RAP inclusive PQC mixes. The reason behind the improvement in the properties is due to the processing technique used in order to remove the contaminant layers present in the coarse RAP aggregates. The replacement level of Natural aggregate with RAP was done in proportions of 20%, 40% and 60% along with the partial replacement of cement by 40% GGBS. It was found that all the mixes surpassed the design target value of 40 MPa in compression and 4.5 MPa in flexure making it much more economical and feasible.

Keywords: reclaimed asphalt pavement, pavement quality concrete, glass granulated blast furnace slag, mechanical and durability properties

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Authors: Iacopo Carnacina, Mohammad Keshtpoor, Richard Yablonsky

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Non-structural protection measures against flooding are becoming increasingly popular flood risk mitigation strategies. In particular, coastal flood insurance impacts not only private citizens but also insurance and reinsurance companies, who may require it to retain solvency and better understand the risks they face from a catastrophic coastal flood event. In this context, a framework is presented here to assess the risk for coastal flooding across the UK. The area has a long history of catastrophic flood events, including the Great Flood of 1953 and the 2013 Cyclone Xaver storm, both of which led to significant loss of life and property. The current framework will leverage a technology based on a hydrodynamic model (Delft3D Flexible Mesh). This flexible mesh technology, coupled with a calibration technique, allows for better utilisation of computational resources, leading to higher resolution and more detailed results. The generation of a stochastic set of extra tropical cyclone (ETC) events supports the evaluation of the financial losses for the whole area, also accounting for correlations between different locations in different scenarios. Finally, the solution shows a detailed analysis for the Thames River, leveraging the information available on flood barriers and levees. Two realistic disaster scenarios for the Greater London area are simulated: In the first scenario, the storm surge intensity is not high enough to fail London’s flood defences, but in the second scenario, London’s flood defences fail, highlighting the potential losses from a catastrophic coastal flood event.

Keywords: storm surge, stochastic model, levee failure, Thames River

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Authors: Peter. M. Kusen, Georg Wandrey, Christopher Probst, Dietrich Kohlheyer, Jochen Buchs, Jorg Pietruszkau

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Light as a stimulus provides the capability to develop regulation techniques for customizable gene expression. A great advantage is the extremely flexible and accurate dosing that can be performed in a non invasive and sterile manner even for high throughput technologies. Therefore, light regulation in a multiwell microbioreactor system was realized providing the opportunity to control gene expression with outstanding complexity. A light-regulated gene expression system in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was designed applying the strategy of caged compounds. These compounds are photo-labile protected and therefore biologically inactive regulator molecules which can be reactivated by irradiation with certain light conditions. The “caging” of a repressor molecule which is consumed after deprotection was essential to create a flexible expression system. Thereby, gene expression could be temporally repressed by irradiation and subsequent release of the active repressor molecule. Afterwards, the repressor molecule is consumed by the yeast cells leading to reactivation of gene expression. A yeast strain harboring a construct with the corresponding repressible promoter in combination with a fluorescent marker protein was applied in a Photo-BioLector platform which allows individual irradiation as well as online fluorescence and growth detection. This device was used to precisely control the repression duration by adjusting the amount of released repressor via different irradiation times. With the presented screening platform the regulation of complex expression procedures was achieved by combination of several repression/derepression intervals. In particular, a stepwise increase of temporally-constant expression levels was demonstrated which could be used to study concentration dependent effects on cell functions. Also linear expression rates with variable slopes could be shown representing a possible solution for challenging protein productions, whereby excessive production rates lead to misfolding or intoxication. Finally, the very flexible regulation enabled accurate control over the expression induction, although we used a repressible promoter. Summing up, the continuous online regulation of gene expression has the potential to synchronize gene expression levels to optimize metabolic flux, artificial enzyme cascades, growth rates for co cultivations and many other applications addicted to complex expression regulation. The developed light-regulated expression platform represents an innovative screening approach to find optimization potential for production processes.

Keywords: caged-compounds, gene expression regulation, optogenetics, photo-labile protecting group

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Authors: Babak Mohajeri

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In recent years, the conventional business model of ownership has been changed towards accessibility in a variety of markets. Two trends can be observed in the evolution of this rental-like business model. Firstly, the technological development that enables the emergence of new business models. These new business models increasingly become agile and flexible. For example Spotify, an online music stream company provides consumers access to over millions of music tracks, conveniently through the smartphone, tablet or computer. Similarly, Car2Go, the car sharing company accesses its members with flexible and nearby sharing cars. The second trend is the increasing communication and connections via social networks. This trend enables a shift to peer-to-peer accessibility based business models. Conventionally, companies provide access for their customers to own companies products or services. In peer-to-peer model, nonetheless, companies facilitate access and connection across their customers to use other customers owned property or skills, competencies or services .The is so-called the sharing economy business model. The aim of this study is to investigate into a new and emerging type of the sharing economy model in which role of customers and service providers may dramatically change. This new model is called Collaborative Service Networks. We propose a mechanism for Collaborative Service Networks business model. Uber and Airbnb, two successful growing companies, have been selected for our case studies and their business models are analyzed. Finally, we study the emergence of the collaborative service networks in the manufacturing domain. Our finding results to a new manufacturing paradigm called social manufacturing.

Keywords: sharing economy, collaborative service networks, social manufacturing, manufacturing development

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Authors: Z. Ansari, M. R. M. Rejab, D. Bachtiar, J. P. Siregar

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This study focus on the compression and tensile properties of new and recycle square honeycombs structure from sugar palm fibre (SPF) and polylactic acid (PLA) composite. The end data will determine the failure strength and energy absorption for both new and recycle composite. The control SPF specimens were fabricated from short fibre co-mingled with PLA by using a bra-blender set at 180°C and 50 rpm consecutively. The mixture of 30% fibre and 70% PLA were later on the hot press at 180°C into sheets with thickness 3mm consecutively before being assembled into a sandwich honeycomb structure. An INSTRON tensile machine and Abaqus 6.13 software were used for mechanical test and finite element simulation. The percentage of error from the simulation and experiment data was 9.20% and 9.17% for both new and recycled product. The small error of percentages was acceptable due to the nature of the simulation model to be assumed as a perfect model with no imperfect geometries. The energy absorption value from new to recycled product decrease from 312.86kJ to 282.10kJ. With this small decrements, it is still possible to implement a recycle SPF/PLA composite into everyday usages such as a car's interior or a small size furniture.

Keywords: failure modes, numerical modelling, polylactic acid, sugar palm fibres

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Authors: R. Unnikrishnan, K. Shankar

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In the case of high-speed fighter aircrafts, seat ejection is designed mainly for the safety of the pilot in case of an emergency. Strong windblast due to the high velocity of flight is one main difficulty in clearing the tail of the aircraft. Excessive G-forces generated, immobilizes the pilot from escape. In most of the cases, seats are ejected out of the aircrafts by explosives or by rocket motors attached to the bottom of the seat. Ejection forces are primarily in the vertical direction with the objective of attaining the maximum possible velocity in a specified period of time. The safe ejection parameters are studied to estimate the critical time of ejection for various geometries and velocities of flight. An equivalent analytical 2-dimensional biomechanical model of the human spine has been modelled consisting of vertebrae and intervertebral discs with a lumped mass approach. The 24 vertebrae, which consists of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions, in addition to the head mass and the pelvis has been designed as 26 rigid structures and the intervertebral discs are assumed as 25 flexible joint structures. The rigid structures are modelled as mass elements and the flexible joints as spring and damper elements. Here, the motions are restricted only in the mid-sagittal plane to form a 26 degree of freedom system. The equations of motions are derived for translational movement of the spinal column. An ejection force with a linearly increasing acceleration profile is applied as vertical base excitation on to the pelvis. The dynamic vibrational response of each vertebra in time-domain is estimated.

Keywords: biomechanical model, lumped mass, seat ejection, vibrational response

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Authors: Medhat Abdallah, Ahmed Abdrabou

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Tutankhamen tomb was discovered on November 1922 by Howard carter, the grave was relatively intact and crammed full of the most beautiful burial items and furniture, the black shrine-shaped boxes on sleds studied here founded in treasury chamber. This study aims to identify the wood species used in making those shrines, illustrate technology of manufacture. Optical Microscope (OM), 3D software and Imaging Processes including; Visible light, Raking light and Visible-induced infrared luminescence were effective in illustrating wooden joints and techniques of manufacture. The results revealed that cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani and sycamore fig Ficus sycomorus had been used for making the shrines’ boards and sleds while tamarisk Tamarix sp., Turkey Oak Quercus cerris L., and Sidder (nabk) Zizyphus spina christi used for making dowels. The wooden joint of mortise and tenon was used to connect the body of the shrine to the sled, while wooden pegs used to connect roof and cornice to the shrine body.

Keywords: Tutankhamen, wood species, optical microscope, Cedrus libani, Ficus sycomorus

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Authors: Abinash Tripathy, Girish Muralidharan, Amitava Pramanik, Prosenjit Sen

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Superhydrophobic surfaces are abundant in nature. Several surfaces such as wings of butterfly, legs of water strider, feet of gecko and the lotus leaf show extreme water repellence behaviour. Self-cleaning, stain-free fabrics, spill-resistant protective wears, drag reduction in micro-fluidic devices etc. are few applications of superhydrophobic surfaces. In order to design robust superhydrophobic surface, it is important to understand the interaction of water with superhydrophobic surface textures. In this work, we report a simple coating method for creating large-scale flexible superhydrophobic paper surface. The surface consists of multiple layers of silanized zirconia microparticles decorated with zirconia nanoparticles. Water contact angle as high as 159±10 and contact angle hysteresis less than 80 was observed. Drop impact studies on superhydrophobic paper surface were carried out by impinging water droplet and capturing its dynamics through high speed imaging. During the drop impact, the Weber number was varied from 20 to 80 by altering the impact velocity of the drop and the parameters such as contact time, normalized spread diameter were obtained. In contrast to earlier literature reports, we observed contact time to be dependent on impact velocity on superhydrophobic surface. Total contact time was split into two components as spread time and recoil time. The recoil time was found to be dependent on the impact velocity while the spread time on the surface did not show much variation with the impact velocity. Further, normalized spreading parameter was found to increase with increase in impact velocity.

Keywords: contact angle, contact angle hysteresis, contact time, superhydrophobic

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Authors: A. Zapata, Orlando Arroyo, R. Bonett

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Over the last two decades, the growing demand for housing in Latin American countries has led to the development of construction projects based on low and medium-rise buildings with thin reinforced concrete walls. This system, known as Thin Walls Reinforced Concrete Buildings (TWRCB), uses walls with thicknesses from 100 to 150 millimetres, with flexural reinforcement formed by welded wire mesh (WWM) with diameters between 5 and 7 millimetres, arranged in one or two layers. These walls often have irregular structural configurations, including combinations of rectangular shapes. Experimental and numerical research conducted in regions where this structural system is commonplace indicates inherent weaknesses, such as limited ductility due to the WWM reinforcement and thin element dimensions. Because of its complexity, numerical analyses have relied on two-dimensional models that don't explicitly account for the floor system, even though it plays a crucial role in distributing seismic forces among the resilient elements. Nonetheless, the numerical analyses assume a rigid diaphragm hypothesis. For this purpose, two study cases of buildings were selected, low-rise and mid-rise characteristics of TWRCB in Colombia. The buildings were analyzed in Opensees using the MVLEM-3D for walls and shell elements to simulate the slabs to involve the effect of coupling diaphragm in the nonlinear behaviour. Three cases are considered: a) models without a slab, b) models with rigid slabs, and c) models with flexible slabs. An incremental static (pushover) and nonlinear dynamic analyses were carried out using a set of 44 far-field ground motions of the FEMA P-695, scaled to 1.0 and 1.5 factors to consider the probability of collapse for the design base earthquake (DBE) and the maximum considered earthquake (MCE) for the model, according to the location sites and hazard zone of the archetypes in the Colombian NSR-10. Shear base capacity, maximum displacement at the roof, walls shear base individual demands and probabilities of collapse were calculated, to evaluate the effect of absence, rigid and flexible slabs in the nonlinear behaviour of the archetype buildings. The pushover results show that the building exhibits an overstrength between 1.1 to 2 when the slab is considered explicitly and depends on the structural walls plan configuration; additionally, the nonlinear behaviour considering no slab is more conservative than if the slab is represented. Include the flexible slab in the analysis remarks the importance to consider the slab contribution in the shear forces distribution between structural elements according to design resistance and rigidity. The dynamic analysis revealed that including the slab reduces the collapse probability of this system due to have lower displacements and deformations, enhancing the safety of residents and the seismic performance. The strategy of including the slab in modelling is important to capture the real effect on the distribution shear forces in walls due to coupling to estimate the correct nonlinear behaviour in this system and the adequate distribution to proportionate the correct resistance and rigidity of the elements in the design to reduce the possibility of damage to the elements during an earthquake.

Keywords: thin wall reinforced concrete buildings, coupling slab, rigid diaphragm, flexible diaphragm

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Authors: Aminur Rahman

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The Unique feature of BROTHERS Furniture sofa stands in ergonomic Design, skilled hand work and art work. Present world market is passing through a contentious competitive situation that is rapidly and dramatic. Competitive strategy concerns how to create competitive advantage in upholstery businesses. In order to competitive advantage in upholstery sofa market, Design and develop a sofa that have to ergonomic features. Design an ergonomic upholstery sofa knowing and understanding the appropriate seat depth, seat height, angle between Seat & back, back height which is concurrent market demand, world class sofa has to incorporate ergonomic factors. The study the relationships between human, seat and context variables comfort and discomfort. We must have conduct market survey among users whose are need and use sofa. Health & safety factors should be examined from a variety of angle. An attractive design and meet customer requirements, ergonomically fit should be considered for sofa development. This paper will explain how to design & develop sofa’s as per standard specifications which have ergonomic features for users all over the world.

Keywords: ergonomics, angle between seat & back, standard dimension, seat comfort

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Authors: D. Sarkar, M. Pal, A. K. Sarkar

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Asphaltic concrete for pavement construction in India are produced by using crushed stone, gravels etc. as aggregate. In north-Eastern region of India, there is a scarcity o f stone aggregate. Therefore the road engineers are always in search of an optional material as aggregate which can replace the regularly used material. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the utilization of substandard or marginal aggregates in flexible pavement construction. The investigation was undertaken to evaluate the effects of using lower quality aggregates such as over burnt brick aggregate on the preparation of asphalt concrete for flexible pavements. The scope of this work included a review of available literature and existing data, a laboratory evaluation organized to determine the effects of marginal aggregates and potential techniques to upgrade these substandard materials, and a laboratory evaluation of these upgraded marginal aggregate asphalt mixtures. Over burnt brick aggregates are water susceptible and can leads to moisture damage. Moisture damage is the progressive loss of functionality of the material owing to loss of the adhesion bond between the asphalt binder and the aggregate surface. Hence, zycosoil as an anti striping additive were evaluated in this study. This study summarizes the results of the laboratory evaluation carried out to investigate the properties of asphalt concrete prepared with zycosoil modified over burnt brick aggregate. Marshall specimen were prepared with stone aggregate, zycosoil modified stone aggregate, over burnt brick aggregate and zycosoil modified over burnt brick aggregate. Results show that addition of zycosoil with stone aggregate increased stability by 6% and addition of zycosoil with over burnt brick aggregate increased stability by 30%.

Keywords: asphalt concrete, over burnt brick aggregate, marshall stability, zycosoil

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Authors: Michael Adedotun Oke

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In Nigeria, Bamboo is one of the most socioeconomically beneficial farming crops, with yearly investment returns of up to N1.6 million. Growing bamboo is a fantastic long-term investment. It may self-renew for up to 70 years and is durable, long-lasting, and environmentally friendly; through an oral interview with the sellers, usage examples, and visual depiction to support those examples, The paper was able to discuss the different uses for bamboo. The various field observations in Federal Capital Territory, including the electric poles, buildings, paper production, and decoration, from picture frames to room dividing screens, bamboo can make some elegant and exotic decorations for the home, building, furniture, cooking, agriculture, instrument, in construction for flooring, roofing designing, scaffolding, garden planting, even to control erosion and slope stabilization in erosion are observed. The use of it is multiplexed with straightforward man-made technology, in contrast. 'This study wants more innovative practices that will be able to make it lucrative for business purposes and sustainability of the process. Although there are various uses and requirements for growing bamboo successfully, it is advised to receive the proper training and in-depth understanding of the growth and management procedures. Consult an experienced bamboo farmer for help.

Keywords: bamboo, use, Nigeria, socioeconomically

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Authors: Alexis Dorado, Aralyn Quintos

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This study explores the utilization of natural dyes for wood stains as a transformative agent for wood, encompassing color alteration, grain enhancement, and protection against harm. Commonly, wood stains are petroleum-based and synthetically derived. Notably, commercially accessible wood stains exhibit around 4% greater volatility than the formulated wood stain (FWS), potentially indicating a heightened environmental impact. The application of FWS does not significantly affect the performance of polyurethane varnish. The impact of incorporating an FWS when was applied to Gmelina arborea wood sample, the initial lightness value (L*) of 68.5, a* 7.7, b* 29.2 decreased to 44.36, a* 23.49, b* 32.60, where a* denotes the red/ green value, b* denotes the yellow/ blue, indicating a shift towards darker shades. This alteration in lightness suggests that the FWS contains compounds or pigments that effectively absorb or scatter light, resulting in a change in the perceived color and visual appearance of the wood surface. Moreover, the successful formulation of an eco-friendly natural wood stain is detailed, presenting a promising alternative. This method finds applicability in the domains of furniture and handicraft creation, offering a sustainable choice for creative artisans.

Keywords: formulated wood stain (FWS), natural dyes, wood stains, eco-friendly natural wood stain,

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Authors: Ali H. Daraji, Jack M. Hale, Ye Jianqiao

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With the extensive use of high specific strength structures to optimise the loading capacity and material cost in aerospace and most engineering applications, much effort has been expended to develop intelligent structures for active vibration reduction and structural health monitoring. These structures are highly flexible, inherently low internal damping and associated with large vibration and long decay time. The modification of such structures by adding lightweight piezoelectric sensors and actuators at efficient locations integrated with an optimal control scheme is considered an effective solution for structural vibration monitoring and controlling. The size and location of sensor and actuator are important research topics to investigate their effects on the level of vibration detection and reduction and the amount of energy provided by a controller. Several methodologies have been presented to determine the optimal location of a limited number of sensors and actuators for small-scale structures. However, these studies have tackled this problem directly, measuring the fitness function based on eigenvalues and eigenvectors achieved with numerous combinations of sensor/actuator pair locations and converging on an optimal set using heuristic optimisation techniques such as the genetic algorithms. This is computationally expensive for small- and large-scale structures subject to optimise a number of s/a pairs to suppress multiple vibration modes. This paper proposes an efficient method to determine optimal locations for a limited number of sensor/actuator pairs for active vibration reduction of a flexible structure based on finite element method and Hamilton’s principle. The current work takes the simplified approach of modelling a structure with sensors at all locations, subjecting it to an external force to excite the various modes of interest and noting the locations of sensors giving the largest average percentage sensors effectiveness measured by dividing all sensor output voltage over the maximum for each mode. The methodology was implemented for a cantilever plate under external force excitation to find the optimal distribution of six sensor/actuator pairs to suppress the first six modes of vibration. It is shown that the results of the optimal sensor locations give good agreement with published optimal locations, but with very much reduced computational effort and higher effectiveness. Furthermore, it is shown that collocated sensor/actuator pairs placed in these locations give very effective active vibration reduction using optimal linear quadratic control scheme.

Keywords: optimisation, plate, sensor effectiveness, vibration control

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Authors: A. Ibáñez, A. Martínez, A. Sánchez, M. A. León

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This article is focused on the development of a series of biodegradable and eco-friendly masterbatches based on polylactic acid (PLA) filled with almond shell to study the influence of almond shell in the properties of injected biodegradable parts. These innovative masterbatches have 20 wt % of the almond shell. Different treatments were carried out with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and maleic anhydride (MA) to obtain better interfacial bonding between fibre and matrix. The masterbatches were produced by varying the fibre treatments (type of treatment, concentration and temperature). The masterbatches have been injected to obtain standardised test samples in order to study mechanical properties. The results show that, the some of the treated fibres present slightly higher flexural modulus and impact strength than untreated fibres. This study is part of a LIFE project (MASTALMOND) aimed to create and test at preindustrial level new coloured masterbatches based on biodegradable polymers and containing in its formulation a high percentage of almond shell, a natural waste material, which firstly will permit to cover technical requirements of two traditional industrial sectors: toy and furniture, although the results achieved could be extended to other industrial sectors.

Keywords: additivation, almond shell, biodegradable, masterbatch, PLA, injection moulding

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Authors: Justin A. Udie, Subhes C. Bhatthacharyya, Leticia Ozawa-Meida

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The impact of climate change is severe in the Niger Delta and critical oil and gas infrastructures are vulnerable. This is partly due to lack of specific impact assessment framework to assess impact indices on both existing and new infrastructures. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for the assessment of climate change impact on critical oil and gas infrastructure in the region. Comparative and documentary methods as well as analysis of frameworks were used to develop a flexible, integrated and conceptual four dimensional framework underpinning; 1. Scoping – the theoretical identification of inherent climate burdens, review of exposure, adaptive capacities and delineation of critical infrastructure; 2. Vulnerability assessment – presents a systematic procedure for the assessment of infrastructure vulnerability. It provides real time re-scoping, practical need for data collection, analysis and review. Physical examination of systems is encouraged to complement the scoped data and ascertain the level of exposure to relevant climate risks in the area; 3. New infrastructure – consider infrastructures that are still at developmental level. It seeks to suggest the inclusion of flexible adaptive capacities in original design of infrastructures in line with climate threats and projections; 4. The Mainstreaming Climate Impact Assessment into government’s environmental decision making approach. Though this framework is designed specifically for the estimation of exposure, adaptive capacities and criticality of vulnerable oil and gas infrastructures in the Niger Delta to climate burdens; it is recommended for researchers and experts as a first-hand generic and practicable tool which can be used for the assessment of other infrastructures perceived as critical and vulnerable. The paper does not provide further tools that synch into the methodological approach but presents pointers upon which a pragmatic methodology can be developed.

Keywords: adaptation, assessment, conceptual, climate, change, framework, vulnerability

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Authors: Merve Nur Güven Biçer

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Conductive inks are used extensively in electronic devices like sensors, batteries, photovoltaic devices, antennae, and organic light-emitting diodes. These inks are typically made from silver. Wearable technology is another industry that requires inks to be flexible. The aim of this study is the fabrication of low-temperature silver paste by synthesis long silver nanowires.

Keywords: silver ink, conductive ink, low temperature conductive ink, silver nanowire

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Authors: Samane Maroufi, Rasoul Khayyam Nekouei, Sajjad Mofarah

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Fabrication of the state-of-the-art portable pseudocapacitors with the desired transparency, mechanical flexibility, capacitance, and durability is challenging. In most cases, the fabrication of such devices requires critical elements which are either under the crisis of depletion or their extraction from virgin mineral ores have sever environmental impacts. This urges the use of secondary resources instead of virgin resources in fabrication of advanced devices. In this research, ultrathin films of defect-rich Mn1−x−y(CexLay)O2−δ with controllable thicknesses in the range between 5 nm to 627 nm and transmittance (≈29–100%) have been fabricated via an electrochemical chronoamperometric deposition technique using an aqueous precursor derived during the selective purification of rare earth oxide (REOs) isolated from end-of-life nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries. Intercalation/de-intercalation of anionic O2− through the atomic tunnels of the stratified Mn1−x−y(CexLay)O2−δ crystallites was found to be responsible for outstanding areal capacitance of 3.4 mF cm−2 of films with 86% transmittance. The intervalence charge transfer among interstitial Ce/La cations and Mn oxidation states within the Mn1−x−y(CexLay)O2−δ structure resulted in excellent capacitance retention of ≈90% after 16 000 cycles. The synthesised transparent flexible Mn1−x−y(CexLay)O2−δ full-cell pseudocapacitor device possessed the energy and power densities of 0.088 μWh cm⁻² and 843 µW cm⁻², respectively. These values show insignificant changes under vigorous twisting and bending to 45–180° confirming these value-added materials are intriguing alternatives for size-sensitive energy storage devices. This research confirms the feasibility of utilisation of secondary waste resources for the fabrication of high-quality pseudocapacitors with engineered defects with the desired flexibility, transparency, and cycling stability suitable for size-sensitive portable electronic devices.

Keywords: pseudocapacitors, energy storage devices, flexible and transparent, sustainability

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Authors: Merve Ozer, Tolga Gokkurt, Yasemen Gokkurt, Ezgi Bozbey

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In this study, we investigated the recovery of Polyethylene terephthalate/Polypropylene (PET/PP)-containing automotive textile waste from post-product and post-consumer phases in the automotive sector according to the upcycling technique and the methods of formulation and production that would allow these wastes to be substituted as PP/PET alloys instead of original PP raw materials used in plastic edge band production. The laminated structure of the stated wastes makes it impossible to separate the incompatible PP and PET phases in content and thus produce a quality raw material or product as a result of recycling. Within the scope of a two-stage production process, a comprehensive process was examined using block copolymers and maleic grafted copolymers with different features to ensure that these two incompatible phases are compatible. The mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of the plastic raw materials, which will be referred to as PP/PET blends obtained as a result of the process, were examined in detail and discussed their substitutability instead of the original raw materials.

Keywords: mechanical recycling, melt blending, plastic blends, polyethylene, polypropylene, recycling of plastics, terephthalate, twin screw extruders

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Authors: Maryam Kalkatechi

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The paper presents the construction unit that was proposed as a result of researching and finding solutions for challenges of the traditional masonry unit. The concept of ‘unit as arrangements of cells’ was investigated in four categories of structure, handling and assembly, thermal characteristics and weather ability which resulted in construction unit as an independent system which shapes a part of the envelope. Comparing to the traditional wall systems in which the system is in layers, the part system is a monolithic piece by itself. Even though the overall wythe-10 inches- is less than the combined layers-14 inches- in a traditional wall system, it is still seen as a spatial component. The component as a furnishing of envelope is discussed from material application point of view. The algorithm definition of the arrangement cells crafts the relationship between cells and functionality with material. This craft is realized as the envelope furnishing. Three alternative materials in relation to furnishing the envelope are discussed for printing the construction unit; transparent plastic, opaque plastic and glass. The qualities vary in the four categories, however this paper focuses on the visual qualities of materials applied. In a diagram the qualities of the materials are compared in relation to each other.

Keywords: furnishing envelope, 3D printed construction unit, opaque plastic, transparent plastic, glass

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Authors: Chin-Hsien Yeh, Shao-Wen Chen, Wen-Shu Huang, Chun-Fu Huang, Jong-Rong Wang, Jung-Hua Yang, Yuh-Ming Ferng, Chunkuan Shih

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In this research, a Fukushima-like conditions is simulated with TRACE and RELAP5. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) occurred the disaster which caused by the earthquake and tsunami. This disaster caused extended loss of all AC power (ELAP). Hence, loss of ultimate heat sink (LUHS) happened finally. In order to handle Fukushima-like conditions, Taiwan Atomic Energy Council (AEC) commanded that Taiwan Power Company should propose strategies to ensure the nuclear power plant safety. One of the diverse and flexible coping strategies (FLEX) is a different water injection strategy. It can execute core injection at 20 Kg/cm2 without depressurization. In this study, TRACE and RELAP5 were used to simulate Maanshan nuclear power plant, which is a three loops PWR in Taiwan, under Fukushima-like conditions and make sure the success criteria of FLEX. Reducing core cooling ability is due to failure of emergency core cooling system (ECCS) in extended loss of all AC power situation. The core water level continues to decline because of the seal leakage, and then FLEX is used to save the core water level and make fuel rods covered by water. The result shows that this mitigation strategy can cool the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) as soon as possible under Fukushima-like conditions, and keep the core water level higher than Top of Active Fuel (TAF). The FLEX can ensure the peak cladding temperature (PCT) below than the criteria 1088.7 K. Finally, the FLEX can provide protection for nuclear power plant and make plant safety.

Keywords: TRACE, RELAP5/MOD3.3, ELAP, FLEX

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Authors: Chih-Ping Chen

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Today, technology does not necessitate change; rather, social media has afforded a new arena and digital tools for users/individuals to be symbolized and marketed in meaningful exchanges of digital identities. We argue that these symbolic interactions may afford individuals the ability to create and present less restricted Line person-to-person (P2P) chats than would be possible in face-to-face communications. Individuals can select flexible influence strategies to market themselves, which enables them to create and present their digital identities and impressions in alternative ways within a dynamic sociocultural context. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the novel phenomenon of how individuals market themselves to manage their digital identities and impressions to connect with other users through the symbolic interactions created by new digital tools (e.g., stickers). A netnographic approach was developed by applying a triangulated methodology consisting of user self-diary reports, in-depth interviews, and observations. Totally, 20 participants (10 females and 10 males) were of Taiwanese origin, and their ages ranged from 20–47 years old. The findings of this research showed that individuals on Line P2P social media where traditional cultural gender norms have shifted. Both male and female participants market their modern digital identities by adopting a combination of flexible influence tactics/strategies when using digital stickers. Some findings showed that their influence tactics/strategies often flouted Taiwanese cultural gender norms or skirted traditional rules to fit individual or P2P needs. Finally, these findings potentially contributed to the literature regarding the consumer culture theory and symbolic interaction theory in digital marketing and social media fields.

Keywords: Consumer culture theory, Digital sticker, Self-marketing, Impression, Symbolic interaciton

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Authors: Alireza Alesaadi

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Flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) devices have an important rule on expnded electrical transmission networks. In this paper, the effect of these diveces on reliability of electrical networks is studied and it is shown that using of FACTS devices can improve the relibiability of power networks, significantly.

Keywords: FACTS devices, power networks, reliability

Procedia PDF Downloads 384

Authors: Abdulraaof H. Alqaili, Hamad A. Alsoliman

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Through progress in pavement design developments, a pavement design method was developed, which is titled the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG). Nowadays, the evolution in roads network and highways is observed in Saudi Arabia as a result of increasing in traffic volume. Therefore, the MEPDG currently is implemented for flexible pavement design by the Saudi Ministry of Transportation. Implementation of MEPDG for local pavement design requires the calibration of distress models under the local conditions (traffic, climate, and materials). This paper aims to prepare data for calibration of MEPDG in Central Saudi Arabia. Thus, the first goal is data collection for the design of flexible pavement from the local conditions of the Riyadh region. Since, the modifying of collected data to input data is needed; the main goal of this paper is the analysis of collected data. The data analysis in this paper includes processing each: Trucks Classification, Traffic Growth Factor, Annual Average Daily Truck Traffic (AADTT), Monthly Adjustment Factors (MAFi), Vehicle Class Distribution (VCD), Truck Hourly Distribution Factors, Axle Load Distribution Factors (ALDF), Number of axle types (single, tandem, and tridem) per truck class, cloud cover percent, and road sections selected for the local calibration. Detailed descriptions of input parameters are explained in this paper, which leads to providing of an approach for successful implementation of MEPDG. Local calibration of MEPDG to the conditions of Riyadh region can be performed based on the findings in this paper.

Keywords: mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG), traffic characteristics, materials properties, climate, Riyadh

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Authors: Rui He, Seung-Eun Baik, Min-Jae Lee, Myong-Hoon Lee

Abstract:

The polarizer is one of the most essential optical elements in LCDs. Currently, the most widely used polarizers for LCD is the derivatives of the H-sheet polarizer. There is a need for coatable polarizers which are much thinner and more stable than H-sheet polarizers. One possible approach to obtain thin, stable, and coatable polarizers is based on the use of highly ordered guest-host system. In our research, we aimed to fabricate coatable polarizer based on highly ordered liquid crystalline monomer and dichroic dye ‘guest-host’ system, in which the anisotropic absorption of light could be achieved by aligning a dichroic dye (guest) in the cooperative motion of the ordered liquid crystal (host) molecules. Firstly, we designed and synthesized a new reactive liquid crystalline monomer containing polymerizable acrylate groups as the ‘host’ material. The structure was confirmed by 1H-NMR and IR spectroscopy. The liquid crystalline behavior was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM). It was confirmed that the monomers possess highly ordered smectic phase at relatively low temperature. Then, the photocurable ‘guest-host’ system was prepared by mixing the liquid crystalline monomer, dichroic dye and photoinitiator. Coatable polarizers were fabricated by spin-coating above mixture on a substrate with alignment layer. The in-situ photopolymerization was carried out at room temperature by irradiating UV light, resulting in the formation of crosslinked structure that stabilized the aligned dichroic dye molecules. Finally, the dichroic ratio (DR), order parameter (S) and polarization efficiency (PE) were determined by polarized UV/Vis spectroscopy. We prepared the coatable polarizers by using different type of dichroic dyes to meet the requirement of display application. The results reveal that the coatable polarizers at a thickness of 8μm exhibited DR=12~17 and relatively high PE (>96%) with the highest PE=99.3%, which possess potential for the LCD or flexible display applications.

Keywords: coatable polarizer, display, guest-host, liquid crystal

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Authors: Zahrul Faizi M. S., Ali A., Norhuda A. M.

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Emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) from solid waste treatment and dependency on fossil fuel to produce electricity are the major concern in Malaysia as well as global. Innovation in downdraft gasification with combined heat and power (CHP) systems has the potential to minimize solid waste and reduce the emission of anthropogenic GHG from conventional fossil fuel power plants. However, the efficiency and capability of downdraft gasification to generate electricity from various alternative fuels, for instance, agriculture residues (i.e., woodchip, coconut shell) and municipal solid waste (MSW), are still controversial, on top of the toxicity level from the produced bottom ash. Thus this study evaluates the adaptability and reliability of the 20 kW downdraft gasification system to generate electricity (while considering environmental sustainability from the bottom ash) using flexible local feedstock at 20, 40, and 60% mixed ratio of MSW: agriculture residues. Feedstock properties such as feed particle size, moisture, and ash contents are also analyzed to identify optimal characteristics for the combination of feedstock (feedstock flexibility) to obtain maximum energy generation. Results show that the gasification system is capable to flexibly accommodate different feedstock compositions subjected to specific particle size (less than 2 inches) at a moisture content between 15 to 20%. These values exhibit enhance gasifier performance and provide a significant effect to the syngas composition utilizes by the internal combustion engine, which reflects energy production. The result obtained in this study is able to provide a new perspective on the transition of the conventional gasification system to a future reliable carbon-negative energy technology. Subsequently, promoting commercial scale-up of the downdraft gasification system.

Keywords: carbon-negative energy, feedstock flexibility, gasification, renewable energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 104