Search results for: Clay materials

Authors: M. Z. Norashikin, M. Z. Ibrahim

Abstract:

The use of plastic materials in agriculture causes serious hazards to the environment. The introduction of biodegradable materials, which can be disposed directly into the soil can be one possible solution to this problem. In the present research results of experimental tests carried out on biodegradable film fabricated from natural waste (corn husk) are presented. The film was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and atomic force microscope (AFM) observation. The film is shown to be readily degraded within 7-9 months under controlled soil conditions, indicating a high biodegradability rate. The film fabricated was use to produce biodegradable pot (BioPot) for seedlings plantation. The introduction and the expanding use of biodegradable materials represent a really promising alternative for enhancing sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural activities.

Keywords: Environment, waste, plastic, biodegradable.

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Authors: Juraj Beniak, Ľubomír Šooš, Peter Križan, Miloš Matúš

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Within Rapid Prototyping technologies are used many types of materials. Many of them are recyclable but there are still as plastic like, so practically they do not degrade in the landfill. Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the special plastic materials, which are biodegradable and available for 3D printing within Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology. The question is, if the mechanical properties of produced models are comparable to similar technical plastic materials which are usual for prototype production. Presented paper shows the experiments results for tensile strength measurements for specimens prepared with different 3D printer settings and model orientation. Paper contains also the comparison of tensile strength values with values measured on specimens produced by conventional technologies as injection moulding.

Keywords: 3D printing, biodegradable plastic, fused deposition modeling, PLA plastic, rapid prototyping.

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Authors: A. Tagar, F. A. Chandio, I. A. Mari, B. Wagan

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An experiment was conducted on the comparative study of drip and furrow irrigation methods at the farmer-s field in Umar Kot. The total area under experiment about 4000m2 was divided into two equal portions. One portion about 40m X 50m was occupied by drip and the other portion about 40m X 50m by furrow irrigation method. Soil at the experimental site was clay loam in texture for 0-60cm depth; average dry bulk density and field capacity was 1.16g/cm3 and 28.5% respectively. The results reveal that the drip irrigation method saved 56.4% water and gave 22% more yield as compared to that of furrow irrigation method. Higher water use efficiency about 4.87 was obtained in drip irrigation method; whereas lower water used efficiency about 1.66 was obtained in furrow irrigation method. The present study suggests farming community to adopt drip irrigation method instead of old traditional flooding methods.

Keywords: Drip and furrow irrigations methods, water saving, yield of tomato crop.

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Authors: N. Mahmoudi

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Composite materials have important assets compared to traditional materials. They bring many functional advantages: lightness, mechanical resistance and chemical, etc. In the present study we examine the effect of a circular central notch and a precrack on the tensile fracture of two woven composite materials. The tensile tests were applied to a standardized specimen, notched and a precarcked (orientation of the crack 0°, 45° and 90°). These tensile tests were elaborated according to an experimental planning design of the type 23.31 requiring 24 experiments with three repetitions. By the analysis of regression, we obtained a mathematical model describing the maximum load according to the influential parameters (hole diameter, precrack length, angle of a precrack orientation). The specimens precracked at 90° have a better behavior than those having a precrack at 45° and still better than those having of the precracks oriented at 0°. In addition the maximum load is inversely proportional to the notch size.

Keywords: Polymer matrix, Glasses, Fracture.

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Authors: Janet Holland

Abstract:

Eye tracking is a great way to triangulate multiple data sources for deeper, more complete knowledge of how instructional materials are really being used and emotional connections made. Using sensor based biometrics provides a detailed local analysis in real time expanding our ability to collect science based data for a more comprehensive level of understanding, not previously possible, for teaching and learning. The knowledge gained will be used to make future improvements to instructional materials, tools, and interactions. The literature has been examined and a preliminary pilot test was implemented to develop a methodology for research in Instructional Design and Technology. Eye tracking now offers the addition of objective metrics obtained from eye tracking and other biometric data collection with analysis for a fresh perspective.

Keywords: Area of interest, eye tracking, biometrics, fixation, fixation count, fixation sequence, fixation time, gaze points, heat map, saccades, time to first fixation.

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Authors: M. Mlhem

Abstract:

Geotechnical engineers face many problematic soils upon construction and they have the choice for replacing these soils with more appropriate soils or attempting to improve the engineering properties of the soil through a suitable soil stabilization technique. Mostly, improving soils is environmental, easier and more economical than other solutions. Stabilization soils technique is applied by introducing a cementing agent or by injecting a substance to fill the pore volume. Chemical stabilizers are divided into two groups: traditional agents such as cement or lime and non-traditional agents such as polymers. This paper studies the effect of epoxy additives on the compression strength of four types of soil and then compares with the effect of cement on the compression strength for the same soils. Overall, the epoxy additives are more effective in increasing the strength for different types of soils regardless its classification. On the other hand, there was no clear relation between studied parameters liquid limit, passing No.200, unit weight and between the strength of samples for different types of soils.

Keywords: Additives, clay, compression strength, epoxy, stabilization.

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Authors: Amir Hossein Daei Sorkhabi, Farid Vakili Tahami

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In this paper, creep constitutive equations of base (Parent) and weld materials of the weldment for cold-drawn 304L stainless steel have been obtained experimentally. For this purpose, test samples have been generated from cold drawn bars and weld material according to the ASTM standard. The creep behavior and properties have been examined for these materials by conducting uniaxial creep tests. Constant temperatures and constant load uni-axial creep tests have been carried out at two high temperatures, 680 and 720 oC, subjected to constant loads, which produce initial stresses ranging from 240 to 360 MPa. The experimental data have been used to obtain the creep constitutive parameters using numerical optimization techniques.

Keywords: Creep, Constitutive equation, Cold-drawn 304L stainless steel, Weld, Base material

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Authors: Renato Santos Paulinelli Raposo, Vinicius Resende Domingues, Manoel Porfirio Cordao Neto

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Rapid drawdown is one of the cases referred to ground stability study in dam projects. Due to the complexity generated by the combination of loads and the difficulty in determining the parameters, analyses of rapid drawdown are usually performed considering the immediate reduction of water level upstream. The proposal of a simulation, considering the gradual reduction in water level upstream, requires knowledge of parameters about consolidation and those related to unsaturated soil. In this context, the purpose of this study is to understand the methodology of collection and analysis of parameters to simulate a rapid drawdown in dams. Using a numerical tool, the study is complemented with a hypothetical case study that can assist the practical use of data compiled. The referenced dam presents homogeneous section composed of clay soil, a height of 70 meters, a width of 12 meters, and upstream slope with inclination 1V:3H.

Keywords: Dam, GeoStudio, rapid drawdown, stability analysis.

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Authors: Muhammad Khalil, Nader Abuelfoutouh, Gasser Abdelal, Adrian Murphy

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Nowadays, the direct effects of lightning to aircrafts are of great importance because of the massive use of composite materials. In comparison with metallic materials, composites present several weaknesses for lightning strike direct effects. Especially, their low electrical and thermal conductivities lead to severe lightning strike damage. The lightning strike direct effects are burning, heating, magnetic force, sparking and arcing. As the problem is complex, we investigated it gradually. A magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model is developed to simulate the lightning strikes in order to estimate the damages on the composite materials. Then, a coupled thermal-electrical finite element analysis is used to study the interaction between the lightning arc and the composite laminate and to investigate the material degradation.

Keywords: Composite structures, lightning multiphysics, magnetohydrodynamics, coupled thermal-electrical analysis, thermal plasmas.

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Authors: Marco A. S. González, Marlova P. Kulakowski, Luciano G. Breitenbach, Felipe Kirch

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The AEC sector has an expressive environmental responsibility. Actually, most building materials have severe environmental impacts along their production cycle. Professionals enrolled in building design may choice the materials and techniques with less impact among the viable options. This work presents a study about embodied energy in materials of two typical Brazilian constructive alternatives. The construction options considered are reinforced concrete structure and structural masonry. The study was developed for the region of São Leopoldo, southern Brazil. Results indicated that the energy embodied in these two constructive systems is approximately 1.72 GJ·m^-2 and 1.26 GJ·m^-2, respectively. It may be concluded that the embodied energy is lower in the structural masonry system, with a reduction around to 1/4 in relation to the traditional option. The results can be used to help design decisions.

Keywords: Civil construction, sustainability, embodied energy.

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Authors: B. Medjahed, M. A. Didi, B. Guezzen

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This work concerns with the experimental study of the adsorption of the Ni(II) on bentonite. The effects of various parameters such as contact time, stirring rate, initial concentration of Ni(II), masse of clay, initial pH of aqueous solution and temperature on the adsorption yield, were carried out. The study of the effect of the ionic strength on the yield of adsorption was examined by the identification and the quantification of the present chemical species in the aqueous phase containing the metallic ion Ni(II). The adsorbed species were investigated by a calculation program using CHEAQS V. L20.1 in order to determine the relation between the percentages of the adsorbed species and the adsorption yield. The optimization process was carried out using 2³ factorial designs. The individual and combined effects of three process parameters, i.e. initial Ni(II) concentration in aqueous solution (2.10⁻³ and 5.10⁻³ mol/L), initial pH of the solution (2 and 6.5), and mass of bentonite (0.03 and 0.3 g) on Ni(II) adsorption, were studied.

Keywords: Adsorption, bentonite, factorial design, Nickel(II).

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Authors: A. Bárbara Cattozatto Fortunato, D. de Lucca Soave, E. Pinheiro de Mello, M. Piasentini Oliva, V. Tavares de Moraes, G. Wolf Lebrão, D. Fernandes Parra, S. Marraccini Giampietri Lebrão

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Due to increasing environmental pressure for biodegradable products, especially in polymeric materials, in order to meet the demands of the biological cycles of the circular economy, new materials have been developed as a sustainability strategy. This study proposes a composite material developed from the biodegradable polymer PLA Ecovio® (polylactic acid - PLA) with natural sisal fibers, where the soybean ester was used as a plasticizer, which can aid in adhesion between the materials and fibers, making the most attractive final composite from an environmental point of view. The composites were obtained by extrusion. The materials tests were produced and submitted to biodegradation tests. Through the biodegradation tests, it can be seen that the biodegradable polymer composition with 5% sisal fiber presented about 12.4% more biodegradability compared to the polymer without fiber addition. It has also been found that the plasticizer was not a compatible with fibers and the polymer. Finally, fibers help to anticipate the decomposition process of the material when subjected to conditions of a landfill. Therefore, its intrinsic properties are not affected during its use, only the biodegradation process begins after its exposure to landfill conditions.

Keywords: Biocomposites, sisal, polylactic acid, PLA.

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Authors: Supriya Pal, Kalyan Adhikari, Somnath Mukherjee, Sudipta Ghosh

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This study presents the application of artificial neural network for modeling the phenolic compound migration through vertical soil column. A three layered feed forward neural network with back propagation training algorithm was developed using forty eight experimental data sets obtained from laboratory fixed bed vertical column tests. The input parameters used in the model were the influent concentration of phenol(mg/L) on the top end of the soil column, depth of the soil column (cm), elapsed time after phenol injection (hr), percentage of clay (%), percentage of silt (%) in soils. The output of the ANN was the effluent phenol concentration (mg/L) from the bottom end of the soil columns. The ANN predicted results were compared with the experimental results of the laboratory tests and the accuracy of the ANN model was evaluated.

Keywords: Modeling, Neural Networks, Phenol, Soil media

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Authors: Z. Pavlík, H. Benešová, P. Matiašovský, M. Pavlíková

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In this paper, study on carbonation process of several types of advanced plasters on lime basis is presented. The movement of carbonation head was measured by colorimetric method using phenolphtalein. The rate of carbonation was accessed also by gravimetric method. Samples of studied materials were placed into the climatic chamber for simulation of environment with high concentration of CO2. The particular samples were on all lateral sides and on the bottom side provided by epoxy resin in order to arrange 1-D transport of CO2 into the studied samples. The carbonation rates of particular materials pointed to the time dependence of diffusion process of CO2 for all the studied plasters. From the quantitative point of view, the carbonation of advanced modified plasters was much faster than for the reference lime plaster, what is beneficial for the practical application of the tested newly developed materials.

Keywords: Carbonation, colorimetric method, gravimetric method, lime-based plasters, pozzolana admixtures.

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Authors: Leila Kazemi, Akram Pourmohammad, Zargham OstadiAsl, Maryam Jahandideh, Ahadollah Azami

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Due to its geographical location, Iran is considered one of the earthquake-prone areas where the best way to decrease earthquake effects is supposed to be strengthening the buildings. Even though, one idea suggests that the use of adobe in constructing buildings be prohibited for its weak function especially in earthquake-prone areas, however, regarding ecological considerations, sustainability and other local skills, another idea pays special attention to adobe as one of the construction technologies which is popular among people. From the architectural and technological point of view, as strong sustainable building construction materials, compressed adobe construction materials make most of the construction in urban or rural areas ranging from small to big industrial buildings used to replace common earth blocks in traditional systems and strengthen traditional adobe buildings especially against earthquake. Mentioning efficient construction using compressed adobe system as a reliable replacement for traditional soil construction materials , this article focuses on the experiences of India in the fields of sustainable development of compressed adobe systems in the form of system in which the compressed soil is combined with cement, load bearing building with brick/solid concrete block system, brick system using rat trap bond, metal system with adobe infill and finally emphasizes on the use of these systems in the earthquake-struck city of Bam in Iran.

Keywords: Local Materials, Compressed Earth Blocks, Sustainable Construction, Retrofitting

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Authors: Mustafa Altin, Sakir Tasdemir, Gamze Fahriye Pehlivan, Sadiye Didem Boztepe Erkis, Sevda Altin

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In this study, an experiment was executed related to the strength of wooden materials which have been commonly used both in the past and present against pressure and whether fire retardant materials used against fire have any effects or not. Totally 81 samples which included 3 different wood species, 3 different sizes, 2 different fire retardants and 2 unprocessed samples were prepared. Compressive pressure tests were applied to the prepared samples, their variance analyses were executed in accordance with the obtained results and it was aimed to determine the most convenient wooden materials and fire-retardant coating material. It was also determined that the species of wood and the species of coating caused the decrease and/or increase in the resistance against pressure.

Keywords: Resistance of wood against pressure, species of wood, variance analysis, wood coating, wood fire safety.

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Authors: Chizzoniti Domenico, Beggiora Klizia, Cattani Letizia, Moscatelli Monica

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This paper concerns the study of sustainable construction materials applied on the "Health Post", a prototype for the primary health care situated in alienated areas of the world. It's suitable for social and climatic Sub-Saharan context; however, it could be moved in other countries of the world with similar urgent needs. The idea is to create a Health Post with local construction materials that have a low environmental impact and promote the local workforce allowing reuse of traditional building techniques lowering production costs and transport. The aim of Primary Health Care Centre is to be a flexible and expandable structure identifying a modular form that can be repeated several times to expand its existing functions. In this way it could be not only a health care centre but also a socio-cultural facility.

Keywords: Low costs building, sustainable construction materials, green construction system, prototype, health care, emergency.

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Authors: K. S. Lim, S. N. A. Azraai, N. M. Noor, N. Yahaya

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Polymeric composites are being increasingly used as repair material for repairing critical infrastructures such as building, bridge, pressure vessel, piping and pipeline. Technique in repairing damaged pipes is one of the major concerns of pipeline owners. Considerable researches have been carried out on the repair of corroded pipes using composite materials. This article attempts a short review of the subject matter to provide insight into various techniques used in repairing corroded pipes, focusing on a wide range of composite repair systems. These systems including pre-cured layered, flexible wet lay-up, pre-impregnated, split composite sleeve and flexible tape systems. Both advantages and limitations of these repair systems were highlighted. Critical technical aspects have been discussed through the current standards and practices. Research gaps and future study scopes in achieving more effective design philosophy are also presented.

Keywords: Composite materials, pipeline, repair technique, polymers.

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Authors: M. Khoukhi

Abstract:

Accurate prediction of the cooling/heating load and consequently, the sizing of the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning equipment require precise calculation of the heat transfer mainly by conduction through envelope components of a building. The thermal resistance of most thermal insulation materials depends on the operating temperature. The temperature to which the insulation materials are exposed varies, depending on the thermal resistance of the materials, the location of the insulation layer within the assembly system, and the effective temperature which depends on the amount of solar radiation received on the surface of the assembly. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the change of the thermal conductivity of polystyrene insulation material in terms of the temperature at the mid-thickness of the material and its effect on the cooling load required by the building.

Keywords: Operating temperature, polystyrene insulation, thermal conductivity, cooling load.

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Authors: Awni H. Alkhazaleh, Baljinder K. Kandola

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In this study, a form-stable composite Paraffin/Nanoclay (PA-NC) has been prepared by absorbing PA into porous particles of NC to be used for low-temperature latent heat thermal energy storage. The leakage test shows that the maximum mass fraction of PA that can be incorporated in NC without leakage is 60 wt.%. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been used to measure the thermal properties of the PA and PA-NC both before and after incorporation in plasterboard (PL). The mechanical performance of the samples has been evaluated in flexural mode. The thermal energy storage performance has been studied using a small test chamber (100 mm × 100 mm × 100 mm) made from 10 mm thick PL and measuring the temperatures using thermocouples. The flammability of the PL+PL-NC has been discussed using a cone calorimeter. The results indicate that the form composite PA has good potential for use as thermal energy storage materials in building applications.

Keywords: Flammability, paraffin, plasterboard, thermal energy storage.

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Authors: Elsa Eka Putri, N.S.V Kameswara Rao, M. A. Mannan

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The objective of this study is to evaluate the threshold stress of the clay with sand subgrade soil. Threshold stress can be defined as the stress level above which cyclic loading leads to excessive deformation and eventual failure. The thickness determination of highways formations using the threshold stress approach is a more realistic assessment of the soil behaviour because it is subjected to repeated loadings from moving vehicles. Threshold stress can be evaluated by plastic strain criterion, which is based on the accumulated plastic strain behaviour during cyclic loadings [1]. Several conditions of the all-round pressure the subgrade soil namely, zero confinement, low all-round pressure and high all-round pressure are investigated. The threshold stresses of various soil conditions are determined. Threshold stress of the soil are 60%, 31% and 38.6% for unconfined partially saturated sample, low effective stress saturated sample, high effective stress saturated sample respectively.

Keywords: threshold stress, cyclic loading, pore water pressure.

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Authors: Mohammad Moeini, Mehrdad Ghyabi, Kiarash Mohtasham Dolatshahi

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This paper investigates seismic soil-pile interaction using the Beam on Nonlinear Winkler Foundation (BNWF) approach. Three soil types are considered to cover all the possible responses, as well as nonlinear site response analysis using finite element method in OpenSees platform. Excitations at each elevation that are output of the site response analysis are used as the input excitation to the soil pile system implementing multi-support excitation method. Spectral intensities of acceleration show that the extent of the response in sand is more severe than that of clay, in addition, increasing the PGA of ground strong motion will affect the sandy soil more, in comparison with clayey medium, which is an indicator of the sensitivity of soil-pile systems in sandy soil.

Keywords: Beam on nonlinear Winkler foundation method, multi-support excitation, nonlinear site response analysis, seismic soil-pile interaction.

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Authors: B.S.Boyanov, M.P.Sandalski, K.I.Ivanov

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The production of glass, ceramic materials and many non-ferrous metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, etc.), ferrous metals (pig iron) and others is connected with the use of a considerable number of initial solid raw materials. Before carrying out the basic technological processes (oxidized roasting, melting, agglomeration, baking) it is necessary to mix and homogenize the raw materials that have different chemical and phase content, granulometry and humidity. For this purpose zinc sulfide concentrates differing in origin are studied for their more complete characteristics using chemical, X-ray diffraction analyses, DTA and TGA as well as Mössbauer spectroscopy. The phases established in most concentrates are: β-ZnS, mZnS.nFeS, FeS2, CuFeS2, PbS, SiO2 (α-quartz). With the help of the developed by us a Web-based information system for a continued period of time different mix proportions from zinc concentrates are calculated and used in practice (roasting in fluidized bed reactor), which have to conform to the technological requirements of the zinc hydrometallurgical technological scheme.

Keywords: fluidized bed reactor, roasting, Web-based information system, zinc concentrates.

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Authors: Zainul Huda

Abstract:

This presentation reviews recent advances in superalloys and thermal barrier coating (TBC) for application in hot sections of energy-efficient gas-turbine engines. It has been reviewed that in the modern combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT) applying single-crystal energy materials (SC superalloys) and thermal barrier coatings (TBC), and – in one design – closed-loop steam cooling, thermal efficiency can reach more than 60%. These technological advancements contribute to profitable and clean power generation with reduced emission. Alternatively, the use of advanced superalloys (e.g. GTD-111 superalloy, Allvac 718Plus superalloy) and advanced thermal barrier coatings (TBC) in modern gas-turbines has been shown to yield higher energy-efficiency in power generation.

Keywords: Energy materials, gas turbine engines, superalloy, thermal barrier coating

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Authors: Abhay Kumar Singh

Abstract:

Structural and UV/Visible optical properties can be useful to describe a material for the CIGS solar cell active layer, therefore, this work demonstrates the properties like surface morphology, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) bonding energy (EB) core level spectra, UV/Visible absorption spectra, refractive index (n), optical energy band (Eg), reflection spectra for the Cu25 (In16Ga9) Se40Te10 (CIGST-1) and Cu20 (In14Ga9) Se45Te12 (CIGST-2) chalcogenide compositions. Materials have been exhibited homogenous surface morphologies, broading /-or diffusion of bonding energy peaks relative elemental values and a high UV/Visible absorption tendency in the wave length range 400 nm- 850 nm range with the optical energy band gaps 1.37 and 1.42 respectively. Subsequently, UV/Visible reflectivity property in the wave length range 250 nm to 320 nm for these materials has also been discussed.

Keywords: Chalcogen, Optical energy band gap, UV/Visible spectra, XPS spectra.

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Authors: J. Bobek, M. Seidl, P. Lenfeld, L. Behálek, A. Ausperger

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Conventional materials like glass, wood or metals replacement with polymer materials is still continuing. More simple thus cheaper production is the main reason. However due to high energy and petrochemical prices are polymer prices increasing too. That´s why various kinds of fillers are used to make polymers cheaper. Of course target is to maintain or improve properties of these compounds. In this paper are solved rheology issues of polymers compounded with vegetal origin fibers.

Keywords: Vegetal, fibers, polymer, rheology

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Authors: Pooria Pasbakhsh, Rangika T. De Silva, Vahdat Vahedi, Hanafi Ismail

Abstract:

The influence of three different types of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) with different dimensions, namely as camel lake (CLA), Jarrahdale (JA) and Matauri Bay (MB), on their reinforcing ability of ethylene propylene dine monomer (EPDM) were investigated by varying the HNTs loading (from 0-15 phr). Mechanical properties of the nanocomposites improved with addition of all three HNTs, but CLA based nanocomposites exhibited a significant enhancement compared to the other HNTs. For instance, tensile properties of EPDM nanocomposites increased by 120%, 256% and 340% for MB, JA and CLA, respectively, with addition of 15 phr of HNTs. This could be due to the higher aspect ratio and higher surface area of CLA compared to others. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of nanocomposites at 15 phr of HNT loadings showed low amounts of pulled-out nanotubes which confirmed the presence of more embedded nanotubes inside the EPDM matrix, as well as aggregates within the fracture surface of EPDM/HNT nanocomposites

Keywords: Aspect ratio, Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs), Mechanical properties, Rubber/clay nanocomposites.

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Authors: Andras Szekrenyes

Abstract:

This work presents the mixed-mode II/III prestressed split-cantilever beam specimen for the fracture testing of composite materials. In accordance with the concept of prestressed composite beams one of the two fracture modes is provided by the prestressed state of the specimen, and the other one is increased up to fracture initiation by using a testing machine. The novel beam-like specimen is able to provide any combination of the mode-II and mode-III energy release rates. A simple closed-form solution is developed using beam theory as a data reduction scheme and for the calculation of the energy release rates in the new configuration. The applicability and the limitations of the novel fracture mechanical test are demonstrated using unidirectional glass/polyester composite specimens. If only crack propagation onset is involved then the mixed-mode beam specimen can be used to obtain the fracture criterion of transparent composite materials in the GII - GIII plane in a relatively simple way.

Keywords: Composite, fracture mechanics, toughness testing, mixed-mode II/III fracture.

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Authors: Sue-Yi Chen, Wei-Chun Hsu, Jon-Yiew Gan

Abstract:

Si-based double-junction tandem solar cells have become a popular research topic because of the advantages of low manufacturing cost and high energy conversion efficiency. However, there is no set of calculations to select the appropriate top cell materials. Therefore, this paper will propose a simple but practical selection method. First of all, we calculate the S-Q limit and explain the reasons for developing tandem solar cells. Secondly, we calculate the theoretical energy conversion efficiency of the double-junction tandem solar cells while combining the commercial monocrystalline Si and materials' practical efficiency to consider the actual situation. Finally, we conservatively conclude that if considering 75% performance of the theoretical energy conversion efficiency of the top cell, the suitable bandgap energy range will fall between 1.38 eV to 2.5 eV. Besides, we also briefly describe some improvements of several proper materials, CZTS, CdSe, Cu2O, ZnTe, and CdS, hoping that future research can select and manufacture high-efficiency Si-based tandem solar cells based on this paper successfully. Most importantly, our calculation method is not limited to silicon solely. If other materials’ performances match or surpass silicon's ability in the future, researchers can also apply this set of deduction processes.

Keywords: High-efficiency solar cells, material selection, Si-based double-junction solar cells, tandem solar cells, photovoltaics.

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Authors: Y. S. Lee, F. Malek, E. M. Cheng, W. W. Liu, F. H. Wee, M. N. Iqbal, Z. Liyana, B. S. Yew, F. S. Abdullah

Abstract:

This paper presents the electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness of rice husk and carbon nanotubes (RHCNTs) composites in the X-band region (8.2-12.4 GHz). The difference weight ratio of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were mix with the rice husk. The rectangular waveguide technique was used to measure the complex permittivity of the RHCNTs composites materials. The complex permittivity is represented in terms of both the real and imaginary parts of permittivity in X-band frequency. The conductivity of RHCNTs shows increasing when the ratio of CNTs mixture increases. The composites materials were simulated using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio simulation software. The shielding effectiveness of RHCNTs and pure rice husk was compared. The highest EMI SE of 30 dB is obtained for RHCNTs composites of 10 wt % CNTs with 10mm thickness.

Keywords: EMI Shielding effectiveness, Carbon nanotube, Composite materials, Waveguide, X-band.

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