Engineering two-dimensional pores in freestanding TiO_2/graphene gel film for high performance lithium ion battery

As the key component of electrochemical energy storage devices, an electrode with superior ions transport pores is the important premise for high electrochemical performance. In this paper, we developed a unique solution process to prepare freestanding TiO_2/graphene hydrogel electrode with tunable density and porous structures. By incorporating room temperature ionic liquids（RTILs）, even upon drying, the non-volatile RTILs that remained in the gel film would preserve the efficient ion transport channels and prevent the electrode from closely stacking, to develop dense yet porous structures. As a result, the dense TiO_2/graphene gel film as an electrode for lithium ion battery displayed a good gravimetric electrochemical performance and more importantly a high volumetric performance.

Hydrodynamic Performance of a Newly-Designed Pelagic and Demersal Trawls Using Physical Modeling and Analytical Methods for Cameroonian Industrial Fisheries

This study proposed the newly-designed Pelagic and demersal trawls for the fishing vessels operating in Cameroonian waters in pelagic and demersal fishing grounds. The engineering performances of both trawls were investigated using physical modelling method and analytical method based on the predicted equations. In a flume tank, a series of physical model tests based on Tauti’s law were performed to investigate the hydrodynamic and geometrical performances of both trawls and to assess the applicability of the analytical methods based on predicted equations. The results showed that in model scale, the working towing speed and door spread for the pelagic trawl were 3.5 knots and 1.85 m, respectively, and for the bottom trawl net they were 4.0 knots and 1.8 m. At that speed and door spread, the drag force, net opening height, and wing-end spread of the pelagic model trawl were 36.73 N, 0.89 m, and 0.86 m, respectively, and the swept area was 0.76 m2. Bottom trawl speed and door spread were 30.43 N, 0.38 m, and 0.45 m, respectively, and the swept area was 0.25 m2. The maximum difference between the experimental and analytical results of hydrodynamic performances was less than 56.22% and 41.45%, respectively, for pelagic and bottom trawls, the results of the geometrical performances obtained using predicted equations were close to the experimental results in the flume tank with a maximum relative error less than 12.85%. The newly developed pelagic and bottom trawls had advanced engineering performance for high catch efficiency and selectivity and could be used in commercial fishing operations in Cameroonian waters.

Effect of Palm Oil Biodiesel Blends on Engine Emission and Performance Characteristics in an Internal Combustion Engine

Increasing global environmental issues and depleting fossil fuel reserves has necessitated the need for alternative and sustainable fuel. In this paper, the effects of biodiesel and its blend on engine emission and performance characteristics in an internal combustion engine were analyzed. Biodiesel derived from the transesterification of raw palm oil was blended with diesel fuel at different proportions designated as PO5 (5% Biodiesel and 95% Diesel), PO10 (10% Biodiesel and 90% Diesel), PO15 (15% Biodiesel and 85% Diesel), PO20 (20% Biodiesel and 80% Diesel), PO50 (50% Biodiesel and 50% Diesel), PO85 (85% Biodiesel and 15% Diesel), and PO100 (100% Biodiesel). A Lombardini 2-cylinder, four-stroke direct injection diesel engine with a compression ratio of 22.8 was developed using Ricardo Wave software in which diesel, palm oil biodiesel blends and pure biodiesel are used in the model, and the obtained results were analysed and presented. The simulation was done under varying engine speeds of 1200 rpm to 3200 rpm at full load condition. Biodiesel and its blends are more environment-friendly and non-toxic when compared to diesel fuel;it also improves the mechanical efficiency of the engines, and above all can also lead to a reduction in poverty among rural dwellers. The obtained results showed that brake specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency increased with palm oil biodiesel blends as compared to diesel fuel which might be a result of biodiesel’s lower heating value, and the increase in thermal energy may be a result of the oxygenation of the biodiesel blend as compared to pure diesel. In terms of brake torque, palm oil biodiesel blends were lesser than diesel fuel. The CO, HC, and NOx emissions of palm oil biodiesel blends decreased significantly compared to that of pure diesel. From this study, palm oil biodiesel emits lesser emissions than diesel fuel and its performance characteristics are similar to diesel fuel. Therefore, palm oil biodiesel can be used without any modifications directly in a diesel engine. In addition, it can also be used as blends as an alternative and sustainable fuel, decreasing air pollution, and increasing environmental sustainability.

Mechanical performances and microstructural characteristics of reactive MgO-carbonated silt subjected to freezing-thawing cycles

The characteristics of reactive magnesia(MgO)-carbonated silt in respect to long-term stability have not been well understood in severely cold climate despite the usage of reactive MgO in enhancing the engineering performances.Under the binder content of 15%and initial water content of 25%,MgO-admixed silt specimens were carbonized for 3 h and 6 h and then subjected to different numbers of freezingthawing(F-T)cycles.After different F-T cycles,the physico-mechanical properties of MgO-carbonated silt were analyzed in comparison with Portland cement(PC)-stabilized silt through physical and unconfined compression tests.Besides,a series of micro tests on MgO-carbonated specimens was performed including X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)tests.The results demonstrate that both mass change ratio and moisture content of carbonated/stabilized silt decrease,and these values of MgO-carbonated silt are significantly lower while the density is higher compared to PC-stabilized silt.The strengths and moduli of MgO-carbonated silt are still two times higher than those of PC-stabilized specimens and the strength change ratio of keeps above0.8 after F-T cycles.There is no visible transformation between nesquehonite and dypingite/hydromagnesite,although the XRD peaks of nesquehonite decrease and the bonding and filling effects weaken slightly.After 6 and 10 F-T cycles,the pore-size characteristics changed from a unimodal distribution to a three-peak and bimodal distribution,respectively.The total,macro and large pore volumes increase obviously while the medium and small pore volumes decrease except for intra-aggregate pore.The findings show better F-T durability of MgO-carbonated silt,which would be helpful for facilitating the application of MgO carbonation in the soil treatment.

Emission and performance analysis of a diesel engine burning cashew nut shell oil bio diesel mixed with hexanol

In this study, the effect of doping hexanol into biodiesel which is from neat cashew nut shell biodiesel oil on the emissions and the performance characteristics was studied in a constant speed diesel engine. The main purpose of this work is to reduce various emissions and also to improve the performance of the diesel engine when fueled with blends of hexanol and neat cashew nut shell biodiesel. Cashew nut shell oil is not edible, and hence it can be used as a viable alternative to diesel.Cashew nut shell biodiesel is prepared by conventional transesterification. Hexanol with 99.2% purity was employed as an oxygenated additive. Experimental studies were conducted by fueling diesel as a baseline and by fueling hexanol and neat cashew nut shell biodiesel mixture. A fuel comprising 10%（by volume） of hexanol and 90%（by volume） neat cashew nut shell biodiesel was referred to as CNSBD900 H100 and fuel comprising 20%（by volume） of hexanol and 80%（by volume）of neat cashew nut shell biodiesel was referred to as CNSBD800 H200. This study also investigated the possibility of using pure biofuel in an unmodified naturally aspirated diesel engine. The outcome of this study showed that adding hexanol at10% and 20%（by volume） to cashew nut shell biodiesel results in a reduction in emissions. In addition, a significant improvement in brake thermal efficiency and reduction in brake-specific fuel consumptions were achieved. Hence, it could be concluded that hexanol could be a viable and promising additive for improving the drawbacks of biodiesel when it was used to fuel an unmodified diesel engine.

Engine performance analysis and optimization of a dual-mode scramjet with varied inlet conditions

A dual-mode scramjet can operate in a wide range of flight conditions. Higher thrust can be generated by adopting suitable combustion modes. Based on the net thrust, an analysis and preliminary optimal design of a kerosene-fueled parameterized dual-mode scramjet at a cru- cial flight Mach number of 6 were investigated by using a modified quasi-one-dimensional method and simulated annealing strategy. Engine structure and heat release distrib- utions, affecting the engine thrust, were chosen as analytical parameters for varied inlet conditions （isolator entrance Mach number： 1.5-3.5）. Results show that different opti- mal heat release distributions and structural conditions can be obtained at five different inlet conditions. The highest net thrust of the parameterized dual-mode engine can be achieved by a subsonic combustion mode at an isolator entrance Mach number of 2.5. Additionally, the effects of heat release and scramjet structure on net thrust have been discussed. The present results and the developed analytical method can provide guidance for the design and optimization of high-performance dual-mode scramjets.

Experimental Study on Performance and Combustion Analysis of a Diesel Engine Fueled with Diesel and Jatropha Oil Blended with Heptane

This work focuses on blending Jatropha oil with diesel fuel and heptane to improve its physico-chemical characteristics for production of blends and their use as fuel in a diesel engine. The influence of the heptane content was evaluated by comparing the results obtained from the engine (performance and combustion parameters) with those of the diesel fuel and straight Jatropha oil. The results obtained show an improvement in engine performance especially at low loads. Specifically, a reduction in the specific fuel consumption of the engine is obtained when the heptane content in the mixture is around 10% compared to that obtained with pure Jatropha oil. The best results were obtained with the blend containing 70% Jatropha oil, 20% diesel fuel and 10% heptane (J70G20H10). Overall engine efficiency and exhaust gas temperatures are comparable for all fuels tested. Engine combustion parameters are improved with J70G20H10. The results obtained with J70G20H10 are close to those of the engine operating on diesel fuel. The cyclic dispersion is low with coefficients of variation of the indicated mean effective pressure (COVIMEP) whose values are less than 10%. The lowest values of the COVIMEP are obtained with the blend J70G20H10.

The engine performance LabVIEW virtual instrument test system design

This paper adopts American National Instruments (NI) Company’s LabVIEW and LabVIEW RT virtual instrument softwareplatform and lots of things for this engine performance LabVIEW virtual instrument test system, such as the matched NI PCI dataCollection Card, NI SCXI signal-adjusting instrument and NI compact FieldPoint (cFP) distributed I/O real time system hardware.This system has realized multi performances’parallel test; and it can complete load, torsional moment, rotate speed, power, pressureand temperature’s real time monitoring automatically according to user’s setting; and finally through TCP/IP protocol it realizes testdata’s teleshare and telecontrol that user put on the test system. This system has such character as short development period, highuse efficiency and low cost, at the same time it has strong extensibility and reusability, so it has very high applied cost.

Auto-updating model-based control for thrust variation mitigation and acceleration performance enhancement of gas turbine aero-engines

Model-based control shows promising potential for engine performance improve-ment and future aero-propulsion requirements.In this paper,an auto-updating thrust variation mitigation(AuTVM)control approach using on-board model strategies is proposed for gas tur-bine aero-engines under in-service degradation effects,which aims at active thrust regulation and acceleration protection in a simultaneous way.The AuTVM control is integrated with an on-line block,based on a reliable on-board engine model,and an off-line part for the periodical update of control parameters via post-flight engine monitoring data.The core feature of the AuTVM control is a set of auto-updating loops within the on-line part,including thrust regu-lation loop,surge margin loop,turbine entry temperature loop,and the steady loop,whose con-trol parameters are periodically adjusted with increasingflight cycles.Meanwhile,an industrial sensor-based baseline controller and two tailored model-based controllers,i.e.,a thrust variation mitigation(TVM)controller withfixed gains and a self-enhancing active transient protection(SeATP)controller with pro-active transient protection and passive thrust control,are also developed as comparison bases.Numerical simulations for idle to full-power acceleration tests are carried on a validated aero-thermal turbofan engine model using publicly available degra-dation data.Simulation results demonstrate that both new engines and severely degraded en-gines regulated by the AuTVM controller show significant thrust response enhancement,compared to the baseline controller.Moreover,thrust variation at the maximum steady state of degraded engines,which exists within the SeATP controller and the baseline controller,is suppressed by the proposed AuTVM controller.Robustness analysis against degradation uncer-tainties and sensor accuracy confirms that the AuTVM controller owns a closer maximum steady-state thrust distribution to the desired value than those of the SeATP and the baseline controller while utilizing transient margins of controlled engines more effectively.Hence,the control performance of the AuTVM controller for in-service engines is guaranteed.

Clustered Single-Board Devices with Docker Container Big Stream Processing Architecture

The expanding amounts of information created by Internet of Things(IoT)devices places a strain on cloud computing,which is often used for data analysis and storage.This paper investigates a different approach based on edge cloud applications,which involves data filtering and processing before being delivered to a backup cloud environment.This Paper suggest designing and implementing a low cost,low power cluster of Single Board Computers(SBC)for this purpose,reducing the amount of data that must be transmitted elsewhere,using Big Data ideas and technology.An Apache Hadoop and Spark Cluster that was used to run a test application was containerized and deployed using a Raspberry Pi cluster and Docker.To obtain system data and analyze the setup’s performance a Prometheusbased stack monitoring and alerting solution in the cloud based market is employed.This Paper assesses the system’s complexity and demonstrates how containerization can improve fault tolerance and maintenance ease,allowing the suggested solution to be used in industry.An evaluation of the overall performance is presented to highlight the capabilities and limitations of the suggested architecture,taking into consideration the suggested solution’s resource use in respect to device restrictions.

Recycled Aggregates:Production,Properties and Value-added Sustainable Applications

Part of an extensive research undertaken by the Concrete and Masonry Research Group at Kingston University-London was reported to demonstrate through scientific research and full-scale site trials,that quality recycled concrete aggregates can be produced and can be used successfully in a range of concrete applications.The effects of up to 100% coarse recycled concrete aggregate（RCA） on fresh,engineering and durability related properties were established and assessed its suitability for use in a rage of sustainable applications.

Composition,Processing Technology and Property of Ceramic Die Materials Containing Rare Earth Additives

Development and application of new ceramic die materials is one of the important topics in the field of die research. The composition, processing technology, mechanical property and engineering performance of the ceramic materials such as cermet, ZTA, TZP, TZP/Al2O3, TZP/TiC/Al2O3, PSZ and Sialon, etc., with rare earth yttrium, lanthanum and cerium, and so on working as additives, were investigated and analyzed in the present study. Problems existed in the research and application of rare earth ceramic die materials were discussed. Rare earth additives can effectively improve the mechanical property and engineering performance of ceramic die materials. Thus, it will have further perspectives of wider application. More attention should be paid in the future to the toughening and strengthening of the ceramic die materials, the adding forms and kinds of rare earth elements and acting mechanisms of rare earth additives in ceramic die materials.

Controlling of NO_x Emitted from a Diesel Engine Fueled on Biodiesel: Theoretical Modeling and Experimental Evaluation

The development of a diesel engine model using one-dimensional （1-D） fluid-dynamic engine simulation codes,and its validation using experimental measurements are described in this paper.The model was calibrated by running the engine on an electric dynamometer at eight steady-state operating conditions.The refined engine model was used to predict the oxides of nitrogen （NOx） less than those measured earlier in the experiments,and hence to recommend changes in the engine for the verification of the results.The refined engine model is greatly influenced by the start of injection angle （ψ）,ignition delay （φ）,premix duration （DP）,and main duration （DM） for the prediction of reduced NOx emissions.It is found that optimum ψ is 6.5° before top dead center （BTDC）.At this angle,the predicted and experimental results are in good agreement,showing only a difference of up to 4%,6.2%,and 7.5% for engine performance,maximum combustion pressure （Pmax）,and NOx,respectively.

Effects of Fatty Acids Composition on Fuel Properties of Jatropha Curcas Biodiesel

In the efforts to reduce effects of climate change, biodiesel fuels from plant oils such as Jatropha curcas have been proposed as alternative fuels which can be used in the transportation sector in diesel engines. The current study investigates the effects of fatty acids composition on fuel properties of biodiesel derived from Jatropha curcas seeds obtained from selected regions of Botswana. The physicochemical fuel properties investigated include kinematic viscosity, flash point, energy content, density, pour point and cloud point from derived Jatropha curcas biodiesel. Results of the study showed that Jatropha curcas biodiesel samples for all regions under review are dominated by unsaturated fatty acids which are desirable for cold flow properties and kinematic viscosity of the biodiesel fuel. The major fatty acids in Jatropha curcas biodiesel fuels from all the regions range from 69.00% to 77.81% of unsaturated fatty acids. The overall results conclude that fatty acids composition has influence on the fuel properties of the biodiesel under investigated.

Development of artificial neural network to predict the performance of spark ignition engine fuelled with waste pomegranate ethanol blends

In this study,an artificial neural network(ANN)is developed to predict the performance of a spark-ignition engine using waste pomegranate ethanol blends.A series of experiments on a single-cylinder,four-stroke spark-ignition engine yielded the data needed for neural network training and validation.70 percent of the experimental data was used to train the network using the feed-forward back propagation(FFBP)algorithm.The developed network model’s performance was evaluated by contrasting its output with experimental results.Input parameters included engine speed,ethanol blends,and output parameters included indicated and brake power,thermal,volumetric,and mechanical efficiencies.Training and testing data had regression coefficients that were almost identical to one.The research revealed that the ANN model can be a better option for predicting engine performance with a higher level of accuracy.

Impact of binary blends of biodiesels on fuel quality,engine performance and emission characteristics

The incessant pressure of energy requirements by the growing global populace has led to the exploration of unconventional methods to produce renewable and sustainable fuels.Among these,biodiesel is most suited to the present needs of eco-friendly standards to keep the atmosphere free from residual emissions.Various fuel-modification methods were developed over a couple of decades to make biodiesel suitable for diesel engines.In the present research,Jatropha curcas biodiesel and waste-cooking-oil(WCO)biodiesel were used to craft a unique binary blend to obtain desirable fuel properties and operational suitability for the diesel engine.The blend with 80% WCO biodiesel and 20% J.curcas biodiesel,which had the most suitable fuel properties,was tested on a four-stroke single-cylinder vertical diesel engine.The emissions and operational parameters were analysed and compared with diesel.The results of the study indicated that engine emissions for binary blend,carbon monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbon emissions were highly reduced,and carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide(NO_(x))emissions increased relative to diesel.At full load,NO_(x) emission was found to be 51.32% higher than that from diesel and 3.8% lower than that from WCO biodiesel.Engine performance showed that for the binary blend,at full load,the brake-specific fuel consumption was 396.82 g/kWh,which was 15.26% higher,and the brake thermal efficiency was 22.7%,which was 2.74% lower than regular diesel fuel.The present study suggests that the binary blend of J.curcas biodiesel and WCO biodiesel can be a promising approach towards advancements in the fuel properties of biodiesels.

Design, Manufacture and Measurements of Beta-Type Stirling Engine with Rhombic Drive Mechanism

The purpose of carrying out present work is to design, build and test a rhombic drive Stirling engine with a β-type configuration consisting of two dynamic pistons (displacer and power) reciprocates in the in-line concentric cylinder arrangement. The displacement rod is assembled concentrically inside the power piston rod. The rhombic drive mechanism is proposed in such a way that, by using a pair of gear wheels the sliding motion of both piston rods is controlled and thus, an engine is balanced. The developed prototype has a swept volume of 75 cm3 with the displacer piston and power piston cylinder hot ends heated by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) burner and cooled water, respectively. It uses air as the working gas at atmospheric pressure for initial charging of the engine. Several designs were studied before settling on a β-type configuration. The LPG gas burner was considered as a potential heat source. The various elements of an engine (heater, cooler, re-generator, flywheel and piping systems) were designed, constructed and analyzed. The testing results revealed that the engine at initial atmospheric air filling started working in only about 120 seconds at an LPG heater temperature of 400℃ (824°F) with 280 rpm. At a heater temperature of 550℃ (1022°F), the engine speed was 630 rpm. At the engine speed of 245 rpm, the maximum torque was 0.215 Nm, while the maximum power was 8 Watts at 355 rpm. Engine speed increased with the increase of flame temperature. Several tests were performed on the engine to improve its running efficiency and critical problem areas were isolated and addressed. Moreover, results revealed that Stirling engines working with relatively low-temperature air are potentially attractive engines of the future, especially LPG powered low temperature differential Stirling engines. The Stirling engine was capable of generating between 50 to 100 Watts of electricity.

Improvement of engine performance with high compression ratio based on knock suppression using Miller cycle with boost pressure and split injection

In theory,high compression ratio has the potential to improve the thermal efficiency and promote the power output of the SI engine.However,the application of high compression ratio is substantially limited by the knock in practical working process.The objective of this work is to comprehensively investigate the application of high compression ratio on a gasoline engine based on the Miller cycle with boost pressure and split injection.In this work,the specific optimum strategies for CR10 and CR12 were experimentally investigated respectively on a single cylinder DISI engine.It was found that a high level of Miller cycle with a higher boost pressure could be used in CR12 to achieve an effective compression ratio similar to CR10,which could eliminate the knock limits at a high compression ratio and high load.To verify the advantages of the high compression ratio,the fuel economy and power performance of CR10 and CR12 were compared at full and partial loads.The result revealed that,compared with CR10,a similar power performance and a reduced fuel consumption of CR12 at foil load could be achieved by using the strong Miller cycle and split injection.At partial load,the conditions of CR12 had very superior fuel economy and power performance compared to those of CR10.

Performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine operating on different water in diesel emulsion fuels:optimization using response surface methodology(RSM)

The nitrogen oxide(NOx)release of diesel engines can be reduced using water in diesel emulsion fuel without any engine modification.In the present paper,different formulations of water in diesel emulsion fuels were prepared by ultrasonic irradiation.The water droplet size in the emulsion,polydisperisty index,and the stability of prepared fuel was examined,experimentally.Afterwards,the performance characteristics and exhaust emission of a single cylinder air-cooled diesel engine were investigated using different water in diesel emulsion fuels.The effect of water content(in the range of 5%-10% by volume),surfactant content(in the range of 0.5%-2% by volume),and hydrophilic-lipophilic balance(HLB)(in the range of 5-8)was examined using Box-Behnken design(BBD)as a subset of response surface methodology(RSM).Considering multi-objective optimization,the best formulation for the emulsion fuel was found to be 5%water,2% surfactant,and HLB of 6.8.A comparison was made between the best emulsion fuel and the neat diesel fuel for engine performance and emission characteristics.A considerable decrease in the nitrogen oxide emission(-18.24%)was observed for the best emulsion fuel compared to neat diesel fuel.