Oxygen functionalization-assisted anionic exchange toward unique construction of flower-like transition metal chalcogenide embedded carbon fabric for ultra-long life flexible energy storage and conversion

The metal-organic framework(MOF)derived Ni–Co–C–N composite alloys(NiCCZ)were“embedded”inside the carbon cloth(CC)strands as opposed to the popular idea of growing them upward to realize ultrastable energy storage and conversion application.The NiCCZ was then oxygen functionalized,facilitating the next step of stoichiometric sulfur anion diffusion during hydrothermal sulfurization,generating a flower-like metal hydroxysulfide structure(NiCCZOS)with strong partial implantation inside CC.Thus obtained NiCCZOS shows an excellent capacity when tested as a supercapacitor electrode in a three-electrode configuration.Moreover,when paired with the biomass-derived nitrogen-rich activated carbon,the asymmetric supercapacitor device shows almost 100%capacity retention even after 45,000 charge–discharge cycles with remarkable energy density(59.4 Wh kg^(-1)/263.8μWh cm^(–2))owing to a uniquely designed cathode.Furthermore,the same electrode performed as an excellent bifunctional water-splitting electrocatalyst with an overpotential of 271 mV for oxygen evolution reaction(OER)and 168.4 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)at 10 mA cm−2 current density along with 30 h of unhinged chronopotentiometric stability performance for both HER and OER.Hence,a unique metal chalcogenide composite electrode/substrate configuration has been proposed as a highly stable electrode material for flexible energy storage and conversion applications.

Design of Human Adaptive Mechatronics Controller for Upper Limb Motion Intention Prediction

Human Adaptive Mechatronics(HAM)includes human and computer system in a closed loop.Elderly person with disabilities,normally carry out their daily routines with some assistance to move their limbs.With the short fall of human care takers,mechatronics devices are used with the likes of exoskeleton and exosuits to assist them.The rehabilitation and occupational therapy equipments utilize the electromyography(EMG)signals to measure the muscle activity potential.This paper focuses on optimizing the HAM model in prediction of intended motion of upper limb with high accuracy and to increase the response time of the system.Limb characteristics extraction from EMG signal and prediction of optimal controller parameters are modeled.Time and frequency based approach of EMG signal are considered for feature extraction.The models used for estimating motion and muscle parameters from EMG signal for carrying out limb movement predictions are validated.Based on the extracted features,optimal parameters are selected by Modified Lion Optimization(MLO)for controlling the HAM system.Finally,supervised machine learning makes predictions at different points in time for individual sensing using Support Vector Neural Network(SVNN).This model is also evaluated based on optimal parameters of motion estimation and the accuracy level along with different optimization models for various upper limb movements.The proposed model of human adaptive controller predicts the limb movement by 96%accuracy.

Gait Analysis of a Subject with Tarsometatarsal Prosthesis

Introduction: Gait analysis of an adult man after trans-metatarsal unilateral amputation is described. Objective: Instrumental gait analysis of a subject 15 years after trans-metatarsal unilateral amputation in two footwear conditions: while walking barefoot and with prosthesis. Materials and Methods: In a movement analysis laboratory, locomotion studies were carried out at freely chosen walking speed by a 65-year-old subject, obtaining kinematic, kinetic and surface electromyographic data in time and space. Gait analysis was performed using instrumental technologies from a digital eco-system applying walking protocols. Results: When the patient wore the prosthesis, several positive improvements were observed in various aspects of gait. These included enhancements in the base of support, gait speed, and joint range of movements. Additionally, there was a slight improvement in the vertical ground reaction forces pattern, indicating a positive effect of the assistive technology. Furthermore, the use of the prosthesis led to a more organized pattern of muscle activity, which further supports its beneficial impact. However, it is worth noting that some challenges still persisted, particularly regarding stabilizing the body during the double support phase. Despite this difficulty, the overall findings suggest that the use of the prosthesis offers valuable improvements to the patient’s gait dynamics. Conclusions: After conducting a thorough analysis of the parameters related to the gait of a subject who underwent a trans-metatarsal unilateral amputation fifteen years ago, it was found that the use of prosthesis had a positive impact. This study demonstrated important improvements in some kinematic and kinetic parameters, including muscle activation patterns, indicating an increase in comfort and confidence while utilizing the prosthetic device.

Effect of Nano Clay Reinforcement on Thermal Conductivity of Epoxy/CNT Composite Material

Epoxy is one of the most important polymers preferred in various technological applications thanks to its good mechanical properties and lightness. However, their low thermal conductivity limits their usage areas. Increasing the thermal conductivity of epoxy is an important research topic. One of the most ideal ways to achieve this is to improve the thermal conductivity of epoxy without increasing its weight, thanks to nanoparticles. Carbon nanotubes (CNT) and clays are among the materials used for this purpose. In this study, the thermal conductivities of hybrid polymer composites reinforced separately and together in an epoxy matrix were investigated. The aim of the study is to find out how CNT and nano clay affect the thermal conductivity of the epoxy matrix, separately and together, and reveal the synergistic effect of these nanoparticles.

A review:On path planning strategies for navigation of mobile robot

This paper presents the rigorous study of mobile robot navigation techniques used so far.The step by step investigations of classical and reactive approaches are made here to understand the development of path planning strategies in various environmental conditions and to identify research gap.The classical approaches such as cell decomposition(CD),roadmap approach(RA),artificial potential field(APF);reactive approaches such as genetic algorithm(GA),fuzzy logic(FL),neural network(NN),firefly algorithm(FA),particle swarm optimization(PSO),ant colony optimization(ACO),bacterial foraging optimization(BFO),artificial bee colony(ABC),cuckoo search(CS),shuffled frog leaping algorithm(SFLA)and other miscellaneous algorithms(OMA)are considered for study.The navigation over static and dynamic condition is analyzed(for single and multiple robot systems)and it has been observed that the reactive approaches are more robust and perform well in all terrain when compared to classical approaches.It is also observed that the reactive approaches are used to improve the performance of the classical approaches as a hybrid algorithm.Hence,reactive approaches are more popular and widely used for path planning of mobile robot.The paper concludes with tabular data and charts comparing the frequency of individual navigational strategies which can be used for specific application in robotics.

Thermal deformation of aluminum alloy casting materials for tire mold by numerical analysis

Thermal deformation of aluminum alloy casting materials for manufacturing the tire mold was numerically investigated.The AC7A and AC4C casting material was selected as casting material and the metal casting device was used in order to manufacture the mold product of automobile tire in the actual industrial field.The temperature distribution and the cooling time of casting materials were numerically calculated by finite element analysis (FEA).Also,the thermal deformation such as displacement and stress distribution was calculated from the temperature results.The thermal deformation was closely related to the temperature difference between the surface and inside of the casting.The numerical analysis results reveal that the thermal deformation of AC7A casting material is higher than that of AC4C casting material.Also,the thermal deformation results at the central part are larger than that on the side of casting because of the shrinkage caused by the cooling speed difference.

Effect of Process Parameters on Tensile Strength of Friction Stir Welded Cast LM6 Aluminium Alloy Joints

This paper reports the effect of friction stir welding(FSW)process parameters on tensile strength of cast LM6 aluminium alloy.Joints were made by using dierent combinations of tool rotation speed,welding speed and axial force each at four levels.The quality of weld zone was investigated using macrostructure and microstructure analysis.Tensile strength of the joints were evaluated and correlated with the weld zone hardness and microstructure.The joint fabricated using a rotational speed of 900 r/min,a welding speed of 75 mm/min and an axial force of 3 kN showed superior tensile strength compared with other joints.The tensile strength and microhardness of the welded joints for the optimum conditions were 166 MPa and 64.8 Hv respectively.

Work characteristic analysis of single-rod symmetric cylinders

Hydraulic cylinders are divided into single-rod asymmetric cylinders and double-rod symmetric cylinders. The single-rod asymmetric cylinder has the advantages of small size and simple structure,but its speed characteristic is not symmetric. The double rod symmetric cylinder has the characteristic of symmetric speed,but it cannot be used in some special occasions. In this paper,one special hydraulic cylinder,a single-rod symmetric cylinder,is developed. Firstly,characters of this type of cylinder are introduced. Then,the system model is constructed by using one software which is Simulation X. Moreover,one single rod asymmetric cylinder is designed and the test rig using the symmetric valve to control single-rod symmetric or asymmetric cylinder is constructed. Both of the simulation and experimental results show that the symmetric valve control single-rod symmetric cylinder servo system is of symmetric speed characteristic,which can be used in practical occasion.

Easy calibration method of vision system for in-situ measurement of strain of thin films

An easy calibration method was presented for in-situ measurement of displacement in the order of nanometer during micro-tensile test for thin films by using CCD camera as a sensing device. The calibration of the sensing camera in the system is a central element part to measure displacement in the order of nanometer using images taken with the camera. This was accomplished by modeling the optical projection through the camera lens and relative locations between the object and camera in 3D space. A set of known 3D points on a plane where the film is located on is projected to an image plane as input data. These points, known as a calibration points, are then used to estimate the projection parameters of the camera. In the measurement system of the micro-scale by CCD camera, the calibration data acquisition and one-to-one matching steps between the image and 3D planes need precise data extraction procedures and repetitive user's operation to calibrate the measuring devices. The lack of the robust image feature extraction and easy matching prevent the practical use of these methods. A data selection method was proposed to overcome these limitations and offer an easy and convenient calibration of a vision system that has the CCD camera and the 3D reference plane with calibration marks of circular type on the surface of the plane. The method minimizes the user's intervention such as the fine tuning of illumination system and provides an efficient calibration method of the vision system for in-situ axial displacement measurement of the micro-tensile materials.

Nanofluid Applications in Future Automobiles: Comprehensive Review of Existing Data

In recent years fluids containing suspension of nanometer sized particles have been an active area of research due to their enhanced thermo physical properties over the base fluids like water,oil etc.Nanofluids possess immense potential applications to improve heat transfer and energy efficient in several areas including automobile,micro electronics,nuclear,space and power generation.Nowadays most of the researchers are trying to use the nanofluids in automobile for various applications such as coolant,fuel additives,lubricant,shock absorber and refrigerant.The goal of this paper is to create the awareness on the promise of nanofluids and the impact it will have on the future automotive industry.This paper also presents a comprehensive data of nanofluids application in automobile for various aspects.

Web Tension Regulation of Multispan Roll-to-Roll System using Integrated Active Dancer and Load Cells for Printed Electronics Applications

The mass production of printed electronics can be achieved by roll-to-roll(R2R) printing system, so highly accurate web tension is required that can minimize the register error and keep the thickness and roughness of printed devices in limits. The web tension of a R2R system is regulated by the use of integrated load cells and active dancer system for printed electronics applications using decentralized multi-input-single-output(MISO) regularized variable learning rate backpropagation artificial neural networks. The active dancer system is used before printing system to reduce disturbances in the web tension of process span. The classical PID control result in tension spikes with the change in roll diameter of winder and unwinder rolls. The presence of dancer in R2R system shows that improved web tension control in printing span and the web tension can be enhanced from 3.75 N to 4.75 N. The overshoot of system is less than ±2.5 N and steady state error is within ±1 N where load cells have a signal noise of ±0.7 N. The integration of load cells and active dancer with self-adapting neural network control provide a solution to the web tension control of multispan roll-to-roll system.

Calibration of Discrete Element Heat Transfer Parameters by Central Composite Design

The efficiency and precision of parameter calibration in discrete element method(DEM) are not satisfactory, and parameter calibration for granular heat transfer is rarely involved. Accordingly, parameter calibration for granular heat transfer with the DEM is studied. The heat transfer in granular assemblies is simulated with DEM, and the effective thermal conductivity(ETC) of these granular assemblies is measured with the transient method in simulations. The measurement testbed is designed to test the ETC of the granular assemblies under normal pressure and a vacuum based on the steady method. Central composite design(CCD) is used to simulate the impact of the DEM parameters on the ETC of granular assemblies, and the heat transfer parameters are calibrated and compared with experimental data. The results show that, within the scope of the considered parameters, the ETC of the granular assemblies increases with an increasing particle thermal conductivity and decreases with an increasing particle shear modulus and particle diameter. The particle thermal conductivity has the greatest impact on the ETC of granular assemblies followed by the particle shear modulus and then the particle diameter. The calibration results show good agreement with the experimental results. The error is less than 4%, which is within a reasonable range for the scope of the CCD parameters. The proposed research provides high efficiency and high accuracy parameter calibration for granular heat transfer in DEM.

Effect of cavitation bubble collapse on hydraulic oil temperature

Cavitation bubble collapse has a great influence on the temperature of hydraulic oil. Herein, cone-type throttle valve experiments are carried out to study the thermodynamic processes of cavitation. First, the processes of growth and collapse are analysed, and the relationships between the hydraulic oil temperature and bubble growth and collapse are deduced. The effect of temperature is then considered on the hydraulic oil viscosity and saturated vapour pressure. Additionally, an improved form of the Rayleigh–Plesset equation is developed. The effect of cavitation on the hydraulic oil temperature is experimentally studied and the effects of cavitation bubble collapse in the hydraulic system are summarised. Using the cone-type throttle valve as an example, a method to suppress cavitation is proposed.

Synthesis and optimization of high surface area mesoporous date palm fiber-based nanostructured powder activated carbon for aluminum removal

Date palm fiber(DPF)derived from agrowaste was utilized as a new precursor for the optimized synthesis of a costeffective,nanostructured,powderactivated carbon(nPAC)for aluminum(Al3+)removal from aqueous solutions using carbonization,KOH activation,response surface methodology(RSM)and central composite design(CCD).The optimum synthesis condition,activation temperature,time and impregnation ratio were found to be 650℃,1.09 hour and 1:1,respectively.Furthermore,the optimum conditions for removal were 99.5%and 9.958 mgg 1 in regard to uptake capacity.The optimum conditions of nPAC was analyzed and characterized using XRD,FTIR,FESEM,BET,TGA and Zeta potential.Moreover,the adsorption of the Al3+conditions was optimized with an integrated RSMCCD experimental design.Regression results revealed that the adsorption kinetics data was well fitted by the pseudosecond order model,whereas the adsorption isotherm data was best represented by the Freundlich isotherm model.Optimum activated carbon indicated that DPF can serve as a costeffective precursor adsorbent for Al^(3+)removal.

Kriging Surrogate-Based Genetic Algorithm Optimization for Blade Design of a Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine

Horizontal axis wind turbines are some of the most widely used clean energy generators in the world.Horizontal axis wind turbine blades need to be designed for optimization in order to maximize efficiency and simultaneously minimize the cost of energy.This work presents the optimization of new MEXICO blades for a horizontal axis wind turbine at the wind speed of 10 m/s.The optimization problem is posed to maximize the power coefficient while the design variables are twist angles on the blade radius and rotating axis positions on a chord length of the airfoils.Computational fluid dynamics was used for the aerodynamic simulation.Surrogate-assisted optimization was applied to reduce computational time.A surrogate model called a Kriging model,using a Gaussian correlation function along with various regression models,was applied while a genetic algorithm was used as an optimizer.The results obtained in this study are discussed and compared with those obtained from the original model.It was found that the Kriging model with linear regression gives better results than the Kriging model with second-order polynomial regression.The optimum blade obtained in this study showed better performance than the original blade at a low wind speed of 10 m/s.

Inverse displacement analysis of the general six degree-of-freedom serial robot based on optimization method

The paper presents a new solution of inverse displacement analysis of the general six degree-of-freedom serial robot.The inverse displacement analysis of the general serial robot is transformed into a minimization problem and then the optimization method is adopted to solve the nonlinear least squares problem with the analytic form of new Jacobian matrix.In this way,joint variables of the general serial robot can be searched out quickly under the desired precision when positions of the three non-collinear end effector points are given.Compared with the general Newton iterative method,the proposed algorithm can search out the solution when the robot is at the singular configuration and the initial configuration used in the optimization method may also be the singular configuration.So the convergence domain is bigger than that of the general Newton iterative method.Another advantage of the proposed algorithm is that positions of the three non-collinear end effector points are usually much easier to be measured than the orientation of the end effector.The inverse displacement analysis of the general 6R(six-revolute-joint) serial robot is illustrated as an example and the simulation results verify the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.Because the three non-collinear points can be selected at random,the method can be applied to any other types of serial robots.

Design of adaptive intuitionistic fuzzy controller for synchronisation of uncertain chaotic systems

This study presents the synchronisation between two non-linear Lorenz chaotic systems using an adaptive intuitionistic fuzzy controller(AIFC).This problem is solved in the presence of external disturbances and uncertainties.Two classes of Lorenz systems have been formulated one as the master and the other as the slave.The master and slave systems have different initial conditions.Under different initial conditions,both systems diverge.This is called the butterfly effect that rules the behaviour of chaotic systems.AIFC is chosen as a different method that has not been used before to synchronise the chaotic systems.The scaling factors of the inputs and the output of the intuitionistic fuzzy controller(IFC)are tuned using the artificial bee colony(ABC)algorithm depending on a specified objective function.Then IFC stability is studied when it is applied to synchronise the Lorenz system.The simulation results achieved to assess the adequacy of the proposed control and to exhibit its dependability to synchronise the Lorenz system.

Thermodynamic Calculation and Analysis of Biomass Energy Applied in the NH_3/He Absorption Refrigeration System

[Objective]The study aimed to discuss the factors influencing the application of shaping biomass energy in the NH3 /He absorption refrigeration system. [Method]In the NH3/He absorption refrigeration system,the thermodynamic analysis of semi-gasification furnace based on sectional combustion technology and absorption refrigeration system was performed. [Result] Biomass could burn cleanly and efficiently in the semigasification furnace,which can reduce the environmental pollution caused by the combustion of coal and other fossil fuels. The heating power of the furnace for the absorption refrigeration system could not be too high,so biomass energy and other low-grade energy can be used as heat sources, which opens up a new way for the utilization of biomass energy. [Conclusion]Biomass energy was applied successfully in the absorption refrigeration system.

Creep and tensile properties of press molding joined GMT-sheets

GMT-sheet is used in automobile bumper with high rigidity and strength, and its joining strength is influenced by lap length, one of the joined molding conditions. Fracture strength was calculated by dividing fracture load with cross-sectional area. Total five repeated measurements were made to obtain the average value. Tensile test was conducted at room temperature for 10 specimens. In addition, the effect of compression ratio on creep and tensile performance during lap joined molding was discussed. With increasing lap length, the lap joining efficiency of GMT-sheet was increased. However, higher compression ratio reduced the joining efficiency. Creep test on GMT-sheet showed abrupt fracture without tertiary creep. This can be explained by the weak thermal resistance of the resin. If GMT-sheet was exposed to high temperature for a long time, it was easily failed by external force.