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Abstract The prediction of mechanical elastic response of laminated hybrid polymer composites with basic carbon nanostructure, that is carbon nanotubes and graphene, inclusions has gained importance in many advanced industries like aerospace and automotive. For this purpose, in the current work, a hierarchical, four-stage, multilevel framework is established, starting from the nanoscale, up to the laminated hybrid composites. The proposed methodology starts with the evaluation of the mechanical properties of carbon nanostructure inclusions, at the nanoscale, using advanced 3D spring-based finite element models. The nanoinclusions are considered to be embedded randomly in the matrix material, and the Halpin-Tsai model is used in order to compute the average properties of the hybrid matrix at the lamina micromechanics level.

Abstract Dynamic stresses exist in parts of a catalyst muffler caused by the vibration of a moving vehicle, and it is important to clarify and predict the vibration response properties for preventing fatigue failures. Assuming a vibration isolating installation in the vehicle frame, the vibration transmissibility and local dynamic stress of the catalyst muffler were examined through a vibration machine. Based on the measured data and by systematically taking vibration theories into consideration, a new prediction method of the vibration modes and parameters was proposed that takes account of vibration isolating and damping. A lumped vibration model with the six-element and one mass point was set up, and the vibration response parameters were analyzed accurately from equations of motion. In the vibration test, resonance peaks from the hanging bracket, rubber bush, and muffler parts were confirmed in three excitation drives, and local stress peaks were coordinate with them as well.

Abstract Effects of process parameters such as rotational speed, feed rate, and drill diameters on the drilling behavior of basalt-epoxy-based composites including 2.5 wt.% Al2O3 particles manufactured by mixing and compression method were investigated by Taguchi’s technique. The experimental results showed that the burr height (BH) increased considerably almost linearly with an increase in the drill diameter, while it remained stable with speed and decreased the feed rate slightly. There was an excellent correlation between the control factors and responses, BH of basalt fiber-reinforced plastics (BFRPs) through the Taguchi approach. The model had an adjusted R2 value of 96.3%. Generally, the inclusion of Al2O3 particles in BFRP increased its cutting force properties. Optimized drilling conditions for the input variables to produce the lowest response of the BH for composites were rotational speed of 560 rpm and feed rate of 0.28 mm/rev and a drill diameter of 4.5 mm.

Abstract The high quality of the machined parts in a short time is a research challenge for enhancing these parts’ operating performance. Optimizing the machining operations and adequately selecting the cutting parameters can solve this challenge. Thus, this work proposes an optimization approach of the machining process parameters of epoxy hybrid nanocomposites reinforced by multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and aluminum oxide (Al2O3). Cutting speed (V), feed rate (F), insert nose radius, and depth of cut (D) were the machining parameters. The roundness error and surface roughness (Ra) were selected as process response control parameters. The optimization techniques such as response surface method (RSM) and grey relation analysis (GRA) with the variance of analysis (ANOVA) were involved. Forty experimental runs were performed. The RSM optimization and ANOVA results showed that the insert nose radius and F are the most significant factors that affect the Ra.

Abstract The paper presents a complete description of the design and manufacturing of a Carbon Fiber/epoxy mold with an embedded Carbon Fiber resistor heater, and the mold performances in terms of its surface temperature distribution and thermal deformations resulting from the heating. The mold was designed for manufacturing aileron skins from Vacuum Bag Only prepreg cured at 135°C. The glass transition temperature of the used resin-hardener system was about 175°C. To ensure homogenous temperature of the mold working surface in the course of curing, the Carbon Fiber heater was embedded in a layer of a highly heat-conductive cristobalite/epoxy composite, forming the core of the mold shell. Because the cristobalite/epoxy composite displayed much higher thermal expansion than CF/epoxy did, thermal stresses could arise due to this discrepancy in the course of heating.

Abstract Due to the high deformability and energy dissipation capacity of polymer foams in compression, they are used in automotive applications to mitigate mechanical impacts. The mechanical response of the foams is strongly affected by their density. Phenomenological relations have been proposed to describe the effect of foam density on their stress-strain response in compression at a fixed loading rate and the effect of loading rate at a fixed foam density. In the present work, these empirical approaches are combined allowing for the dependence of loading rate effect in compression on foam density. The minimum experimental data set for calibration of the proposed model consists of compression test results at two different loading rates of foams with two different densities.

Mechanical and thermal properties of the rubber compounds of a tire play an important role in the overall performance of the tire when it is in contact with the terrain. Although there are many studies conducted on the properties of the rubber compounds of the tire to improve some of the tire characteristics, such as the wear of the tread, there are a limited number of studies that focused on the performance of the tire when it is in contact with ice. This study is a part of a more comprehensive project looking into the tire-ice performance and modeling. In this study, to understand the effect of different rubber compounds on the tire performance, three identical tires from the same company have been chosen. The tires’ only difference is the material properties of the rubber. Two approaches have been implemented in this study.

Abstract Addition of hydrogen to hydrocarbons in premixed turbulent combustion is of technological interest due to their increased reactivity, flame stability and extended lean extinction limits. However, such flames are a challenge to reaction modelling, especially as the strong preferential diffusion effects modify the physical processes, which are of importance even for highly turbulent high-pressure conditions. In the present work, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) modelling is carried out to investigate pressure and hydrogen content on methane/hydrogen/air flames.

Abstract Electrostatic discharge during aircraft refueling operations has long been recognized as a safety hazard. To reduce the chances of this happening, different practices were developed, the most common being the addition of a static dissipator additive (SDA). Nowadays, the SDA is a well-established requirement in all the leading jet-fuel specifications and is in widespread use in commercial and military aviation industries. To deepen the understanding of the electrostatic behavior of nonconductive jet fuel and SDA, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) has conducted small-scale refueling tests in a simulated aircraft fuel tank. In these tests, the effect of flow rate, residence time, SDA concentration, bounding, grounding, and the method of filling were evaluated by measuring the electrostatic field strength generated. The simulation of the aircraft fuel tank was obtained using a nonconductive plastic tank jointed with a small faucet at the bottom.

Abstract Single point incremental forming (SPIF) is a sheet forming technology giving low volume production with high flexibility characteristics. The flexibility of the process is mainly related to the fact that incremental forming does not require a dedicated die to operate as compared to other forming processes. Polymers are extensively used for many applications because of their good mechanical properties. Considerable research has been reported for the SPIF of metals, but the researches on polymers are in scarce. In the present work, SPIF is performed on one of the polymers known as polyvinyl chloride. The effect of wall angle, feed rate, and step size on springback, thinning, and surface roughness is observed. It was found that the springback mainly depends on the wall angle but it is least dependent on the feed rate. The thinning and the surface roughness also mainly depend on the wall angle but are least dependent on step size.

Abstract Climate change has necessitated the development of “green” alternatives to replace existing materials. This focus has resulted in the push toward fabricating natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites. This research work looks at the surface roughness (SR) of natural fibers like rice husk ash (RHA) and groundnut shell ash (GSA) reinforced in nine different concentrations into an epoxy matrix to form composites. Composite samples are fabricated using various concentrations of natural fibers and measures and optimizes for the SR through the implementation of genetic algorithms (GA). It was found that a minimum SR of 1.422 μm can be obtained for an epoxy/hardener ratio of 3:1 and without the addition of any reinforcements. This optimization was achieved within 102 generations. In addition to GA optimization, another optimization implementation was done through the Taguchi method.

Abstract This work presents a numerical study of the performance and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions of a conventional ethanol engine converted to work as a flex-fuel nonconventional architecture: the Split-Cycle Engine (SCE). For this study, the conventional engine fueled with hydrous ethanol was modeled and validated with data from experimental tests. Then the model was converted to operate as an SCE with two compressors and two expanders and simulated with a progressive downsizing of the compressors of the SCE. When the swept volume of the compressors was reduced to 87% of that of the expanders, the thermal conversion efficiency increased by 3.3%. Because of this, the downsized SCE was submitted to simulation runs using two different fuels: hydrous ethanol (H100) and an indolene-ethanol blend (H85). The results of the simulations were compared to the experimental results of the conventional engine.

Abstract The main aim of this study is to understand the effect of thermal conditions on the fatigue resistance of one automotive Daytime Running Lamp (DRL) housing made of Polycarbonate (PC) material. Automotive lighting products are made of mostly thermoplastic materials. Thermoplastic materials have mechanical properties varying significantly by temperature. As a result, thermal conditions at service life must be considered before evaluating the mechanical performance of automotive lighting products. In this study, thermal finite element analysis (FEA) has been done in order to understand the temperature distribution on DRL components at different thermal environments. Thermal map files representing the temperature distributions of the DRL components have been extracted and entered as load inputs into the modal FEA to find out the resonance frequencies. Using material properties varying by temperature, resonance frequencies of the DRL have been found by modal analysis and compared.

Abstract Aircraft lift bag is the equipment used for the recovery of an aircraft and is considered as a lifting equipment. Boeing 737 is a domestic aircraft considered for designing this bag. The aircraft lift bag is made of composite material, and the most widely used materials are nylon and neoprene. A composite material is used to make the bag lightweight and easy to handle. For calculation of properties and the engineering constant of the respective composite materials, micromechanics approach is used, in which the method of Representative Volume Element (RVE) is taken into consideration. The loading and boundary conditions are the exact replica of the working conditions. The operation of this bag is completely pneumatic. The stresses induced in the bag are analyzed in finite element software and are compared with the calculated theoretical values. CATIA is used to model the bag, and ABAQUS is used for the finite element calculations.

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Abstract The rapid utilization of fossil fuels has triggered the finding of alternative renewable fuel that replaces or reduces the consumption by alternative fuels for fueling compression ignition (CI) engines. One such renewable fuel is ethanol which can be manufactured from biomass. The present study details the utilization of an optimum amount of ethanol in CI engine by modifying the operating parameters. It was already published in the previous paper that 45% ethanol can be utilized along with diesel using 10% butanol as cosolvent. This fuel is also meeting the minimum requirement with respect to properties as per ASTM standards. This experimental study was performed to investigate the influence of modifying the engine operating parameters on the performance, combustion, and emission parameters fueled with the blend containing 45% ethanol under various load conditions.

Abstract To overcome the limitations such as lower combustion efficiency (CE) and higher cyclic variability in methanol/diesel (M/D) reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI) combustion, a fuel having higher reactivity than diesel (i.e., polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers, PODE) was used in our previous study. Methanol/PODE RCCI combustion resulted in improved CE and reduction in soot and unburned emissions compared to M/D RCCI combustion. However, it was noticed that the use of neat PODE as high-reactivity fuel had damaged the fuel line materials frequently due to its higher oxygen content and lower viscosity. In addition, Methanol/PODE RCCI has also resulted in higher NO emissions compared to M/D RCCI combustion.

Abstract The aim of this article is to analyze the energy recovery of synthesis gases in an internal combustion engine, in terms of both their general behavior and recommendations for their future composition in production. This article presents an experimental analysis of power and economical parameters of internal combustion engine as a source of propulsion for a cogeneration unit. The power parameters were measured using 13 various low-energy synthesis gases as fuels. Most of them are methane-free synthesis gases. The main components of these synthesis gases were hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. The composition of the synthesis gases responded to various waste gasification technologies. The mass lower heating value of the selected synthesis gases ranged from 4 to 8 MJ/kg.

Abstract In current production natural gas/gasoline bi-fuel vehicles, fuels are supplied via port fuel injection (PFI). Injecting a gaseous fuel in the intake port significantly reduces the volumetric efficiency and consequently torque as compared to gasoline. In addition to eliminating the volumetric efficiency challenge, direct injection (DI) of natural gas (NG) can enhance the in-cylinder flow, mixing, and combustion process resulting in improved efficiency and performance. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach to model high-pressure gaseous injection was developed and validated against X-ray data from Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source. NG side and central DI of various designs and injection strategies were assessed experimentally along with CFD correlation. Significant effects on combustion metrics were quantified and explained via improved understanding of the in-cylinder flow effects due to NG injection.

Abstract Internal combustion (IC) engines are widely used in automotive, marine, agricultural and industrial machineries because of their superior performance, high efficiency, power density, durability and versatility in size and power outputs. In response to the demand for improved engine efficiency and lower CO2 emissions, advanced combustion process control techniques and more renewable fuels should be adopted for IC engines. Lean-burn combustion is one of the technologies with the potential to improve thermal efficiencies due to reduced heat loss and higher ratio of the specific heats. In order to operate the IC engines with very lean air/fuel mixtures, multiple turbulent jet pre-chamber ignition has been researched and developed to extend the lean-burn limit. Turbulent Jet Ignition (TJI) offers very fast burn rates compared to spark plug ignition by producing multiple ignition sites that consume the main charge rapidly.