Advances in Lightweight Materials and Structures

In this study, aluminum foam modeling in the mesoscale has been done under compression loading to consider the closed-cell aluminum foam deformation behavior. The detailed geometry of aluminum foam in mesoscale was developed using a micro-CT scan. The shape of aluminum foam cells was modeled as a circle with various radius. The data of the radius was calculated using ImageJ software. It was known that the distribution of the cell radius is normal. The cells were constructed randomly using MATLAB following a normal distribution. The finite element software LS-DYNA was used for compression loading on closed-cell aluminum foam 2D simulation. It was revealed that cell walls were collapsed during compression until dense, which caused densification. The compressive stress–strain curve was generated from compression simulation for relative density 0.15 and various strain rates. The numerical result for compression was in good agreement with the experimental result.

The development of the active noise reduction method is quite interesting because it is more economical and effective in reducing noise than passive noise reduction. However, active noise reduction using a conventional secondary source can become complicated if required significant noise reduction. It will need a large number of secondary sources. The active noise reduction is also ineffective to reduce high-frequency noise. Multipole secondary source is developed to solve those problems. Multipole secondary source is a combination of monopoles, dipoles, and quadrupoles secondary sources which are arranged in a certain way. The dodecahedron speaker model is chosen to be able to produce a multipole secondary source. The optimal secondary source strength can be obtained through the direct approach and the optimization approach. The optimization approach method is chosen because it depends on the frequency variable for determining the strength of multipole secondary sources. The design of active noise reduction equipment can be applied to reduce noise from industrial machinery.

Vehicle safety is an essential parameter in vehicle manufacturing. System absorber is required to absorb kinetic energy during the crash to avoid excessive structure damage and injury to passengers. Energy absorber technology was developed in various designs. The crash box is one of the energy absorber components. In the past, the ability to absorb impact energy was increased by thickening wall thickness and increasing wall density. Nowadays, the energy absorbing capacity could be gained by increasing the number of corners in a crash box. In this paper, the numerical analysis of the double-hat multi-corner column was conducted by using LS-DYNA software. Several different spot-weld pitch variations in the double-hat multi-corner column have been studied to obtain sufficient distance between spot-weld. Further, the crushing response of the double-hat multi-corner column then compared with a square column, a square double-hat column, a multi-corner column with 12 corners, and a multi-corner column with 20 corners. The result shows that the double-hat multi-corner column with a narrow spot-weld pitch has better energy absorption capacity. It is also observed that the column with a larger number of corners has more capability to absorb energy.

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP)-based thin-walled composite tubes used as sacrificial energy absorbers in the transportation sector are provided with triggers in design which are stress concentration zones. These triggers serve to reduce the initial peak impact load value that shall be experienced during the energy absorption process. Detailed finite element-based computations are done to study the influence of configuration and angle for the trigger designs with which the thin-walled quasi-isotropic composite tubes are proposed to be made, for slow speed impact. A trigger angle that could result in the lowest possible initial peak load can act as a stress concentration zone and cause partial damage even during slow speed impacts which might not be fatal. Hence, an optimal combination of trigger configuration and angle is suggested based on sensitivity studies.

The data collected over the years illustrate that more than 50% of the failure in aircraft components are due to fatigue. This raises the need for fatigue resistant materials for the components of aircraft. The axle of the aircraft supports the whole weight of the aircraft and hence is subjected to fatigue loading during its entire service life. Titanium alloys are commonly used material in aviation sector since decades. In this paper, the behaviour of two titanium alloys, namely TIMETAL 834 and Ti–6Al–4V has been compared under fatigue loading which are used for axle of the aircraft. The fatigue life of the axle is increased by 81,230 cycles for TIMETAL 834 which is 17.77% of life for component if Ti–6Al–4V is used. The 3D model of axle is built in Creo 3.0 and exported to ANSYS. The fatigue analysis is carried out using fatigue tool in ANSYS Workbench 2019 R2.

In the context of producing environment-friendly materials while opposing global warming, developing and utilization of natural material such as bamboo and rattan cane for engineering applications have become the prime need of the study. In comparison to bamboo, cane wood is ductile in nature. This property carried the attention in the preparation of green material for the development of mechanical components used in dynamic loading conditions. Although limited literature is available on cane material, a comprehensive study on strength properties is required. Initiation has been done in attempting cane as load-bearing member. A comparative study on the strength properties of bamboo and cane wood is presented in the paper. It is identified that treated cane wood shows the high bending strength properties than bamboo. The results encouraged the authors to identify stiffness parameters under lateral loading conditions generally observed in the case of leaf springs. At the loads of dynamically varying, fundamental frequencies of leaf springs play a critical role in the performance of a system. Hence, the fundamental frequency of the cane sample is calculated for various support conditions using analytical expressions of transverse vibrations. These critical frequencies are validated using gyro sensors arranged at the end of the cane bar. Conclusions are drawn from the study that the cane material is suitable for light-weight dynamic load applications. Further, the practice can be extended to heavy components introducing cane fiber composites.

The mobility of electric vehicles is to spread completely by the end of the twenty-first century. The only source of power for a pure electric vehicle is a battery pack; Research has been carried out to design an efficient battery pack to resolve the problems related to mechanical, electrical, and thermal domains. Critical issues apprehended in designing a vehicle are the parameters such as noise, vibrations, structural failure, and deformations. The operating conditions of EV batteries are severe; neglecting such conditions adversely affects the body temperature of an individual cell or a complete battery pack, also during events like crash the chances of internal short-circuiting of a Li-ion cell becomes a criterion for destruction when protection is not employed to the battery module. Such technical issues stimulated to develop lithium as an energy source with complete protection to batteries. A generalized review on the design of an energy storage system employing various protection devices, crashworthiness of the designed model, battery management system, failures of battery cells, and battery pack cooling models are proposed. The current challenges and issues to develop an efficient battery pack; an initiative to “Electric Mobility” by governing bodies are discussed in brief.

Fibers were in increasing demand by the desirable quality of elongation and ductility, enhance the show of normal concrete. The recent venture was a relative study to resolve the correlation involving the strength parameters of fiber-reinforced binary blended concrete composites. Polyester fibers are exploited in trial exploration in various parts by addition to the weight of cement with an optimum dose of silica fume and rice husk ash as fractional substitution of ordinary portland cement. In this research, the flexural and compressive strength of polyester fiber-reinforced blended concrete were studied and begin that in present, there was major progress in the strength properties, by utilization of fiber with mineral admixtures in concrete. It was seen that the correlation between flexural and compressive strength played a crucial role and the empirical expression for calculating the strength features of polyester fiber-reinforced blended concrete was featured based on the regression analysis. The properties of concrete were found to be significantly developed by the addition of fiber reinforcement.

The use of stiffeners in improving structural integrity and buckling resistance of plates has been under investigation from last few decades. The current research investigates the use of I shaped stiffener in improving strength and buckling characteristics of rectangular plate with circular opening. The rectangular plate is applied with vertical loading conditions to determine stresses, deformation and buckling characteristics. The FEA analysis is conducted using ANSYS 18.1 software and dimensions of stiffener is optimized using Taguchi response surface method. The responses of optimization parameters are generated, and sensitivities are plotted along with goodness of fit curve. The significant improvement of strength is observed with optimized dimensions of stiffener. The sensitivity plot generated through response surface optimization method enabled to analyze individual effect of optimization parameters, i.e., beam lower width (x1) and beam upper width (x2) in improving load-bearing capability of flat plates subjected to vertical loads. The method also enabled to determine optimized value of both variables, i.e., beam lower width (x1) and beam upper width (x2) which would enable engineers to design best possible flat plates for various industrial applications.

Stiffeners are generally used in plated structures to enhance its buckling and post-buckling characteristics. The strength of plated structures can be significantly increased by optimizing the dimensions of stiffeners. The current research investigates the use of I-shaped stiffener in vertical configuration in rectangular plate with rectangular opening for improving strength and buckling characteristics. Structural analysis of rectangular plate is done using ANSYS FEA software to determine stresses, strain, deformation, and buckling load. Dimensions of stiffeners are optimized using Taguchi design of experiments (DOE). The responses of different variables are generated along sensitivity plots. Beam lower-width sensitivity percentage is 49.956 (positive) and beam upper-width sensitivity percentage is also 49.956 (positive). Therefore, both beam upper-width dimensions and beam lower-width dimensions have same effect on safety factor observed for SPSW. Therefore, significant improvement of buckling strength is observed with optimized dimensions of stiffener.

A review about attainment for hybrid fiber-reinforced concrete (HFRC) by adding small fibers, it gives more efficient and here the combination of fibers with firm spacing and evenly dispersed fibers which will resist the fractures that extensively develops its properties. It is a study of the effect of hybrid fibers on the behavior of concrete and strength in a structural element by addition of glass fibers and steel in concrete to analyze structural integrity with hybrid FRC and convention concrete and structural behavior beam in tension and compression zone. Plotting typical load-deflection curve for different volume fractions of fibers gives a scope for the future studies and practices.

The main objective of any automobile industry is to improve the behaviour of the vehicle which means improving vehicular stability (vibrational characteristics) during motion or in rest condition which in turn affects the safety of passengers. A good suspension system largely influences the behaviour of a vehicle. Leaf spring holds great importance in suspension system as it carries the vertical loads and absorbs vibrations produced. This review is basically done to emphasize on the different composite materials (natural/synthetic/hybrid) used while fabricating leaf spring as most of the automobile companies are looking for lightweight material apart from conventional steel. Other aspects like savings in weight, increase in strength and the overall cost incurred were taken into consideration. An in-depth focus is also provided to the design and analysis aspect.

Strengthening of steel structural members with advanced lightweight composite materials is increased recent times since they have very high tensile strength and stiffness, high resistance against corrosion and earthquake. This research aims to predict the optimum width and influence of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) plies on hollow square steel (HSS) sections under compression. Totally, fourteen steel samples are used with length 600 mm and the width of CFRP sheets are 30 and 50 mm. Spacing between adjacent layer is kept constant as 40 mm for the two groups. All test samples were loaded till their failure, and the corresponding reading has been taken to identify the fracture criteria, stress–strain forms, and load improvement than the unwrapped sample. Test results showed that the HSS samples wrapped by CFRP strips produced the high load increment and deformation control compared to unwrapped samples. Among the two groups, sample reinforced with 50 mm ties of three plies displayed high load and deformation control.

The aim of this paper is to design a mould cavity for a plastic component known as cap forward armrest component. Analysis was carried out in Moldex3D in which flow, pack, cooling and warp simulation are done for given component material and design parameters of process. Feed system designed is a submarine gate with geometrically balanced runners having diameter 6 mm to fill total injected plastic weight of 13.2 g. Fill time from fill and pack analysis is 0.473 s with no short shot (incomplete filling) and no weld lines created during moulding. With gate freezing completely, packing time calculated for the process is 5.5 s. Fill time in transient analysis is increased to 0.496 s. Form analysis injection pressure determined was 33 MPa, and the filling sprue pressure was found to be 27.71 MPa. The results obtained were satisfactory in producing good quality product within less time and with low cost.

The knuckle stub is one of the vital components of steering assembly of ATV. The current research investigates the strength and safety factor of knuckle stub subjected to structural loads using techniques of finite element method. The CAD model is developed in ANSYS design modeler and analyzed in workbench. The design is then optimized using Taguchi response surface method using optimal space filling algorithm. The RSM optimization generated specific set values for optimization variables (major length and taper length) along with sensitivity plot and goodness of fit curve. The response surface plot for equivalent stress shows that maximum equivalent stress is observed for Mlength value ranging from 23 to 23.375 mm and Tlength value ranging from 28 to 31 mm. The optimized design of stub resulted in 2.72% mass reduction and 7.65% deformation reduction, while stress reduction of 13.54% is observed of stub.

The vehicle aerodynamics is significantly influenced by its front shape covering hood, bumper, rounds and tapers. Similarly, vehicle rear geometry also influences its aerodynamics which includes trunks and spoilers. With high standards of road safety regulations, the use of aerodynamics can significantly improve vehicle stability especially at high speeds and at turning. The optimized design of spoilers inspired by aircraft wings can significantly increase negative lift and thus improve traction which gives stable and controllable drive at high speeds. The current research investigates the application of NACA inspired rear spoiler in passenger sedan cars using computational fluid dynamics. The CAD model of car is established in Creo project package and analyzed using ANSYS CFX 18.1 software package. The CFD analysis is conducted at four different air speeds (15.5, 25.5, 35.5 and 45.5 m/s) using standard k-epsilon turbulence model. The study shows that the application of spoilers significantly increased vehicle traction while minimal increase in drag force and power consumption. With increase in vehicle velocity the percentage increase in negative lift rises except at 35.5 m/s and with the increase in negative lift the traction rises and thus helps avoiding skidding of vehicles at high speeds or at sharp turns.

To measure the quality of welding joints, various inspection methods like laser triangulation, X-ray diffraction, ultrasonic detection, and band-pass filters are practiced. Automated quality check methods provide increased quality production. In this research paper, to check the quality of welded joint on a handbrake lever and to make decision based on the acquired data, the part image is captured by a camera and it undergoes image processing methods in MATLAB. To highlight each weld boundary, region of interest is used. The highlighted regions are then processed by techniques such as segmentation, thresholding, dilation, erosion, and morphological masking. The following facts are observed that there is lack of clarity in the acquired image, improper threshold value set while segmenting the image, erroneous mode of shape masking, thereby generating gaps between pixels. Finally, the method holds good for this particular material with weld in particular coordinates. The presence and length of the welds present in the material are successfully obtained. This inspection system is restricted only for the weld length and weld presence of the handbrake lever application.

The present study shows the flexural behaviour of fibrous ferrocement panels reinforced with multiple layers of combined wire mesh (recycled wire mesh obtained from industry) and varying percentages of alkali-resistant glass fibres and polypropylene fibres (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1%). Fibrous mortar cubes with varying percentages of glass and polypropylene fibres (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1%) by weight of cement were cast, and compressive strength test is done to know the optimum dosage of fibres to be used. With the optimum dosage of fibres, fibrous ferrocement panels of size (600 mm × 200 mm × 30 mm) with varying layers of recycled wire mesh were cast, and flexural test is performed. From the test results, it was found that there was significant increase in flexural strength of ferrocement panels with increase in layers of wire mesh and increase in fibres up to 0.8%. This work can lay a path to development of lightweight roofing and supporting structures like thin shells, silos, etc.

This study performed a numerical micromechanics model of plain woven composite (PWC). A representative volume element (RVE) of carbon/epoxy PWC was modeled with a proper periodic boundary condition to represent the actual condition of the composite. Cosine equations were to define the waviness and the cross-sectional shape of the yarn. The result showed that the numerical model had a good agreement with the results of the experiment and numerical model by reference in estimating the longitudinal elastic modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and longitudinal shear modulus. The effect of yarn volume fraction variation on the composite elastic properties is also analyzed.

The main reason of utilizing bio fibers and nano fillers as reinforcements in polymer composites is the enhanced toughness of the composite. The purpose of the current research study is to examine the influence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MW CNT) on the mechanical behavior of mercerized plain weaved flax fabric reinforced polymer composites prepared by using simple and economical hand layup method. The influence of MW CNT addition (1, 2 and 3 wt%) on the aforesaid characteristics was investigated experimentally. The results obtained showed that the 3 wt% of MW CNT fillers reinforced composites presented greater tensile and flexural strengths of 50.4 MPa and 64.8. MPa, respectively. The conclusions of this study exposed that the addition of nano fillers has a positive impact on the mechanical performance of flax fabric reinforced epoxy composites. These newly designed nano composites could be used as engineering structures for average load applications.

The latest developments in the area of hybrid materials evidenced the advantages of fibre metal laminates (FMLs) over the conventional homogeneous materials in automotive structures. In the current research study, tensile strength and flexural strength of aluminium alloy basalt fabric laminate with and without multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MW-CNT) fillers were compared. The proposed laminate sheets were fabricated using the conventional hand layup method, and the test samples were pierced from the fabricated laminates according to ASTM standards. Subsequently, uni-axial tensile test and three-point bending test were performed on the Universal Testing Machine. The results revealed that the tensile and flexural properties of the proposed FMLs were enhanced considerably after the incorporation of MW-CNT nanofillers into the epoxy matrix. These types of newly designed FML could be used as body components in automotive applications.

Hierarchical layered composites are novel materials whose properties change gradually concerning their dimensions. These are light in weight and better in performance when compared to traditional composites. These have vast applications in the field of automobile and aerospace industries. In this research, to study the effect of silicon carbide particle size (37 and 60 µm) on physical and mechanical properties, two hierarchical composites with four and five layers were prepared through powder metallurgy. The microstructural characteristics of hierarchical layered composites are examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM); Rockwell and Charpy impact tests measure its mechanical properties hardness and toughness. Due to the presence of high silicon carbide content, the five-layered specimens exhibited better mechanical properties compared to four-layered specimens. The hierarchical composites' physical and mechanical properties are greatly influenced by silicon carbide’s weight percentage and size.

Composite materials or composites in short are engineered materials in which a combination of two or more materials with different mechanical properties are mixed together to form a single structure with an identifiable interface and it remains separate within the finished structure. However when more than one material is combined together in such types of composites, we are unable to achieve the required mechanical property. In order to overcome this problem, we are inserting aluminum wire into GFRP laminates under two conditions, namely plain aluminum wire and twisted aluminum wire. This chapter mainly focuses on analyzing and studying about the characteristics of GFRP, GFRP with plain aluminum wire and GFRP with twisted aluminum wire. The mechanical properties which are examined and inferred are ultimate tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength. The study of these properties is performed on 1/4th thick and 7 mm pitch laminates. Based on the results obtained, the properties are studied and the switch board is fabricated.

The main aim of this investigation effort is to examine the influence of nanofiller material in tensile and flexural characteristics of vacuum-infused natural fiber-based polymer matrix composites. In most of the research, only one nanomaterial is used for developing new composites. In this research, natural fiber and two nanofiller materials are used to develop new composites by vacuum infusion molding method. Areca fiber is chosen as reinforcement material, and epoxy LY556 resin is considered as a matrix material for developing this natural fiber materials-reinforced polymer matrix composites. The areca fiber polymer matrix composites and areca fiber nano-infused composites are prepared to check the tensile and flexural characteristics of areca fiber composite and the influence of nanofiller materials (graphene and multi-walled nanocarbon tubes). An average of 7.49 and 21.92% ultimate tensile strength and flexural strength of polymer matrix composite by adding nanofiller materials develop nano-infused natural fiber polymer matrix composites.

This chapter explains overview on preceding research studies performed on properties of engineered cementitious composite (ECC) with addition of a variety of mineral admixtures and fibers. ECC is a mortar-based composite and can be easily molded with the help of short random fibers, usually of polymeric base. The ECC is tailored through micromechanics and fracture mechanics models to depict large tensile strain around 3–5%, when compared with normal concrete. Therefore, ECC does not have any exact material design. Effect of water–cement ratio, shape and length of fibers, mixing techniques, temperature, and use of fly ash in high volume on properties of ECC has been mentioned by a number of researchers. The quantity of fibers used in ECC is less than 2%. Literature survey on fresh and mechanical properties of different ECC mixtures evaluated by using supplementary materials has been done thoroughly.

The main objective of this research work is to investigate the influence of nanofiller material on the tensile property of polymer matrix composites. Kenaf fiber is selected as reinforcement material, and epoxy resin is chosen as a matrix for developing polymer matrix composites. The polymer matrix composites are prepared to compare a tensile property of graphene, and multi-walled nano carbon nanotubes are selected as nanofiller material for developing nano infilled polymer matrix. An average of 10.65% of ultimate tensile strength of polymer matrix composite is increased by adding 4% nanofiller material to develop polymer matrix composites.

The intent of this work is to investigate the mechanical properties of chemically treated banana and areca fibers as reinforcement for various applications. Compression molding technique was used to prepare the composites. Fiber loading was varied by 5 and 10 volume weight percentages. Both areca and banana fiber were chemically treated with 5 wt.% sodium carbonate. Tensile, flexural and hardness Testes were carried out. On seeing the results, it was witnessed that the mechanical properties and thermal stability got increased with fiber loading and sodium carbonate treatment. Ten fibers reinforced composite provided the best set of mechanical and thermal properties, while banana fiber reinforced polypropylene composites had slightly better properties as compared to jute fiber reinforced polypropylene composites.

Glass fiber reinforced polymer composite used in advanced engineering exercise as a frame in the aviation and automobile industries is often exposed to circular holes to connect different components through joints such as a bolt joint. In this article, the tensile strength of symmetric GFRP laminates with an open hole, and its failure mechanism under uniaxial varying tensile loading rate (1, 10, 50, and 100 mm/min) was investigated. The specimens were produced using the hand-lay-up process. Samples were prepared in compliance with the ASTM D5766 standard and tested with a 50 KN load cell on a universal Hounsfield H50KS testing machine. A numerical model was developed with shell model 3D deformable and meshed with the S4R element. Numerical results were compared with experimental results. Results suggest that the maximum tensile strength of composite specimens with open hole increased as the loading rate increased, and the debonding of fiber is a highly dominant failure mechanism as compared to other failures. The maximum tensile strength of specimens with a higher loading rate (100 mm/min) is maximum and is comparatively 15.04% greater than in slower loading rate of 1 mm/min. The experimental data reveal that rate-dependent constitutive relationships are helpful in modeling polymer composites and are used to estimate the effective failure response of composites.

The ability varied in the volume changes under moisture content in soft clays. The soil transformed into weak in the supporting of the structure leads to fail in various construction and geotechnical engineering failures. These type soils under these situations needed to stabilize with additives before making a substantial basement, embankment, and excellent foundations for any structures. This chapter approaches with analysis or review of some earlier works of literature done to develop the geotechnical properties of very soft clay by using nanomaterials such as terrasil and nanosilica. The properties of nanomaterials are excellent bonding with soils. The preparation and availability of nanomaterials are also needed to stabilize weak soils. The preparation of nanosilica from agricultural wastes using acid mixtures is mainly concentrated, and the microanalysis for stabilization with nanomaterials, and preparation of nanosilica by XRD, EDS, and FT-IR is done.

Novel inventions and scientific needs in automobile and aircraft sectors ask for modified nonferrous alloy-based composites. The foremost reason of this present experimental work is to evaluate the mechanical characterization of composite materials that were synthesized by a stir casting technique. AA7050 is chosen as matrix material and coconut shell ash (CSA) particles as reinforcement. The base alloy and proposed composite samples were subjected to hardness and tensile test. Metallurgical characterization of parent material and synthesized material were inspected via scanning electron microscope (SEM). Mechanical properties like micro-hardness (HV) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the developed composite materials were improved after the addition of reinforcement content.

The structures are originated to rest ultimately on solid rock or soil. The materials taken are quarry dust (QD) and vitrified polish waste (VPW), and the soft soils contains a few minerals of clay as montmorillonite, lattice structure of illite, kaolinite’s are appreciable in a quantity. Quarry dust and vitrified polish waste are used to improve soft soil in a good stabilization, and the compressibility and shear strength tests are conducted to improve soil techniques by adding QD and VPW in a different manner. The resulting beneficial effects of solid crushing wastes are obtained in laboratory studies to improve compressibility and shear strength characteristics of soft soil with quarry dust and vitrified polish waste.

Nowadays, there is a demand for structural elements especially in the aerospace industry having lightweight, high strength, wear-resistant, corrosion-resistant, fatigue resistant, etc. To fulfill these demands, researchers have made a lot of efforts to incorporate these all properties. In the series of development of various types of composite, Glass Laminate Aluminum-Reinforced Epoxy (GLARE) has been fabricated and employed in space vehicles. The chapter deals about how the random orientation of fibers will affect the tensile and fatigue characteristics of fiber laminated composites. The literature till now does not reveal the fatigue properties of GLARE containing randomly oriented glass fiber epoxy lamina.

The present investigation is aimed towards comparatively study the mechanical and corrosion resistance properties of aluminium-alumina metal matrix composites (AAMMCs) prepared by two different routes. In one route, different weight percent of commercially pure aluminium and alumina powders were mechanically blended and compacted at uniform pressure of 10 ton/inch2 followed by sintering at different temperatures for specific time duration. In another route, commercially pure aluminium powders were oxidized at four different temperatures (500–800 $$^\circ{\rm C}$$ ∘ C ) for three different time durations (15, 30 and 45 min) followed by blending of oxidized Al powder, compacting and sintering of composite samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of blended powders were taken for confirming the uniform distribution of Al2O3 particle in Al matrix. Mechanical properties like hardness, wear resistance and chemical properties like corrosion resistance of AAMMCs were measured. It is observed that both mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of pure aluminium can be enhanced by preparing AAMMCs, whereas more enhancements can be achieved by oxidation route compared to mechanical mixing route of composites preparation. Therefore, the novelty of the present research work is to enhance the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of aluminium by preparing AAMMCs without addition of Al2O3 in Al powder matrix material, i.e. following oxidation route of composite preparation. It is also observed that the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of Al-Al2O3 composites increases with increase of weight percent alumina added, sintering temperature, oxidation temperature and oxidation time duration individually.

In this manuscript, it exhibits the fabrication of AA7150 aluminium alloy composites (AMC) which have been produced via stir casting route utilizing zirconium oxide (ZrO2) as secondary content. The influence of secondary phase on the tensile strength and hardness of the composites was evaluated. The produced AMC and primary alloy were portrayed via scanning electron microscope (SEM). The examination outcomes reveal that the mechanical performance of the manufactured composites is enhanced via rising of the ZrO2 content. SEM pictures expose the homogeneous spreading of ZrO2 particles throughout the Al alloy.

Lightweight advance composites are the new emerging class of the engineering materials that are rapidly replacing a large category of conventional material for various aerospace, automotive, structural industrial and marine applications because of excellent tribological as well as mechanical properties. The scope and objectives are to investigate tribological properties of the hybrid aluminium composite under lubricated sliding conditions. In this concern, lightweight aluminium hybrid composite is fabricated using non-conventional spark plasma sintering (SPS) route. The tribological behaviour of hybrid composite sample is examined using a ball-on-disc reciprocating universal tribometer configuration for 120 m sliding distance for variable load 10–80 N for 2 mm stroke and reciprocating frequency of 30 Hz. Wear test sliding distance is also performed for the (90–450 m) sliding distance. Two variable lubricants, i.e. Base PAO-4 lubricant and commercial SAE2W50 lubricant, are used in the present study. From the results, it is observed that the commercial SAE20W50 lubricant shows superior tribological properties with the fabricated sample and exhibit min coefficient of friction (COF) and wear rate. Abrasion and delamination are the main wear mechanisms that cause the removal of material while tribological testing. Reduction in the COF is attributed to the 2D graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) reinforcement in the composite samples that cause easy sliding due to weak van der Waals force and hence provide the exceptional lubrication mechanism for the composite sample.

This chapter aimed at assessing electrical properties, viz. dielectric constant $$\left({\varepsilon }_{r}\right)$$ ε r and dissipation factor $$\left(\mathrm{tan}\delta \right)$$ tan δ of the melt quenched synthesized glass ceramic (GC) samples in 59(PbOxCaO1−x) · TiO2–40(2SiO2 · B2O3)–1Fe2O3 composition with varying x values of 0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7. The $${\varepsilon }_{r}$$ ε r and $$\mathrm{tan}\delta$$ tan δ of the GC samples were computed between the frequency ranges of 100 Hz−1 MHz by varying temperatures between 50 and 500 $$^\circ{\rm C}$$ ∘ C throughout the heating of the samples in air. The obtained result of $${\varepsilon }_{r}$$ ε r and $$\mathrm{tan}\delta$$ tan δ for the five different GC samples at 500 $$^\circ{\rm C}$$ ∘ C and at low frequency (100 Hz) lies in the range of 12,546−29,877 and 5.65−55.67, respectively. Capacitors are extensively used as an integral part of electrical circuits especially in electrical supply systems to make the voltage and power flow stable. A capacitor comprises of two electrodes that are separate out by dielectric, connecting leads and housing. The damage of one of these parts might be the reason of breakdown of the capacitors. High permittivity and breakdown voltage are the necessary qualities of the dielectric materials in order to maximize the charge carrying capacity of the capacitors. Hence, the synthesized GC with high $${\varepsilon }_{r}$$ ε r can be suitably used for high density energy storage capacitors.

Fast growing applications of 3D printing still lacked with a hurdle of printing high functional executing polymers. Poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) produces excellent mechanical properties, chemical stability, biological stability and biocompatibility, especially employable for clinical applications. Previous literature is on fabrication of biomedical polymers by additive manufacturing (AM) such as poly-carpolactone, poly-lactic acid, poly-glycolic acid, poly-ethylene and polyurethanes. Only few studies are conducted on 3D printing of PEEK is due to its high melting point, non-availability of feed stock and poor properties of printed parts. This present review paper concentrates on printing of porous architecture which will be suitable for various medical applications with the use of the PEEK material.

In this research chapter, the effect of silicon carbide (SiC) on physical properties of styrene-butadiene rubber was studied. Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) is an important type of synthetic rubber used in tyre industries. Tensile strength, hardness, cure time, tear strength and rebound resilience were determined and compared for different compositions of silicon carbide on the rubber. The compositions of SiC were 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10% by weight. Samples were prepared and tested successfully according to ASTM standards. Required properties were determined from the test observations. The tensile strength, tear strength and rebound resilience of the rubber composite were found to be improved for all compositions. Hardness value showed slight increase with certain compositions of SiC.

Nowadays, the research work has been more focused in developing the techniques on novel nanochannel fabrication. The techniques developed are either time consuming or expensive. One of the techniques in developing this type is by generating the sub-micrometer wide channels in thermoplastic chips. We can apply this technique in single molecule detection. For this, a mechanical rig was designed and subjected to strain to produce thermomechanical deformation in thermoplastic micro-channel cell. To optimize the initial and micro-channel dimensions, a rectangular micro-type of channels with different sizes and shapes was deformed. To reach sub-micrometer widths, the height and width of the channels designed should be with low aspect ratios with less initial dimensions. The manufacturing and assembly tolerances are affecting the nano-channels fabrication.

The main objective of this experimentation analysis is to improve the mechanical characteristics of E-glass fabric polymer matrix composites by utilizing amine-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile. In most of the research, only one matrix is used for developing new composites. In this research, two matrix materials are selected, namely epoxy-Ly556 resin and amine-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile, and glass fabrics (E-type) are acted as reinforcement material in the development of composites by vacuum bagging method. Samples are developed and experienced for testing the mechanical properties of the developed composites. The fractured samples are used to analyze the reason for the failures of the composite material during the test of mechanical properties by using scanning electron microscopy. The microscopic examination which is confirmed to the vacuum bagging approach has enhanced adhesion among the matrix material and reinforcement material, and this method has decreased the annullement in the composite materials. The glass fabric/epoxy-reinforced composite has an average tensile strength of 747.68 Kgf/cm2 and a mean flexural strength of 42.99 Kgf/cm2. This analysis shows that amine-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile created good bonding between the materials.

The present work illustrates the correlation of microstructure along three directions namely, longitudinal (L), long-transverse (LT) and short-transverse (ST) on mechanical and ballistic properties of an AA-7017 aluminium alloy plate. The microstructure in L and LT direction exhibits high aspect ratio deformed grains, whereas low aspect ratio grains are observed in ST direction. The plate displays the highest strength value along LT, followed by ST and L directions. The L and ST direction samples show the highest and lowest impact energy values, respectively. Ballistic properties of the plate in three directions is evaluated by impacting with high hardness steel projectiles. It is noticed that the AA-7017 plate exhibits the best ballistic performance in ST direction.

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite has highly received performance characteristics of structural material. This work aims to investigate the mechanical properties and cutting quality on polymer composite designed with a multi-layer sequence of natural flax fiber interleaved with fine fly ash-reinforced vinyl ester composite by using abrasive water jet machining (AWJM). Composite laminates were made with multi-stacking of flax fiber with different fine fly ash particle filler loading (0–15 wt%) by an interleaving approach. Tensile and flexural strength of prepared laminates were measured for various fly ash filler loading conditions. Mechanical properties of laminates were limited by the agglomerated fine fly ash particles which are loading above 10 wt%. Further, enhancement of properties is attributed to the polymer chain termination by fly ash particles leading immobility of polymer link. SEM images of fracture surface revealed types of failure mode are fiber pullout, matrix cracking, and brittle failure of matrix and fiber. Analysis of surface cut quality done by varying the cutting parameters of AWJM by box Behnken design (BBD). The surface quality of the composite severely reduced with fly ash filler loading after a critical 10% loading. An increase in jet pressure intensity reduces the fiber edge pullout and damages.

In this paper, natural fiber composites made of treated ramie yarn and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix in powder form were manufactured using hot compression molding. The fibers were arranged to make unidirectional ([0°] and [90°]) and bidirectional [0°/90°]s specimens. A Charpy impact test with a notch was performed to determine the impact strength of ramie/HDPE composites. Statistical analysis using two-parameter Weibull distribution with 50% reliability was used. The result showed that the unidirectional [0°] specimen has a higher impact strength than the bidirectional specimen. Meanwhile, the unidirectional [90°] specimen had the lowest impact strength. The morphology of the fracture surface was analyzed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). It revealed the dominant damage mode, i.e., fiber breakage and pull-out for the unidirectional [0°] specimen, matrix cracking for the unidirectional [90°] specimen, and the combination of matrix cracking and fiber pull-out for the bidirectional specimen.

CNC manufacturing has been evolved into the modern multi-process and multi-axis machining operation. The advances in hardware design increased productivity. This development brought an advanced feature for CNC machines such as automatic lubrication systems, automatic tool length setters, and coolant-fed tooling systems. A large amount of heat can be liberated from CNC machining operation due to friction developed at the tool–work interface. To reduce friction at the cutting zone and to improve the cutting performance a coolant-fed tooling system is used. The coolant-fed tooling system greatly reduces the friction and temperature and improves the surface finish. The present paper focuses on various types of coolant supply systems, viz coolant-fed tooling system, through the spindle coolant system, etc. It was concluded that the coolant-fed cutting tools can best improve production efficiency due to the pressurized coolant.

Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) is electrowarm non-customary machining procedure utilize for machining electrically conductive equipment that are difficult machine. Material clearing in WEDM is by strategies for streak crumbling. WEDM is shown to be the choice for making complex parts with more significant level of dimensional precision and better surface culmination. Consistently, a lot of research was comprehensively completed to investigate the WEDM procedure capacity. This paper plans to investigate the examination work carried on parametric impact of WEDM process factors on different yield execution measures. The paper likewise features different demonstrating procedures to foresee ideal machining conditions and investigate the practicality of applying WEDM procedure to machine propelled materials. The last segment examines the advancement and conceivable research pattern in WEDM process.

Motion is one the most sources of energy for gathering. This article plays a critical role in the construction of human energy which is a motivation research related to wood chipping process. A successful mathematical model has been developed for three parameters, i.e., power required speeding up the flywheel, blood pressure rise and time required to achieve flywheel speed, the five persons with different physical characteristic were used for pedaling the energy unit and accordingly the power required per person was calculated. The process form pedaling of bicycle to the clutch engagement can be the separate field of research which is done in this research work. The separate experimental plan was developed for measuring the human energy, and various variables were identified for detail study. The first time attempt has been made for calculation of human energy required for any machine operation. The novelty of this research is considered to be a prime importance because it is unique and applicable for any mathematical model formed.

A subject that therefore very important to several choices during this world might hardly escape measurement. The name “reliability” is given to the sector of study that makes a shot to assign numbers to the propensity of systems to fail. In a ton of restrictive sense, the term “reliability” is made public to be the likelihood that a system performs its mission with success. This paper presents an approach to reliability of mathematical model formed for manually operated wood chipper. The novelty of this research is considered to be a prime importance because it unique in applicable for any mathematical model formed. The mathematical model is formed for the three dependent π terms, i.e., processing time (tp), output weight of chips produced (Wo) and average resistive torque (Tr_avg) (Sonde in Int J Recent Trends Mech Eng IJRTME 2:17–25, 2013 1]. Error frequency distribution for developed models with graphical representation is done. These graphs were compared with likelihood density perform graphs of usually used life distributions. In applied mathematics analysis, distribution is most generalized case. Several applied mathematics distributions unit of measurement accustomed model varied responsibility parameters. Model dependableness approximation is dead by examination error frequency graphs of varied mathematical models with likelihood density perform graphs of usually used life distribution.

Non-regular machining procedure like electro release machining (ERM) and wire electrical release machining (WEDM) assumes significant job in accuracy assembling process. This small-scale machining procedure may help defeat the confinements and limitation looked during customary mechanical machining procedure. The choice of machining stricture in any machining procedure essentially influences creation rate, item value and generation rate completed one part. Line ERM procedure includes an enormous number of factors that influence its exhibition. In this research, an attempt is made to contemplate the force of different procedure parameter, for instance, strike on schedule, strike off moment in time and existing for elevated-carbon elevated-chromium bitter job instrument make stronger (D2). The trial has been finished with the assistance of design of analysis by Taguchi strategy is applied to make a symmetrical cluster of information factors utilizing the ANOVA. The relapse examination is utilized to upgrade the procedure parameter of surface unpleasantness. The test investigation demonstrated that the mix of heartbeat going on timetable, strike off moment moreover current be ideal toward accomplish minimization of surface harshness (Ra).

The WC–12Co-based clad powder was deposited on the AISI 420 substrate using the microwave energy. The dry sliding action of the WC–12Co-based microwave coating on the substrate AISI 420 was studied using a pin-on-disk testing equipment. The dry sliding wear study was carried out as per Taguchi OA L9. Speed, sliding distance, and load parameters were considered at three various levels. The more wear rate was observed on the unclad surface than the clad surface. Enhanced sliding resistance of the microwave cladding is due to the uniform distribution of carbides. Unclad surface experiences the removal of binder and degradation of carbide grain, while clad surface suffers plastic deformation and undergoes microscale wear.

Nickel-based superalloys are widely used in the production and manufacturing sectors that require processes or applications that endure or operate at very high superheating temperatures. With the properties of high tensile strength, high melting point, and lightweight structural arrangement of molecules within the alloy material composition makes it more suitable for industrial utilization in aerospace industries and marine applications. This review paper discusses the use of various coolant lubricants that improves the machinability of Inconel 718 based on parameters such as surface roughness and tool wear under the influence of cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut. The machine used for analysis is CNC milling machine which will be used for experimentation using ceramic inserts as end milling tool. Various cooling techniques such as hybrid cooling, flood emulsion cooling, minimum quantity lubrication, and cryogenic cooling are being summarized in this paper from various experimentations and conclusions of other authors. On the basis of review, the hybrid cooling technique is found to be better than other cooling techniques because of its ability to obtain long tool life and smoother surface finish on the workpiece. With the use of these reviewed data, further research for finding a more compatible and effective cooling lubricant has to be done by experimentation in order to obtain an improved machining process for Inconel 718 material.

Effective condition-based maintenance plays a vital role to extend the lifespan of the rotating equipment and helps in reducing the maintenance cycle intervals. The gearbox failure indication starts with the increased vibrations and abnormal increase in temperatures. Parameters like load, vibrations, temperature, etc., determine the overall life of the gearbox. By measuring and studying these parameters, we can predict the life of a new gearbox or the remaining life of a gearbox that is already in use. The present work deals with a foot-mounted worm reducer gearbox test rig. Different locations were selected for measuring temperature and vibration responses of the test rig. To study the test rig behavior and document the generated results, a test plan is designed. In the first phase reading, the test rig is operated for 70 min under normal conditions without any load applied. Readings are taken for every 10 min during the run. In the second phase reading, the operation time is kept the same 70 min, and the only change did is that the applied load is increased by 10 kg after every 10 min run operation. The temperature and vibration monitoring procedures were used to describe the behavior of the worm gear system as a function of load applied on the worm gear system. The temperature and vibration responses of the selected reading locations are compared for both phase readings. Commercial HP EP 90 gear oil is used in the gearbox for this experimentation.

Electrical discharge machining (EDM) is the unconventional machining operation, it is appropriate for processing of hard and brittle metals like metal matrix composites. Aluminum-based metal matrix composites (AMMCs) are broadly utilized in aviation and defense parts in the view of their leading properties like greater strength to weight ratio and greater stiffness to weight ratio. The present paper reviews the optimization of EDM process parameters like discharge current, pulse-off-time, duty factor, open circuit voltage(gap voltage) and pulse-on-time on the material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness of the composite responses by utilizing various methods like Taguchi method, response surface methodology (RSM), gray relational approach (GRA), TOPSIS and genetic algorithm.

Bending fatigue test was performed on carburized gears made of different low-carbon hardenable steels such as 20CrMo, 20MnCr5, and SAE 8620. Hardness assessment and microstructure examination were conducted to confirm the homogeneity of phase presence and absence of network carbides and decarburization. Stress levels were chosen to find the fatigue limit of the different carburized gear materials. Fatigue life of the component can be predicted at various stress level with available test data by using Weibull distribution, which is suitable for random failure data. By fitting this failure data at various stress level, actual fatigue strength of the component can be calculated at different reliability. Reliable fatigue design for three different materials are predicted and compared, which disclosed SAE 8629 as superior.

A wide range of cooling techniques for hard turning machining continues to be proposed and assessed. In this review, the overall characteristics of cutting tools and stainless steel materials were reviewed in terms of vibration, surface roughness, cutting force, and tool life while using minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) with paraffin-based nanofluids. Nanoparticles are particularly appealing in MQL due to its remarkable improvement in the cutting conditions. Under aggressive machining conditions, the lubricant media tends to evaporate or disintegrate when in contact with the cutting tool. With the addition of high thermal conductivity nanoparticle additives as cutting fluid, the performance of the MQL technique has improved remarkably. This review exposed that a few work has used MQL with nanofluid when machining martensitic stainless steel AISI 420 using TiAlN-coated carbide cutting tool. Furthermore, the application of MQL via paraffin oil, γ-Fe2O3, and xGnP nanofluid when machining hardened stainless steel using coated carbide cutting tools has not yet been examined.

SS-304 is extensively used in almost all industrial applications. Wear is one of the sever problems that reduce the life span of functional components. In the current work, an attempt is made to develop nickel-based clads though microwave energy at 900 W power. The developed clad shows excellent bonding with the target substrate without visible cracks. Microstructural and erosion analysis were carried out successfully. Taguchi L9 array was used with speed (S), impact angle (A) and various sizes of particles were considered for the erosion studies. The most reliable and popular neuro-fuzzy analytical technique was effectively used to forecast the wear behavior. Finally, the fuzzy predicted values were compared with experimentally obtained values. It was observed that the average percentage of error between fuzzy logic and experimental values is 10.34%.

Machining of small holes on tungsten carbide using the conventional machining processes is a difficult task due to its high hardness. This difficulty can be overcome by using an inexpensive unconventional machining process called abrasive jet machining (AJM). In this paper, the machining of tungsten carbide has been carried out using AJM, in which the material removal takes place due to mechanical erosion of the work piece under the action of high-velocity abrasive jet. In this paper, tungsten carbide work piece is used for the experimentation. The experimental investigation is performed by selecting the predefined optimal values for process parameter like pressure, stand-off distance (SOD), and nozzle diameter (ND). The present study focuses on the change in microstructures of WC GT30 before and after machining by SEM micrographs which can provide an understanding about the change in properties of hard metals during the abrasive jet machining process.

Gas tungsten arc welding process can be adaptable for all metals and can be used for all welding positions. It can be operated in both continues and pulsed mode current. The present study has been carried out with pulsed current gas tungsten arc welding of Inconel600 with three passes, and the filler wire of ERNiCrMo-3 has been considered. The single V-groove is employed for joining the plates with three passes welding. The residual stresses and tensile strength in weldments are studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique is used to measure residual stresses. The measurement is carried out on the surface across the welding direction. The tensile residual stresses are observed at the fusion zone. The tensile strength of the weldment is higher than that of the base metal.

This article presents an experimental investigation of surface integrity on glass/flax stacking layered composite machining using an abrasive waterjet energy process. Experimentation variables are SOD-standoff distance, HP-hydraulic pressure, and TR-traverse rate. As to conduct experimentation, the central composite design module (CCD) was employed. The experimentation assessment is to make an effective process parameter selection for surface integrity. Surface unevenness was predicted by using the RSM-based mathematical model. Analysis of variance was done for measuring relative weightage of process variables which affect the surface roughness. From the experiment, pressure was found to be the highest influencing variable for surface roughness. It was found Ra was continuously decreasing with an increase in hydraulic pressure energy. It also reduced with decreasing SOD and TR. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image reveals the roughness variations along the cutting surface of the stacked laminate.

In this work, the machinability aspects of aluminium (LM6) alloy in wire electrical discharge machining were discussed. Owing to the poor machinability of LM6 alloy, WEDM is selected as the potential candidate to process it with utmost surface quality. The main intent of the work is to investigate the impact of the WEDM process parameters for the performance measures material removal rate and surface roughness. Further, resolidification layer of the WEDMed surface has been studied. Taguchi technique has been adopted to conduct the experiments. SEM micrographs revealed the surface integrity of the machined region. The pulse-on time and peak current were identified as the major parameter on deciding the material removal rate and surface roughness. LM6 has copious applications in marine, aircraft and automobile industries owing to its low cost, lightweight and excellent corrosion resistance.

Machining of metal matrix composites is extremely very hard because of its heterogeneity and hardness. However, it is possible through improving its inherent active lubrication. This is one way to reduce cutting forces and tool wear during machining. This work is to evaluate the effect of solid lubricant, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), on dry machining of aluminum–boron carbide (B4C) composite. Machining of fabricated composites is done with varying amounts of hBN particle from 5 to 15%. The machining performance is estimated by the measuring magnitude of cutting forces and tool wear with respect to different depth of cuts, feed rates, and cutting speeds. Mechanical property like hardness decreases with the increase in the amount of hBN particle. Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) insert was used to machine the work. Machining parameters like cutting speed reduce the cutting force and tool wear. The spatial presence of boron carbide and hBN particles in the microstructure is affecting machining performance. The presence of hBN particles in the composite spatial microstructure reduces tool flank wear. The reason contributed to the fact a shearing of hBN particles. These particles reduce shear stress between primary cutting zone and tool causing a low magnitude of surface roughness on the work.

Rotational molding is a plastic processing technique wherein a privilege of stress-free plastic product is obtained. LLDPE is widely preferred as it possesses favorable flow property as needed for rotational molding process. But when the criteria of strength are applicable, therein particle reinforcements into LLDPE deliver significant results. Glass fiber and confiber are the additives opted for particulate reinforcement in LLDPE for rotational molding process in the present study. Among the numerous analysis procedure, melt flow index (MFI) test is considered as the primary investigation to verify flowability of raw material. For rotational molding process, MFI value is considered in the range of 3–8 g/10 min. An attempt is made to confirm if the range is satisfied for LLDPE/glass fiber blend and LLDPE/confiber blend by mixing in different ratios. From the experimental results, 22% by weight of glass fiber/LLDPE and 34% by weight of confiber/LLDPE were found to be optimum blend which yields better processability.

Aluminum alloy 6082-T6 aluminum alloy (Aluminum–Silicon–Magnesium) has gathered wide acceptance in aerospace and automotive industries. In this novel, research work specially designed tool pin profiles were employed in order get defect-free sound weldments with good mechanical and microstructural properties. The aim of studying the present research work is to investigate the weld quality of AA 6082-T6 aluminum alloy weldments using friction stir welding (FSW) process with four different geometrical tool pin probes, namely MX-TRIVEX™, A-SKEW™, three flat threaded, and MX-TRIFLUTE™ concave shouldered tools with three different rotational speed’s (1000, 1200, 1400 rpm’s) at single traverse speed (25 mm/min). X—Ray radiography technique has been carried out to study the weld defects like lack of penetration, lack of fusion, worm hole, and cracks of weldments through MXR-451/26 make machine as per ASME Sec-IX 2017 QW 191. From this experimental study, it was found that influence of tool rotation speeds like 1000, 1200, and 1400 rpm on temperature and quality of aluminum alloy 6082-T6 weldments.

A Vortex tube (VT) is a very simple, compact, and light cooling device that separates the inlet stream of compressed air into two streams between which heat transfer occurs leading to one of them becoming hotter and the other colder. Its existing designs are too simple and hence inefficient due to (i) the lack of appropriate design tools and (ii) manufacturing constraints of that era. 3D printing/CNC technology can be utilized to realize the complex ducts, which could help make the VT more efficient in terms of air consumption and performance. These modern 3DP/CNC tools have hardly been exploited in the design of VT so far. To realize this, the authors ideated and recommended the design changes in the vortex generator and diverging nozzle, which are the main parts responsible for creating and sustaining the vortex. The authors fabricated the above parts by 3D printing and carried out post-processing. The experimental results obtained are discussed in this paper.

The two different thermoplastic materials such as poly lactic acid (PLA) and carbon fiber poly lactic acid (CF-PLA) are selected for printed specimen preparation by the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique. The FDM technique is also named as 3D printing technique. The experimental investigation is made to get the said materials specimen tensile and flexural strength and hardness properties to make a comparison between the two chosen printing materials with respect to the change in working limits of process parameters. The literature and trial experiments are performed to propose various and most effective process parameters of 3D printing technique like fill density (60, 80 and 100%), print speed (0.06, 0.08 and 0.1 m/s) and layer thickness (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 microns). The influence of these process parameters is understood by analyzing the obtained testing results. The fill density and print speed are most accountable for getting maximum hardness, flexural and tensile strength of 3D printed PLA and carbon fiber material specimen. The most suitable material among CF-PLA, and PLA can be assessed and the working range of 3D printing process parameters can be assumed through this experimental investigation.

Triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) structures are non-self-intersecting mathematical isosurface of mean zero curvature. Such structures are being actively researched in-depth for potential application in impact energy absorption, heat exchangers and biomedical implants. However, designing and generating the required 3D CAD model of these structures have been a daunting task. In this study, open-source architecture has been described to generate and export the TPMS structures in CAD format. The developed architecture has been validated with the experimentally measured geometry of the manufactured TPMS lattice. While the geometrical compliance has been achieved satisfactorily, the printed TPMS wall thickness was larger than the as-designed values. Against the as-designed wall thickness of 0.2 mm, the built samples had an average wall thickness of 0.25851 mm, while the minimum and maximum wall thicknesses are 0.212 and 0.34655 mm, respectively. Distortions and deviations from the designed geometry are observed along the building direction. Nonetheless, a successful open-source designing architecture with excellent designing potential has been demonstrated in this paper, paving way for more such developments.

Topology optimization (TO) be a technique employed to fill the design space with optimized amount of material based on the satisfaction of design variables. The design variables considered dependent on material properties, load conditions and geometric details. Optimized shape resulted from the TO process may cause manufacturing complexities. Additive manufacturing (AM) is capable of building complex parts. Combination of TO with AM makes an exploration to design areas to produce multi-functional and lightweight objects. AM offers the certain advantages with TO like printing of parts with lattice structures and multiple materials. AM also put constraints like support structure and mesh resolution. This paper briefly reviews the advantages and constrains of AM in combination with TO.

Additive manufacturing (AM), also referred to as three-dimensional printing, produces three-dimensional parts by adding material of specific layer thickness layer by layer. It is well known for its capability to create intricate and complex geometric parts and minimize the wastage of material unalike conventional manufacturing. The digital light processing (DLP) is one of the AM technologies and uses photopolymer resin as a material in liquid form and ultraviolet (UV) light to convert liquid resin into solid geometry of size and shape as per 3D model. This technique comprises of two approaches, top-down and bottom-up. In this paper, the latter method has selected for further design and development. This paper explains the overall idea of designing and fabricating the DLP 3D printer through indigenization and innovation, starting from choosing an approach to conducting the experiments. The methodology behind the design and development of the indigenous DLP 3D printer and the various problems encountered during this development have been discussed. Further, it briefly explains in-depth study carried out for the selection of several components of the printer, viz. optical components such as the projector and its orientation, mechanical components such as build platform, vat, and electronic components like stepper motor and microcontroller and shield. Conclusions have been drawn based on the results obtained after several preliminary testing carried out during this study.

Al–Cu (2000 series) alloys are used for applications which require higher damage tolerance and fatigue resistance. Aluminium alloy AA2219 has superior weldability because of its low sensitivity to hot cracking. However, it suffers from poor strength at weld joint. The reduction in strength is because of melting and solidification of the alloy, which results in the dissolution of the strengthening precipitates and formation of large columnar grains. Also, due to the rapid melting and solidification process, the originally present precipitates may not dissolve completely. In such cases, the weld region may show small number of coarse precipitates, widely distributed. The segregation of Cu at grain and dendritic boundaries results in depletion of Cu at the grain interiors, resulting in a decrease in mechanical properties. The present paper reviews such kind of challenges faced during welding of aluminium alloy AA2219. Various methods like post-weld heat treatment (PWHT), weld pool agitation, pulsed current, magnetic arc oscillation, friction stir welding (FSW) and electron beam welding (EBW) are discussed.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is also known as 3D printing, a new way of manufacturing the three-dimensional objects layer by layer and well-known for its capability of manufacturing the objects with complex geometries, unlike a conventional manufacturing process. AM consists of the number of technologies, each comprised of materials in different forms, viz. liquid, powder, wire, etc. Each technology has its way of feeding or delivering the material to the working area. In the deposition or cladding and powder bed AM technologies, the powder feeding plays a vital role in the initiation and creation of powder beds, which in turn impacts the shape, dimensional accuracy, strength, etc., of an object. Also, because of its complex mechanical structure, powder feeding is a tedious job. In this chapter, different types of powder feeding mechanisms are reviewed based on the type of powder, location of powder supply container, feeding direction, and techniques used. This paper briefly discusses different types of powder feeder in AM available today, compares, and explains their advantages and limitations, which could be used as a common ground for choosing a proper mechanism.

Aluminum-based composites reinforced with ceramics particles are the most preferred materials for applications in the aerospace sector due to their superior properties. Friction stir welding is a novel potential joining process owing to its low distortion and environmentally friendly characteristics, and friction stir welding is widely used for joining aluminum matrix composites without any defects which as boosted the applications of composites. The present research work reports the results of experimental studies carried out on the effect of friction stir welding parameters on UTS and Vickers hardness of AA6061-9 wt.% SiC composite. The friction stir welding was carried out with tool rotation speed of 600–900 rpm in a step of 150, with the axial load 4–6 kN in a step of 1; the transverse speed adopted was 45 mm/min, with different tool pin profiles such as cylindrical, square, and taper. Results reveal that the welded joints produced at 750 rpm tool rotational speed, with the axial load of 5 kN using a square pin tool profile exhibits higher UTS of 124.3 MPa and Vickers hardness of 98.11; further, SEM microphotograph of FS Welded AA6061-9 wt.% SiC composite reveals the homogeneous distribution of SiC particles within the matrix.

Segmented object manufacturing (SOM) is a hybrid foam 3D printer for plastic foams especially Expandable Polystyrene (EPS), which uses a novel visible slicing route. SOM has three subsystems include machining, slicing, and gluing systems; among these, the machining system contributes more in process time and surface quality. SOM is not yet commercialized because of poor product surface quality and high process time. In this work, efforts are made to reduce the cycle time and to improve the surface quality by optimizing the machining system. Taguchi method is used to design the experiments and parametric analysis of cutting speed, linear feed, step-over, and step-down is performed to get a good surface finish. As a result, surface roughness reduced from 78.30 to 47.70 µm, at the same time tool path also modified to accommodate the optimized parameters by doing so, process time reduced from 42 to 18 min due to optimized tool path.

Lightweight materials are of increasing interest to automotive and aerospace industries owing to their high specific strength and potential for reducing environmental impact due to lower CO2 emissions. It has been found that many cast iron components are replaced by pure aluminium or aluminium alloy components which are manufactured by pressure-assisted casting operations. The application of pressure during solidification in squeeze casting improves mechanical properties, creates smoother surfaces and reduces porosities. In this work, the results highlight the effect of pressure-assisted casting (squeeze casting) process on microstructure, hardness and wear-resisting properties like fretting wear and dry sliding wear of Al–Si A356 alloy. It was observed that there was significant change in the microstructural characteristics like reduction in secondary dendrite arm spacings of α-Al phase/matrix, change in the eutectic Si morphology, reduction in microporosities. Effective precipitation of intermetallics was found to occur after heat treatment whereas mechanical properties like hardness and wear-resistant properties during fretting wear and dry sliding wear got improved on squeeze casting.

This work describes the analysis being carried out to find out the diffusion of heat and mass because of multiple sources of heat placed in the medium. A small heating strip is placed centrally apart from regular heating at the left surface. The height of the strip is varied to understand its effect on double diffusion in the medium. The mass diffusion occurs between the vertical surfaces of the cavity under the influence of concentration gradient as well as the thermal gradient. Finite element method (FEM) has been employed for solving the equations. Solution is obtained through an in-house code that works on FEM. The elements of the domain are selected such that they have triangular shape with three nodes. Solution of the equations is obtained following an iterative process, and the results are described using contour plots of concentration, isotherms, and streamlines.

The impact of different variables, namely thermal conductivity ratio of solid to porous the radiation parameter and Rayleigh number, is investigated in a cavity being fixed with porous medium that contains a solid material. The solid material which is having square geometry is made to occupy the central position in the cavity. The conjugate heat transfer coupled with mass transfer is analyzed because of the presence of solid in the domain. The left surface of the cavity is forced to have the highest temperature as well as concentration as compared to the right surface that has the lowest temperature and concentration. The energy transport across the solid takes place due to conjugate effect, whereas convection also takes place in the porous domain. Finite element method based on simple triangular element with a node at each of three corners is employed to get the solution of equations across the medium.

This paper aims to analyze the diffusion of heat and mass in porous material, caused by thermal gradients created by two heating sources. The first heating source is a full surface of the cavity at left side. The second heating source is a small strip that is placed at x = L/4 with L indicating the length of cavity. The concentration gradient is maintained in the porous domain due to the high concentration at left surface and low concentration at right surface. The investigation is focused to evaluate the heat as well as mass diffusion due to strip height, Lewis number, Rayleigh number, buoyancy ratio, and radiation parameter. The solution is obtained by dividing the whole domain into smaller elements of triangular shape with each element having three nodes placed at the corner of triangle. Galerkin approach is utilized to get the finite element formulations of governing equations. The concentration distribution gets affected due to the heat source placed toward the left surface.

Aerostatic bearings are widely used in ultra-precision machining equipment and measurement equipment due to their extremely high accuracy. However, they are more susceptible to resonance problems than liquid film bearings. Utilization of static stiffness of the air film for the calculation of resonance frequency and response of the bearing system represents a simple method but fails to capture the nonlinearity present in the static characteristics. This paper aims at presenting the dynamic characteristics of the bearing system by modelling the air film as a nonlinear spring. This modelling has the advantage of a simple and an effective procedure, accurately representing the nonlinearity in the static characteristics of the bearing system. The dynamic characteristics are determined by both theoretical and experimental methods and the corresponding results are compared with each other.

Supersonic fighter aircrafts are designed for high speed, good maneuverability, and high-altitude operations. These characteristics depend upon shape and design of aircraft wings which determine lift force and drag force generated. The current research investigates aerodynamic features of delta-shaped aircraft using computational fluid dynamics. The CAD prototypical of two different designs of aircraft (low taper ratio of 0.125 and high taper ratio of 0.4) is developed in Creo 2.0 software and CFD investigation is directed using ANSYS CFX software platform. The inlet velocity is kept constant for both designs and angle of attack is varied, i.e., 5°, 10°, 15°, 18°, and 20°. Lift coefficient and drag coefficient for each angle of attack are determined for both designs. The results have shown that taper ratio has significant effect on both the aerodynamic characteristics of an aircraft. The study of vortex produced also provide important information on flaws of delta-shaped aircraft design.

With increase in fuel prices, the customers demand for fuel efficient car. The air conditioning system employed in cars draws it power from vehicle engine and reduces its mileage. Air vent location has a significant impact on thermal comfort of cabin. In the current research, the location of air vents has been changed from all four in front dashboard (Design 1) to 2 front and two rear above passenger seat (Design 2). Transient thermal analysis is performed using ANSYS CFX 18.1. With the assistance of CFD, it is demonstrated that rear cooling air vents give a superior air comfort to passenger. The turbulence model used for CFD analysis is RNG k-epsilon which gives better prediction for swirl flows generated due to complex geometry. The transient thermal analysis has shown that cabin temperature reaches to 297.25 K from 308 K for design 1 (four vents on dashboard) during 50 counter seconds time. For front-seated passengers, design 1 offers more cooling as compared to design 2 due to more air flow due to location of all four air vents on front dashboard.

Fracture analysis of crack growth in between two material interfaces (different engineering materials) is one of the challenging tasks in the engineering field. In the present investigation, different properties of bi-material are considering to study the damage-tolerant design and analysis of fracture mechanics. A double cantilever beam (DCB) with a bi-material crack is considered for analysis. In FEM, specifically a post-processing command virtual crack closure technique (VCCT) is used for evaluation of mixed mode energy release rate of bi-material interface cracks. Validation of obtained results is done with a benchmark problem in the literature. Then parametric studies have been conducted on four different material combinations for a range of crack length and height of the beam. The results generated will be useful for assessing structural integrity.

Femur bone is one of the longest bones. It is also one of the strongest bones in the human skeletal system. It absorbs and transmits the forces to the lower extremity caused due to various physical activities. The understanding of vibrational characteristics of femur helps in diagnosing various deformities and/or diseases. In the present research, two different femurs with a porosity level of 75% were considered. The modal analysis is performed with four different hyperelastic materials, namely neo-Hookean, Blatz-Ko, Ogden (first order), and Yeoh (first order). The results indicate that the Ogden first-order model is superior in predicting the natural frequencies and mode shapes in comparison to the other material models considered. It is also observed that these results are very much sensitive to the geometry as well as the material model considered. These results would be helpful in predicting the dynamic behavior of femur with different porosity levels and help in diagnosing the existence and or possibility of fracture.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee is often injured particularly in sports and other strenuous activities. Approaches for replacement of the ligament surround controversies due to complexities and varied outcome. In the present study, mechanical behavior of the ligament is analyzed during knee motion considering changing geometric arrangements of the ligament fibers and their material properties during both unloaded and loaded states. An analytical model with sagittal plane representation of the knee was employed. The two cruciate ligaments were modeled as bundles of fibers that were nonlinearly elastic. Flexion motion in the unloaded state was guided by selected fibers. Effects of external loads were then superimposed to simulate activity. In a simulated Drawer test with 130 N external force applied during 0–120° flexion, the ACL stretched increasingly in early to mid-flexion. From mid to high flexion range, the stretching effect decreased continuously. Further, anterior bundle of fibers in the ligament resisted the external load at each flexion angle. The posterior bundle of fibers contributed to resistance in low and high flexion only. The model calculations compared reasonably with in vitro experimental measurements on human knees that are available in the literature. In conclusion, the analysis indicates that surgical replacement of the ACL requires careful attention to ligament insertion positions on bones. Also, rehabilitation of ACL-injured or replaced knee requires carefully designed exercises to be safe and effective. Future work will also focus on parametric analysis.

An educational software has been developed for stress analysis of laminated composites. The software can be used to study both micro- and macro-mechanics analysis of a lamina as well as a laminate. The software can also be used for the failure analysis of laminates, and hence can be useful for the design of composite laminates for given loading conditions. Apart from mechanical loading, the software can also handle hygrothermal loading. Four different failure theories have been used to predict the failure of any given laminate. Graphical user interface (GUI) based on MATLAB language was used to develop this software, thus, making it more user-friendly. Numerous case studies were carried out and validated against the existing literature.

This paper attempts to present the challenge of scheduling n jobs–m machines in the flow shop scheduling environment. In this scheduling, lot streaming is a method used to divide up multiple sublots to allow functions to intersect across multiple production systems. The purpose of this work is to reduce the time and save the manufacturing cost. In recent times, researchers have used bright heuristics to explain flow shop difficulties on a lot streaming problem. In this work, artificial immune system (AIS) algorithm is used to solve the lot streaming concept in the flow shop scheduling environment with the objective of minimizing the makespan time. In addition, a nature ability to change to suit different conditions for generating the neighborhood antibodies based on the inverse and pairwise mutation. The results obtained by this algorithm are compared with the standard benchmark instances. This proposed algorithm is capable and establishes to be a superior problem-solving technique for this flow shop scheduling with lot streaming.