Hybrid thin-film solar-cell technology offers promising material configurations with superior intrinsic properties for efficient solar energy conversion. This study aims to enhance the thermal characteristics and heat-carrying capability of a solar-cell system through the incorporation of ZnO/P3HT hybrid thin films and a water/alumina nanofluid-based cooling arrangement. The ZnO/P3HT thin-film structure was fabricated using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition method. The thermal conductivity, heat-transfer coefficient, and surface morphology of the ZnO/P3HT-SiNx solar-cell system were analyzed and compared with those of a conventional SiNx solar-cell system. The results revealed that the ZnO/P3HT-SiNx solar-cell system integrated with water/alumina nanofluid exhibited approximately 70
Except for very deep deposits, open pit mining has been recognized as the safe and most efficient technique of mining minerals where the blasting operation continue to play an important part today. The increase in size of mine and demand of mineral has resulted that most of the projects are operating near habitat area. Furthermore, increased intensive global competition has compelled blasting in such a way that the required level of fragmentation is accomplished in the primary blast with the least number of adverse reactions such as ground vibration, air blast/noise, fly rock, etc. The movement of burden movement is very important in the bench blasting for the effective utilization of the explosive energy. The optimum burden for a blast face varies with the nature of the strata and explosive quantity quality. There are various experimental and empirical approaches have been made for the estimation of optimum burden. However, there is a need for the site-specific estimation suited with the strata condition for estimation of optimum burden at the blast faces particularly when it is possessing huge variations in the rock types. Therefore, the guidelines considered as convenient and efficient for determining the value of the burden properly through the burden ratio approach. Hence it has been considered as one of the most crucial influencing criteria and accordingly the burden ratio was examined in the different conditions of limestone mines keeping the constant charge factor to evaluate the resistance offered by rock mass to explosive energy. Further, it also provides the fragmentation level and range of blast-induced ground vibration. The authors have examined the influence of the burden ratio on the fragmentation and ground vibration produced due to the blasts carried out in the limestone mines operating at different geological settings and it has been found that the blast-induced ground vibration level (PPV) increases exponentially with ‘burden to blasthole diameter’ ratio after it reaches the particular value which was different among the rock formations.
This study investigates the influence of cellulose source and surface treatment on the microstructure and mechanical performance of Kondagogu Gum-based biocomposites reinforced with Jute and Kenaf cellulose. Comparative evaluation of untreated and treated formulations revealed distinct improvements in reinforcement dispersion, matrix continuity, and cellulose–matrix interfacial characteristics. The untreated Jute cellulose composite (C1) exhibited the lowest mechanical performance, with tensile, flexural, and impact strengths of 31.0 ± 1.8 MPa, 46.0 ± 2.5 MPa, and 9.5 ± 0.6 kJ/m2, respectively. Surface treatment substantially improved the performance of Jute cellulose, with C2 achieving 38.0 ± 2.1 MPa tensile strength, 55.0 ± 2.8 MPa flexural strength, and 12.0 ± 0.7 kJ/m2 impact strength, corresponding to improvements of 22.6
Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) reinforced soft composites are pivotal for bio-inspired robotics, yet they often suffer from inefficient actuation due to poor interfacial adhesion and slippage between the smooth SMA wire and the polymer matrix. To address this, this study investigates a novel, adhesive-less surface modification technique using precise laser marking to enhance the mechanical interlocking of Nitinol wires embedded in a Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. The influence of laser power (varying from 12 to 22.5 W) on surface topography and actuation performance was evaluated experimentally and validated using a thermo-mechanical Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in ANSYS. Surface profilometry revealed that laser treatment at 15–17.5 W created significant micro-features (filler height 23.3 µm) that serve as mechanical anchors. While pristine and laser-marked wires showed comparable deflection at lower voltages (5 V), the laser-treated composites demonstrated superior performance under higher loads. Quantitatively, at 6 V, the laser-marked actuators achieved a maximum bending angle of 66°, significantly outperforming the 55° observed in untreated counterparts. Furthermore, dynamic testing at a frequency of 0.5 Hz showed that laser-treated samples achieved a deflection of 11°, nearly doubling the 6° of pristine samples, effectively confirming reduced wire slippage. These findings establish laser marking as a robust, scalable fabrication method to improve the torque transfer and cyclic reliability of soft actuators for applications in underwater robotics and morphing structures.
Friction stir welding (FSW) and friction stir processing (FSP) are closely related solid-state technologies that employ frictional heating, severe plastic deformation, material flow, and dynamic recrystallization, but their different processing configurations can produce distinct microstructural and mechanical responses. The present study systematically compares the effects of FSW and FSP on AA7075 aluminum alloy using identical tool geometry and processing parameters. Both processes produced substantial grain refinement and predominantly equiaxed microstructures; however, FSP resulted in a finer mean grain size of 5.2 microns, compared with 6.1 microns for FSW. SEM observations revealed redistribution, fragmentation, dissolution, and possible reprecipitation of second-phase constituents during the thermo-mechanical cycles. XRD confirmed α-Al as the dominant phase along with MgZn2 and Al2CuMg secondary phases, while differences in peak intensities indicated variations in crystallographic orientation and microstructural state. FSP exhibited higher surface hardness (121 HV) than FSW (117 HV) and maintained a higher hardness over most of the investigated depth. Furthermore, FSP generated substantially higher near-surface compressive residual stress, reaching approximately −310 MPa, whereas FSW exhibited comparatively lower compression but higher tensile stress at greater depths. The results demonstrate that FSP provides greater grain refinement, higher hardness, and stronger near-surface compressive residual stress than FSW under comparable processing conditions.
