The output of wind energy, a vital renewable resource, has increased from 94 GW to 591 GW globally in the last ten years. Weight and cost are important considerations in wind turbine blade (WTB) design, as rotor blades make up 40%–80% of the overall weight, to fulfill the growing need for energy. Even though thermosetting composites are frequently used to make blades, they have several drawbacks, most notably that they cannot be recycled. As more blades approach the end of their lives and become unreformable once cured, recycling and disposal become more difficult, and environmental concerns increase. The main objective of the present work is to manufacture thermoplastic composites reinforced with fibers using the Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion Moulding (VARIM) technique and assess their mechanical characteristics. The finite element analysis of the WTB incorporates the material parameters calculated for the thermoplastic resin. Test coupons are produced by shaping thermoplastic resin and fiber reinforcement using VARIM. The mechanical characteristics, including flexural and impact strength, are then assessed utilizing destructive testing techniques. Thermoset resins have good flexural properties while thermoplastic resins have better impact properties. The wind turbine blade (WTB) is simulated in ANSYS ACP based on the designated stacking sequence and fiber orientation. Static structure analysis is performed for the thermoplastic and thermosetting composites under various operating circumstances. Identification and analysis of the critical section susceptible to mechanical failure are conducted under different loading conditions, and the obtained outcome is verified. Based on the results, it is concluded that thermoplastic composites are viable materials for manufacturing wind turbine blades.

There have been continuous efforts to study the load response behavior of composites made from low-density and naturally available reinforcements for structural applications. In the current research, an effort is made to cast a hybrid composite with natural reinforcement having a greater density in comparison to the other. One of the research projects focused on here is to determine the saturation level of the quantity of reinforcements and their effect on the mechanical properties of the composite. The granite powder particles (GrP) (2 wt. % fixed) and the particles of silicon nitride (Si3N4) (3, 6 and 9 wt.%) have been dispersed in Al7075 alloy by double step stir casting technique to produce the three categories of composites. Microstructure showed that as the quantity of reinforcements increased, the level of agglomeration and porosity increased proportionately. The alloy and all composites were peak-aged to determine the peak-aging time and its corresponding VHN. The materials were further homogenized and subjected to three-step aging according to the optimal conditions derived from previous research. The findings demonstrated that the composite's hardness improved with the total number of reinforcements, while exhibiting the highest level of hardness. However, the specific strength of some composites was superior than the other. Also, the composite with Si3N4 6% displayed the best wear characteristics at both lower and higher load conditions as compared to the alloy and composites. The captured micrographs correlated with the test results to justify this fact.

Surface modified montmorillonite nanoclay created tortuous path to flow of moisture and enhanced bonding of PALF with epoxy, which resulted in lower diffusion coefficient and reduced impact of moisture diffusion in epoxy PALF nanoclay composites.

The model provides valuable insights into the dynamics of such systems and can be instrumental in the design of novel materials and processes. This innovative approach produces more genuine performance outcomes than the classic Reynolds hypothesis.

Owing to their high strength, high specific modulus, low co-efficient of thermal expansion, and excellent wear resistance, aluminium metal matrix composites reinforced with hard ceramic particles are employed in different domains. The primary heat treatment method employed to enhance the desirable properties of heat-treatable aluminium alloys and their composites is T6 treatment. This study investigated the effects of metallic reinforcement and mechanically mixed layer on the tribological characteristics of Al-Zn-Mg alloy matrix composites. The microstructure, material transfer behavior, tribological characteristics, and wear mechanism of the worn surfaces were examined. A microstructural study revealed that the reinforcements would encourage grain refining, resulting in a 60.7% average size reduction. The wear rates have significantly reduced by 50.2% and 67.2%, respectively, with the introduction of 2.0 wt% of reinforcement and T6 treatment. There is a decreasing trend of wear rate as the weight percentage of reinforcement is increased, both in as-cast and peak-aged conditions. The refractory nature of precipitates formed during T6 treatment improves the hardness of the composite and thereby reduced the wear rate. Mechanically mixed layer (MML) is observed in the worn-out surface of peak-aged composites as revealed by the SEM analysis. Overall, the Al-Zn-Mg 6 wt. % grey cast iron composite showed excellent performance in tribological characteristics.

The impact of slip on the steady-state performance characteristics of lemon bearings using non-Newtonian lubricant are explored in the current work. The power law model incorporates the non-Newtonian effect, and the Navier slip condition is used to investigate the influence of slip lengths on lubricating surfaces. The modified Reynolds equation for lemon bearing is developed and solved using finite difference technique using MATLAB to evaluate the steady state characteristics. From the present study, it is found that wall slip has noticeable effect on performance characteristics of lemon bearing and has a greater impact when slip occurs on the journal surface.

The aim of the present research work is to improve the hardness-related properties by the combined effect of precipitation of secondary phases through aging treatment and dispersion strengthening. In this study, reinforcement material was cast in the form of rods as per the required composition. Turning operation was performed to convert them into chips using conventional lathe machine. Ball milling setup comprising hardened steel balls was then utilized to pulverize these grey cast iron (GCI) chips to obtain reinforcement particulates. Al 7075-based composites are manufactured with GCI reinforcements by two-step stir casting method. Precipitation hardening treatment is imparted to alloy and composites to enhance the mechanical properties. Hardness and tensile properties are analysed in both ascast and age hardened conditions. Brinell hardness tester was employed for measurement of hardness. Composites reinforced with GCI particulates significant increase in hardness in comparison with base alloy. 80-100% increase in peak hardness aged at 200 degrees C and 120-140% increase in peak hardness aged at 100 degrees C observed for Al 7075-GCI compared with base alloy. The analysis of tensile behaviour was carried out in electronic tensometer. Ultimate tensile strength increased with the increase in weight percentage of reinforcements. An increase of 40-50% in UTS at peak aged condition obtained at 200 degrees C and 60-70% in peak aged condition at 100 degrees C for Al 7075-GCI composites compared with as-cast composites. Uniformity in reinforcement particle distribution in the matrix is confirmed by the SEM analysis of the composite. TEM analysis of as cast and aged alloy/composites reveal the precipitate size, shape and its dispersion in the matrix phase. Aging kinetics is accelerated by the increase in wt.% of reinforcement.

Incorporation of nanoparticles in polymeric matrices to develop polymer nanocomposite with an idea to maximize the "nano-effect" derived out of the nanoparticles and to minimize the disadvantages of the polymer is an emerging area of research. Nanoparticles in the form of nanosheets, nanotubes, nanofibrils and quantum dots are incorporated in polymers to fabricate polymer nanocomposites, which possess tunable mechanical, thermal, electrical, magnetic and optical properties. However, to realize a quality composite, it is imperative to ensure that the selected nanoparticles are uniformly distributed within the matrix and have good compatibility with the matrix material. Thus, one should ensure strict control over the selection and operating parameters of the fabrication method of polymer nanocomposites. The paper presents a review of various fabrication techniques employed to obtain nanoparticle-filled polymer nanocomposites. An effort is also made to understand the effect of such nanoparticles on the mechanical and thermal properties of polymer nanocomposites.

Smart dampers in the automobile suspension system bring a precise balance between the ride comfort and stability through a controllable damping coefficient. Energy absorbed by a Magnetorheological (MR) damper is a dependent function of flux density in the fluid flow gap. In this paper, magnetic field enhancement technique in the form of a single cylindrical shield and sandwich cylindrical shield is incorporated in a twin tube single coil MR damper. The field strength in different configurations of MR damper having various type of shield configuration is computationally investigated. Further, the effect of shield thickness on field strength is investigated. A significant overall improvement in the magnetic field strength is observed in the MR damper configuration having copper alloy shield.

Cardiovascular diseases are very common in today’s world. It is of great importance to simulate the behavior of arteries subjected to various anomalies using computational methods, as it will help the clinicians in the early diagnoses of the disease.

In recent years, applications of non-Newtonian fluids as lubricants have received great interest since the use of these non-Newtonian lubricants showed an increase in load carrying capacity and reduction in frictional force with the escalation in additives concentration. The demands of the present day industry rotating machinery includes high speed, compactness, light weight engines, high operating loads, high power transmission, high efficiency, and high performance of the engine. As a result of high speed machines, bearings are inclined to have excessive power loss and increase in oil temperature. The former reduces the efficiency of the engine and the latter causes the undesired changes in the lubricating oil. The plain journal bearings at high rotation speeds are subjected to instability like oil whirl and whip ruining the bearing and also the machine. Therefore, this poses a need to change in the bearing design. In the present paper, an attempt is made to briefly introduce the various non-linear models used and the different approaches that have been carried out by the researches in the past few years to improve and achieve the stability of journal bearing alongwith enhanced performances and characteristics.

Al7075 alloy is the most commonly used by the aerospace industry. Al7075 alloy is characterized by its improved properties such as higher toughness, specific strength and hardness. The current work focuses on the preparation and characterization of age hardened Al7075-Grey cast iron composites. Two stage stir casting technique is used for the preparation of the composite. Age hardening treatment is imparted to enhance the mechanical characteristics. The variation of hardness and tensile strength with respect to aging temperature and percentage of reinforcement is analyzed. The composites exhibit higher hardness and tensile strength as the reinforcement percentage is increased at an aging temperature of 100°C.

The effect of producing dimples using chemically etched techniques or by machining process on the surface of a journal bearing bushing to reduce the friction using Taguchi method is investigated. The data used in the present analysis is based on the results obtained by the series of experiments conducted to study the dimples effect on the Stribeck curve. It is statistically proved that producing dimples on the bushing surface of a journal bearing has significant effect on the friction coefficient when used with light oils. Also it is seen that there is an interaction effect between speeds-load and load-dimples. Hence the interaction effect, which are usually neglected should be considered during actual experiments that significantly contributes in reducing the friction in mixed lubrication regime. The experiments, if were conducted after Taguchi method, then the number of experiments would have been reduced to half of the actual set of experiments that were essentially conducted.

The mechanical properties of steel decide its applicability for a particular condition. Heat treatment processes are commonly used to enhance the required properties of steel starting from a simple crankshaft of two wheelers to the robust turbine blades. The type of heat treatment that equipment demands depends on its use and ability of the metal to undergo phase transformation with respect to different non equilibrium cooling rates. The present work aims at experimentally investigating the effects of normalizing, and conventional hardening on the hardness, microstructure and toughness of AISI 4340 steel. The material was machined to ASTM standards and then different tests like microstructure analysis, hardness test, impact test, and were carried out after the heat treatment processes. All the tests were carried as per ASTM standards and compared with as bought steel. It was found that normalized steel has got lower hardness than conventionally hardened steel. The ASTM grain size is used to compare the grain size of different phases obtained with and without heat treatment. An increase in brittleness was observed with the increase in hardness during conventional hardening

Measurement of output power from an engine is an important step in analysis of engine performance. Currently, dynamometers are used to measure the brake power of engines at varied loads. However, these devices are often expensive and sophisticated. Therefore there is a need to develop an extremely cost effective device for brake power measurement. In this work, a chassis dynamometer is designed and fabricated for testing a two wheeler vehicle. The drive axle weight is up to 800 kg. The dynamometer is primarily made out of mild steel and uses worn out car tires to function as rollers. The device is found to be extremely cost effective and reliable as compared to the existing dynamometers