Low velocity oblique impact behaviour of glass, carbon and aramid fibre reinforced polymer laminates

This paper provides a numerical comparative analysis of the low-velocity oblique impact performance of glass, carbon and aramid fiber reinforced polymer laminates with different quasi-isotropic and symmetric stacking sequences. To ensure accuracy of simulation results, the numerical model was validated using previously published experimental data. Puck failure criterion was applied for both the validation case and the numerical results’ evaluation and benchmarking. The results shown that, within the oblique impact angles from 0° to 60°, the most critical angles produced damage are 25° and above 55°. ANSYS Composite PrepPost + Transient Structural software was used for numerical setup and simulation

The impact of molecular weight on the segregative phase separation-induced molecular fractionation of aqueous gum Arabic/xanthan mixtures

Segregative phase separation of natural polymers has drawn significant research interest because of its diverse applications in the food industry. However, there is limited research on how molecular weight (Mw) influences segregative phase separation. This study aims to investigate the impact of Mw on segregative phase separation-induced molecular fractionation in mixed gum Arabic/Xanthan (GA/XG) solutions. The analysis focused on a single type of gum Arabic (referred to as EM10), with the molecular weights of both solid and liquid xanthan gum (XG) samples being altered through 60Coγ irradiation. These modified samples were evaluated using gel permeation chromatography combined with multi-angle laser light scattering (GPC-MALLS). The results demonstrated that the fractionation process of GA increased the content of the arabinogalactan-protein complex (AGP), increasing from an initial 29 % to a final 40 % within the GA/XG system (fixed with a mixture of 8 % EM10/0.8 % XG). When analyzing phase separation-induced molecular fractionation as a function of Mw, an increase in Mw (3.6 × 105–1.9 × 106) was associated with a corresponding rise in the degree of phase separation-induced fractionation. This was attributed to the irradiation-mediated breakage of XG chains. This study deeply analyzed the effect of Mw on the phase separation behavior and molecular fractionation mechanism of the GA/XG system. The results showed that when the Mw of XG was 3.6 × 105 (XG4) as a minimum, the AGP content was 29 % when mixed with GA, and when the Mw of XG was 1.9 × 106 (Control XG) as a maximum, the AGP content was 40 % when mixed with GA. The increase of Mw optimised the emulsion stabilisation property of GA significantly, which provided great practical value for its industrial applications

Large deformation of food gels: Influencing factors, theories, models, and applications—A review

Gels possess remarkable properties, and they hold particular importance in food science. After consumption, food gels undergo large deformation, which impacts the overall texture of the food. This process is influenced by various factors, including temperature, pressure, and presence of crosslinking agents. Comprehensive insights into the interplay among these factors and gel texture, combined with the theoretical exploration of gel deformation, enable the development of foods to meet consumer preferences. To bolster the development of food gels, in this review, we summarize the factors affecting the large deformation of gels Moreover, we discuss various mathematical models established by food scientists to explore the large deformation of food gels and explore applications thereof. We expect that these insights into the large deformation of gels can lead to their increased utilization in the food industry

Promoting Care and Caregiving in Live Immersive Performance Installations

This video essay will discuss and analyse how live immersive performance installations can promote the concept of care, inspire caring from an audience, and give a platform for those who deliver care work. The essay will detail and analyse the 2018 production and we are young again…by WordForWord Arts, an immersive performance installation focused on dementia and the effect on those living with it. The essay will use this case study to discuss broader topics such as audience immersion and spatial relationships to art, the ethics of using verbatim materials and the responsibility of the theatre maker, and how a consideration of the audience’s participation and interaction with the production can help promote care

Prototype Testing of Rim Driven Fan Technology for High-Speed Aircraft Electrical Propulsion

This paper presents the findings of the preliminary testing that has been conducted on a rim-driven fan, electric jet-engine device at Wrexham University (WU). The purpose of the testing was to demonstrate the feasibility of WU's electrical Fast-fan technology and to verify its performance and mechanical integrity. The results have demonstrated that the Fast-fan design is robust and operates very smoothly with minimum vibration. The fan also exhibited very good efficiency characteristics both electrically and thermodynamically. An overview of the fan's design and the test conditions is provided accompanied with a discussion of the results and conclusions. The testing also demonstrated that to obtain a high efflux velocity an element of the thrust must be sacrificed, or input power increased and discusses how the Fast -fan design is optimised to satisfy both of these conditions. This paper should provide confidence to individuals and organisations wishing to investigate or adopt rim-driven technology for aircraft electrical propulsion solutions

End-to-End Power Models for 5G Radio Access Network Architectures with a Perspective on 6G

5G, the fifth-generation mobile network, is predicted to significantly increase the traditional trajectory of energy consumption. It now uses four times as much energy as 4G, the fourth-generation mobile network. As a result, compared to previous generations, 5G’s increased cell density makes energy efficiency a top priority. The objective of this paper is to formulate end-to-end power consumption models for three different 5G radio access network (RAN) deployment architectures, namely the 5G distributed RAN, the 5G centralized RAN with dedicated hardware and the 5G Cloud Centralized-RAN. The end-to-end modelling of the power consumption of a complete 5G system is obtained by combining the power models of individual components such as the base station, the core network, front-haul, mid-haul and backhaul links, as applicable for the different architectures. The authors considered the deployment of software-defined networking (SDN) at the 5G Core network and gigabit passive optical network as access technology for the backhaul network. This study examines the end-to-end power consumption of 5G networks across various architectures, focusing on key dependent parameters. The findings indicate that the 5G distributed RAN scenario has the highest power consumption among the three models evaluated. In comparison, the centralized 5G and 5G Cloud C-RAN scenarios consume 12% and 20% less power, respectively, than the Centralized RAN solution. Additionally, calculations reveal that base stations account for 74% to 78% of the total power consumption in 5G networks. These insights helped pioneer the calculation of the end-to-end power requirements of different 5G network architectures, forming a solid foundation for their sustainable implementation. Furthermore, this study lays the groundwork for extending power modeling to future 6G networks

Automatic deburring of 3D-printed parts using a delta robot and augmented reality

The strong demand for automated processes in modern manufacturing is driven by the need to replace manual and experience-based methods with emerging digital technologies to improve efficiency and performance. In mechanical engineering design, rapidly prototyped or 3D-printed parts are typically produced with excess material to ensure better print quality, necessitating a deburring step in the production process. While traditional deburring can be performed manually with tools, automating this process offers significant efficiency gains. This paper presents the automation of an application-specific deburring process through the integration of robotics, 3D-printing, and augmented reality systems. The programmed automatic deburring system deburred more than 100 3D-printed unmanned aerial vehicle parts (drone arms) under various settings to test and validate its performance. The results identified the optimal parameters as a robot speed of 43 mm/s, a grinder speed of 2,550 RPM, a grinder height of 78.5 mm, and a grinding tool diameter of 7.6 mm. The successful combination of robotics, 3D-printing, and augmented reality in this work strongly supports the Industry 4.0 paradigm, where industrial processes are expected to be more intelligent and collaborative, enhancing the interaction between machine tools and operators

Design and Optimization of Stacked Wideband On-Body Antenna with Parasitic Elements and Defected Ground Structure for Biomedical Applications Using SB-SADEA Method

The ability to measure vital signs using electromagnetic waves has been extensively investigated as a less intrusive method capable of assessing different biosignal sources while using a single device. On-body antennas, when directly coupled to the human body, offer a comfortable and effective alternative for daily monitoring. Nonetheless, on-body antennas are challenging to design primarily due to the high dielectric constant of body tissues. While the simulation process may often include a body model, a unique model cannot account for inter-individual variability, leading to discrepancies in measured antenna parameters. A potential solution is to increase the antenna’s bandwidth, guaranteeing the antenna’s impedance matching and robustness for all users. This work describes a new on-body microstrip antenna having a stacked structure with parasitic elements, designed and optimized using artificial intelligence (AI). By using an AI-driven design approach, a self-adaptive Bayesian neural network surrogate-model-assisted differential evolution for antenna optimization (SB-SADEA) method to be specific, and a stacked structure having parasitic elements and a defected ground structure with 27 tuneable design parameters, the simulated impedance bandwidth of the on-body antenna was successfully enhanced from 150 MHz to 1.3 GHz, while employing a single and simplified body model in the simulation process. Furthermore, the impact of inter-individual variability on the measured S-parameters was analyzed. The measured results relative to ten subjects revealed that for certain subjects, the SB-SADEA-optimized antenna’s bandwidth reached 1.6 GHz

Interweaving Accessibility into Theatre

In these notes from the field, I explore how accessibility was built into the research, development and final performance for a theatre project on fibromyalgia. Approximately 50% of the cast and crew of this production had a disability (including some with fibromyalgia) and their accessibility needs were incorporated into the content, aesthetics and structure of the production. I explore how consent was approached in the project, given the pressures on disabled people to please in a rehearsal room so they will be included in the arts. I reflect on how the experience of the audience was designed to enabled disabled people to attend and interact with the project. Lastly, I interview a cast member/co-devisor from the project who is a disabled actor who offers her thoughts on the project and her experience of working as a disabled actor

Practical Learning of DSP-Based Motor Control for Engineering Students

This paper discusses a practical approach to learning the basic principles of control engineering using DSP-based motor control. Laboratory work utilising microcontrollers for signal processing usually requires students the knowledge of coding for embedded software programming. However, a variety of visual programming software offered on the market provides assistance in avoiding low-level software programming for microcontrollers. This feature can be useful for students not specialising in electrical engineering, who have to understand the basic operation of MCUs and do not need to study them in detail. In order to focus the attention of those students only on the main MCU features, this paper presents an example of embedded software developed using visual programming in the Matlab/Simulink environment for studying DSP-based motor control. This approach can be implemented in the laboratory curriculum for non-electrical/electronic students to provide effective learning of the principles of motor control and basic control engineering. The educational laboratory setup consists of Texas Instrument hardware and a low-power 3-phase BLDC motor