Advanced Sensing, Fault Diagnostics, and Structural Health Management

Advanced sensing, fault diagnosis, and structural health management are important parts of the maintenance strategy of modern industries. With the advancement of science and technology, modern structural and mechanical systems are becoming more and more complex. Due to the continuous nature of operation and utilization, modern systems are heavily susceptible to faults. Hence, the operational reliability and safety of the systems can be greatly enhanced by using the multifaced strategy of designing novel sensing technologies and advanced intelligent algorithms and constructing modern data acquisition systems and structural health monitoring techniques. As a result, this research domain has been receiving a significant amount of attention from researchers in recent years. Furthermore, the research findings have been successfully applied in a wide range of fields such as aerospace, manufacturing, transportation and processes

Electro-Mechanical Impedance (EMI) Based Interlayer Slide Detection Using Piezoceramic Smart Aggregates—A Feasibility Study

Interlayer slide damage is one of the main causes of landslide hazard, inflicting huge economic losses and casualties. It is urgent to accurately detect the initiation and development of the interlayer slide damage in real time. In this paper, a study on the feasibility of using the electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) technique to detect the interlayer slide damage was presented. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the application of the EMI technique for interlayer slide detection using piezoceramic smart aggregates (SAs). In the experimental study, three small landslide specimens with a weak interlayer in the middle were fabricated. For each specimen, three piezoceramic SAs were post-embedded at specific positions, which were located above the weak interlayer inside the structure. The specimens were subjected to a compressive test to initiate an interlayer slide along the weak layer. The whole loading process was monitored with a precision impedance analyzer by measuring the admittance (reciprocal of impedance) of the SAs over time. The statistic metrics, including root mean square deviation (RMSD) and mean absolute percentage deviation (MAPD), were introduced to quantify the variations in admittance signatures due to interlayer slide damage. It was found that the admittance signatures and statistic metrics were sensitive to the interlayer slide damage. The experimental results verify the feasibility and practicality of using EMI technique to detect the interlayer slide

Electro-Mechanical Impedance (EMI) Based Interlayer Slide Detection Using Piezoceramic Smart Aggregates—A Feasibility Study

Interlayer slide damage is one of the main causes of landslide hazard, inflicting huge economic losses and casualties. It is urgent to accurately detect the initiation and development of the interlayer slide damage in real time. In this paper, a study on the feasibility of using the electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) technique to detect the interlayer slide damage was presented. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the application of the EMI technique for interlayer slide detection using piezoceramic smart aggregates (SAs). In the experimental study, three small landslide specimens with a weak interlayer in the middle were fabricated. For each specimen, three piezoceramic SAs were post-embedded at specific positions, which were located above the weak interlayer inside the structure. The specimens were subjected to a compressive test to initiate an interlayer slide along the weak layer. The whole loading process was monitored with a precision impedance analyzer by measuring the admittance (reciprocal of impedance) of the SAs over time. The statistic metrics, including root mean square deviation (RMSD) and mean absolute percentage deviation (MAPD), were introduced to quantify the variations in admittance signatures due to interlayer slide damage. It was found that the admittance signatures and statistic metrics were sensitive to the interlayer slide damage. The experimental results verify the feasibility and practicality of using EMI technique to detect the interlayer slide

Chapter 34 - Biocompatibility of nanocellulose: Emerging biomedical applications

Nanocellulose already proved to be a highly relevant material for biomedical applications, ensued by its outstanding mechanical properties and, more importantly, its biocompatibility. Nevertheless, despite their previous intensive research, a notable number of emerging applications are still being developed. Interestingly, this drive is not solely based on the nanocellulose features, but also heavily dependent on sustainability. The three core nanocelluloses encompass cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), and bacterial nanocellulose (BNC). All these different types of nanocellulose display highly interesting biomedical properties per se, after modification and when used in composite formulations. Novel applications that use nanocellulose includewell-known areas, namely, wound dressings, implants, indwelling medical devices, scaffolds, and novel printed scaffolds. Their cytotoxicity and biocompatibility using recent methodologies are thoroughly analyzed to reinforce their near future applicability. By analyzing the pristine core nanocellulose, none display cytotoxicity. However, CNF has the highest potential to fail long-term biocompatibility since it tends to trigger inflammation. On the other hand, neverdried BNC displays a remarkable biocompatibility. Despite this, all nanocelluloses clearly represent a flag bearer of future superior biomaterials, being elite materials in the urgent replacement of our petrochemical dependence

Recent Development of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems

Abstract: The use of renewable energies continues to increase. However, the energy obtained from renewable resources is variable over time. The amount of energy produced from the renewable energy sources (RES) over time depends on the meteorological conditions of the region chosen, the season, the relief, etc. So, variable power and nonguaranteed energy produced by renewable sources implies intermittence of the grid. The key lies in supply sources integrated to a hybrid system (HS)

Proceedings of the 2018 Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME) International Congress

Published proceedings of the 2018 Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME) International Congress, hosted by York University, 27-30 May 2018