Optimization and experimental investigation of 3D printed micro wind turbine blade made of PLA material

This paper presents the design, development, and optimization of a 3D printed micro horizontal axis wind turbine blade made of PLA material. The objective of the study was to produce 100 watts of power for low-wind-speed applications. The design process involved the selection of SD7080 airfoil and the determination of the material properties of PLA and ABS. A structural analysis of the blade was carried out using ANSYS software under different wind speeds, and Taguchi’s L16 orthogonal array was used for the experiments. The deformation and equivalent stress of the PLA material were identified, and the infill percentage and wind speed velocity were optimized using the moth-flame optimization (MFO) algorithm. The results demonstrate that PLA material has better structural characteristics compared to ABS material. The optimized parameters were used to fabricate the turbine blades using the fusion deposition modeling (FDM) technique, and they were tested in a wind tunnel.Web of Science166art. no. 250

Trends in prevalence and determinants of severe and moderate anaemia among women of reproductive age during the last 15 years in India

Background: Anaemia is a serious global public health problem that disproportionally affects children, adolescent girls, and women of reproductive age, especially pregnant women. Women of reproductive age are more vulnerable to anaemia, particularly severe and moderate anaemia leads to adverse outcomes among pregnant women. Despite continuous Government efforts, anaemia burden still poses a serious challenge in India. The objective of this study is to assess the trends in prevalence and determinants of severe and moderate anaemia among women of reproductive age between 15 and 49 years. Method: We used three rounds of the large-scale National Family Health Survey (NFHS) India, conducted on a representative sample of households using a cross-sectional design across the country in 2005–06, 2015–16 and 2019–2021. We included all the women aged 15 to 49 years in our analysis. We used the same haemoglobin (Hb) cut-off values for all the three rounds of surveys to ensure comparability. Generalized linear regression analyses with log link were done. Survey weights were incorporated in the analysis. Results: The prevalence of severe or moderate Anaemia (SMA) in non-pregnant women was 14.20%, 12.43% and 13.98%; it was 31.11%, 25.98% and 26.66% for pregnant women in 2006, 2016 and 2021 respectively. The decline in SMA prevalence was 1.54% in non-pregnant women, whereas it was 14.30% in pregnant women in 15 years. Women who were poor, and without any formal education had a higher risk for severe and moderate Anaemia. Conclusion: Despite the intensive anaemia control program in India, SMA has not declined appreciably in non-pregnant women during the last two decades. Despite the decline, the prevalence of SMA was about 26% in pregnant women which calls for a comprehensive review of the existing anaemia control programmes and there must be targeted programmes for the most vulnerable and high-risk women such as rural, poor and illiterate women of reproductive age to reduce the burden of anaemia among them

Study on performance and emission characteristics of a single cylinder diesel engine using exhaust gas recirculation

Exhaust gas re-circulation is a method used in compression ignition engines to control and reduce NOx emission. These emissions are controlled by reducing the oxygen concentration inside the cylinder and thereby reducing the flame temperature of the charge mixture inside the combustion chamber. In the present investigation, experiments were performed to study the effect of exhaust gas re-circulation on performance and emission characteristics in a four stroke single cylinder, water cooled and constant speed diesel engine. The experiments were performed to study the performance and emissions for different exhaust gas re-circulation ratios of the engine. Performance parameters such as brake thermal efficiency, indicated thermal efficiency, specific fuel consumption, total fuel consumption and emission parameters such as oxides of nitrogen, unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and smoke opacity were measured. Reductions in NOx and CO2 were observed but other emissions like HC, CO, and smoke opacity were found to have increased with the usage of exhaust gas re-circulation. The 15% exhaust gas re-circulation was found optimum for the engine in the aspects of performance and emission

Solvothermal synthesis and characterization studies of selenium decorated reduced graphene oxide supported CuSe2 nanoparticles as efficient electrochemical catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

658-667In the energy conversion system, oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one of the most significant reactions. Pt-based catalysts are commonly used in fuel cells; the replacement with low-cost materials like transition metal oxides is much needed for the wide application of fuel cells. In this paper, the effective synthesis of copper selenide nanoparticles with selenium-reduced graphene oxide has been described. To establish the existence of selenium, graphene, and copper in manufactured samples, X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD) has been used. Additionally, fourier transform infrared analysis (FTIR) has been used to examine the functional groups. The structure and morphology have been studied under the scanning electron microscope. UV has been used to assess the synthetic nanoparticles' optical performance. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) methods have been used to analyze their specific surface area and pore size. Cyclic voltammetry has been used to evaluate the produced nanoparticles' electrochemical performance (CV, LSV)

Low Temperature Aqueous Electrodeposited TiO_<i>x</i> Thin Films as Electron Extraction Layer for Efficient Inverted Organic Solar Cells

Organic solar cells based on poly­(3-hexylthiophene) and [6,6]-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester were fabricated with electrodeposited TiO_<i>x</i> electron extraction layers 5–180 nm thick. Electrodeposition under ambient conditions is an attractive, facile and viable approach to prepare metal oxide interfacial layers. The TiO_<i>x</i> films obtained displayed a linear relationship between thickness and deposition time when fabricated under ambient conditions using an aqueous air stable peroxotitanium precursor. The precursor solution was prepared from titanium isopropoxide using a chelate process, which allowed water to be used as solvent due to considerably decreased sensitivity of the precursor solution towards hydrolysis. Highly conformal TiO_<i>x</i> films, typically observed with vacuum deposition techniques, were obtained on the indium tin oxide substrate upon electrogeneration of OH^– ions using H₂O₂ additive. Conversely, significantly rougher films with spherical growths were obtained using NO₃^– additives. Low temperature annealing at 200 °C in air was found to greatly improve purity and O stoichiometry of the TiO_<i>x</i> films, enabling efficient devices incorporating the electrodeposited TiO_<i>x</i> to be made. Using MoO_<i>x</i> as the hole extraction layer, the maximum power conversion efficiency obtained was 3.8% (<i>V</i>_oc = 610 mV; <i>J</i>_sc = 10.6 mA/cm²; FF = 59%) under simulated 100 mW/cm² (AM1.5G) solar irradiation, whereas an efficiency of 3.4% was achieved with fully solution processed interfacial layers comprising the electrodeposited TiO_<i>x</i> films and a surfactant-modified PEDOT:PSS hole extraction layer

Double burden of malnutrition among women of reproductive age: Trends and determinants over the last 15 years in India

Introduction: Double burden of malnutrition (DBM) has been recognized by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an emerging Global Syndemic characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of both undernutrition and overnutrition. Women of the reproductive age group (15 to 49 years) are disproportionately affected by DBM and are at high risk of continuing the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition. This study aims to assess the changing trends and determinants of DBM among women of the reproductive age group in India. Materials and methods: We used data from three rounds of National Family Health Surveys (NFHS-3,4,5) conducted in years 2005–06, 2015–16, and 2019–2021. Descriptive statistics and Poisson regression analysis were done using weights with log link function. Results: The prevalence of anaemia, underweight and overweight/obesity was 57.2%, 18.6% and 24% respectively. The combined burden of underweight and anaemia has declined by 46% (21.6% to 11.7%), whereas the combined burden of overweight/obesity and anaemia has increased by 130% (5.4% to 12.4%) in the past 15 years. The prevalence of DBM, which includes both underweight and overweight/obesity with anaemia was 24.1% in 2021, a decline of 11% in 15 years. Women who were younger, rural, less educated, poor and middle class, and women living in the eastern, western and southern regions of India had higher risk for being underweight with anaemia and lower risk for developing overweight/obesity with anaemia. Conclusion: The significant decrease in underweight yet enormous increase in overweight/obesity over the past 15 years with the persistence of anaemia in both ends of the nutritional spectrum is characteristic of the new nutritional reality emphasizing the need to address malnutrition in all its forms. It is critical to consider geography and a population specific, double-duty targeted intervention to holistically address the risk factors associated with DBM and accomplish India’s commitment to the global agenda of Sustainable Development Goals-2030