Enhancement of Vehicle Safety and Improving Vehicle Yaw Behaviour Due to Offset Collisions Using Vehicle Dynamics

This study aims to optimise Vehicle Dynamic Control Systems (VDCS) in offset impact for vehicle collision mitigation. A proposed unique 3-D full-car mathematical model is developed and solved numerically to carry out this analysis. In this model, vehicle dynamics is studied together with the vehicle crash structural dynamics. Validation of the vehicle crash structure of the proposed model is achieved to ensure that the modelling of the crumple zone and the dynamic responses are reliable. It is demonstrated from the numerical simulations that the vehicle dynamic responses are captured and analysed and the influence of VDCS is determined accurately. In addition, it is shown that the mathematical model is flexible, useful and can be used in optimisation studies

The influence of Vehicle Dynamics Control System on the Occupant’s Dynamic response during a Vehicle collision

This paper aims to apply a vehicle dynamics control system to mitigate a vehicle collision and to study the effects of this systems on the kinematic behaviour of the vehicle's occupant. A unique three-degree-of-freedom vehicle dynamics-crash mathematical model and a simplified lumped-mass occupant model are developed. The first model is used to define the vehicle body's crash parameters and it integrates a vehicle dynamics model with a model of the vehicle's front-end structure. In this model, the anti-lock braking system and the active suspension control system are co-simulated, and the associated equations of motion are developed. The second model aims to predict the effect of the vehicle dynamics control system on the kinematics of the occupant. The Lagrange equations are used to solve that model owing to the complexity of the obtained equations of motion. It is shown from the numerical simulations that the vehicle dynamics-crash response and occupant behaviour can be captured and analysed quickly and accurately. Furthermore, it is shown that the vehicle dynamics control system can affect the crash characteristics positively and that the occupant's behaviour is improved

Performance Analysis of Hybrid and Full Electrical Vehicles Equipped with Continuously Variable Transmissions

The main aim of this paper is to study the potential impacts in hybrid and full electrical vehicles performance by utilising continuously variable transmissions. This is achieved by two stages. First, for Electrical Vehicles (EVs), modelling and analysing the powertrain of a generic electric vehicle is developed using Matlab/Simulink-QSS Toolkit, with and without a transmission system of varying levels of complexity. Predicted results are compared for a typical electrical vehicle in three cases: without a gearbox, with a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), and with a conventional stepped gearbox. Second, for Hybrid Electrical Vehicles (HEVs), a twin epicyclic power split transmission model is used. Computer programmes for the analysis of epicyclic transmission based on a matrix method are developed and used. Two vehicle models are built-up; namely: traditional ICE vehicle, and HEV with a twin epicyclic gearbox. Predictions for both stages are made over the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).The simulations show that the twin epicyclic offers substantial improvements of reduction in energy consumption in HEVs. The results also show that it is possible to improve overall performance and energy consumption levels using a continuously variable ratio gearbox in EVs

Crude extract of Nigella sativa inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells

Cervical cancer is a major cause of morbidity in women worldwide and chemotherapy for this cancer seems unsatisfactory, which demands exploring new therapeutic options. The seeds and oil from Nigella sativa have been reputed to have many curative properties in traditional medicine. Utilizing different techniques (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) laddering, Comet assay and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analyses), this study was carried out to evaluate the impact of N. sativa on the growth of human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells. The ethanol extract from N. sativa (EENS) significantly inhibited proliferation and colony formation and induced apoptosis in HeLa cells. The apoptotic induction was associated with the release of mitochondrial cytochrome c, increase of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, activation of caspases-3, -9 and -8 and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). EENS decreased expression of oncoproteins such as c-Myc, human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase-4 (CDK-4), but increased expression of tumor-suppressor proteins including p53 and p21. These findings demonstrate that EENS inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in HeLa cells and suggest this extract may be a promising agent for the prevention/treatment of human cervical cancer.Keywords: Nigella sativa, cervical cancers, apoptosis, caspases, cell cycl

Fluid-Structure Interaction of NREL 5-MW Wind Turbine

Wind energy is considered one of the major sources of renewable energy. Nowadays, wind turbine blades could exceed 100 m to maximize the generated power and minimize produced energy cost. Due to the enormous size of the wind turbines, the blades are subjected to failure by aerodynamics loads or instability issues. Also, the gravitational and centrifugal loads affect the wind turbine design because of the huge mass of the blades. Accordingly, wind turbine simulation became efficient in blade design to reduce the cost of its manufacturing. The fluid-structure interaction (FSI) is considered an effective way to study the turbine\u27s behavior when the air and the blade are simulated as one system. In the present study, NREL 5 MW wind turbine with a blade length of 61.5m long is selected as a reference turbine to apply the FSI. The FSI is performed using three commercial software. ANSYS Fluent is used for the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. The Finite Element (FE) model is simulated by Abaqus. In order to link both models together and transfer the data between them, MPCCI software is used. The blade is subjected to flap-wise deflection, edge-wise deflection, and torsion. So, a 2-way coupling simulation is implemented to optimize the blade deformation to protect it from hitting the tower, mitigate the effect of cyclic loading, and prevent the blade stall. This study introduced two passive optimization methods: material Bend Twist Coupling (BTC) and blade root fixation. One of the achievements of this study is that it is considered the first FSI research implemented at the AUC. Also, running the FSI model with three different codes and linking between them was another challenge. Moreover, it is concluded from this research that the 2-way coupling gives more accurate results than the 1-way coupling, although it is complicated. Although the centrifugal force reduces the flap-wise deflection, it significantly impacts the blade twist angle. The used material BTC optimization method improved the blade torsion stiffness while the root fixation improved the longitudinal stiffness. The improvement in the blade protects it from fatigue loading and stall by reducing the peak-to-peak amplitude and twisting the blade to feather

A Structured Approach for Modular Design: A Plug and Play Middleware for Sensory Modules, Actuation Platforms, Task Descriptions and Implementations in Robotics and Automation Environments

In this paper, the RISCWare framework is developed and described. RISCWare is a robotic middleware used for the integration of heterogeneous robotic components. RISCWare consists of three modules. The first module is the sensory module which represents sensors that collect information about the remote or local environment. The platform module defines the robotic platforms and actuation methods. The last module is the task-description module, which defines the tasks and applications that the platforms will perform; such as teleoperation, navigation, obstacle avoidance, manipulation, 3-D reconstruction, and map building. The Plug-and-Play approach is one of the key features of RISCWare, which allows auto-detection and auto-reconfiguration of the attached standardized components (hardware and software) according to current system configurations. These components can be dynamically available or unavailable. Dynamic reconfiguration provides the facility to modify a system during its execution, and can be used to apply patches and updates, to implement adaptive systems, or to support third-party modules. This automatic detection and reconfiguration of devices and driver software makes it easier and more efficient for the end users to add and use new devices and software applications. Several experiments, performed on the RISCbot II mobile manipulation platform are described and implemented to evaluate the RISCWare framework with respect to applicability and resource utilization

Robotics Middleware: A Comprehensive Literature Survey and Attribute-Based Bibliography

Autonomous robots are complex systems that require the interaction between numerous heterogeneous components (software and hardware). Because of the increase in complexity of robotic applications and the diverse range of hardware, robotic middleware is designed to manage the complexity and heterogeneity of the hardware and applications, promote the integration of new technologies, simplify software design, hide the complexity of low-level communication and the sensor heterogeneity of the sensors, improve software quality, reuse robotic software infrastructure across multiple research efforts, and to reduce production costs. This paper presents a literature survey and attribute-based bibliography of the current state of the art in robotic middleware design. The main aim of the survey is to assist robotic middleware researchers in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches and their appropriateness for their applications. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive set of appropriate bibliographic references that are classified based on middleware attributes.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/95901