Development of information system for vital life parameters of newborns

Information system for monitoring vital parameters set by the medical equipment related to medical diagnostic devices for the study of physiological parameters of a newborn and can be used mainly for long-distance non-contact monitoring of vital activity of the newborn, such as movement, breathing and heartbeat [1]. The relevance of this work is evident and the need to address the information system for monitoring vital parameters, estimates and projections status of newborns as the problems of the complex. The purpose of writing this work was to study the information system for monitoring vital parameters, estimates and forecasts of the state of newborns

Embracing sustainable farming: Unleashing the circular economy potential of second-life EV batteries in agricultural applications

Growing Kent and Medway Members Showcase Day

Effect of runner thickness and hydrogen content on the mechanical properties of A356 alloy castings

Earlier studies demonstrated the detrimental effect of entrained bifilm defects on aluminum cast alloys’ tensile and fatigue properties. It was suggested that hydrogen has a contributing role as it diffuses into the bifilms and swells them out to form hydrogen porosity. In this study, the effect of the runner height and hydrogen content on the properties of A356 alloy castings was investigated using a two-level full factorial design of experiments. Four responses, the Weibull modulus and position parameter of both the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and % elongation, were assessed. The results suggested that decreasing the runner height and adopting procedures intended to decrease the hydrogen content of the casting caused a considerable enhancement of the Weibull moduli and position parameters of the UTS and % elongation. This was reasoned to the more quiescent practice during mold filling, eliminating the possibility of bifilm formation as well as the decreased hydrogen level that eliminated the amount of hydrogen diffused into the bifilms and accordingly decreased the size of the entrained defects. This, in turn, would allow the production of A356 cast alloys with better and more reproducible properties

Techno-economic feasibility of retired electric-vehicle batteries repurpose/reuse in second-life applications: A systematic review

In line with the global target in decarbonising the transportation sector and the noticeable increase of new electric vehicles (EV) owners, concerns are raised regarding the expected quantity of Retired EV Batteries (REVB) exposed to the environment when they reach 70–80% of their original capacity. However, there is significant potential for REVB, after deinstallation, to deliver energy for alternative applications such as storing surplus. This systematic review evaluates state-of-art modelling/experimental studies focused on repurposing REVB in second-life applications. Technical and economic viability of REVB repurposing has been confirmed to solve the unreliability of cleaner energy technologies and mitigate the high investment of new storage systems. 40% of included studies considered hybrid systems with PV being a dominant technology where REVB was evaluated to be small-scaled and large storage systems. Additionally, successful attempts were conducted to evaluate REVB performance in providing grid services. It has however, been discovered intensive grid services applications like frequency regulation, was technically challenging due to demanding working requirements. Reviewed studies considered different prices for REVB due to lack of market regulation on REVB resale; similarly, technical parameters, including initial State of Health (SoH) and State of Charge (SoC) constraints were inconsistent due to lack of standardisation

Entrained defects and mechanical properties of aluminium castings

The presence of entrained double oxide films, known as bifilms, has been identified as a contributing factor to the variability in mechanical properties observed in aluminium castings. These bifilms consist of folded-over oxide films containing gas-filled crevices and are formed due to turbulence on the liquid metal's surface during handling and pouring. Additionally, it has been suggested that hydrogen dissolved in the aluminium melt can permeate these defects, causing them to expand and leading to the formation of hydrogen porosity. This, in turn, exacerbates the detrimental effects on the mechanical properties of the castings. In this study, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and percentage elongation of sand cast bars were compared under various casting conditions. These parameters were chosen as indicators of casting reliability, which was expected to be influenced by the presence of oxide films. The results indicated that incorporating filters in the gating system and reducing the runner height led to a noticeable improvement in tensile strength and elongation. This improvement was attributed to enhanced mold filling conditions, which reduced the likelihood of oxide film entrainment. The findings of this research provide valuable insights into the factors that affect the properties of light metal alloy castings. By understanding these influences, it becomes possible to develop improved practices that result in healthier castings with enhanced mechanical properties

Influence of bifilm defects generated during mould filling on the tensile properties of Al–Si–Mg cast alloys

Entrapped double oxide film defects are known to be the most detrimental defects during the casting of aluminium alloys. In addition, hydrogen dissolved in the aluminium melt was suggested to pass into the defects to expand them and cause hydrogen porosity. In this work, the effect of two important casting parameters (the filtration and hydrogen content) on the properties of Al–7 Si–0.3 Mg alloy castings was studied using a full factorial design of experiments approach. Casting properties such as the Weibull modulus and position parameter of the elongation and the tensile strength were considered as response parameters. The results suggested that adopting 10 PPI filters in the gating system resulted in a considerable boost of the Weibull moduli of the tensile strength and elongation due to the enhanced mould filling conditions that minimised the possibility of oxide film entrainment. In addition, the results showed that reducing the hydrogen content in the castings samples from 0.257 to 0.132 cm3/100 g Al was associated with a noticeable decrease in the size of bifilm defects with a corresponding improvement in the mechanical properties. Such significant effect of the process parameters studied on the casting properties suggests that the more careful and quiescent mould filling practice and the lower the hydrogen level of the casting, the higher the quality and reliability of the castings produced

Hot-air contactless single-point incremental forming

Single-point incremental forming (SPIF) has emerged as a time-efficient approach that offers increased material formability compared to conventional sheet-metal forming techniques. However, the physical interaction between the forming tool and the sheet poses challenges, such as tool wear and formability limits. This study introduces a novel sheet-forming technique called contactless single-point incremental forming (CSPIF), which uses hot compressed air as a deformation tool, eliminating the requirement for physical interaction between the sheet and a rigid forming tool. In this study, a polycarbonate sheet was chosen as the case-study material and subjected to the developed CSPIF. The experiments were carried out at an air temperature of 160 °C, air pressure of 1 bar, a nozzle speed of 750 mm/min, and a step-down thickness of 0.75 mm. A Schlieren setup and a thermal camera were used to visualize the motion of the compressed hot air as it traveled from the nozzle to the sheet. The results showed that the CSPIF technique allowed for the precise shaping of the polycarbonate sheet with minimal springback. However, minor deviations from the designed profile were observed, primarily at the starting point of the nozzle, which can be attributed to the bending effects of the sample. In addition, the occurrence of sheet thinning and material buildup on the deformed workpiece was also observed. The average surface roughness (Ra) of the deformed workpiece was measured to be 0.2871 micron

Porosity, cracks, and mechanical properties of additively manufactured tooling alloys: A review

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are currently employed for the manufacturing of completely functional parts and have gained the attention of high-technology industries such as the aerospace, automotive, and biomedical fields. This is mainly due to their advantages in terms of low material waste and high productivity, particularly owing to the flexibility in the geometries that can be generated. In the tooling industry, specifically the manufacturing of dies and molds, AM technologies enable the generation of complex shapes, internal cooling channels, the repair of damaged dies and molds, and an improved performance of dies and molds employing multiple AM materials. In the present paper, a review of AM processes and materials applied in the tooling industry for the generation of dies and molds is addressed. AM technologies used for tooling applications and the characteristics of the materials employed in this industry are first presented. In addition, the most relevant state-of-the-art approaches are analyzed with respect to the process parameters and microstructural and mechanical properties in the processing of high-performance tooling materials used in AM processes. Concretely, studies on the additive manufacturing of ferrous (maraging steels and H13 steel alloy) and non-ferrous (Stellite alloys and WC alloys) tooling alloys are also analyzed

3DP printing of oral solid formulations: a systematic review

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a recent technology, which gives the possibility to manufacture personalised dosage forms and it has a broad range of applications. One of the most developed, it is the manufacture of oral solid dosage and the four 3DP techniques which have been more used for their manufacture are FDM, inkjet 3DP, SLA and SLS. This systematic review is carried out to statistically analyze the current 3DP techniques employed in manufacturing oral solid formulations and assess the recent trends of this new technology. The work has been organised into four steps, (1) screening of the articles, definition of the inclusion and exclusion criteria and classi-fication of the articles in the two main groups (included/excluded); (2) quantification and charac-terisation of the included articles; (3) evaluation of the validity of data and data extraction process; (4) data analysis, discussion, and conclusion to define which technique offers the best properties to be applied in the manufacture of oral solid formulations. It has been observed that with SLS 3DP technique, all the characterisation tests required by the BP (drug content, drug dissolution profile, hardness, friability, disintegration time and uniformity of weight) have been performed in the majority of articles, except for the friability test. However, it is not possible to define which of the four 3DP techniques is the most suitable for the manufacture of oral solid formulations, because the selection is affected by different parameters, such as the type of formulation, the physi-cal-mechanical properties to achieve. Moreover, each technique has its specific advantages and disadvantages, such as for FDM the biggest challenge is the degradation of the drug, due to high printing temperature process or for SLA is the toxicity of the carcinogenic risk of the photopoly-merising material

Design optimisation of additively manufactured titanium lattice structures for biomedical implants

A key advantage of additive manufacturing (AM) is that it allows the fabrication of lattice structures for customised biomedical implants with high performance. This paper presents the use of statistical approaches in design optimisation of additively manufactured titanium lattice structures for biomedical implants. Design of experiments using response surface and analysis of variance were carried out to study the effect design parameters on the properties of the AM lattice structures such as ultimate compression strength, specific compressive strength, elastic modulus, and porosity. In addition, the lattice dimensions were optimized to fabricate a diamond cellular structure with properties that match human bones. The study found that the length of a diamond-shaped unit cell strut is the most significant design parameter. In particular, the porosity of the unit cell increases as the strut length increases, while it had a significant reverse effect on the specific compressive strength, elastic modulus and ultimate compression strength. On the other hands, increasing the orientation angle was found to reduce both the specific compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of the lattice structure. An optimised lattice structure with strut diameter of 0.84 mm, length of 3.29 mm and orientation angle of 47° was shown to have specific compressive strength, elastic modulus, ultimate compression strength and porosity of 37.8 kN.m/kg, 1 GPa, 49.5 MPa and 85.7%, respectively. A cellular structure with the obtained properties could be effectively applied for trabecular bones replacement surgeries