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Topic Review
MEMS Actuators for Fiber-Optic Endoscopes
Endoscopes are used routinely in modern medicine for in-vivo imaging of luminal organs. Technical advances in the micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) and optical fields have enabled the further miniaturization of endoscopes, resulting in the ability to image previously inaccessible small-caliber luminal organs, enabling the early detection of lesions and other abnormalities in these tissues. A large number of optical devices have been researched and developed for imaging purposes. Among these, optical coherence tomography (OCT), confocal microscopy (CM), and photoacoustic (PA) imaging are the predominant ones. The size of an endoscope is highly dependent on the actuation and scanning method used to illuminate the target image area. Different actuation methods used in the design of small-sized cantilever-based endoscopes are reviewed in here along with their working principles, advantages and disadvantages, generated scanning patterns, and applications.
  • 1.9K
  • 13 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Archimedes Screw Turbines
Archimedes Screws Turbines (ASTs) are a new form of generators for small hydroelectric powerplants that could be applied even in low head sites. ASTs offer a clean and renewable source of energy. They are safer for wildlife and especially fish. The low rotation speed of ASTs reduces negative impacts on aquatic life and fish. Considering the flexibility and advantages of ASTs, they offer economic, social, and environmental advantages to support sustainable development to: - Increase the number of suitable sites and maximize power generation.- Retrofit old dams or upgrade current dams or mills to make them economically (power generation) and environmentally (renewable energy) reasonable.- Reduce the hydroelectricity major operational and/or maintenance costs.- Reduce the disturbance of natural erosion and sedimentation processes.- Make hydropower generation safer for aquatic wildlife, especially for fish.- Generate electricity for small communities, developing countries, and regions with limited access to the power grid or other infrastructures, or regions that are hard to access or connect to the power grid.  
  • 1.9K
  • 12 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Continuum Robots for Medical Applications
Traditional rigid robot application in the medical field is limited due to the limited degrees of freedom caused by their material and structure. Inspired by trunk, tentacles, and snakes, continuum robot (CR) could traverse confined space, manipulate objects in complex environment, and conform to curvilinear paths in space. The continuum robot has broad prospect in surgery due to its high dexterity, which can reach circuitous areas of the body and perform precision surgery. Recently, many efforts have been done by researchers to improve the design and actuation methods of continuum robots. Several continuum robots have been applied in clinic surgical interventions and demonstrated superiorities to conventional rigid-link robots.
  • 1.9K
  • 13 Jan 2021
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Vibration-Assisted Ball Burnishing
Vibration-Assisted Ball Burnishing is a finishing processed based on plastic deformation by means of a preloaded ball on a certain surface that rolls over it following a certain trajectory previously programmed while vibrating vertically. The dynamics of the process are based on the activation of the acoustoplastic effect on the material by means of the vibratory signal transmitted through the material lattice as a consequence of the mentioned oscillation of the ball. Materials processed by VABB show a modified surface in terms of topology distribution and scale, superior if compared to the results of the non-assisted process. Subgrain formation one of the main drivers that explain the change in hardness and residual stress resulting from the process.
  • 1.9K
  • 13 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Active Aerodynamic Systems for Road Vehicles
Comfort, safety, high travel speeds, and low fuel consumption are expected characteristics of modern cars. Some of these are in conflict with one other. A solution to this conflict may be time-varying body geometry realized by moving aerodynamic elements and appropriate systems for controlling their motion. 
  • 1.8K
  • 08 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Determination of KISCC by The Circumferential Notch Tensile
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is a vexing problem for load-bearing equipment operating in a corrosive environment in various industries, such as aerospace, chemical and mineral processing, civil structures, bioimplants, energy generation etc. For safe operation, effective maintenance and life prediction of such equipment, reliable design data on SCC (such as threshold stress intensity for SCC, i.e., KISCC) are invaluable. Generating reliable KISCC data invariably requires a large number of tests. Traditional techniques can be prohibitively expensive. Circumfrential notch tensile testing is a relatively recent, much simpler and cost-effective approach to generating accurate and reliable KISCC data.
  • 1.8K
  • 12 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Nanofillers for Property Enhancement in Bioplastics
Bioplastics reinforced with filler enhance the mechanical properties of starch but reduce its hydrophilicity. In recent years, utilization of nano-sized fillers has bloomed in the fabrication of bioplastic due to their merits, such as low density, excellent mechanical properties, low abrasive nature and reactive surface for ease of modification. Numerous studies had reported that nano-sized fillers have a larger surface area than the conventional micro-sized fillers, thus enhancing the properties due to better interfacial interactions with the polymer matrix. Besides enhancing the mechanical and barrier properties, fillers are also capable of imparting specific functional properties to the bioplastics, e.g., electric conductivity or an antimicrobial character. Another added advantage of filler with nanoscale is in retaining the inherent transparency of the film, especially for the neat matrix. 
  • 1.8K
  • 02 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Atomization
Atomization is an intricate operation involving unstable and complex networks with rupture and fusion of liquid molecules. There are diverse details that typify the spray formation, which are the technique and configuration of the atomization process, dimension and structure of the nozzle, experimental parameters, etc. .
  • 1.8K
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Graphene in Strain Sensing Applications
Strain sensors, otherwise known as strain gauges, are fueled by various nanomaterials, among which graphene has attracted great interest in recent years, due to its unique electro-mechanical characteristics. Graphene shows not only exceptional physical properties but also has remarkable mechanical properties, such as piezoresistivity, which makes it a perfect candidate for strain sensing applications. 
  • 1.8K
  • 04 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Intermediate Strain Rate Testing Devices
The existing experimental tests are mainly designed to study the mechanical response of materials at various strain rates. Many researchers performed the experimental test in tension, compression, and shear (with torsion test) over a wide range of strain rates. They found out that material exhibits an increase in yield stress as well as flows stress with an increase in strain rate. It illustrates that there is a need for experimental data to study the material behaviour over the full range of strain rates, from quasi-static to high strain rate test. Many special techniques have been developed to bridge the strain rate gap between quasi-static and high strain rate testing to provide a method for an intermediate strain rate test for engineering materials. Some researchers have tried to conduct intermediate strain rate tests with standard servo-hydraulic load frames. However, the results of such tests are not accurate. The problem is that during the experiment, the whole machine is not in static equilibrium. The inertial effect influences the experimental data. The records obtained from these machines are often noisy with large oscillation. therefore, the comprehensive review is given to describes the development and evolution of the existing intermediate strain rate testing devices which includes the working principles, some critical theories, technological innovation in load measurement techniques, components of the device, basic technical assumption, and measuring techniques. In addition, some research direction on future implementation and development of an intermediate strain rate apparatus is also discussed in detail.
  • 1.8K
  • 18 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Additive Manufacturing of High Entropy Alloys
Alloying has been very common practice in materials engineering to fabricate metals of desirable properties for specific applications. Traditionally, a small amount of the desired material is added to the principal metal. However, a new alloying technique emerged in 2004 with the concept of adding several principal elements in or near equi-atomic concentrations. These are popularly known as high entropy alloys (HEAs) which can have a wide composition range.
  • 1.8K
  • 15 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Brake-by-Wire System
With the rapid development of electric vehicles (EVs) in the direction of advanced driving assistance systems and autonomous vehicles, the demands for X-by-wire systems are huge. For example, the brake-by-wire (BBW) system must have a fast enough step response, the adjustable ability of higher accuracy and fault tolerance to ensure the safety of vehicles. The BBW system of “safety, comfort, and low carbon” has become a troublesome issue in the development of the industry. In EVs, the moving parts that can achieve automatic control are more than 200. As an important assurance system for the safe driving of vehicles, the BBW system has the advantages of accurately and independently controlling the pressure of each wheel cylinder and a fast response. 
  • 1.7K
  • 26 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Range Extender
A range extender is an auxiliary power unit that provides an electric vehicle with additional energy to complement the primary battery in propelling the vehicle.
  • 1.7K
  • 14 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Acoustic Metamaterials for Architectural and Urban Noise Mitigations
Owing to a steep rise in urban population, there has been a continuous growth in construction of buildings, public or private transport like cars, motorbikes, trains, and planes at a global level. Hence, urban noise has become a major issue affecting the health and quality of human life. In the current environmental scenario, architectural acoustics has been directed towards controlling and manipulating sound waves at a desired level. Structural engineers and designers are moving towards green technologies, which may help improve the overall comfort level of residents. A variety of conventional sound absorbing materials are being used to reduce noise, but attenuation of low-frequency noise still remains a challenge. Recently, acoustic metamaterials that enable low-frequency sound manipulation, mitigation, and control have been widely used for architectural acoustics and traffic noise mitigation. 
  • 1.7K
  • 28 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Models for Predicting Material Durability and Service Lifetime
Substantial gains and savings of resources of time and money can be gained through the use of modelling and simulation to understand material system performance. Since for development of the new materials validation is expensive and time-consuming, the bottleneck is time and funding—modelling might be the way to replace testing programs, which would be beneficial for providing new innovative materials faster to the market.
  • 1.7K
  • 25 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Contaminated Polymer Materials Shredding
Recently, a dynamic increase in the number of polymer elements ending their life cycle has been observed. There are three main ways of dealing with polymer waste: reuse in an unchanged form, recycling (both material and energy), and disposal (mainly in the form of landfilling or incineration). The legislation of European countries promotes in particular two forms of waste management: reuse and recycling. Recycling processes are used to recover materials and energy especially from contaminated waste, which are structurally changed by other materials, friction, temperature, machine, process, etc. The recycling of polymers, especially of multi-plastic struc-tural elements, requires the use of special technological installations and a series of preparatory operations, including crushing and separating.
  • 1.7K
  • 10 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Reconfigurable Vectorial Thrusters
The reconfigurable vectorial thruster (RVT) is a propulsion element that changes not only the intensity of the thrust vector but also its direction. This vector reorientation by a servomotor, for example, is usually faster than the intensity change. Thus, the possibility of fast vehicle reconfiguration allows the optimized choice of the reconfigured propulsion architecture according to different tasks, minimizing the trajectory tracking error and energy consumption. Moreover, the use of RVTs can significantly reduce the total number of needed thrusters in a vehicle.
  • 1.7K
  • 19 Mar 2021
Topic Review
General Performance of Pressure Wave Supercharger
One main direction in improving the efficiency of an internal combustion engine, together with lowering the emissions, is supercharging, i.e., creating a considerable amount of boost for the inlet combustion air. Turbochargers are the most commonly used for this task, but another advantageous alternative exploiting the energy within exhaust gases is the pressure wave supercharger (PWS).
  • 1.7K
  • 21 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly called “drones”, are a class of aircraft that can fly without the onboard presence of pilots.  They vary in type (e.g. fixed wing vs. multi-rotor) and size (from a few grams to hundreds of kilograms).  These vehicles are intended for a variety of applications, including transport and logistics, monitoring and surveillance, and media and telecommunications.
  • 1.6K
  • 04 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Torsion-Resistant Nature-Inspired Structures
The complexity of torsional load, its three-dimensional nature, its combination with other stresses, and its disruptive impact make torsional failure prevention an ambitious goal. However, even if the problem has been addressed for decades, a deep and organized treatment is still lacking in the actual research landscape. For this reason, this review aims at presenting a methodical approach to address torsional issues starting from a punctual problem definition. Accidents and breaks due to torsion, which often occur in different engineering fields such as mechanical, biomedical, and civil industry are considered and critically compared. More in depth, the limitations of common-designed torsion-resistant structures (i.e., high complexity and increased weight) are highlighted, and emerge as a crucial point for a deeper nature-driven analysis of novel solutions. In this context, an accurate screening of torsion-resistant bio-inspired unit cells is presented, taking inspiration specifically from plants, that are often subjected to the torsional effect of winds. As future insights, the actual state of technology suggests an innovative transposition to the industry: these unit cells could be prominently implied to develop novel metamaterials that could be able to address the torsional issue with a multi-scale and tailored arrangement.
  • 1.6K
  • 09 Oct 2021
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