bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Design and Analysis of Electric Bikes for Local Commutes
Authors: Moore Preston , Vande Velde Chase , Wagner Richard , Depcik Christopher 
Published: March 2016

In today’s society, those who do not take advantage of public transportation services typically drive personal vehicles to school, work, and other locations of interest. Due to the required amount of physical exertion, walking or riding a bike is often avoided. This is concerning given that a large percentage of carbon and hazardous emissions emanate from motor vehicles. This creates a need for an alternative means of travel for shorter commutes with electric bikes (e-bikes) one potential solution. They have zero tailpipe emissions and significantly lower overall emissions relative to motorized vehicles; however, their cost often prevents them from being readily marketable. In order to address this issue, two undergraduate capstone design teams have constructed e-bikes using recycled and donated parts over the past two years.
In the first year, the runner from a pickup truck was scavenged from a junkyard and employed as the frame to provide for the greatest environmental benefit. However, this resulted in an odd bicycle shape because of limited material availability. As a result, the second years team decided to use a donated chrome moly tube as the frame while focusing on ergonomics and aesthetics. This second bike was designed so that a male rider of average height (5′10″ – 1.78 m) could complete commutes of several miles in relative comfort. Both e-bikes employ a direct drive motor (first year – front wheel; second year – back wheel) to provide assistance when needed, leaving the rider less fatigued. To promote further development in electric bike design, each team has made a considerable effort to record the design process with highlights presented in this effort. Furthermore, e-bike testing results are presented including center of mass calculations, braking distances, turning radii, and overall efficiencies quantified by the miles traveled using the same battery pack. This information will be used to compare the bikes against each other in order to illustrate bike attributes that are desired when an electric motor is employed.
The result is an appealing, cost-effective, and efficient electrical bike that will greatly reduce traffic related emissions should it become widely implemented. Given the issues related to transportation at a university (e.g., available parking) including the reticence of students to traverse long distances across campus to attend classes, it is believed that this effort can serve as a model example to other universities who might see e-bikes as a potential solution to reducing congestion and improving student attendance.
Ionic Polymer Metal Composites (IPMCs) Substrates as Real Time Sensing Systems to Study Biological Cells Adhesion, Traction and Migration
Authors: Saberi A. , Ashworth S. , Shahinpoor M. 
Published: March 2016

In molecular cell biology, scientists employ many types of substrates over which to culture cells to study them. In many cases these substrates are made of rigid materials like glass or Mica. To mimic the in vivo substrates which are wet and soft and tissue like, they also grow cells on compliant substrates.
Depend on the subject of the research, many scientists utilize soft substrates made of gels to mimic the wet and soft tissues in biological systems and to study the migration of cells and related physical characteristics such as velocity, force, adhesion and traction and in general cell migration. Study of each of these subjects and parameters require complex procedures. For instance, time-lapse microscopy techniques are commonly employed that require advanced image processing techniques to track cells. During this time span, cells should be kept in an incubator to imitate their actual environments. One of the challenging physical parameters is the measurement of the force applied by a cell on its substrate in real time. Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs) are smart multi-functional materials with simultaneous sensing and actuation capabilities provide a unique system to dynamically monitor cell growth, differentiation, migration, adhesion and traction. Currently micro pillars made with polyacrylamide or polyethylene glycol gels and more recently polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microposts from microfabricated silicon masters only give information on cellular activities after the fact. IPMCs are capable or real time sensing of cell dynamics, adhesion and traction. This paper discusses some initial observations and the potential of such cell dynamic observations and tracking.
Ultrasound Phased Array for High Acoustic Attenuation Thick Composite Materials
Authors: Du Jikai , Rajhi Ali 
Published: March 2016

Composite materials and structures are increasingly being applied in aerospace, marine, and wind power industries, as well as in commercial products. One main reason for the scientific interest in composite materials is their tailorable mechanical properties. However, because of the fiber-direction-dependent nature of its physical and mechanical properties, composite material’s property and failure behaviors are usually complex, typically involving various mechanisms depending on applications. Nondestructive testing plays a key role during composite fabrication and maintenance in service. Among the variety of nondestructive techniques available, ultrasound phased array technique has emerged as a promising new approach. Unlike a conventional ultrasound single element transducer, an ultrasound phased array sensor can control and focus acoustic energy to the desired directions and locations. This heightened flexibility and sensitivity is essential given complex shape of modern composite structures. Despite such promise, understanding and application of ultrasound phased array technique is limited due to the anisotropic nature of composite materials, as well as its high acoustic attenuation. Attenuation and velocity dispersion are the two major challenges to the ultrasound evaluation of composite structures; these two factors complicate the control of phased array ultrasound propagation both theoretically and experimentally. This is especially true for thick high attenuation carbon fiber or glass fiber composite materials that have been widely applied in aerospace and wind turbine industries.
In our study, ultrasound phased array technique was applied to increase the acoustic penetration power in high acoustic attenuation composite materials. First, ultrasound phased array signal in isotropic materials was studied to calibrate the probe parameters. Then for composite materials, the dependence of ultrasound field on the number of active elements, steering angles, beam focusing laws and on the characteristics of materials was analyzed and optimized through theoretical simulations and experimental evaluations. Results showed that the steering angles and the parameters of beam focusing laws might change the ultrasound beam intensity and uniformity, which had a significant influence on the sensitivity and resolution of the technique; the anisotropic properties of composite materials could distort the ultrasound beam, which made the calibration a necessary and important procedure during practical inspections. The influence of ultrasound frequency and beam angle were also quantitatively evaluated. The proposed research has the potential to apply ultrasound phased array technique to the detection of defects in composite materials and the evaluation of composite structural health. The study of the interaction between ultrasound and composite structures will open the window for the successful application of ultrasound phased array technique.
Small-Scale Thermal Energy Harvester With Copper Foams and Thermal Energy Storage
Authors: Shrestha S. , Hays A. , Thapa S. , Wood D. , Bailey D. , Weiss L. 
Published: March 2016

This article investigates the use of advanced, high porosity thermally conductive foams and a thermal energy storage (TES) device for small scale thermal energy harvesting. In final application, it may be employed in various real world situations that include existing systems like thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and thermal scavenging systems that provide power output from freely available thermal sources.
Experimental tests were conducted using various porosity metallic copper foams ranging from 85 % to 89 % porosity. Copper foams were selected to serve as the heat exchanger innards and examined for several key attributes. These included the ability of the foams to yield capillary action with working fluids like water or 3M™ HFE7200. Thermal energy absorption by the exchanger to the working fluid was also monitored. These results were compared to other exchangers based on capillary channel fabrication techniques as previously reported by the research team. Full characterization was based on operating temperature, measured thermal input, mass transfer rate, and heat transfer capability.
Preliminary investigation of a matching, small-scale TES unit designed to integrate with the heat exchanger and a future thermoelectric for energy harvesting application was also conducted. Thermal storage was accomplished via solid-liquid phase change of a paraffin wax within the TES device forming a so-called “thermal battery.” In a final design, the TES includes what is defined by thermodynamics as heat pipes. The integrations of several heat pipes, made of copper tubing and filled with working fluid, mounted vertically and immersed in the wax medium will transfer heat to the wax by means of thermal conductivity and phase transition. This represents a first of its kind in this small-scale, thermal harvesting application. The specific tests performed in this initial work included one TES unit filled with a paraffin wax medium and a second that contained several copper vertically placed tubes surrounded by the paraffin wax. The overall thermal conductivity of the phase change medium (wax) was investigated for both constructions as was the ability of each to absorb thermal energy directly.
Results indicated capillary action of the working fluid was possible via incorporation of copper foams within the heat exchanger. Maximum heat flux observed in exchanger tests was 0.27 kW/m2 given an operating temperature of 76.6 °C and 2.5W thermal input. Thermal storage tests indicated a maximum thermal capture rate of 0.91 W and phase change material thermal conductivity of 1.00 W/mK for the TES device constructed with copper tubing innards. This compared favorably to the baseline wax conductivity of approximately 0.32 W/mK. Future efforts will fully incorporate both the heat exchanger and matching TES device for a complete harvesting and thermal capture system. The ability of the exchanger to provide thermal energy for storage to the “thermal battery” will be monitored.
Development of a Virtual Platform to Evaluate the Performance of an Electrical Vehicle
Authors: Torres-Cruz Alberto , de Lange Dirk F. , Medellín-Castillo Hugo I. 
Published: March 2016

Virtual simulations of electrical vehicle performance help to optimize vehicle design, by studying and predicting the effects of parameter variations on the vehicle performance, in order to find an optimum balance between the cost and benefit of design decisions. In this work, the development of a virtual platform to evaluate the performance of an electrical vehicle is presented and applied to the study of public urban transportation. The aim is to analyze the requirements and optimize specifications for a light weight, energy efficient, autonomous vehicle without energy supply along the trajectory, except in the stations.
Virtual platforms for vehicle performance have been developed before, and in many cases characteristic velocity profiles are used as a reference, according to the traffic environment in which the vehicle will operate. Vehicle analysis and design is focused on feasibility of the vehicle to be able to follow the prescribed velocity profile.
In the present study, the evaluation is instead based on the cost/benefit relationship for an urban transport vehicle on traffic-free trajectories, enabling to adjust and optimize the velocity profiles in order to optimize the energy use while minimizing travel time. Therefore, the virtual platform is focused on the calculation of the net energy usage, the travel time and the system cost corresponding to an electrical vehicle with different battery and ultra-capacitor energy storage capacities, regeneration and storage of brake energy and an automatic governor for autonomous vehicle control.
The influence of design parameters, such as the installed motor power, energy storage capacity, vehicle weight, passenger load and vehicle control strategy on the time schedule and energy efficiency is studied. However, the effort does not aim for a straight forward optimization of efficiency or minimization of travel time. In fact, energy optimization often conflicts with the travel time optimization. Therefore, both are analyzed simultaneously in order to assist in the search for an optimum compromise. In addition, the results are interpreted in terms of the overall obtained benefits of travel time reduction or optimization of the energy use, in contrast with the corresponding increment of the investment cost of the vehicle related to the implementation of the studied parameter variation. Specific trajectory profiles, including height profiles can be defined for optimization of the vehicle system for application in specific locations with specific geographic conditions.
Analysis and Comparison of Biochar From Pilot Scale Downdraft Gasifier
Authors: Sharma Tejasvi , Shi Yunye , Zang Guiyan , Ratner Albert 
Published: March 2016

Gasification is incomplete combustion of solid fuel that results in the production of vapor, often referred to as syngas or producer gas, char, and tar. When this process is applied to biomass, the resulting char, referred to as biochar, is produced and has been shown to enhance soil fertility and crop growth. As part of a broader effort, this work examines how the gasification process impacts the biochar generated through downdraft gasification. In contrast to previous publications, which only focused on the syngas compositions, this research paper expands the analysis to the composition of the biochar produced in the gasification systems.
In a large-scale gasifier, corn grains at about a 15% moisture level are inserted into a pilot scale downdraft gasifier from the top. In this system, both air and fuel move in the same direction. The air entering the setup is controlled using a damper. Corn grains entering the gasifier pass through a drying zone where the moisture content in it is removed. The dry corn then passes through a combustion and pyrolysis zone, followed by a reduction zone. The high temperature present at the bottom in the reduction zone cracks any tar present in the syngas produced. This syngas exits from the bottom of the gasifier. The char produced has a residence time from half an hour to several hours. About 20% of the fuel that’s inserted in the gasifier is converted to biochar.
An ultimate and proximate chemical composition analysis, BET porosity analysis, and an SEM image analysis were carried out on the biochar produced from this system. From the SEM analysis, a surface area of 2.38 m2/g was obtained. From the ultimate and proximate analysis, it was observed that the biochar had higher carbon content and a lack of volatile components compared to other reported biochars and levels similar to activated carbon. From the BET porosity analysis, both small scale and large-scale pores were observed but quantified comparison with other biochar is still on going. Porosity is known to be an important factor in biochar effectiveness as a soil amendment.
An Integrated Procedure for Computer Simulation of Dynamics of Multibody Molecular Structures in Polymers and Biopolymers
Authors: Duan Shanzhong (Shawn) 
Published: March 2016

Though computational molecular dynamics is an effective tool for nano-scale phenomenon analysis, computational costs associated with its computer simulation are extremely high. There are two major computational steps associated with computer simulation of dynamics of molecular structures. They are calculation of interatomic forces and formation and solution of the equations of motion. Currently, these two computational steps are treated separately in most commonly-used methods. For example, Fast Multipole Method (FMM) and Cell Multipole Method (CMM) have been used for calculation of interatomic forces, and Cartesian Coordinate Method (CCM) and Internal Coordinate Molecular Dynamics Method (ICMD) have been created for the formation and solution of equations of motion of an atomistic molecular system.
In this paper, a new procedure is presented through a proper integration between multibody molecular algorithms (MMA) and fast multipole methods to improve computational efficiency for computer simulation of the dynamical behaviors of multibody molecular structures in polymers and biopolymers. For the computational costs associated with interatomic forces, a fast multipole method is used to calculate the interatomic forces due to the potentials. For the computational costs associated with formation and solution of equations of motion, a multibody molecular algorithm developed by the author in his previous work will be utilized to integrate with fast multipole methods. The algorithm significantly improves computational efficiency when comparing with its counterpart procedures.
The fast multipole method begins by scaling all atoms into a box with coordinate ranges to ensure numerical stability of subsequent operations. The parent box is then divided into half in the direction of each Cartesian axis and each child box is then subdivided to form a computational family tree. The flow of calculations is carried out along the tree structure with five passes. The fast multipole method has been improved and modified to achieve better effectiveness and higher efficiency since it was created.
The multibody molecular algorithm starts with numbering subsets, forming bond graph, and developing three computing passes along the tree structure of an atomistic molecular system. Computing data flows in the fast multipole method and the multibody molecular algorithm will properly line up with the parent-child recursive relationship along the configuration of the tree structure due to linear recursive natures of both fast multipole method and multibody molecular algorithm. Then the time spent on the recursive simulation passes in the fast multipole method for computing forces may overlap with the time spent on the three recursive computational passes in the multibody molecular algorithm for forming and solving equations of motion.
Ejector Profile Modelling for Heat-Driven Ejector Refrigeration System Without Involving Shock
Authors: Abuan Binoe E. , Berana Menandro S. 
Published: March 2016

Heat-driven ejector refrigeration system is one of the fastest emerging technologies in cooling applications for years. This is due to the fact that it can harness cooling capacity from waste heat sources at above 80 °C. Low coefficient of performance (compared to commercial vapor compression systems) is the major disadvantage of the said system, and thus it became a topic of research studies in the field of cooling. The work required by the compressor in a vapor compression cycle (VCC) can be eliminated by using waste heat from any available heat source. Although a relatively lower COP was obtained, the savings using the ejector refrigeration system can cover all the disadvantages and proved that this system can be actually helpful if implemented in the real working systems with waste heat.
In this study, a mathematical model for determining ejector parameters and performance was developed and applied to a system where shock was tried to be avoided. The model was coded into a computer program to allow easier computation of the ejector geometric and thermo-fluid dynamic parameters with varying input data such as the refrigerant to be used, evaporator and condensing temperatures, entrainment ratio, and velocity of the fluid flows. An ejector refrigeration system using ammonia, propane, R22, R134a, R1234yf, and R245fa as refrigerants was simulated using the said model. A boiler or generator temperature of 90 °C, a condenser temperature of 40 °C, and a refrigerating capacity of 35kW were maintained for all the refrigerants; however, the evaporator temperature was varied within the range of −10 °C to 10 °C, depending on the behavior of the system. A combination of a short straight section and then a converging-diverging profile was used for the combined mixing section and diffuser to smoothly decelerate the fully mixed supersonic flow exiting the short mixing section and thereby avoid shock waves in the section. The resulting parameters including the ejector dimensions, pressure and Mach number were determined along the length of the ejector. For all the simulation runs, the fluids respond as expected and the expansion energy was utilized from the high pressure side of the ejector as shown in the trend of pressure along the length of the ejector. Ejector size varies a little for different refrigerants; the calculated range of length is from 0.14 m to 0.36 m — this range shows the compactness of the resulting ejectors.
The results show that a VCC refrigeration system can be replaced by a heat-driven ejector refrigeration system with the ejector that was designed from the simulations. Since the two systems are designed to have the same refrigerating capacity and working temperatures, it can be projected that savings can be made by using the ejector system. The compactness of the ejector produced in the simulations show a good potential for this kind of refrigerating system to be manufactured and mass produced.
Method for Determining the Efficiency of Generation of a Genset Coupled to a Biomass Gasification Process
Authors: Páez Salgado Roberto José , Marzola Atencia Luisa Fernanda , Mendoza Fandiño Jorge Mario , Ávila Gómez Adrián Enrique , Arango Meneses Juan Fernando 
Published: March 2016

This research is based on obtaining a mathematical model to determine the efficiency of generating a generator coupled to a biomass gasification process. To do this, it is initially simulated internal combustion engine at the Aspen hysys® licensed software, in order to obtain the shaft work and a representative model of the generation efficiency of the motor; according to the characteristics of the power cycle and product gas from the gasification of agricultural biomass prevailing in the Department of Córdoba – Colombia: Cotton waste (Gossypium hirsutum), Rice husk (Oryza sativa), Sesame stalk (Sesamum indicum), Corn cob (Zea mays) and Coconut fiber (Cocos nucifera).
Subsequently, the generator efficiency is evaluated by the electric power generation simulation phase in the Simulink Toolbox of the MATLAB® software.
The deterministic mathematical models resulting from the simulations above are adjusted by statistical techniques to experimental data and a regression model that assesses the overall system efficiency is obtained. Such efficiencies range from 16 to 20%. Therefore it is concluded that the use of representative crops biomass product’s calorific values in the Department of Córdoba -Colombia, are profitable for electric power generation.
On the other hand, it is important to note that experimental data’s reliable and monitored way acquisition was performed through the SCADA developing; it allowed real time process variables’ intervention presentation.