Review on zirconate-cerate-based electrolytes for proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cell

The performance of low-to-intermediate temperature (400–800?°C) solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) depends on the properties of electrolyte used. SOFC performance can be enhanced by replacing electrolyte materials from conventional oxide ion (O^2-) conductors with proton (H⁺) conductors because H⁺ conductors have higher ionic conductivity and theoretical electrical efficiency than O^2- conductors within the target temperature range. Electrolytes based on cerate and/or zirconate have been proposed as potential H⁺ conductors. Cerate-based electrolytes have the highest H⁺ conductivity, but they are chemically and thermally unstable during redox cycles, whereas zirconate-based electrolytes exhibit the opposite properties. Thus, tailoring the properties of cerate and/or zirconate electrolytes by doping with rare-earth metals has become a main concern for many researchers to further improve the ionic conductivity and stability of electrolytes. This article provides an overview on the properties of four types of cerate and/or zirconate electrolytes including cerate-based, zirconate-based, single-doped cerate–zirconate and hybrid-doped cerate–zirconate. The properties of the proton electrolytes such as ionic conductivity, chemical stability and sinterability are also systematically discussed. This review further provides a summary of the performance of SOFCs operated with cerate and/or zirconate proton conductors and the actual potential of these materials as alternative electrolytes for proton-conducting SOFC application.     

The impact of interaction quality factors on the effectiveness of Web-based information system: the mediating role of user satisfaction

Recently, IS researchers have focused on the assessment of Web-based information system (WBIS) at the individual level as it highly contributes to the organizations’ employees. The evaluation and development of WBIS is significantly needed because the top management is in need of justifying their costly IT investment in terms of its impacts on employee performance. For this purpose, this study is primarily concerned with the development and validation of new multidimensional instrument, and also a theoretical framework for assessing the impacts of user interface quality, online communication quality, and user satisfaction on the effectiveness of Web employee portals. The effectiveness is assessed in terms of contextual performance. In a large-scale study, a sample of 384 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees respondents are gathered in order to validate and check the reliability of the adapted study instrument. The results of validity and reliability analysis provide enough confidence to proceed toward validating the proposed theoretical framework. The results of multiple-regression analysis indicate that there is a positive significant relationship between user interface quality, communication quality, user satisfaction, and effectiveness at significance level (sig. < 0.01). As another important point, the results of hierarchical regression showed that user satisfaction has a mediating role on the relationship between user interface quality, communication quality, and contextual employee performance. The findings and implications of this research are discussed. Finally, it is expected that this study would contribute to empirical studies in the fields of IS and user behavior assessment.     

Augmented reality assisted facility layout digitization and planning

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - Facility layout planning (FLP) has an important role in manufacturing industries. There are few approaches to solve FLP such as procedural,...     

Performance analysis of a double-pass photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collector with CPC and fins

The use of PV/T in combination with concentrating reflectors has a potential to significantly increase power production from a given solar cell area. A prototype double-pass photovoltaic-thermal solar air collector with CPC and fins has been designed and fabricated and its performance over a range of operating conditions was studied. The absorber of the hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector under investigation consists of an array of solar cells for generating electricity, compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) to increase the radiation intensity falling on the solar cells and fins attached to the back side of the absorber plate to improve heat transfer to the flowing air. Energy balance equations have been developed for the various nodes of the system. Both thermal and electrical performance of the collector are presented and discussed.     

The impact of the daylight saving time on electricity consumption—A case study from Jordan

The paper examines the impact of daylight saving time (DST) on electricity consumption in Jordan. Two types of analysis were done: the first analysis examines the impact of DST on the lighting loads based on a survey study made for residential and commercial sectors. The second examines the impact of DST on the over all electricity generation through analyzing the daily load curves (DLCs) before and after the DST onset and removal in 2000 and 2007. The results show that the application of DST during the year 2000 saves the electricity used for illumination by −0.73% but it increases the overall generation at the onset and removal of DST by 0.5% and 1.4% due to increase in the heating and cooling loads. The analysis of DLCs during the year 2007 shows similar effects as in the year 2000 except during the early morning period at the DST onset where DST decreases the demand during this time. The analysis shows that DST decreases the electricity demand at DST onset by 0.2% and increases it at DST removal by 0.3%. A possible decrease in the electricity consumption may take place if the DST is implemented from April to end of August.     

Mechanical properties of WC-based hardmetals bonded with iron alloys – a review

Growing concerns over the use of cobalt as binder for WC-based hardmetals has directed research efforts towards finding a suitable alternative binder offering comparable or even superior properties than those found in WC–Co hardmetals. Complete substitution of cobalt by iron alloys has been extensively explored in several studies with significant improvements in mechanical properties of WC bonded with Fe alloys when carbon content addition is strictly controlled in powder composition. Asides from the commonly studied hardness and fracture toughness properties, transverse rupture strength property of this composites has also been observed to hold future promise with further development in the microstructural parameters such as porosity during sintering. This article reviews the progress in the mechanical properties of WC–Fe alloys hardmetals.     

Surface damages and tool wear mode in end milling of hastelloy‐C276 under dry and wet conditions

Hastelloy‐C276 is a nickel based superalloy that is widely used in chemical, petro‐chemical, environmental and nuclear industries due to its outstanding performance in a wide range of corrosive mediums. The superior properties of nickel based superalloys impair their machinability which increases the difficulty in obtaining a good surface finish. Because most of the components' failures are initiated from surface defects, several researchers have been concerned about surface integrity in machining aerospace superalloys particularly Inconel‐718. Due to the lack of studies done on machining corrosion‐resistant superalloys, this study aims to investigate surface damages and tool wear modes in milling Hastelloy‐C276 under dry and wet conditions. The absence of cooling and lubricating actions in dry machining resulted in the formation of craters, severe plastic deformation, voids, debris re‐deposition and materials drag. The breakage of the nucleated carbide phases resulted in the formation of nucleated cavities on the machined surface in both wet and dry machining. Adhesive tool wear was less in dry machining due to the formation of oxide layers on tool faces which suppressed the formation of built‐up edges due to the weak adhesion properties of oxide compounds which resulted in less surface roughness at v_c = 50 m/min. On the other hand, the higher temperature and friction in dry machining resulted in severer tool coating delamination.     

Diurnal pattern of global solar radiation in the tropics: a case study in Malaysia

Global solar radiation patterns in Bangi (2°56′7.3″N, 105°47′0.2″E), Malaysia are discussed. The frequency of occurrence of the various solar radiation patterns observed over a 5-year period is derived. These observations will provide useful information for the design of solar energy systems and equipment for installation in tropical countries having a similar global solar radiation pattern.     

Biogeography based optimization (BBO) algorithm to minimise non-productive time during hole-making process

Tool path optimization in today’s manufacturing systems is one of the crucial issues in holes-making machining. This paper presents an evolutionary optimization algorithm based on geographic distribution of biological organism to deal with hole-making process problem. The proposed approach tackles the sequencing problem when several holes must be drilled by means of different tools to reach their desired size. The aim of this study is to minimise the non-productive time, including tool travelling time and tool switching time, by employing biogeography based optimization algorithm, since the problem is considered as NP-hard. The performance of proposed algorithm is evaluated based on various test problems adopted from the literature. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can efficiently improve the solution quality in terms of minimising non-productive time.     

Surface Defects in Groove Milling of Hastelloy-C276 Under Fluid Coolant

This study aims to investigate surface integrity in groove milling of Hastelloy-C276 using coated carbide end mills under the application of water-based fluid coolant using different cutting parameters. Surface integrity was assessed by measuring surface roughness, using focus variation microscope, and investigating surface defects, using scanning electron microscope. Micro-chips re-deposition and long grooves dominated the machined surface at low cutting speed (24–50 m/min). While cracked and fractured re-deposited materials, grooves, large debris, and plastic flow dominated the machined surface at high cutting speed (70–120 m/min), consequently surface roughness increased with cutting speed. Nucleated cavities appeared at all cutting speeds but with different densities. Shallow depth of cut at low cutting speed gave negative effect on surface roughness due to the effect of the hardened layer. Overall, the best surface finish, with average roughness below 50 nm and minimum surface abuse, was obtained in the speed range of 24–50 m/min at feed rate of 1 µm/tooth and depth of cut deeper than 0.1 mm.