Development and test of a new catalytic converter for natural gas fuelled engine

This paper presents characteristics of a new catalytic converter (catco) to be used for natural gas fuelled engine. The catco were developed based on catalyst materials consisting of metal oxides such as titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and cobalt oxide (CoO) with wire mesh substrate. Both of the catalyst materials (such as TiO₂ and CoO) are inexpensive in comparison with conventional catalysts (noble metals) such as palladium or platinum. In addition, the noble metals such as platinum group metals are now identified as human health risk due to their rapid emissions in the environment from various resources like conventional catalytic converter, jewelers and other medical usages. It can be mentioned that the TiO₂/CoO based catalytic converter and a new natural gas engine such as compressed natural gas (CNG) direct injection (DI) engine were developed under a research collaboration program. The original engine manufacture catalytic conveter (OEM catco) was tested for comparison purposes. The OEM catco was based on noble metal catalyst with honeycomb ceramic substrate. It is experimentally found that the conversion efficiencies of TiO₂/CoO based catalytic converter are 93%, 89% and 82% for NO_x, CO and HC emissions respectively. It is calculated that the TiO₂/CoO based catalytic converter reduces 24%, 41% and 40% higher NO_x, CO and HC emissions in comparison to OEM catco respectively. The objective of this paper is to develop a low-cost three way catalytic converter to be used with the newly developed CNG-DI engine. Detailed review on catalytic converter, low-cost catalytic converter development characteristics and CNGDI engine test results have been presented with discussions.     

Predicting average energy conversion of photovoltaic system in Malaysia using a simplified method

This paper is about predicting the average conventional energy conversion by a photovoltaic system in Malaysia. The calculation is based on average number of days in a month. Average hourly energy flows are estimated based on knowledge of array test parameters, monthly average of hourly ambient temperature and monthly average of daily hemispherical radiation. The monthly average of diffuse component of radiation can be predicted based on hemispherical radiation, by using an appropriate empirical correlation related to the monthly average of diffuse fraction to monthly average of clearness index. The values of hourly average radiation are estimated based on a statistical model.     

Mechanical,thermal, tribological,and flammability properties of polybutylene terephthalate composites: Comparing the effects of synthetic wollastonite nanofibers,natural wollastonite,and graphene oxide

Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) composites were prepared with 1.0 phr synthetic wollastonite nanofibers (SWN), natural wollastonite (NW) and graphene oxide (GO) to study the effect of different fillers on mechanical, thermal, tribological, and flammability properties. The properties of PBT composites are related to the size, structure, and interfacial adhesion of the fillers in PBT matrix. PBT/SWN demonstrated the highest tensile strength and Young's modulus (6% and 9% increment), followed by PBT/NW (1.3% and 7% increment) and PBT/GO (2% decrement and 4% increment). PBT/SWN gave the highest degradation temperature (409°C), followed by PBT/GO (404.7°C). The maximum enhancement in wear resistance (73%) by PBT/SWN and anti-friction performance (26%) by PBT/GO evinced the excellent load-bearing ability of SWN and the great lubricating effect of GO. PBT/NW had the lowest peak heat release rate, smoke, and carbon dioxide production rate. This study shows that PBT composites have great potential in different automotive applications.     

Design consideration of low temperature differential double-acting Stirling engine for solar application

This paper presents design considerations to be taken in designing of a low temperature differential double-acting Stirling engine for solar application. The target power source will be a thermosiphon solar water heater with integrated storage system, which will supply a constant source temperature of 70 °C. Hence, the system design is based on a temperature difference of 50 °C, assuming that the sink is kept at 20 °C. During the preliminary design stage, the critical parameters of the engine design are determined according to the Schmidt analysis, while the third order analysis was used during the design optimisation stage in order to establish a complete analytical model for the engine. The heat exchangers are designed to be of high effectiveness and low pressure-drop, and are made from a 0.015 m tube, while the porosity of the steel wool of 0.722 is used for the regenerator matrix. Upon optimisation, the optimal engine speed is 120 rpm with the swept volume of 2.3 l, and thus the critical engine parameters are found to be the bore diameter of 0.20 m. In addition, the volumes of heater, cooler and regenerator are 1.3 l, 1.3 l and 2.0 l volumes, respectively.     

Synthesis of polymeric nano/microgels: a review

Nanogels have become an important topic of interdisciplinary research, especially in the fields of polymer chemistry, physics, materials science, pharmacy, and medicine where their small dimensions prove highly advantageous. One of the most important areas of research and development concerning these gels is in drug delivery applications. Nanogels could potentially revolutionize conventional therapy and diagnostic methods because of their superior effectiveness over their macro-sized counterparts in almost all therapeutic areas. Current strong interests in this class of material have driven many studies to discover novel production methods and new areas of application in this area. Therefore, it is important to keep abreast of the development of these gels. In this review, we aim to cover the basic aspects of organic nanogels including their definition, classification, and synthesis methods.     

Polymer Hydrogels: A Review

This review encompasses definitions, classification, main properties, and application of polymer hydrogels. Raw materials and preparation techniques of polymer hydrogels were described. The factors that affect absorption capacity and swelling properties of polymer hydrogels were reviewed. PHG materials are defined as a viscoelastic network structure, swellable and not soluble in water with high absorbent capacity, which may reach 1000 g/g of their dried weight to be termed “superabsorbent polymer hydrogels”. PHGs have the ability to release absorbed fluids under certain circumstances.     

Inverse combustion force estimation based on response measurements outside the combustion chamber and signal processing

Exposure to vibration has various physiological effects on vehicle passengers. Engine is one of the main sources of vehicle vibration. The major causes of engine vibration are combustion forces transmitted through the pistons and connection rods. Evaluation of sources is the first step to attenuate this vibration. Assessment of these sources is not an easy task because internal parts of machinery are not accessible. Often, instrumentation for such systems is costly, time consuming and some modifications would be necessary. Aim of the first part of this paper was to validate an inverse technique and carry out mobility analysis on a vehicle crankshaft to achieve matrix of Frequency Response Functions (FRFs). Outcomes were implemented to reconstruct the applied force for single and multiple-input systems. In the second part, the validated inverse technique and FRFs were used to estimate piston forces of an operating engine. Bearings of crankshaft were chosen as nearest accessible parts to piston connecting rods. Accelerometers were connected to the bearings for response measurement during an ideal engine operation. These responses together with FRFs, which were estimated in the previous part, were utilised in the inverse technique. Tikhonov regularization was used to solve the ill-conditioned inverse system. Two methods, namely L-curve criterion and Generalized Cross Validation (GCV), were employed to find the regularization parameter for the Tikhonov method. The inverse problem was solved and piston forces applied to crankpins were estimated. Results were validated by pressure measurement inside a cylinder and estimating the corresponding combustion force. This validation showed that inverse technique and measurement outcomes were roughly in agreement. In presence of various noise, L-curve criterion conduces to more robust results compared to the GCV method. But in the absence of high correlation between sources (f>600 HzHz), the GCV technique leads to more accurate results. This research shows that inverse techniques have great ability to estimate vibration sources inside the machinery.     

Perovskite Solar Cells Consisting of PTAA Modified with Monomolecular Layer and Application to All-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells with Efficiency over 25%

This study is on the enhancement of the efficiency of wide bandgap (FA_0.8Cs_0.2PbI_1.8Br_1.2) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) used as the top layer of the perovskite/perovskite tandem solar cell. Poly[bis(4-phenyl) (2,4,6-trimethylphenyl) amine] (PTAA) and the monomolecular layer called SAM layer are effective hole collection layers for APbI₃ PSCs. However, these hole transport layers (HTL) do not give high efficiencies for the wide bandgap FA_0.8Cs_0.2PbI_1.8Br_1.2 PSCs. It is found that the surface-modified PTAA by monomolecular layer (MNL) improves the efficiency of PSCs. The improved efficiency is explained by the improved FA_0.8Cs_0.2PbI_1.8Br_1.2 film quality, decreased film distortion (low lattice disordering) and low density of the charge recombination site, and improves carrier collection by the surface modified PTAA layer. In addition, the relationship between the length of the alkyl group linking the anchor group and the carbazole group is also discussed. Finally, the wide bandgap lead PSCs (E_g = 1.77 eV) fabricated on the PTAA/monomolecular bilayer give a higher power conversion efficiency of 16.57%. Meanwhile, all-perovskite tandem solar cells with over 25% efficiency are reported by using the PTAA/monomolecular substrate.