Investigations for Design Estimation of an Anisotropic Polymer Matrix Composite Plate with a Central Circular Hole under Uniaxial Tension.

Composite plates with holes are common in engineering applications, such as the automotive and aerospace industries. Three-dimensional braided carbon/epoxy polymers are an advanced textile composite and are used in various structures due to their high damage resistance and relatively low manufacturing cost. When a braided polymer plate with a hole is used in engineering applications, it is necessary to know its mechanical behavior under loading conditions using analysis theory to design it better.

Effect of Ankle Torque on the Ankle-Foot Orthosis Joint Design Sustainability.

The ankle joint of a powered ankle-foot orthosis (PAFO) is a prominent component, as it must withstand the dynamic loading conditions during its service time, while delivering all the functional requirements such as reducing the metabolic effort during walking, minimizing the stress on the user's joint, and improving the gait stability of the impaired subjects. More often, the life of an AFO is limited by the performance of its joint; hence, a careful design consideration and material selection are required to increase the AFO's service life. In the present work, a compact AFO joint was designed based on a worm gear mechanism with steel and brass counterparts due to the fact of its large torque transfer capability in a single stage, enabling a compact joint.

Review and Suggestion of Failure Theories in Voids Scenario for VARTM Processed Composite Materials.

Fiber-reinforced composite structures are used in different applications due to their excellent strength to weight ratio. Due to cost and tool handling issues in conventional manufacturing processes, like resin transfer molding (RTM) and autoclave, vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is the best choice among industries. VARTM is highly productive and cheap.

A Three-Dimensional Finite Element Analysis Model for SH-SAW Torque Sensors.

In this paper, a three-dimensional finite element analysis (3D-FEA) model for shear horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) torque sensors is presented. Torque sensors play a significant role in various fields to ensure a reliable torque transmission in drivelines. Featured with the advantages of high propagation velocity, large Q-value, and good power capacity, SH-SAW based torque sensors are promising but very few studies have been carried out.

An Investigation of the Compressive Behavior of Polymer Electrode Membrane Fuel Cell's Gas Diffusion Layers under Different Temperatures.

In this paper, a commercial gas diffusion layer is used, to quantitatively study the correlation between its compressive characteristics and its operating temperature. In polymer electrode membrane fuel cells, the gas diffusion layer plays a vital role in the membrane electrode assembly, over a wide range of operating temperatures. Therefore, understanding the thermo-mechanical performance of gas diffusion layers is crucial to design fuel cells.

Effects of Freeze⁻Thaw Thermal Cycles on the Mechanical Degradation of the Gas Diffusion Layer in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells.

In this paper, the mechanical degradation of a commercial gas diffusion layer subjected to repeated freeze⁻thaw thermal cycles is studied. In a fuel cell, the mechanical assembly state directly affects the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Particularly, the gas diffusion layer repeatedly withstands the complex heat and humidity environmental conditions in which the temperature and humidity are always greatly changed.

Brazing Characteristics and Bonding Strength of Pure Titanium Joints Brazed with Low-Melting Temperature Zi-17Ti-22Ni Filler Metal.

The brazing characteristics and bonding strengths of pure titanium joints are evaluated for joints brazed with Zr-17Ti-22Ni filler. Vacuum brazing was conducted at temperatures between the melting temperatures of the filler metals and the beta-transition temperature of pure titanium at 3 MPa of pressure for 5 min. Fracturing of the pure titanium joint brazed at 1,093 K occurred before yielding during the tensile tests owing to the presence of a serious segregation region containing harder and more brittle [Ti, Zr]2Ni intermetallic compounds.

An optimised silicon piezoresistive microcantilever sensor for surface stress studies.

Surface stress is a versatile and efficient means to study various physical, chemical, biochemical and biological processes. This work focuses on developing high sensitive piezoresistive microcantilever designs to study surface stress. The cantilevers are made of silicon with rectangular holes at their base that also circumscribe a piezoresistor sensing element.

High S/N ratio slotted step piezoresistive microcantilever designs for biosensors.

This study proposes new microcantilever designs in slotted step configuration to improve the S/N ratio of surface stress-based sensors used in physical, chemical, biochemical and biosensor applications. The cantilevers are made of silicon dioxide with a u-shaped silicon piezoresistor in p-doped. The cantilever step length and piezoresistor length is varied along with the operating voltage to characterise the surface stress sensitivity and thermal drifting sensitivity of the cantilevers when used as immunosensor.

Comparison between conduction and convection effects on self-heating in doped microcantilevers.

The present study investigates the effects of thermal conduction and convection on self-heating temperatures and bimetallic deflections produced in doped microcantilever sensors. These cantilevers are commonly used as sensors and actuators in microsystems. The cantilever is a monolith, multi-layer structure with a thin U-shaped element inside.

A new extension of cauchy-born rule for monolayer crystal films.

By combining with the physical concept of inscribed surface, the standard Cauchy-Born rule (CBR) is straightly extended to have a rigorous and accurate atomistic continuum theory for the monolayer crystal films. Resorting to using Tersoff-Brenner potential, the present theory to graphite sheet and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is applied to evaluate the mechanical properties. The results are validated by the comparison with previously reported studies.

An analytical model of joule heating in piezoresistive microcantilevers.

The present study investigates Joule heating in piezoresistive microcantilever sensors. Joule heating and thermal deflections are a major source of noise in such sensors. This work uses analytical and numerical techniques to characterise the Joule heating in 4-layer piezoresistive microcantilevers made of silicon and silicon dioxide substrates but with the same U-shaped silicon piezoresistor.

Comparison between Deflection and Vibration Characteristics of Rectangular and Trapezoidal profile Microcantilevers.

Arrays of microcantilevers are increasingly being used as physical, biological, and chemical sensors in various applications. To improve the sensitivity of microcantilever sensors, this study analyses and compares the deflection and vibration characteristics of rectangular and trapezoidal profile microcantilevers. Three models of each profile are investigated.

Deflection, frequency, and stress characteristics of rectangular, triangular, and step profile microcantilevers for biosensors.

This study presents the deflection, resonant frequency and stress results of rectangular, triangular, and step profile microcantilevers subject to surface stress. These cantilevers can be used as the sensing element in microcantilever biosensors. To increase the overall sensitivity of microcantilever biosensors, both the deflection and the resonant frequency of the cantilever should be increased.

A Study on Increasing Sensitivity of Rectangular Microcantilevers Used in Biosensors.

This study proposes a new microcantilever design with a rectangular hole at the fixed end of the cantilever that is more sensitive than conventional ones. A commercial finite element analysis software ANSYS is used to analyze it. The Stoney equation is first used to calculate the surface stress induced moment, and then applied to the microcantilever free end to produce deflection.

Magnetostrictive Micro Mirrors for an Optical Switch Matrix.

We have developed a wireless-controlled compact optical switch by siliconmicromachining techniques with DC magnetron sputtering. For the optical switchingoperation, micro mirror is designed as cantilever shape size of 5mm×800μm×50μm.TbDyFe film is sputter-deposited on the upper side of the mirror with the condition as: Argas pressure below 1.

The Investigation of a Shape Memory Alloy Micro-Damper for MEMS Applications.

Some shape memory alloys like NiTi show noticeable high damping property inpseudoelastic range. Due to its unique characteristics, a NiTi alloy is commonly used forpassive damping applications, in which the energy may be dissipated by the conversion frommechanical to thermal energy. This study presents a shape memory alloy based micro-damper, which exploits the pseudoelasticity of NiTi wires for energy dissipation.

Intracellular osmotic gradient generation in rat ventricle myocyte by using a micro-perfusion system.

This experimental study describes the fabrication and analysis of a micro-perfusion system that can be used in many bioengineering experiments to create rapid, large regional intracellular changes within single ventricular myocytes. The myocyte was a kind of osmometer since the cell volume was found to be strongly dependent on the perfusion solution osmolarity. This volume change was measured, indirectly, by measuring the cell width change using video-microscopy and image analysis software.