Narrow Results

Advanced forming technologies have been evolving at a rapid pace with the products applicability in the industrial fields of aerospace and automobile especially for the materials like aluminum and titanium alloys (light weight) and ultra-high strength steels. Innovative forming methods like hydroforming (tube and sheet) have been proposed for industries throughout the world. The ever-increasing needs of the automotive industry have made hydroforming technology an impetus one for the development and innovations. In this paper, the review on various developments towards lightweight materials for different applications is presented. The influencing process parameters considering the different characteristics of the tube and sheet hydroforming process have also been presented. General ideas and mechanical improvements in sheet and tube hydroforming are given late innovative work exercises. This review will help researchers and industrialists about the history, state of the art in hydroforming technologies of the lightweight materials.

This paper presents the results of experimental analyses of the static and dynamic behavior of bio-sourced conventional and auxetic architectural materials. Three different configurations were studied. The specimens were made with the technology of additive manufacturing (3D printing) and were made of the same material which is polylactic acid reinforced with flax fibers (PFF). Several tensile tests were performed on four relative densities for each configuration of the composite to understand their influence on the static behavior of the material. Taking into account the insufficiency of the static tests to correctly predict the behavior of the composite, vibration tests were carried out on the same densities and composite configurations. The focus will be mainly on the study of the influence of the 2D lattice structures for each density on the evolution of the dynamic stiffness and damping properties.

This book aims to provide views of complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) from multiple perspectives to enable the reader to come to their own informed conclusions. Practitioners of conventional medicine range from those who highlight the dangers of treatments that lack conventional evidence to those who wish to integrate CAMs into conventional practice. The authorship also includes educators and researchers into CAMs, those involved in public policy, regulators and consumers. The term CAMs encompasses a wide range of treatments from the biological and the physical to the mental and energy therapies. Mechanisms of action may not be known and should not be subject to pseudoscientific explanations. There are methodological challenges in researching CAMs. Also, CAMs are regulated differently to conventional medicines and yet the public must understand that CAMs can have side-effects and should know upon what evidence claims of efficacy are based and how often it is known to be effective. Medical practitioners should be familiar with CAMs so they can respond to their patients' questions and know if there are any problematic interactions between CAMs and conventional therapies. How to integrate CAMs and conventional medicine is a challenge being explored by some medical centres.

Strontium hexaferrite powder synthesised conventionally has been treated in nitrogen atmosphere and subsequently calcined in air (Nitrogen Treatment and Re-calcination : NTR Process). The phase identification studies by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed decomposition of strontium hexaferrite and reduction of the resultant iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) during the reaction with nitrogen. According to high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) studies, reduction during nitrogenation, resulted in the division of some big grains into much finer sub-grains, strontium hexaferrite, Fe₃O₄ and Sr₇Fe₁₀O₂₂ were the main phases obtained after reduction. The hexaferrite phase reformed on subsequent calcination. The magnetic measurements indicated a significant decrease in the intrinsic coercivity during nitrogenation due to the formation of Fe₃O₄. However, after a re-calcination process, the remanence and maximum magnetisation (i.e. magnetisation at 1100 kA/m ) exhibited values close to the initial values before treatment but the value of the intrinsic coercivity was higher than that prior to nitrogenation. The microstructure showed that this could be attributed to very fine grains which originated from the fine sub-grains formed during nitrogenation.

The selected temperature was 950°C for nitrogenation and 1000°C for re-calcination. The time and initial pressure were selected to be 5 hours and 1 bar respectively. The highest coercivity obtained after re-calcination was 340 kA/m.

Afifia popularly called and known as grass were human laborious as it is cut by hand using scythes of sickles, lawn mower is a machine utilizing one or more revolving blades to cut the afifia (grass) surface to an even height. This research work is an extensions of the previous work. The goal remains the same: to efficiently and intelligently mow grass is an environment typically, the lawn mowing the machine uses laming techniques to accomplish its task. Technology has become more affordable and penetrate every aspect of daily life, even in developing country like Nigeria. However many of the users in developing countries are still finding difficulty in using then technologies due to lack of experience as they undergo a technology leap. The aim of this research work explores the approach on designing, development of a motorized Afifia (grass) mowing machine. This research was considered because of the unhygienic environmental conservation and its menace. An estimate of 20N was adopted as the required force to cut lawns. The result found from the design force of the Machine is 85% efficient based on the area mowed per hour which is 390.6m²