Narrow Results

A Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) stack consists of several layered unit cells. In each unit cell, the stiff structure of the separator plate contains the softer components, such as electrodes. When surface pressure acts on the stack over an extended period of time at elevated temperatures, the stiffness of the separator plate tends to degrade. Moreover, the demands for large electrode area (to increase the electric capacity of a unit cell) and thinner separator plates (to reduce weight) complicate the design of a separator plate with high stiffness. To evaluate the stiffness of the separator plate at elevated temperatures, we design and test a tiny, multi-layered separator plate specimen using a three-point bending tool. To determine the optimal structure of the separator plate, we investigate three design factors: angle, pitch and height. We adopt the Taguchi method to evaluate the experiments, and use finite element analysis to examine the experimental results. Based on these results, pitch is the most effective of these factors. As the pitch narrows, the stiffness of the separator plate increases. Therefore, we propose the pitch factor as a design criterion for the separator plate of the MCFC stack.

The present study focuses on the structural response of sandwich panels consisting of a commercial closed-cell foam core and thin aluminium sheet skins under static three-point bending loading. Panels of different thicknesses and span lengths were tested, and the influence of the foam density, core thickness and skin type on the response was revealed. The failure modes in bending were greatly dependent on the span length but independent on the foam thickness. For short spans, the deformed shape at failure was asymmetric, as opposed to a symmetric mode for long spans. The density and thickness of the foam core, the presence of reinforcing face sheets and the beam span determined the failure load and bending strength of the sandwich panels.

Development of advanced computational rat head models requires accurate material properties of the rat brain, meninges, skull, and other soft tissues. This study investigated adult rat skull material properties, which are very limited in the current literature. A total of 20 skull specimens were harvested from 10 adult rats. High resolution (16 μm) microcomputed tomography scans were performed for each specimen to observe dimensional changes within each specimen and internal porosities through the cross sections. The specimens were tested in three-point bending at loading velocities of 0.02 and 200 mm/s. The elastic modulus, energy absorbed to failure, energy density, and bending stress were calculated using classical beam theory. Results demonstrated that bending velocity (strain rate) had significant effect on elastic modulus and bending stress, but not on energy and energy density. The Young's moduli of rat skull measured in this study were comparable to those measured from the adult human skull.

Hot forming has been an advanced technology, which fulfills lightweight of automotive body and guarantees crash safety at the same time. At present, hot forming has been an efficient way for automotive manufacturers to improve competence of their products. In this paper, a hot forming Bpillar reinforcement and its original steel sheet are evaluated, including component size, microstructure and mechanical properties. Meanwhile, three-point-bending and side impact testing are conducted for B-pillars manufactured from different raw material suppliers.

A Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) stack consists of several layered unit cells. In each unit cell, the stiff structure of the separator plate contains the softer components, such as electrodes. When surface pressure acts on the stack over an extended period of time at elevated temperatures, the stiffness of the separator plate tends to degrade. Moreover, the demands for large electrode area (to increase the electric capacity of a unit cell) and thinner separator plates (to reduce weight) complicate the design of a separator plate with high stiffness. To evaluate the stiffness of the separator plate at elevated temperatures, we design and test a tiny, multi-layered separator plate specimen using a three-point bending tool. To determine the optimal structure of the separator plate, we investigate three design factors: angle, pitch and height. We adopt the Taguchi method to evaluate the experiments, and use finite element analysis to examine the experimental results. Based on these results, pitch is the most effective of these factors. As the pitch narrows, the stiffness of the separator plate increases. Therefore, we propose the pitch factor as a design criterion for the separator plate of the MCFC stack.