Prediction of mechanical solutions for a laminated LCEs system fusing an analytical model and neural networks

This paper presents a convenient and efficient method to predict the mechanical solutions of a laminated Liquid Crystal Elastomers (LCEs) system subjected to combined thermo-mechanical load, based on a back propagation (BP) neural network which is trained by machine learning from a database established by analytical solutions. Firstly, the...

A neural network-assisted 3D theoretical thermoelastic solution for laminated liquid crystal elastomer plate used in restoring cardiac mechanical function

Some atrial contractile assist devices applied on the heart surface can be regarded as a laminated Liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) plate under steady temperature loads and a contact mechanical force. An exact solution for the deformation of the laminated LCE plate under combined thermal and mechanical loads is derived by solving the three...

Impact damage of composite laminates with high-speed waterjet

Rain erosion may cause substantial damage to aircrafts during supersonic flight. Such event is investigated here via high-speed waterjet impact on composite laminates. An experimental setup is developed to produce waterjets with the speed up to 700m/s and a finite element model of the waterjet-composite impact event is established. The...

Highly efficient absorption heat pump and refrigeration systems based on ionic liquids: Fundamentals & Applications

Improving efficiencies of thermal energy conversion systems is an important way to slow down global warming and mitigate climate change. Vapor absorption heat pump and refrigeration cycles are highly efficient ways of heating and cooling. These thermally activated systems also provide opportunities for the integration with a wide spectrum of low...

Ammonia absorption in ionic liquids-based mixtures in plate heat exchangers studied by a semi-empirical heat and mass transfer framework

Unfavorable transport properties have always been pointed out as the key factors that hinder the application of ammonia/ionic liquids (NH ₃ /ILs) in absorption cycles, while heat and mass transfer of these new fluids in components have been rarely reported. In this study, a corrugated plate heat exchanger is selected as the...

Ammonia/ionic liquid based double-effect vapor absorption refrigeration cycles driven by waste heat for cooling in fishing vessels

To use high-temperature waste heat generated by diesel engines for onboard refrigeration of fishing vessels, an ammonia-based double-effect vapor absorption refrigeration cycle is proposed. Non-volatile ionic liquids are applied as absorbents in the double-effect absorption system. In comparison to systems using ammonia/water fluid, the...

Interface-Engineered Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂-Based Garnet Solid Electrolytes with Suppressed Li-Dendrite Formation and Enhanced Electrochemical Performance

High grain-boundary resistance, Li-dendrite formation, and electrode/Li interfacial resistance are three major issues facing garnet-based solid electrolytes. Herein, interfacial architecture engineering by incorporating 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (BMP-TFSI) ionic liquid into a garnet oxide is proposed....

Molecular simulation of NH₃/ionic liquid mixtures for absorption heat pump cycles

Force Field based Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are conducted to predict the performance of an absorption heat pump cycle involving NH3/ionic liquid (IL) (refrigerant/absorbent) as working pair. To investigate the thermodynamic performance of the cycle, various properties such as the enthalpy of absorption, heat capacity, and solubility of...

Most recent advances in the field of self-healing cementitious materials

While the Japanese researchers Ohama et al. [1] already mentioned in 1992 that a self-healing effect was noticed when polymer-modified concrete without hardener was made, the real pioneer in the research on self-healing concrete is Carolyn Dry from Illinois. The first time she proposed the use of encapsulated polymers to obtain self-healing...