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The purpose of this paper is to provide the details of developments to research works in the distribution characteristics of the air gaps within firefighters’ clothing and research methods to evaluate the effect of air gaps on the thermal protective performance of firefighters’ clothing.

In this paper, the distribution of air gaps within firefighters’ clothing was first analyzed, and the air gaps characteristics were summarized as thickness, location, heterogeneity, orientation and dynamics. Then, the evaluation of the air gap on the thermal protective performance of fighters’ clothing was reviewed for both experimental and numerical studies.

The air gaps within clothing layers and between clothing and skin play an important role in determining the thermal protective performance of firefighters’ protective clothing. It is obvious that research works on the effects of actual air gaps entrapped in firefighters’ clothing on thermal protection are comparatively few in number, primarily focusing on static and uniform air gaps at the fabric level. Further studies should be conducted to define the characteristic of air gap, deepen the understand of mechanism of heat transfer and numerically simulate the 3D dynamic heat transfer in clothing to improve the evaluation of thermal protective performance provided by the firefighters’ clothing.

Air gaps within thermal protective clothing play a crucial role in the protective performance of clothing and provide an efficient way to provide fire-fighting occupational safety. To accurately characterize the distribution of air gaps in firefighters’ clothing under high heat exposure, the paper will provide guidelines for clothing engineers to design clothing for fighters and optimize the clothing performance.

This paper is offered as a concise reference for researchers’ further research in the area of the effect of air gaps within firefighters’ clothing under thermal exposure.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the airgap on thermal behaviour and structural response of fabricated slim floor beams (FSFBs) in fire.

A detailed analytical model is established and validated by replicating the response of FSFBs. The validated finite element modelling method is then used to perform sensitivity analysis. First, the influence of the airgap presence is analysed, and later, the effect of the airgap size on thermal behaviour and structural response of FSFBs at elevated temperatures is investigated.

Results from the study demonstrate that the presence of the airgap has a considerable influence on their thermal behaviour and structural response of FSFBs. The size of the airgap, however, has no significant influence on their thermal and structural response in fire.

No investigations, experimental or analytical, are available in literature addressing the effect of airgap on the structural response of FSFBs in fire. The presence of airgap is helpful and beneficial; hence, the findings of this research can be used to develop designs for structural members with airgap as an efficient and inexpensive way to improve their response in fire.

This paper aims to propose a novel mathematical model of bearingless switched reluctance motor (BSRM). This model differs from conventional mathematical models in the calculation of torque and suspension forces. Conventional mathematical models neglect the coupling relationship between the α- and β-axes or ignore the magnetic saturation of the Si-Fe material. This study considers these issues simultaneously. Additionally, considering the air-gap edge effect, the fringing coefficient is used to establish a high-precision mathematical model.

An innovative mathematical model of BSRM based on the Maxwell stress method was established by selecting an appropriate integration path. The fringing coefficient of the air-gap was computed based on the finite element analysis results at the aligned position of the stator and rotor poles. Using the least squares fitting method, the piecewise fitted magnetization curve of the Si-Fe material was utilized to calculate flux density.

The appropriate integration path of the Maxwell stress method was selected, which considered the coupling relationship of the suspension forces in the α- and β-axes and was closer to the actual situation. The fringing coefficient of the air-gap improved the calculation accuracy of air-gap flux density. The magnetomotive force was consumed by the magnetic resistance of the stator and rotor poles considering the magnetic saturation.

A novel mathematical model of BSRM is proposed. Different from conventional mathematical models, the proposed model can effectively solve the coupling relationship of the suspension forces in the α- and β-axes. Additionally, this model is consistent with the actual situation of motor as it includes a reasonable calculation of the air-gap flux density, considering the air-gap edge effect and magnetic saturation.

The purpose of this paper is to study heat and steam transfer in a vertical air gap and improve thermal protective performance of protective clothing under thermal radiation and hot steam.

An experiment-based model was introduced to analyze heat and moisture transfer in the vertical air gap between the protective clothing and human body. A developed test apparatus was used to simulate different air gap sizes (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24 mm). The protective clothing with different air gap sizes was subjected to dry and wet heat exposures.

The increase of the air gap size reduced the heat and moisture transfer from the protective clothing to the skin surface under both heat exposures. The minimum air gap size for the initiation of natural convection in the dry heat exposure was between 6 and 9 mm, while the air gap size for the occurrence of natural convection was increased in the wet heat exposure. In addition, the steam mass flux presented a sharp decrease with the rising of the air gap size, followed by a stable state, mainly depending on the molecular diffusion and the convection mass transfer.

This research provides a better understanding of the optimum air gap under the protective clothing, which contributes to the design of optimum air gap size that provided higher thermal protection against dry and wet heat exposures.

This paper aims to propose an analytical model for the harmonic content no-load magnetic fields and Back electric motive force (EMF) in double-sided TORUS-type non-slotted axial flux permanent magnet (TORUS-NS AFPM) machines with surface-mounted magnets considering the winding distribution and iron saturation effects.

First, a procedure to calculate the winding distribution with a rectangular cross-section is proposed. The magnetic field distribution and magnetic motive force (MMF) drop due to saturation in iron cores are then exactly extracted in a 2-D analytical model. The consequent influence on air-gap magnetic field and Back EMF are also calculated using a new iterative algorithm. The results are compared with those of the conventional analytical model without saturation, 2-D finite element analysis (FEA) and an experiment on a fabricated prototype machine.

Unlike the conventional method, the new method yields the no-load magnetic field distributions in air-gap and iron cores and Back EMF very exactly such that the results well match to those of the FEA and experiment.

Unlike the conventional winding factor, the winding distribution is considered here along the both axial and circumferential directions, which improves the accuracy level of results for non-slotted structures with relatively large air-gaps. The magnetic field distribution and MMF drop-in iron parts are also calculated as the basis for exact recalculation of air-gap magnetic field and Back EMF. Because of small computational burden beside superior accuracy, the proposed model can be treated as an accurate and fast substitute for FEA to be used during the design procedure or for predicting the other performance characteristics of TORUS-NS AFPM machines.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanical properties and porosity relationships in fused deposition modelling (FDM) fabricated porous structures.

Porous structures of numerous build architectures aimed at tissue engineering (TE) application were fabricated using the FDM. The employment of FDM to fabricate these non‐random constructs offers many advantages over conventional scaffold fabrication techniques as patient specific scaffolds with well‐defined architectures and controllable pore sizes can be fabricated accurately and rapidly. There exist several FDM parameters that one needs to specify during the scaffold fabrication process. These parameters, which can be interdependent and exhibit varying effects on scaffold properties, were identified and examined using the design of experiment (DOE) approach. Essentially, the effects of five FDM process parameters, namely air gap, raster width, build orientation, build layer and build profile, on the porosity and mechanical properties of acrylonitrile‐butadienene‐styrene (ABS) scaffold structures with three‐dimensional interconnectivity were investigated in two designed experiments. Statistical analyses of the data were performed and the respective factors that have significant influence on the porosity and mechanical properties of the scaffolds were identified. The relationship between scaffold's mechanical properties and porosity was thereafter established empirically.

Models of TE scaffolds of numerous build architectures were successfully fabricated using different parameter settings on the FDM. The DOE approach determined air gap and raster width as the most significant parameters in affecting the porosity and mechanical properties of the ABS scaffold structures. The relationship between scaffolds' mechanical properties and porosity was determined to be logarithmic, with the best mechanical properties observed in scaffolds of low porosity.

The paper highlights how the application FDM to tissue scaffold application can overcome most of the limitations encountered in the conventional techniques.

This paper aims to provide an overview of the recent findings of the mechanical properties of parts manufactured by fused deposition modeling (FDM). FDM has become a widely used technique for the manufacturing of thermoplastic parts. The mechanical performance of these parts under service conditions is difficult to predict due to the large number of process parameters involved. The review summarizes the current knowledge about the process-property relationships for FDM-based three-dimensional printing.

The review first discusses the effect of material selection, including pure thermoplastics and polymer-matrix composites. Second, process parameters such as nozzle temperature, raster orientation and infill ratio are discussed. Mechanisms that these parameters affect the specimen morphology are explained, and the effect of each parameter on the strength of printed parts are systematically presented.

Mechanical properties of FDM-produced parts strongly depend on process parameters and are usually lower than injection-molded counterparts. There is a need to understand the effect of each parameter and any synergistic effects involved better.

Through the optimization of process parameters, FDM has the potential to produce parts with strength values matching those produced by conventional methods. Further work in the field will make the FDM process more suitable for the manufacturing of load-bearing components.

This paper presents a critical assessment of the current knowledge about the mechanical properties of FDM-produced parts and suggests future research directions.

An improved analytical model is presented to investigate the scattering properties of high T_c superconducting triangular antennas in multilayered configuration. The spectral method is used to study the scattering properties of superconducting triangular antennas. Galerkin method is used in the resolution of the electric field integral equation. The boundary condition for the electric field was used to derive an integral equation for the electric current. To validate the theoretical results, a study has been performed for perfectly conducting triangular patch on a single layer, with air gap, and cover layer. The computed data are found to be in good agreement. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A spectral domain approach has been used for the numerical calculation of the characteristics of a high T_c superconducting microstrip antenna with an air gap and cover layer. Initially, the authors use an integral method of moment which enabled them to exploit the spectral tensor of green. The resolution of the integral equations of the electric field by the procedure of Galerkin makes it possible to lead to a system of equations homogenous. The authors have calculated the frequency of resonance and the radiation pattern of antenna.

The properties of the HTSTMA structure were stable at temperatures slightly lower than the critical temperature. Also computations show that the air separation can be adjusted to have the maximum operating frequency of the superconducting microstrip antenna. On the other hand, the bandwidth increases monotonically with increasing the air gap width. Therefore, HTS materials do offer efficiency improvements for antenna systems that can accommodate the added constraints of the superconducting environment. The calculated results have been compared with measured one available in the literature and excellent agreement has been found.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this subject has not been reported in the open literature; the only published results on the analysis of perfectly conducting triangular microstrip antennas.

Discusses the 27 papers in ISEF 1999 Proceedings on the subject of electromagnetisms. States the groups of papers cover such subjects within the discipline as: induction machines; reluctance motors; PM motors; transformers and reactors; and special problems and applications. Debates all of these in great detail and itemizes each with greater in‐depth discussion of the various technical applications and areas. Concludes that the recommendations made should be adhered to.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of clothing ease and body postures on the size and distribution of the air gap as well as the body coverage with the clothing.

Visual and quantitative analyses were conducted using a 3D body scanner and Geomagic Software. The air gap size and clothing area factor (f_cl) in three test coverall and seven selected postures were calculated and compared.

The results indicated that both the clothing ease and body postures had a strong effect on the air gap and clothing coverage, especially the more complex the postures, the wider the range of influence. Nevertheless, these effects varied over body regions, being stronger at the lower body than the upper body. The air gap size at the left side of the body was generally larger than the right side. It was also found that the clothing coverage was linearly correlated with the air gap size and could be employed as an indicator to evaluate clothing protective capabilities.

The findings suggested that greater attention should be paid to the protection and flexibility at the lower body and asymmetrical distribution of the air gap should be considered in the future air gap modeling.

The outcomes provided useful information to improve the protective clothing and develop more realistic air gap models to simulate the heat and mass transfer.