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This study aims to investigate the mechanical properties of sustainable recycled polypropylene (rPP) composite materials integrated with spherical silicon carbide (SiC) particles.

A representative volume element (RVE) analysis is employed to predict the Young’s modulus of rPP filled with spherical-shaped SiC at varying volume percentages (i.e. 10, 20 and 30%).

The investigation reveals that the highest values of Young’s modulus, tensile strength, flexural strength and mode 1 frequency are observed for the 30% rPP/SiC samples, exhibiting increases of 115, 116, 62 and 15%, respectively, compared to pure rPP. Fractography analysis confirms the ductile nature of pure rPP and the brittle behavior of the 30% rPP/SiC composite. Moreover, the RVE method predicts Young’s modulus more accurate than micromechanical models, aligning closely with experimental results. Additionally, results from ANSYS simulation tests show tensile strength, flexural strength and frequency within a 10% error range when compared to experimental data.

This study contributes to the field by demonstrating the mechanical enhancements achievable through the incorporation of sustainable materials like rPP/SiC, thereby promoting environmentally friendly engineering solutions.

Nanotechnology (NT) advancements in personal protective textiles (PPT) or personal protective equipment (PPE) have alleviated spread and transmission of this highly contagious viral disease, and enabled enhancement of PPE, thereby fortifying antiviral behavior.

Review of a series of state of the art research papers on the subject matter.

This paper expounds on novel nanotechnological advancements in polymeric textile composites, emerging applications and fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

As a panacea to “public droplet prevention,” textiles have proven to be potentially effective as environmental droplet barriers (EDBs).

PPT in form of healthcare materials including surgical face masks (SFMs), gloves, goggles, respirators, gowns, uniforms, scrub-suits and other apparels play critical role in hindering the spreading of COVID-19 and other “oral-respiratory droplet contamination” both within and outside hospitals.

When used as double-layers, textiles display effectiveness as SFMs or surgical-fabrics, which reduces droplet transmission to <10 cm, within circumference of ∼0.3%.

NT advancements in textiles through nanoparticles, and sensor integration within textile materials have enhanced versatile sensory capabilities, robotics, flame retardancy, self-cleaning, electrical conductivity, flexibility and comfort, thereby availing it for health, medical, sporting, advanced engineering, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, military, automobile, food and agricultural applications, and more. Therefore, this paper expounds on recently emerging trends in nanotechnological influence in textiles for engineering and fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors have attracted great attention worldwide for a variety of applications in measuring physical, chemical and biological parameters. However, stability has been one of the key issues which have limited their effective commercial applications. To fully understand this challenge of operation stability, this paper aims to systematically review mechanisms, stability issues and future challenges of SAW sensors for various applications.

This review paper starts with different types of SAWs, advantages and disadvantages of different types of SAW sensors and then the stability issues of SAW sensors. Subsequently, recent efforts made by researchers for improving working stability of SAW sensors are reviewed. Finally, it discusses the existing challenges and future prospects of SAW sensors in the rapidly growing Internet of Things-enabled application market.

A large number of scientific articles related to SAW technologies were found, and a number of opportunities for future researchers were identified. Over the past 20 years, SAW-related research has gained a growing interest of researchers. SAW sensors have attracted more and more researchers worldwide over the years, but the research topics of SAW sensor stability only own an extremely poor percentage in the total researc topics of SAWs or SAW sensors.

Although SAW sensors have been attracting researchers worldwide for decades, researchers mainly focused on the new materials and design strategies for SAW sensors to achieve good sensitivity and selectivity, and little work can be found on the stability issues of SAW sensors, which are so important for SAW sensor industries and one of the key factors to be mature products. Therefore, this paper systematically reviewed the SAW sensors from their fundamental mechanisms to stability issues and indicated their future challenges for various applications.

This study aims to perform the surface treatment of synthetic α-Fe₂O₃ red iron oxide pigment with hydrolysate 3-aminopropyl silane (A) and colloidal silica (CS) and investigate the effects of surface-treated pigment on the styrene acrylic (SA) emulsion and polyurethane (PU) dispersion.

For this purpose, firstly red iron oxide particles were modified with A and CS separately in an aqueous medium. After isolation of the modified iron oxide were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Moreover, the degree of the dispersion stability of the modified pigment in coatings with SA emulsion and PU dispersion was investigated by using an oscillation rheometer. Loss (G''), storage (G') modulus, loss factor [tan(δ)] and yield stress (τ⁰) values were determined by performing amplitude and frequency sweep tests.

The τ⁰ in SA coatings decreases with the amount of used A and increases with the amount of used CS. The τ⁰ decreases as the amount of used A and CS in PU coatings increases. The use of CS on red iron oxide pigments causes storage modulus to increase in SA coatings at low angular frequencies, while it causes a decrease in PU coatings.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, for the first time, the suspended state of the iron oxide hybrid pigment formed with CS in the coating was investigated rheologically in this study.

The purpose of this study is therefore to detail an additive manufacturing process for printing TiD parts for implant applications. Titanium–diamond (TiD) is a new composite that provides biocompatible three-dimensional multimaterial structures. Thus, the authors report a powder-deposition and print optimization strategy to overcome the dual-functionality gap by printing bulk TiD parts. However, despite favorable customization outcomes, relatively few additive manufacturing (AM) feedstock powders offer the biocompatibility required for medical implant and device technologies.

AM offers a platform to fabricate customized patient-specific parts. Developing feedstock that can be 3D printed into specific 3D structures while providing a favorable interface with the human tissue remains a challenge. Using laser metal deposition, feedstock powder comprising diamond and titanium was co-printed into TiD parts for mechanical testing to determine optimal manufacturing parameters.

TiD parts were fabricated comprising 30% and 50% diamond. The composite powder had a Hausner ratio of 1.13 and 1.21 for 30% and 50% TiD, respectively. The flow analysis (Carney flow) for TiD 30% and 50% was 7.53 and 5.15 g/s. The authors report that the printing-specific conditions significantly affect the integrity of the printed part and thus provide the optimal manufacturing parameters for structural integrity as determined by micro-computed tomography, nanoindentation and biocompatibility of TiD parts. The hardness, ultimate tensile strength and yield strength for TiD are 4–6 GPa (depending on build position), 426 MPa and 375 MPa, respectively. Furthermore, the authors show that increasing diamond composition to 30% results in higher osteoblast viability and lower bacteria count than titanium.

In this study, the authors provide a clear strategy to manufacture TiD parts with high integrity, performance and biocompatibility, expanding the material feedstock library and paving the way to customized diamond implants. Diamond is showing strong potential as a biomedical material; however, upscale is limited by conventional techniques. By optimizing AM as the avenue to make complex shapes, the authors open up the possibility of patient-specific diamond implant solutions.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce four new organic dyes based on naphthalimide for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).

Four new dyes based on naphthalimide with substitutions of amine and acetylamine in position C4 were designed in conjugation with substituted carbazole as donor–acceptor (D-A) architecture. The absorption and emission characteristics of the prepared dyes were evaluated in H₂O, DMF and their mixture (DMF:H₂O = 1:1). The feasibility of electron transfer in the DSSCs structure and energy levels were evaluated using electrochemical and density functional theory, which confirm the use of dyes in the DSSCs structure. The DSSCs were prepared using an individual strategy and their optical properties were investigated under the light of AM 1.5.

The prepared dyes exhibit orange color with strong emission at λem = 530–570 nm due to charge transfer with a positive solvatochromic effect. The efficiency of DSSCs based on Dye1-4 1 is: 3.69%, 3.71%, 4.69% and 4.76%. Therefore, the power efficiency increases by about 29 % in the presence of acetylamine group.

The design of new structures of organic dyes should be accompanied by the development of optical and electrical properties. In other words, in addition to the continuous production of electrons, efficient dyes must also be resistant to light to increase the life of the device.

Organic dyes play a key role in the production of electrons in the DSSCs structure. The engineering of these structures and the introduction of widely used but low cost types can play an important role in the development of clean energy production.

The application of organic dyes based on naphthalimide was evaluated in the DSSCs structure and its photovoltaic properties were investigated.

Tribological research is complex and multidisciplinary, with many parameters to consider. As traditional experimentation is time-consuming and expensive due to the complexity of tribological systems, researchers tend to use quantitative and qualitative analysis to monitor critical parameters and material characterization to explain observed dependencies. In this regard, numerical modeling and simulation offers a cost-effective alternative to physical experimentation but must be validated with limited testing. This paper aims to highlight advances in numerical modeling as they relate to the field of tribology.

This study performed an in-depth literature review for the field of modeling and simulation as it relates to tribology. The authors initially looked at the application of foundational studies (e.g. Stribeck) to understand the gaps in the current knowledge set. The authors then evaluated a number of modern developments related to contact mechanics, surface roughness, tribofilm formation and fluid-film layers. In particular, it looked at key fields driving tribology models including nanoparticle research and prosthetics. The study then sought out to understand the future trends in this research field.

The field of tribology, numerical modeling has shown to be a powerful tool, which is both time- and cost-effective when compared to standard bench testing. The characterization of tribological systems of interest fundamentally stems from the lubrication regimes designated in the Stribeck curve. The prediction of tribofilm formation, film thickness variation, fluid properties, asperity contact and surface deformation as well as the continuously changing interactions between such parameters is an essential challenge for proper modeling.

This paper highlights the major numerical modeling achievements in various disciplines and discusses their efficacy, assumptions and limitations in tribology research.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-03-2023-0076/

The purpose of this study is to analyse the magnetic field effect on Fe₃O₄/H₂O Ferrofluid flowing in a sudden expansion tube, which has specific behaviour in terms of rheology, with convex dimple fins. Because the investigation of flow separation is a prominent application in performance, the effect of magnetic field and convex dimple on the thermo-hydraulic performance of sudden expansion tube are examined, in detail.

During the solution of the boundary conditions of the sudden expansion tube, finite volume method was used. Analyses have been conducted considering the single-phase solution, steady-state, incompressible fluid and no-slip condition of the wall under forced convection conditions. In the analyses, it has been assumed that the flow was developing thermally and has been fully developed hydrodynamically.

The present study focuses on exploring the influence of the magnetic field, nanofluid concentration and convex dimple fins on the thermo-hydraulic performance of sudden expansion tube. The results indicate that the strength of the magnetic field, nanofluid concentration and convex dimple fins have a positive effect on the convective heat transfer in the system.

The authors conducted numerical studies, determining through a literature search that no one had yet investigated enhancing heat transfer on a sudden expansion tube using combinations of magnetic fields, nanofluids and convex dimple fins. The results of the numerical analyses provide valuable information about the improvement of heat transfer and system performance in electronic device cooling and heat exchangers.

The purpose of the study is to propose a novel implementation of twisted tape in sinusoidal wavy-walled tubes to enhance the rate of heat transfer without compromising thermal efficiency. The study numerically investigates the fluid flow characteristics and analyzes the effect of different geometrical configurations, including wall wave amplitude, tape twist angles and nanoparticle volume fractions, on heat transfer improvement and performance factor.

This problem is numerically investigated using computational fluid dynamics, and the method is the finite volume method. A two-phase mixture model is used for nanofluid modeling.

The study investigated the effect of wall waviness, twisted tape, and nanoparticles on forced convective heat transfer and friction factor behavior in laminar pipe flow in three different Reynolds number regimes. The results showed that implementing twisted tape in wavy tubes significantly increased the rate of heat transfer and the performance factor, with the best twist ratio between 90 and 180°. Adding nanoparticles also enhanced heat transfer and performance factor, but to a lesser extent than wavy wall-twisted tape combinations. The study suggests selecting a proper combination of wavy wall and twisted tape at each Reynolds number to achieve an optimum solution.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the implementation of the selected passive methods in sinusoidal wavy tubes has not been studied before, and no previous studies have taken into account such a mix of heat transfer improvement techniques.

The present study aims to encompass the bidirectional magnetized flowing of a hybrid-nanofluid over an unsteady stretching device with the inclusion of thermal radiation and entropy generation. Brick-shaped nanoparticles (zinc-oxide and ceria) are suspended in water, serving as the base-fluid to observe the performance of the hybrid mixture. The Maxwell thermal conductivity relation is employed to link the thermophysical attributes of the hybrid mixture with the host liquid. Additionally, a heat source/sink term is incorporated in the energy balance to enhance the impact of the investigation. Both prescribed-surface-temperature (PST) and prescribed-heat-flux (PHF) conditions are applied to inspect the thermal performance of the hybrid nanofluid.

The transport equations in Cartesian configuration are transformed into ordinary differential equations (ODEs), and an efficient method, namely the Keller-Box method (KBM), is utilized to solve the transformed system. Postprocessing is conducted to visually represent the velocity profile, thermal distribution, skin-friction coefficients, Bejan number, Nusselt number and entropy generation function against the variations of the involved parameters.

It is observed that more entropy is generated due to the increases in temperature difference and radiation parameters. The Bejan number initially declines but then improves with higher estimations of unsteadiness and Hartmann number. Overall, the thermal performance of the system is developed for the PST scenario than the PHF scenario for different estimations of the involved constraints.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, no investigation has been reported yet that explains the bidirectional flow of a CeO2-ZnO/water hybrid nanofluid with the combined effects of prescribed thermal aspects (PST and PHF) and entropy generation.