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This paper aims to investigate how different knitted structures affect the illuminative effect of polymeric optical fibres (POFs).

Knit prototypes were constructed using a 7-gauge industrial hand flat knitting machine. The textile prototype swatches developed in this study tested POF illumination in three types of knitting structures: intervallic knit and float stitch structures; POF inlaid into double plain and full cardigan structures; and double plain and partial knitting structures. The illuminative effects of the POFs in seven prototype swatches were analysed and compared.

It is possible to use an industrial hand flat knitting machine to knit POFs. Longer floats expose more POFs, which boosts illumination but limits the textile’s horizontal stretchability. The openness of the full cardigan structure maximises POF exposure and contributes to even illumination. The partial knitting in different sections achieves the most complete physical integration of POFs into the knitted textiles but constrains the horizontal stretchability of the textiles.

The integration of POFs into knitted textiles provides a functional illuminative effect. Applications include but are not limited to fashion, architecture and interior design.

This study is novel, as it investigates new POF knitted textiles with different loop structures. This study examines how knit stitches affect POFs in intervallic knit and float stitch, inlaid POF double knit, double plain and partial knit and the illuminative effects of the knitted textile.

This study aims to present an experimental approach to develop a high-strength 3D-printed recycled polymer composite reinforced with continuous metal fiber.

The continuous metal fiber composite was 3D printed using recycled and virgin acrylonitrile butadiene styrene-blended filament (RABS-B) in the ratio of 60:40 and postused continuous brass wire (CBW). The 3D printing was done using an in-nozzle impregnation technique using an FFF printer installed with a self-modified nozzle. The tensile and single-edge notch bend (SENB) test samples are fabricated to evaluate the tensile and fracture toughness properties compared with VABS and RABS-B samples.

The tensile and SENB tests revealed that RABS-B/CBW composite 3D printed with 0.7 mm layer spacing exhibited a notable improvement in Young’s modulus, ultimate tensile strength, elongation at maximum load and fracture toughness by 51.47%, 18.67% and 107.3% and 22.75% compared to VABS, respectively.

This novel approach of integrating CBW with recycled thermoplastic represents a significant leap forward in material science, delivering superior strength and unlocking the potential for advanced, sustainable composites in demanding engineering fields.

Limited research has been conducted on the in-nozzle impregnation technique for 3D printing metal fiber-reinforced recycled thermoplastic composites. Adopting this method holds the potential to create durable and high-strength sustainable composites suitable for engineering applications, thereby diminishing dependence on virgin materials.

This paper aims to characterize and develop a new ecological lightweight concrete reinforced by addition of palm plant fibers (from vegetal waste) to be used in the thermal and acoustical insulation of local constructions. The date palm plant fibers are characterized by their low sensitivity to chemical reactions, low cost and large availability in local regions. Therefore, the newly obtained lightweight concrete may suggest a great interest, as it seems to be able to achieve good solutions for local construction problems, technically, economically and ecologically.

The experimental program focused on developing the composition of palm-fiber-reinforced concrete, by studying the effect of the length of the fibers (10, 20, 30 and 40 mm) and their mass percentage (0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2%), on the mechanical and acoustical properties of the composite. The main measured parameters were the compressive strength and flexural strength, sound absorption coefficient, noise reduction coefficient (NRC), etc. These tests were also borne out by the measure of density and water absorption, as well as microstructure analyses. To fully appreciate the behavior of the material, visualizations under optical microscope and scanning electron microscope analyses were carried out.

The addition of plant fibers to concrete made it possible to formulate a new lightweight concrete having interesting properties. The addition of date palm fibers significantly decreased the density of the concrete and consequently reduced its mechanical strength, particularly in compression. Acceptable compressive strength values were possible, according to the fibers content, while better values have been obtained in flexion. On the other hand, good acoustical performances were obtained: a considerable increase in the sound absorption coefficient and the NRC was recorded, according to the content and length of fibers. Even the rheological behavior has been improved with the addition of fibers, but with short fibers only.

Over the recent decades, many studies have attempted to search for more sustainable and environmentally friendly building materials. Therefore, this work aims to study the possibility of using waste from date palm trees as fibers in concrete instead of the conventionally used fibers. Although many researches have already been conducted on the effect of palm plant fibers on the mechanical/physical properties of concrete, no information is available neither on the formulation of this type of concrete nor on its acoustical properties. Indeed, due to the scarcity of raw materials and the excessive consumption of energy, the trend of plant fibers as resources, which are natural and renewable, is very attractive. It is therefore a major recycling project of waste and recovery of local materials.

The main aim of this study is to study the effect of alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride on removing stains, yellowness and harmful metal ions on historical printed paper, as well as the effect of this cleaner on optical and chemical properties of treated paper.

The assessments after and before treatment were carried out using digital microscopy, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), pH measurement, color change and finally scanning electron microscopy.

The results showed that the concentrations used under study (1% and 3%) cleaned the paper efficiently without any observed effect on the chemical composition of cellulose, which was confirmed by IR spectra. The most stains that completely disappeared were the soil spots, also the pH values had improved significantly after treatment, which confirms that the detergent is effective in neutralizing the acidity of cellulose. Moreover, the color change revealed an increase in the chromatic lightness of the paper after treatment, which agreed with the results of the scanning electron microscopy examination, as the paper appeared free of dirt, and the fibers and bundles became more cohesive.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is a unique study, as there is no previous literature that has indicated the use of the effect of alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride washing treatments for printed historical paper, as it was limited only to making disinfection materials and water purification products.

Recently, powerful instruments for biomedical engineering research studies, including disease modeling, drug designing and nano-drug delivering, have been extremely investigated by researchers. Particularly, investigation in various microfluidics techniques and novel biomedical approaches for microfluidic-based substrate have progressed in recent years, and therefore, various cell culture platforms have been manufactured for these types of approaches. These microinstruments, known as tissue chip platforms, mimic in vivo living tissue and exhibit more physiologically similar vitro models of human tissues. Using lab-on-a-chip technologies in vitro cell culturing quickly caused in optimized systems of tissues compared to static culture. These chipsets prepare cell culture media to mimic physiological reactions and behaviors.

The authors used the application of lab chip instruments as a versatile tool for point of health-care (PHC) applications, and the authors applied a current progress in various platforms toward biochip DNA sensors as an alternative to the general bio electrochemical sensors. Basically, optical sensing is related to the intercalation between glass surfaces containing biomolecules with fluorescence and, subsequently, its reflected light that arises from the characteristics of the chemical agents. Recently, various techniques using optical fiber have progressed significantly, and researchers apply highlighted remarks and future perspectives of these kinds of platforms for PHC applications.

The authors assembled several microfluidic chips through cell culture and immune-fluorescent, as well as using microscopy measurement and image analysis for RNA sequencing. By this work, several chip assemblies were fabricated, and the application of the fluidic routing mechanism enables us to provide chip-to-chip communication with a variety of tissue-on-a-chip. By lab-on-a-chip techniques, the authors exhibited that coating the cell membrane via poly-dopamine and collagen was the best cell membrane coating due to the monolayer growth and differentiation of the cell types during the differentiation period. The authors found the artificial membrane, through coating with Collagen-A, has improved the growth of mouse podocytes cells-5 compared with the fibronectin-coated membrane.

The authors could distinguish the differences across the patient cohort when they used a collagen-coated microfluidic chip. For instance, von Willebrand factor, a blood glycoprotein that promotes hemostasis, can be identified and measured through these type-coated microfluidic chips.

As an advanced manufacturing method, additive manufacturing (AM) technology provides new possibilities for efficient production and design of parts. However, with the continuous expansion of the application of AM materials, subtractive processing has become one of the necessary steps to improve the accuracy and performance of parts. In this paper, the processing process of AM materials is discussed in depth, and the surface integrity problem caused by it is discussed.

Firstly, we listed and analyzed the characterization parameters of metal surface integrity and its influence on the performance of parts and then introduced the application of integrated processing of metal adding and subtracting materials and the influence of different processing forms on the surface integrity of parts. The surface of the trial-cut material is detected and analyzed, and the surface of the integrated processing of adding and subtracting materials is compared with that of the pure processing of reducing materials, so that the corresponding conclusions are obtained.

In this process, we also found some surface integrity problems, such as knife marks, residual stress and thermal effects. These problems may have a potential negative impact on the performance of the final parts. In processing, we can try to use other integrated processing technologies of adding and subtracting materials, try to combine various integrated processing technologies of adding and subtracting materials, or consider exploring more efficient AM technology to improve processing efficiency. We can also consider adopting production process optimization measures to reduce the processing cost of adding and subtracting materials.

With the gradual improvement of the requirements for the surface quality of parts in the production process and the in-depth implementation of sustainable manufacturing, the demand for integrated processing of metal addition and subtraction materials is likely to continue to grow in the future. By deeply understanding and studying the problems of material reduction and surface integrity of AM materials, we can better meet the challenges in the manufacturing process and improve the quality and performance of parts. This research is very important for promoting the development of manufacturing technology and achieving success in practical application.

Personal Protective Equipment plays an inevitable part in the current scenario of pandemics in the world. A novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus-2 (SARS-Cov 2), began as an outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019, and quickly spread worldwide. It quickly escalated into an international public health crisis. This opened up the high demand for the innovation and research of new materials in the Personal Protective Equipment industry.

PubMed, Embase and Google Scholar were searched for relevant literature regarding personal protective equipment and the information was organized in a systematic way.

There are no adequate number of studies taken up in the field of use of textiles in medical applications especially with PPEs.

This structured review will generate a sense of the significance of using PPE for controlling pandemics and also awaken need for additional research and innovations in this area.

The authorities of the management should take timely intervention in choosing the right material for their PPE in their hospitals. Hence health care professionals teams have an inevitable role in preventing the adverse environmental impact due to the inadvertent disposal of PPEs.

There is a lack of systematic way of disposing contaminated single-use face masks in a safe, environmentally acceptable manner. The dumping of single-use PPE in domestic garbage has had an adverse effect on the environment. Mismanaged plastic waste endangers the health of ecosystems by polluting marine and terrestrial environments, posing a significant risk of ingestion or injury to animals and contaminating habitats.

This review article provides an in-depth review of the use of different materials in PPE and challenges regarding its long-term use and implications on the environment.

Solar cells could make textile-based wearable systems energy independent without the need for battery replacement or recharging; however, their laundry resistance, which is prerequisite for the product acceptance of e-textiles, has been rarely examined. This paper aims to report a systematic study of the laundry durability of solar cells embedded in textiles.

This research included small commercial monocrystalline silicon solar cells which were encapsulated with functional synthetic textile materials using an industrially relevant textile lamination process and found them to reliably endure laundry washing (ISO 6330:2012). The energy harvesting capability of eight textile laminated solar cells was measured after 10–50 cycles of laundry at 40 °C and compared with light transmittance spectroscopy and visual inspection.

Five of the eight textile solar cell samples fully maintained their efficiency over the 50 laundry cycles, whereas the other three showed a 20%–27% decrease. The cells did not cause any visual damage to the fabric. The result indicates that the textile encapsulated solar cell module provides sufficient protection for the solar cells against water, washing agents and mechanical stress to endure repetitive domestic laundry.

This study used rigid monocrystalline silicon solar cells. Flexible amorphous silicon cells were excluded because of low durability in preliminary tests. Other types of solar cells were not tested.

A review of literature reveals the tendency of researchers to avoid standardized textile washing resistance testing. This study removes the most critical obstacle of textile integrated solar energy harvesting, the washing resistance.

The aim of this review is to present together the studies on textile-based moisture sensors developed using innovative technologies in recent years.

The integration levels of the sensors studied with the textile materials are changing. Some research teams have used a combination of printing and textile technologies to produce sensors, while a group of researchers have used traditional technologies such as weaving and embroidery. Others have taken advantage of new technologies such as electro-spinning, polymerization and other techniques. In this way, they tried to combine the good working efficiency of the sensors and the flexibility of the textile. All these approaches are presented in this article.

The presentation of the latest technologies used to develop textile sensors together will give researchers an idea about new studies that can be done on highly sensitive and efficient textile-based moisture sensor systems.

In this paper humidity sensors have been explained in terms of measuring principle as capacitive and resistive. Then, studies conducted in the last 20 years on the textile-based humidity sensors have been presented in detail. This is a comprehensive review study that presents the latest developments together in this area for researchers.

This study aims to investigate the fatigue crack propagation behavior of SiC particle-reinforced 2124 Al alloy composites under constant amplitude axial loading at a stress ratio of R = 0.1. For this purpose, it is performed experiments and comparatively analyze the results by producing 5, 10, 15 Vol.% SiCp-reinforced composites and unreinforced 2124 Al alloy billets with powder metallurgy (PM) production technique.

With the PM production technique, SiCp-reinforced composite and unreinforced 2124 Al alloy billets were produced at 5%, 10%, 15% volume ratios. After the produced billets were extruded and 5 mm thick plates were formed, tensile and fatigue crack propagation compact tensile (CT) samples were prepared. Optical microscope examinations were carried out to determine the microstructural properties of billet and samples. To determine the SiC particle–matrix interactions due to the composite microstructure, unlike the Al alloy, which affects the crack initiation life and crack propagation rate, detailed scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies have been carried out.

Optical microscope examinations for the determination of the microstructural properties of billet and samples showed that although SiC particles were rarely clustered in the Al alloy matrix, they were generally homogeneously dispersed. Fatigue crack propagation rates were determined experimentally. While the highest crack initiation resistance was achieved at 5% SiC volume ratio, the slowest crack propagation rate in the stable crack propagation region was found in the unreinforced 2124 Al alloy. At volume ratios greater than 5%, the number of crack initiation cycles decreases and the propagation rate increases.

As a requirement of damage tolerance design, the fatigue crack propagation rate and fatigue behavior of materials to be used in high-tech vehicles such as aircraft structural parts should be well characterized. Therefore, safer use of these materials in critical structural parts becomes widespread. In this study, besides measuring fatigue crack propagation rates, the mechanisms causing crack acceleration or deceleration were determined by applying detailed SEM examinations.