Mechanical Engineering articles list

Enhancing mechanical characteristics and cost-efficiency of composite materials through hybridization and nanoparticle incorporation

Lightweight materials are increasingly being used in engineering applications today. Composites are replacing traditional metallic materials in a variety of sectors, including aerospace, defence, and aircraft production, where there is a demand for structural materials with high strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios. Natural fibre composites are also increasingly used in place of synthetic fibre composites in a variety of technical fields due to their affordability and environmental friendliness. In this particular study, Kevlar (Aramid fibres) is combined with other materials to improve the mechanical characteristics and impact resistance of composites. The only material that costs more than Kevlar is carbon fibres. The goal is to maximize mechanical qualities while utilizing the fewest amounts of pricey Kevlar fibres possible. The hand layup technique was used to create the hybrid composites, which included both natural and Aramid fibres. The performance of various mechanical properties was then assessed. In addition, a morphological examination was done to look at the interior structure of the composite materials that were examined. The results show that the hybrid composite, with or without the addition of nanoparticles, demonstrates great strength with little reliance on Kevlar fibres.

Boopathy Govindarajan

Design and analysis of a scooping engine valve

Inlet valve in an engine tends to be subjected to immense thermal loads besides chemical corrosion. Opening and closing of inlet valve practically could be in the order of 2000 times per 1.6 km. In the mean time of engine working cycle, seat insert of the inlet valve is the surface, against which an intake valve seats. Conventional engine valves are provided with a curved angle for its seating position, but for this study, the same is proposed to be positioned at a tapered angle. This tapered position as converted into radius in order to permit rich air at the inlet and reduce exhaust emission. This study is to investigate the nature of the future redesigned Scooping valve for a 1.25L 4-cylinder Petrol engine with VTVT (Variable Timing and Valve Train) under combined mechanical and thermal loading cycle by feeding the input conditions for this study after NX-CAD modelling in ANSYS 10.0 software and the numerical results thus obtained are recorded for future valve design considerations.

Boopathy Govindarajan

Mechanical and metallurgical properties of hybrid composite material

Tremendous growth has been incorporated in the field of composite materials in the current scenario where the engineering applications are highly demandable. Currently composites are being used to replace conventional metallic materials in a wide range of industries including aerospace, defense, aircraft, and textile which require structural materials with high strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios. Also natural fiber composites are currently replacing synthetic fiber composites of different applications in various engineering industries due to their low cost and eco-friendly in nature. In this work, twisted kenaf, and twisted kevlar (aramid fibers) have combined together to enhance the mechanical properties and also to improve high impact resistance with less contribution of kevlar which is very high in cost categorized next to carbon fibers. Here, the hybrid composites (natural and aramid) are done by using hand layup method, and various mechanical properties have been investigated. Also, the morphological analysis is done to observe the internal structure of the tested composite. It is observed that hybrid composite has high strength with minimum contribution of kevlar fibers.

Boopathy Govindarajan

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