International Journal of Materials and Product Technology (13 papers in press)

Special Issue on: Advanced Materials Design and Product Manufacturing Technologies for Sustainable Applications

• Design and application of sustainable materials in cabin interior  
  by Feng Liu, Xiaolong Wang, Xiaocong Li 
  Abstract: This paper aims to improve the performance of cabin interiors by introducing carbon fibre materials in sustainable materials to meet the ship’s requirements for safety, stability, and sound insulation. The first step involved choosing sustainable materials for ship cabin interior decoration and outlining their qualities; the second involved precisely preparing carbon fibre materials by those qualities; the third involved applying the prepared carbon fibre materials to the ship’s cabin bulkheads and doors; and the fourth and final step involved testing the carbon fibre materials. Research results indicate that ship bulkheads constructed from carbon fibre materials exhibit a 50.16% increase in tensile strength compared to conventional ship bulkheads. Similarly, cabin doors made from carbon fibre materials demonstrate a 38.94% increase in tensile strength over traditional cabin doors. In conclusion, the use of sustainable materials in the interior decoration of ships can increase the stability, comfort and safety of ships.
  Keywords: cabin interior decoration; sustainable material; carbon fibre material; tensile strength; lightweight design; environmental performance.
  
  
• Hierarchical structure nano-photocatalytic materials in interior decoration design  
  by Xiaohong Qian, Jing Qian 
  Abstract: With the development of the social economy and the improvement of peoples living standards, the demand for housing and accommodation conditions also increases. In the decoration design, but in the decoration process, the harmfulness of formaldehyde, paint, toxic gases, and other pollutants to the human body has to be prevented, and ensuring the safety of the living environment has become the focus of more and more people. In this paper, the titanium-containing multi-level nanomaterial TiO2 is applied to the decoration design, the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 are used to degrade indoor toxic substances, and the TiO2 photocatalytic materials are modified to improve the photocatalytic properties of TiO2. In the experiment, the performance of the multi-level structure nano-TiO2 to degrade formaldehyde was analysed. The formaldehyde concentration of the two filter samples was the same. After 20 hours, the needle-punched non-woven fabric was finished, the absorption liquid concentration decreased from 0.785 mg/L to 0.082 mg/L, and the formaldehyde purification rate reached 89.6%. Still, the activated carbon filter was absorbed, and the formaldehyde purification rate reached 94.4%, higher than 4.8% of needle-punched non-woven fabrics. Experiments have shown that nano-TiO2 has an obvious effect on purifying indoor formaldehyde.
  Keywords: nano TiO2 with multistage structure; principle of photocatalysis; lon doping; interior decoration; nano TiO2 coating material.
  
  
• Application of ecologically sustainable materials in urban landscape construction  
  by Ruonan Li, Cheng Zhang 
  Abstract: As the demand for materials in urban landscapes increases, the changes in urban landscapes are becoming more and more intense. This paper studies the application of ecologically sustainable materials in urban landscape construction. Firstly, the theoretical basis of the application of ecologically sustainable materials in landscape is expounded. Then, the application of ecologically sustainable materials in urban landscape is visualised and analysed through interactive genetic algorithm, and compared with the application of disposable materials in urban landscape. The results show that the average landscape reconstruction resolution and visual reconstruction quality of the 15 sets of design drawings drawn based on ecologically sustainable materials were 93.2% and 90.5% respectively, which were higher than 87.1% and 87.1% based on disposable materials. Therefore, applying ecologically sustainable materials to urban landscape construction can not only improve aesthetics and reduce resource and financial consumption, but also promote sustainable development.
  Keywords: urban landscape; landscape construction; ecological sustainable materials; material application; interactive genetic algorithm.
  
  
• Building planning energy consumption benchmark evaluation system based on regression analysis and data mining  
  by JiaYi Li, Xiaobin Ma, Yu Zhang 
  Abstract: First, this paper presents EMLBECPM for smart building planning and operations issues that use WSN to determine the best places to put various kinds of sensors and gateways and maximise energy usage within the bounds of connection, resources, security, and clustering coverage. Secondly, it uses support vector regression (SVR) and a nonlinear auto-regressive model with exogenous input (NARX) to predict power use for the next day, week, and month with a granularity of 15 minutes. The proposed autoregressive feature, temperature, and other situational relevant contextual data to heterogeneous time series exhibit distinct patterns on weekdays, weekends, and holidays. The outcomes demonstrate that the suggested technique is superior in optimising the building energy, accuracy, robustness, and generalisability. The simulation outcomes demonstrate the suggested Energy optimisation ratio of 98.9%, efficiency ratio of 97.5%, energy monitoring ratio of 96.5%, prediction ratio of 95.4%, and error rate of 10.2% compared to other existing models.
  Keywords: machine learning; support vector regression; SVR; nonlinear auto-regressive model with exogenous input; NARX; building; energy consumption.
  
  
• Compression properties and thermal stability of nanoparticles on rigid polyurethane foam for packaging design materials  
  by Wei Wei 
  Abstract: Rigid polyurethane foam has the advantages of excellent mechanical properties, lightweight, sound absorption, chemical corrosion resistance, etc., and is widely used. However, ordinary rigid polyurethane foam has poor compression performance and cannot meet the performance requirements of some materials. To improve the compression properties of rigid polyurethane foams, the constant-density polyurethane foams are reinforced with particle reinforcements. From the experimental data in this paper, it can be concluded that the decomposition process of pure RPUF and UC flame-retardant RPUF is almost the same in the range of 270~390 C. The maximum thermal decomposition temperature (Tmax) and the maximum thermal decomposition rate (Rmax) of the second stage of the two are also very similar. In contrast, the carbon residue rate of pure RPUF800 C is only 11.2%. After adding 10, 20, 30, and 40 parts of UC flame retardant, the residual carbon rates were 19.2%, 20.7%, 22.3%, and 23.9%, respectively. This is an improvement of 70.8%, 84.1%, 98.2%, and 112.4% over pure RPUF, respectively. It can be seen that with the addition of UC, the carbon residue rate at 800 C is increased, and the later thermal stability of RPUF is improved.
  Keywords: nanoparticles; rigid polyurethane; PU; polyurethane foam; thermal stability.
  
  

Special Issue on: Recent Progress in Functional Materials and Their Applications

• Standardised design of composite materials for transportation packaging of automotive components based on visual sensing systems  
  by Rong Bai, Jinlong Bai, Yahong Xu 
  Abstract: The existing transportation packaging for automotive components lacks a standardised design, which easily leads to problems such as high damage rates and increased costs. This article applies a visual perception system to achieve a standardised design for the transportation packaging of automotive components, aiming to improve compression resistance, abrasion resistance, and humidity resistance, thereby reducing damage rates and costs. Haar features, cascade classifiers, Canny edge detection, and histogram statistics algorithms are employed for feature extraction and analysis. The packaging structure is designed to withstand seismic and compressive forces, and composite materials suitable for automotive component characteristics and transportation environments are selected. Experimental results demonstrate the high resolution and accuracy of the visual sensing system. Through experimentation, the superior performance of composite materials in compression, wear resistance, and moisture resistance is verified, leading to reduced damage rates and costs during transportation. During practical transportation, the damage rate decreased by 1.45%, and costs decreased by 24.7%.
  Keywords: vision sensing system; automotive components; transportation packaging; composite material; standardised design.
  
  
• Preparation and thermal/mechanical properties of nanocomposites  
  by Jia-Fu Zhong, Zhi-Wei He, Li Liu 
  Abstract: In order to promote technological progress in the field of materials and promote the development of related industries, research has been conducted on the preparation and thermal/mechanical properties of nanocomposites. Using polycarbonate (PC) nanocomposites as the base material and silane coupling agent KH570 as the organic modifier, the surface of MoS2 nanosheets peeled off by hydrazine hydrate pretreatment method was modified using organic modifiers. Then, the modified MoS2 nanosheets were used as fillers to prepare PC MoS2 nanocomposites, and infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and tensile performance testing were conducted to achieve thermal and mechanical property analysis. After analysis, it was found that the modified MoS2 nanosheets formed good dispersion in PC nanocomposites. The prepared PC/KH570-MoS2 nanocomposites exhibited good thermal and mechanical properties, as well as good thermal stability and tensile properties. Moreover, when the modified MoS2 content was 3 wt.% At this time, its tensile strength, fracture elongation, and elastic modulus can reach 16.75 Mpa, 12.686%, and 5,741 Mpa, respectively. After repeated testing, the standard deviation and coefficient of variation of the results were small, with maximum values of 0.02 and 0.12, respectively, indicating the reliability of the obtained results.
  Keywords: preparation of nanocomposites; MoS2 nanosheets; PC nanocomposites; thermal properties; mechanical properties.
  
  
• Direct torque control method for DC drive motor of agricultural harvester  
  by Cui Zuo, Shaohua Xiong 
  Abstract: To ensure the stable operation of agricultural harvesters and improve the direct torque control effect of DC drive motors, this study proposes an innovative method for direct torque control of DC drive motors in agricultural harvesters. Firstly, this study conducted an in-depth analysis of the structure of agricultural harvesters and, based on their mechanical characteristics, constructed a digital model of the DC drive motor for agricultural harvesters. Subsequently, this study designed a direct torque control architecture for DC drive motors with direct torque as the control objective. Finally, this study optimized the selection of voltage vectors to achieve more efficient direct torque control design. The experimental results show that after applying the method proposed in this study, the torque ripple of the chive harvester motor is significantly reduced and the waveform becomes smoother in steady-state operation.
  Keywords: agricultural harvester; DC drive motor; direct torque control; mechanical properties.
  
  
• Study on carbonation life prediction of reinforced concrete structures based on improved support vector regression  
  by Lei Wang, Bing Chen, Junfeng Wu 
  Abstract: The accurate prediction of the carbonation life of reinforced concrete structures can effectively prevent and avoid the risk of reinforced concrete structures. This paper proposes a carbonation life prediction method of reinforced concrete structures based on improved support vector regression. Firstly, 19 prediction model inputs are selected according to the analytic hierarchy process, mainly including cement content, water cement ratio, aggregate type, aggregate size, relative humidity, temperature, concrete vibration time, etc. Secondly, genetic algorithm is used to improve the support vector regression method. Finally, the carbonisation life prediction model of reinforced concrete structure is built and trained through the improved support vector regression, and the carbonisation life of reinforced concrete structure is predicted according to the trained model. The experimental results show that the proposed method has a smaller absolute error of only 0.222, the maximum RMSE value is only 0.336, and the fitting degree is closer to 1.
  Keywords: improved support vector regression; reinforced concrete structure; carbonisation life; genetic algorithm; prediction model.
  
  
• Hemp fibre composites - a sustainable alternative for lightweight structural application in aerospace and automotive industries  
  by Pavan Chavhan, Chethan Gowda, Madhu Rangappa, Varun Kumar, Mantesh Basappa Khot 
  Abstract: The development of high-performance materials derived from natural resources is a growing trend globally. This study investigates the mechanical properties of hemp fibre-reinforced epoxy composites via. experimental and numerical approaches. The composite material was developed using a hydraulic press with a heating plate (compression moulding method) with varying volume fractions of hemp fibre by (40%, 50% and 60%). The mechanical properties viz., tensile and flexural strength are evaluated using the universal testing machine. To anticipate the mechanical properties of the composites, the numerical analysis was performed using Ansys software. The results revealed that the composite specimen with a volume fraction of 60% reinforcement and 40% matrix demonstrated the best results in both tensile and flexural characteristics compared to other volume fraction composite specimens in both experimental and numerical approaches. The addition of hemp fibres to the epoxy matrix enhanced the strength of the composites. The engine cover made up of hemp/epoxy composites exhibits the effective feasibility of producing semi-structural aeronautical components out of natural fibre composites rather than glass fibre ones.
  Keywords: hemp fibre; epoxy; hand lay-up; mechanical properties.
  
  
• Multi-objective optimization of vehicle body parameters based on improved sparrow search algorithm  
  by Xiuzhen Guo, Yannan Wei, Xianzhen Zhang 
  Abstract: In order to solve the problems of low structural strength, high total manufacturing cost and long optimisation time of vehicle body parameters optimisation methods, a multi-objective optimisation method of vehicle body parameters based on improved sparrow search algorithm is proposed. The multi-objective optimisation model of vehicle body parameters is constructed by analysing the multi-objectives and related constraints such as minimising body mass, maximising structural stiffness and minimising vibration and noise, and combining with Gaussian process regression. Through tent mapping strategy, reverse learning strategy, Levy flight strategy, inertia weight factor and random walk strategy, the improved sparrow search algorithm is used to solve the model and the multi-objective optimisation of vehicle body parameters is realised. The experimental results show that the average strength of the vehicle body structure is 323.4 MPa, the total cost of vehicle body manufacturing is 107,113 yuan, and the optimisation time range is 30~53 min.
  Keywords: improved sparrow search algorithm; vehicle; body parameters; multi-objective optimisation; tent mapping strategy; reverse learning strategy; Levy flight strategy; inertia weight factor.
  
  
• Seismic performance analysis of prefabricated building shear wall structures based on finite element analysis  
  by Zhiyuan Li 
  Abstract: In order to promote the vigorous development of prefabricated building field and improve the seismic performance of its shear wall structure, the seismic performance analysis method of prefabricated building shear wall structure based on finite element is proposed. First, complete the production of prefabricated building shear wall structural specimens, and then establish the standard layer of the structure using floor assembly modelling algorithms. Conduct in-depth analysis of the constitutive relationship of concrete in prefabricated building shear wall structures under cyclic loads, and explore their response forces. The experimental results show that both crack distributions are X-shaped intersecting oblique cracks, with similar failure modes; and when the ductility coefficients of specimens S3~S5 are 6.00, 5.88, and 5.80, respectively, the ductility coefficients of each specimen are relatively large, indicating that this type of shear wall has good deformation ability when the strength specifications of the concrete in the hole are C30, C40, and C50, respectively.
  Keywords: finite element method; discretisation; cyclic load; floor assembly modelling algorithm; plastic damage parameters.
  
  
• Mechanical properties investigation of industrial graphene nanoplatelets mixed with WC-12Co deposited by atmospheric plasma spraying  
  by Ahmed Sheta, Mostafa R.A. Atia, Amany Khaled 
  Abstract: Tungsten carbide cobalt coatings (WC-Co) are widely used in tunnelling excavation tool design due to their superior properties under challenging operational conditions that involve strength, hardness, and wear resistance. Current research studied the addition of graphene-based materials to WC-Co coatings which has shown enhanced properties and durability of the produced coats. This study involves the introduction of industrial graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) at different percentages to WC-Co powder and studying its effect on the mechanical and tribological properties of atmospheric plasma-sprayed coatings on high-strength steel. Coatings are characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Mechanical and tribological properties are tested through microhardness, adhesion tests, and Taber abrasion index measurements. The results show the presence of GNP embedded in the coating layer of all the samples with different GNP concentration percentages. The adhesion strength of unmodified coating at room temperature, Taber abrasion index and Rockwell microhardness values are 77.6 MPa, 0.181 and 96.7 HRC respectively. Adding 0.5% industrial GNP shows better results than other concentrations applied with a slight decrease in adhesion strength of 63.8 MPa, a 16% reduction in abrasion index, and an almost unchanged microhardness value of 96 HRC for all samples.
  Keywords: atmospheric plasma spraying; WC-Co; graphene nanoplatelets; wear; tunnelling cutting tools.