Open Access

Cast aluminum alloys are frequently used as materials for cylinder head applications in internal combustion gasoline engines. These components must withstand severe cyclic mechanical and thermal loads throughout their lifetime. Reliable computational methods allow for accurate estimation of stresses, strains, and temperature fields and lead to more realistic Thermomechanical Fatigue (TMF) lifetime predictions. With accurate numerical methods, the components could be optimized via computer simulations and the number of required bench tests could be reduced significantly. These types of alloys are normally optimized for peak hardness from a quenched state that maximizes the strength of the material. However due to high temperature exposure, in service or under test conditions, the material would experience an over-ageing effect that leads to a significant reduction in the strength of the material. To numerically account for ageing effects, the Shercliff & Ashby ageing model is combined with a Chaboche-type viscoplasticity model available in the finite-element program ABAQUS by defining field variables. The constitutive model with ageing effects is correlated with uniaxial cyclic isothermal tests in the T6 state, the overaged state, as well as thermomechanical tests. On the other hand, the mechanism-based TMF damage model (DTMF) is calibrated for both T6 and over-aged state. Both the constitutive and the damage model are applied to a cylinder head component simulating several cycles on an engine dynamometer test. The effects of including ageing for both models are shown.

The visualization of heart rhythm disturbance and atrial fibrillation therapy allows the optimization of new cardiac catheter ablations. With the simulation software CST (Computer Simulation Technology, Darmstadt) electromagnetic and thermal simulations can be carried out to analyze and optimize different heart rhythm disturbance and cardiac catheters for pulmonary vein isolation. Another form of visualization is provided by haptic, three-dimensional print models. These models can be produced using an additive manufacturing method, such as a 3d printer. The aim of the study was to produce a 3d print of the Offenburg heart rhythm model with a representation of an atrial fibrillation ablation procedure to improve the visualization of simulation of cardiac catheter ablation. The basis of 3d printing was the Offenburg heart rhythm model and the associated simulation of cryoablation of the pulmonary vein. The thermal simulation shows the pulmonary vein isolation of the left inferior pulmonary vein with the cryoballoon catheter Arctic Front Advance™ from Medtronic. After running through the simulation, the thermal propagation during the procedure was shown in the form of different colors. The three-dimensional print models were constructed on the base of the described simulation in a CAD program. Four different 3d printers are available for this purpose in a rapid prototyping laboratory at the University of Applied Science Offenburg. Two different printing processes were used and a final print model with additional representation of the esophagus and internal esophagus catheter was also prepared for printing. With the help of the thermal simulation results and the subsequent evaluation, it was possible to draw a conclusion about the propagation of the cold emanating from the catheter in the myocardium and the surrounding tissue. It was measured that just 3 mm from the balloon surface into the myocardium the temperature dropped to 25 °C. The simulation model was printed using two 3d printing methods. Both methods, as well as the different printing materials offer different advantages and disadvantages. All relevant parts, especially the balloon catheter and the conduction, are realistically represented. Only the thermal propagation in the form of different colors is not shown on this model. Three-dimensional heart rhythm models as well as virtual simulations allow very clear visualization of complex cardiac rhythm therapy and atrial fibrillation treatment methods. The printed models can be used for optimization and demonstration of cryoballoon catheter ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation.

In this study, a high-performance controller is proposed for single-phase grid-tied energy storage systems (ESSs). To control power factor and current harmonics and manage time-shifting of energy, the ESS is required to have low steady-state error and fast transient response. It is well known that fast controllers often lack the required steady-state accuracy and trade-off is inevitable. A hybrid control system is therefore presented that combines a simple yet fast proportional derivative controller with a repetitive controller which is a type of learning controller with small steady-state error, suitable for applications with periodic grid current harmonic waveforms. This results in an improved system with distortion-free, high power factor grid current. The proposed controller model is developed and design parameters are presented. The stability analysis for the proposed system is provided and the theoretical analysis is verified through stability, transient and steady-state simulations.

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is one of the most promising technologies for sustainable energy production due to the high power density, low operative temperature and more convenient use for several applications. Nevertheless, the high generated current that characterizes PEMFC requires a specific power conditioning. In addition, specific controller must be designed to fit with system operative points changing associated with the variation of this high current. To deal with this challenge, in this paper, an electrochemical system composed of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) feeding via two phases IBC has been proposed and investigated. For robustness, the used IBC for fuel cell voltage regulation is controlled by linear quadratic regulator (LQR). Then, genetic algorithms technique is applied to optimize the LQR controller parameters giving optimal control coefficients and can if necessary be adjusted according to each working situation change. The model of the entire system is studied using Matlab/Simulink environment. The simulation’s comparative standard and robustness results both demonstrate that the proposed GA-based LQR controller outperforms the conventional PI in terms of performance metrics (overshoot reduction: between 58.93% and 97.09%; response time reduction: between 56.40% and 77.00% and ripple reduction: between 84.00% and 94.86%).

This work reports the study of the effect of the pore arrangement on the compressive behavior of Mg foams with regular pore size and porosities ranging from 25% to 45%. Pore arrangements were modeled using Finite Element Analysis (FEA), with random and ordered models, and compared to the estimations obtained for a previous work. The coordinates of the random pore arrangements were firstly generated using Discrete Element Method (DEM), and used in a second stage for modeling the pores by FEA. Estimations were also compared to the experimental results for Mg foams obtained by means of powder metallurgy. Results show important drops in the Young’s moduli as the porosity increases for both, experimental results and FEA estimations. Estimations obtained using ordered pore arrangements presented significant differences when compared to the estimations acquired from models with random arrangements. The randomly arranged models represent more accurately the real topologies of the experimental metallic foams. The Young’s moduli estimated using these models were in excellent agreement with the experiments, whilst the estimations obtained using ordered models presented relative errors significantly higher. The importance of the use of more realistic FEA models for improving the predicting ability of this method was probed, for the study of the mechanical properties of metallic foams.