Compact Pack Research Articles

BANANA BLOSSOM: NUTRITIONAL VALUE, HEALTH BENEFITS AND ITS UTILIZATION

Bananas are an attractive and low-cost food supply for poor countries, where bananas are consumed by the majority of the population. Typically, only the fruit of the banana tree is consumed, and before the fruit is cooked, the banana heart is chopped out and thrown. However, many people are unaware that the banana heart, also known as the banana blossom, has a high nutritional content and numerous health benefits. The blossom of a banana contains a lot of fiber and can be used to make fiber-rich foods. In addition, the flower includes a variety of bioactive substances, such as alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds, all of which have anti-cancer, anti-microbial, and antioxidant activities. This plant is often used as a food additive in many Asian countries. On the other hand, the banana flower has received only sporadic attention. As a result, the aim of this review is to evaluate the nutritionally dense compact pack of banana blossoms and highlight the value-added product fortified with banana blossoms. So, these unique nutritional values of banana blossom should get maximum utilization, and incorporation of this banana blossom in food products can be performed for value addition.

Thermo-electrochemical simulation of the cooling process in a compact battery pack considering various configurations

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) packs with high power density are necessary in battery-powered system development. In this study, we investigated LIB packs made of compact cylindrical Li-ion batteries. We arranged the batteries in various patterns, including square, lozenge, elliptical, and circular, with all patterns occupying the same total area. We solved the thermal and electrochemical equations governing the batteries using the finite-element method (FEM), and we coupled the airflow around the batteries, meant to lower their temperature, with the LIB equations and solved them using the same method. The results reveal that LIB cooling enhancement and a smaller temperature gradient occur with an increase in the LIB distribution at the center, reducing their outward dissemination and shortening the LIB length. Additionally, increasing the cross-sectional area and airflow velocity enhanced heat transfer from the batteries and decreased their temperature. Finally, we demonstrated that better cooling enhances the cells’ long-term performance. With a circular configuration, the pressure drop and heat transfer rise by 48.01% and 85.14%, respectively, with an increase in the inlet cross-section area. Furthermore, the pressure drop and heat transfer in this configuration increased by 89.09% and 66.90%, respectively, when the velocity increases.

A comprehensive analysis and experimental investigation for the thermal management of cell-to-pack battery system

Driving range has become one of the primary issues restricting the electric vehicle development, which requires more battery energy to be filled in the pack volume. However, it is challenging to continuously to enhance the specific energy of battery. Compact pack structure can further enhance the specific energy of the pack, such as the cell-to-pack (CTP) design. Compared with the traditional design structure, the CTP battery system omitted the small module components, which directly increased the volume energy density by 15%-20%, making an essential breakthrough in pack specific energy. The thermal performance of the CTP battery pack gradually emerged in applications. Thermal performance analysis for the CTP battery system has become a critical factor restricting the large-scale application. This paper carries out the primary work is for the digital twin modeling of the CTP battery system. An accurate thermal model of cells and the battery pack with a liquid plate structure is established based on measuring the heating characteristics and thermo-physical parameters. After calibration, the thermal model can not only predict the temperature response of CTP system under fast charging and cooling conditions, but also further guide the development of other battery systems. The calculation error of the CTP thermal model is controlled within ± 15% under various operations compared with the experimental results. The proposed thermal model synchronizes with the battery pack test, significantly enhances the efficiency of battery system design, providing guidance for the thermal characteristics analysis, design, and optimization of CTP pack thermal management systems.

A Critical Review on Lightweight Design of Battery Pack Enclosure for Electric Vehicles

An electric vehicle battery pack which is a gathering of battery modules which subsequently comprised of the battery cell is a primary source of control transmission for an Electric Vehicle (EV). The inappropriate design of the battery enclosure will cause many genuine issues, such as cracking, causing noise, or battery harm. At the same time, the weight of the battery enclosure is huge; in order to get better the driving range of the electric vehicle and diminish the influence of the battery on the vehicle dynamic performance and acceleration performance, it is essential to carry out the lightweight design of the battery enclosure. This paper reviews the multi-material battery enclosure design optimization, the multi- technologies, and a proficient Battery Management System (BMS) for compact battery pack design used to lightweight battery pack enclosure design; the multi-objective optimization approach for distinctive parameters of battery pack enclosure design optimization by diverse manufacturing techniques.

Pressure-dependent flow characteristics of proppant pack systems during well shut-in and the impact of fines invasion

Near-wellbore screenouts during the shut-in stage due to the development of compact proppant clusters is an issue reported in several fracturing treatments for Coal Seam Gas (CSG) reservoirs. The usual solutions to counter this issue implemented in deep rocks such as Shale and Siltstone do not solve for coal reservoirs due to its geological characteristics. Therefore, the development of proppant packs is an expected outcome during CSG extraction, and the permeability in the proppant pack could decide the overall gas productivity. This study investigates the permeability of proppant packs prepared using the Under-compaction method to simulate compact proppant clusters experienced in near-wellbore screenouts. In this regard, two commonly used proppant types are selected; sand and ceramic, and a series of tri-axial permeability tests were conducted under various effective stresses relevant to CSG environments. According to the experimental outcomes, interestingly, both proppant packs exhibited non-Darcy and Darcy flow regimes, while the non-Darcy effect was more profound at low confining pressures due to its high packing porosity. Results showed that the permeability through the compact proppant pack depends on both the reservoir pressure and the type of proppants selected. The sand proppant pack (SPP) showed 1–2 orders higher than the permeability values of the ceramic proppant pack (CPP) until a threshold pressure is reached (10 MPa), after which the ceramic proppants produced higher permeability values. We also investigate the potential impact of the invasion of coal fines into the proppant packs and the corresponding pore blockings. The impact of fines invasion on CPP permeability was more potent compared to the fines induced SPP permeability. The shape of the ceramic particles, the polar effect of the α-Al2O3 atoms, and the attraction of the oxygen functional groups of the coal fines to these polar sites increase the likelihood of fines clogging in a ceramic proppant pack.

Piezoelectric Insole

Envisaged research planned so as to turn the kinetic energy generated by walking into power, which is then deposited in a compact battery pack, into a shoe insole. Health has been on the edge because of our hectic and torpid lives. Here we address a system utilizing piezoelectric material that furnishes mobile devices as an alternate means of powering etc. It can also be meant for emergency lighting applications such as flashlights and emergency torch.

Novel investigation strategy for mini‐channel liquid‐cooled battery thermal management system

Many researchers have focused on liquid-cooled devices with simple structure and high efficiency, which promoted the gradual development of the mini-channel liquid-cooled plate battery thermal management system (BTMS), due to the advancement of liquid cooling technology. This paper has proposed an electrochemical-thermal coupling model to numerically predict the thermal behavior of the battery pack in different parameters of mini-channel cold plates and optimize the parameter combinations. The effects of cooling plate width, mini-channel interval, and inlet mass flow rate on the heat dissipation performance of the system were analyzed at a constant C-rate to provide a reliable experimental basis for the optimization model. Results indicate that increasing the cold plate width and the inlet mass flow rate reduce the temperature and temperature gradients. In addition, the minimum temperature difference is obtained at the mini-channel interval of 6 mm. The optimum cooling plate width (90 mm), mini-channel interval (4 mm), and inlet mass flow rate (80 g/s) are determined using the orthogonal test, analysis of variance, and comprehensive analysis of multi-index results. The addition of an auxiliary cooling system based on the optimized combination further reduces the maximum temperature and temperature difference of the battery pack by 4.9% and 9.2%, respectively. The developed strategy and methods can further improve the performance of the BTMS and provide a reference for the development of a compact battery pack at high discharge rates for engineering applications.

Development of an On-board Power Pack for the Hydraulic Humanoid Robot HYDROïD

This paper presents the development of a hydraulic power pack intended for the humanoid hydraulic robot HYDROiD. Hydraulic power is characterized by its high torque and its high power to weight ratio. However, constant need for the hydraulic power, limits the motion of the humanoid robot and nullify its expected autonomous behavior. This compact power pack is intended to fit into the back of the robot’s torso. Sizing methodologies for hydraulic power calculations are presented,based on the robot’s required activity. Based on these calculations, each hydraulic component is selected and demonstrated in details.The whole power pack is presented and is shown mounted on the robot showing the feasibility of its dimensions, weight and performance.

Impact of rheology on probabilistic forecasts of sea ice trajectories: application for search and rescue operations in the Arctic

Abstract. We present a sensitivity analysis and discuss the probabilistic forecast capabilities of the novel sea ice model neXtSIM used in hindcast mode. The study pertains to the response of the model to the uncertainty on winds using probabilistic forecasts of ice trajectories. neXtSIM is a continuous Lagrangian numerical model that uses an elasto-brittle rheology to simulate the ice response to external forces. The sensitivity analysis is based on a Monte Carlo sampling of 12 members. The response of the model to the uncertainties is evaluated in terms of simulated ice drift distances from their initial positions, and from the mean position of the ensemble, over the mid-term forecast horizon of 10 days. The simulated ice drift is decomposed into advective and diffusive parts that are characterised separately both spatially and temporally and compared to what is obtained with a free-drift model, that is, when the ice rheology does not play any role in the modelled physics of the ice. The seasonal variability of the model sensitivity is presented and shows the role of the ice compactness and rheology in the ice drift response at both local and regional scales in the Arctic. Indeed, the ice drift simulated by neXtSIM in summer is close to the one obtained with the free-drift model, while the more compact and solid ice pack shows a significantly different mechanical and drift behaviour in winter. For the winter period analysed in this study, we also show that, in contrast to the free-drift model, neXtSIM reproduces the sea ice Lagrangian diffusion regimes as found from observed trajectories. The forecast capability of neXtSIM is also evaluated using a large set of real buoy's trajectories and compared to the capability of the free-drift model. We found that neXtSIM performs significantly better in simulating sea ice drift, both in terms of forecast error and as a tool to assist search and rescue operations, although the sources of uncertainties assumed for the present experiment are not sufficient for complete coverage of the observed IABP positions.

Laser-Printed In-Plane Micro-Supercapacitors: From Symmetric to Asymmetric Structure

Here, we propose and demonstrate a complete solution for efficiently fabricating in-plane micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) from a symmetric to asymmetric structure. By using an original laser printing process, symmetric MSC with reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/silver nanowire (Ag-NW) hybrid electrodes was facilely fabricated and a high areal capacitance of 5.5 mF cm-2 was achieved, which reaches the best reports on graphene-based MSCs. More importantly, a "print-and-fold" method has been creatively proposed that enabled the rapid manufacturing of asymmetric in-plane MSCs beyond the traditional cumbersome technologies. α-Ni(OH)2 particles with high tapping density were successfully synthesized and employed as the pseudocapacitive material. Consequently, an improved supply voltage of 1.5 V was obtained and an areal capacitance as high as 8.6 mF cm-2 has been realized. Moreover, a demonstration of a miniaturized MSC pack was performed by multiply-folding the serial Ag-NW-connected MSC units. As a result, a compact MSC pack with a high supply voltage of 3 V was obtained, which can be utilized to power a light-emitting diode light. These presented technologies may pave the way for the efficiently producing high performance in-plane MSCs, meanwhile offering a solution for the achievement of practical power supply packs integrated in limited spaces.

Small‐scale sea ice deformation during N‐ICE2015: From compact pack ice to marginal ice zone

AbstractWe studied small‐scale (50 m to 5 km) sea ice deformation from ship radar images recorded during the N‐ICE2015 campaign. The campaign consisted of four consecutive drifting ice stations (Floes 1–4) north of Svalbard, with a total duration of nearly 5 months. Deformation was calculated using 5 different time intervals from 10 min to 24 h, and the deformation rate was found to depend strongly on the time scale. Floes 1–3 had a mean deformation rate within the range of 0.06–0.07 h−1 with the interval of 10 min, and 0.03–0.04 h−1 with the interval of 1 h. Floe 4 represented marginal ice zone (MIZ) with very high deformation rate, 0.14/0.08 h−1 with the interval of 10 min/1 h. Deep in the ice pack, high deformation rates occurred only with high wind and drift speed, while in MIZ they were found also during calm conditions. The deformation rates were found to follow power law scaling with respect to length and time scale even on this small scale and in small domain (15 km × 15 km). The length scale dependence of deformation rate depends on the time scale: the power law scaling exponent β of the whole study period decreases from 0.82 to 0.52 with the time interval increasing from 10 min to 24 h. Ship radar images reveal the importance of the deformation history of the ice pack, since the deformation events were initialized along the lines of previous damages.

Thermal Management of Densely-packed EV Battery with Forced Air Cooling Strategies

The modern development of electric vehicle requires higher power density to be packed into a battery pack. It is always expected that the battery can be arranged as much as possible, however, which leads to the serious thermal management issue due to the heat generation inside the battery packs. As extreme temperature affects performance, reliability, safety and lifespan of batteries, thermal management of battery system is critical to the success of all electric vehicles. The objective of this study is to explore the air cooling capability on the temperature uniformity and hotspots mitigation of a compact battery pack subject to various air flow paths, airflow rates. The numerical results show that the improvement of effective heat transfer areas between air-coolant and battery surfaces is able to obviously lower the maximum temperature and improve the maximum temperature difference in the densely-packed battery box.

Convection–diffusion effects in marathon race dynamics

In the face of the recent terrorist attack event on the 2013 Boston Marathon, the increasing participation of recreational runners in large marathon races has imposed important logistical and safety issues for organizers and city authorities. An accurate understanding of the dynamics of the marathon pack along the race course can provide important insights for improving safety and performance of these events. On the other hand, marathon races can be seen as a model of pedestrian movement under confined conditions. This work used data of the 2011 Chicago Marathon event for modeling the dynamics of the marathon pack from the corral zone to the finish line. By considering the marathon pack as a set of particles moving along the race course, the dynamics are modeled as a convection–diffusion partial differential equation with position-dependent mean velocity and diffusion coefficient. A least-squares problem is posed and solved with optimization techniques for fitting field data from the 2011 Chicago Marathon. It was obtained that the mean pack velocity decreases while the diffusion coefficient increases with distance. This means that the dispersion rate of the initially compact marathon pack increases as the marathon race evolves along the race course.

3:54 PM Abstract No. 219 - Long-term evaluation of the medusatm vascular plug for vascular embolization: pre-clinical evaluation

Purpose Platinum embolization coils produce significant CT artifacts and require multiple devices to occlude vessels. A polymer coil-plug represents an attractive alternative, offering minimal CT artifact and occlusion in a single delivery sequence. Here, we report on the short and long-term vascular occlusion capability and biocompatibility of the novel MedusaTM Vascular Plug. Materials and Methods The MedusaTM Vascular Plug (MVP) is constructed from a radiopaque polymer and is a single unit multi-coiled design. MedusaTM Vascular Plugs (EndoShape Inc., Boulder, CO) were delivered into 72 vessels in 17 acute ovine and porcine studies and in 13 arteries in 13 chronic (26 weeks) ovine studies with contralateral metal coil controls. Devices were evaluated for occlusion time in small and large arteries and veins. Extensive laboratory biocompatability testing was also conducted on the MVP. Results In the acute studies, the MedusaTM Vascular Plugs were deployed into 61 deep femoral, femoral, common femoral, and iliac arteries ranging from 4.8 to 9.4 mm diameter (mean 6.1 mm) and in 11 hypogastric, femoral, common femoral, renal, external iliac, and uterine veins from 4 to 10 mm (mean 7 mm). Vessel occlusion was confirmed in all vessels after fluoroscopic contrast injection. The MVP formed a single compact coil pack in all studies with minimal CT artifact. Arterial occlusion times ranged from 1 to 11 minutes (mean 3.8 minutes) and venous occlusion times ranged from 0.3 to 5.5 minutes (mean 2.2 minutes). In the chronic studies, vascular occlusion was compared to contra-lateral metal coil packs (Cook SST coils, Bloomington, IN) at 21 days and 1, 3, and 6 months. At the specified end points, the MedusaTM Vascular Plugs produced occlusion in 12 of 13 animals. The control coils were occluded in 5 of 13 animals. The MVP passed 15 biocompatability tests, including toxicity, mutagenicity, pyrogenicity, cytotoxicity, and hemolysis (NAMSA and Nelson Labs). Conclusion The MedusaTM Vascular Plug provides complete occlusion of a wide variety of sizes and types of blood vessels. Durable occlusion has been confirmed in long term studies. This radiopaque polymer vascular plug may offer an attractive option to platinum embolic coils.

Rotary compact power pack for series hybrid electric vehicle

This paper presents a new–designed compact power pack for a series hybrid vehicle. A new type of rotary induction machine with an outer rotor construction is designed to be coupled with the novel rotary internal combustion engine (ICE) with cylindrical crankcase in order to form the compact power unit. The starting and generation performance of the designed machine as well as the overall vehicle performance is analysed. Results show that the proposed power pack has the best performance in terms of fuel economy, emissions and battery charging compared to the existing power units in ADVISOR. Over a city cycle, fuel economy is increased by up to 47% with emissions reduced by up to 36% and over the highway cycle, fuel economy is increased by up to 69% with emissions reduced by up to 42%.

Performance evaluation of high-contact-ratio gearing for combat tracked vehicles ― A case study

To enhance the mobility of combat tracked vehicles, a high-powered compact power pack is crucial. To achieve this goal, it is planned to apply the concept of high-contact-ratio (HCR) gearing to an independent final-drive planetary gear assembly of the tracked vehicle transmission. Before applying the concept to the final-drive, the performances of both normal-contact-ratio (NCR) and HCR conventional parallel shaft spur gearing systems are evaluated and compared. The results show that, for the same torque, HCR gears are subjected to lower loads and endure almost double the life of NCR gears. This reveals that an HCR gear can transmit more power for the same size. Furthermore, the power loss, vibration, and noise level of the HCR gearing are significantly lower than those of the NCR gearing. The proven results of the case study have encouraged the replacement of the existing NCR gearing with the HCR gearing for the final-drive planetary assembly of the combat tracked vehicle for evaluation.

An alternative cooling system to enhance the safety of Li-ion battery packs

A passive thermal management system is evaluated for high-power Li-ion packs under stressful or abusive conditions, and compared with a purely air-cooling mode under normal and abuse conditions. A compact and properly designed passive thermal management system utilizing phase change material (PCM) provides faster heat dissipation than active cooling during high pulse power discharges while preserving sufficiently uniform cell temperature to ensure the desirable cycle life for the pack. This study investigates how passive cooling with PCM contributes to preventing the propagation of thermal runaway in a single cell or adjacent cells due to a cell catastrophic failure. Its effectiveness is compared with that of active cooling by forced air flow or natural convection using the same compact module and pack configuration corresponding to the PCM matrix technology. The effects of nickel tabs and spacing between the cells were also studied.

Sequence stratigraphy, cyclic facies, and lagerstätten in the Middle Cambrian Wheeler and Marjum Formations, Great Basin, Utah

Recurrent taphofacies, including conservation lagerstätten, are identified within a spectrum of facies in fourth-order sequences in the Middle Cambrian Wheeler, and Marjum formations of the Drum Mountains and House Range, west-central Utah. These sequences are 3–20 m thick and commence with sharply-based compact, oncolitic, oolitic, or pelletal pack- and grainstones with sharply-defined, corroded and mineralized upper contacts that record drowning discontinuities and early transgressive systems tracts (TSTs). Overlying intervals of calcareous shale and thin-bedded wacke- to packstones with abundant, disarticulated polymerid and agnostoid trilobites represent late TSTs. These are commonly followed by lavender-gray mudstones rich in sponge spicules and comminuted fossil debris that reflect condensed maximum flooding zones. The overlying early highstand (HST) intervals of black, fissile shales are typically barren except for indistinct, circular carbonized algae, but in rare instances, include soft-bodied animal remains. A combination of lower dysoxic–anoxic conditions, with a fluctuating oxycline, and relatively rapid episodic influx of fine-grained detrital sediment favored repeated burial and preservation of abundant organic detritus and rarely soft-bodied animals. Interbedded dark gray, shales include abundant articulated agnostoid trilobites and diminutive polymerids (e.g., Jenkinsonia). Overlying platy, calcareous bedding planes covered with articulated bodies and molts of the polymerid Elrathia indicate rapid blanketing of undisturbed seafloors by calcareous mud layers. These beds grade upward successively into interbedded, sparsely fossiliferous platy to flaggy shale and thin, pale gray weathering calcisiltites, and burrow-mottled to nodular limestones, recording late HST to falling stage (FSST) carbonate shedding. Thin calcisiltites include fossil debris and articulated larger polymerid trilobites and the eocrinoid Gogia, preserved by obrutionary deposits. The repeated recurrence of these patterns provides the rudiments of a predictive model that not only explains the differing modes of preservation but may also aid in prospecting for new lagerstätten.

Active (air-cooled) vs. passive (phase change material) thermal management of high power lithium-ion packs: Limitation of temperature rise and uniformity of temperature distribution

The effectiveness of passive cooling by phase change materials (PCM) is compared with that of active (forced air) cooling. Numerical simulations were performed at different discharge rates, operating temperatures and ambient temperatures of a compact Li-ion battery pack suitable for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) propulsion. The results were also compared with experimental results. The PCM cooling mode uses a micro-composite graphite–PCM matrix surrounding the array of cells, while the active cooling mode uses air blown through the gaps between the cells in the same array. The results show that at stressful conditions, i.e. at high discharge rates and at high operating or ambient temperatures (for example 40–45 °C), air-cooling is not a proper thermal management system to keep the temperature of the cell in the desirable operating range without expending significant fan power. On the other hand, the passive cooling system is able to meet the operating range requirements under these same stressful conditions without the need for additional fan power.

Development of Battery Pack Design for High Power Li-Ion Battery Pack of HEV

We developed the compact battery pack with structural safety and high cooling performance based on numerical simulation for hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications. The most important requirement in HEV battery pack is high specific power (kW/kg), which makes lightweight design of battery pack essential. By applying optimization methodology combined with structural finite element analysis, robust and lightweight module frame, which binds dozens of batteries together, was designed to minimize the deformation of batteries in case of swelling or explosion. Efficient cooling system was also achieved through the Pugh decision matrix with computational fluid dynamic analysis, to have a uniform temperature distribution and a minimized pressure drop within the pack under normal charging/discharging conditions. By employing module frame and cooling system based on numerical simulation, the compact design of lithium-ion battery pack was obtained successfully to have structural safety and cooling performance. Experiments were implemented to further validate numerical simulation of thus obtained optimal battery pack design for HEV, and they were found to be in good agreement.