Department Of Mechanical Engineering Research Articles

A study on Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Mechanical Engineering

Abstract— This paper describes a study on an interdisciplinary curriculum for mechanical engineering. The interdisciplinary strategy presented in the present research involves departments that haven't typically worked well together to provide learners with capstone design opportunities. Teams of students from the computer and mechanical engineering departments cooperate on completing a capstone design project that gets placements from industry. The method of defining relevant design projects that coordinate with the goals of the mechanical engineering curriculum is comprehensive, as well as the amount of involvement of the industrial partner. To demonstrate the interdisciplinary morality of the design projects and how they fulfil the program's goals and objectives, the automotive sector is examined by the students. Finally, the paper focuses on challenges faced by mechanical engineering students, improve their chances of securing placements and concludes with a model interdisciplinary curriculum. Keywords— Challenges, Curriculum, Interdisciplinary, Mechanical Engineering, Placements

Fast Automatized Parameter Adaption Process of CNC Milling Machines under use of Perception based Artificial Intelligence

This paper concerns unpublished results obtained from the SIMKI (2020) R&D project at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Aalen University of Applied Science, Germany. The following text generally discusses the development results of the AI-based CNC parameter identification and optimisation tool AICNC. The identification tool supports the AI-based optimisation of milling machine process parameters when using unknown material compositions. The process parameters are determined by a specific test pattern designed to be automatically analysed in real time by a pre-trained perception-based deep learning algorithm. The tool provides the advantage of obtaining real-time quality information due to AI-based quality assessment and the automated identification of material-dependent milling process parameter sets, even for unknown processing material.

A Novel Approach for the Development of a Scalable, High Energy Density, and Long Life Lithium-Sulfur Battery Technology

Rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries represent one of the most promising “Beyond Li-ion” battery chemistries due to their high theoretical specific energies ~2,500 Wh/kg.1,2 However, Li-S batteries face substantial technical challenges that must be overcome before they become commercially viable.3 One of the major technical challenges is low practical specific capacity and fast performance degradation due to the formation, migration, and shuttling of intermediate lithium polysulfides (PSs). Several strategies have been used to trap the PS species either chemically or physically; however, they either incur increased cost due to the use of expensive catalysts4 or suffer from the reduced battery specific energy due to added inactive weights from the cell design.5,6 We showed previously a novel strategy to address the PS-shuttle issue using a nanolayer polymer modified high surface area carbon (NPC) as a new type of PS-trapping material (Fig. 1a).7,8 When thin films of NPC were coated on sulfur electrodes (NPC-S), we found that our NPC-S based Li-S battery demonstrated a high discharge specific capacity (~1,600 mAh/g) that is nearing sulfur’s theoretical specific capacity (Fig. 1b). We also showed that our molecular dynamics simulation suggested the observed high specific capacity was attributed to NPC’s strong PS trapping capability via dipole-dipole interactions (Fig. 1c).In this presentation, we will show our continued research effort on this novel approach to further stabilize the long-term battery cycle stability and battery product scalability. We believe our novel approach holds a high promise of developing of a scalable, high energy density, and long life Li-S battery technology for many high-energy-density demanding applications. References Zhang, S. S., Journal of Power Sources 2013, 231, 153-162.Manthiram, A.; Fu, Y.; Su, Y.-S., Accounts of Chemical Research 2013, 46 (5), 1125-1134.Chen, Z. X.; Zhao, M.; Hou, L. P.; Zhang, X. Q.; Li, B. Q.; Huang, J. Q., Advanced Materials 2022, 2201555.Hamal, D.; Awadallah, O.; El-Zahab, B., Catalysis in Lithium-Sulfur Cathodes for Improved Performance and Stability. In 242nd The Electrochemical Society Meeting, Atlanta, GA, USA, 2022.Chung, S.-H.; Han, P.; Singhal, R.; Kalra, V.; Manthiram, A., Advanced Energy Materials 2015, 5 (18).Singhal, R.; Chung, S.-H.; Manthiram, A.; Kalra, V., Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2015, 3 (8), 4530-4538.Hasan, W.; Hyynh, K.; Razzaq, A.; Smdani, G.; Shende, R.; Paudel, T.; Xing, W., "Scalable, High Energy Density Lithium-Sulfur Batteries". In NASA Battery Workshop, November 15-17, 2022 , Huntsville, AL, USA, 2022.Hasan, W.; Huynh, K.; Razzaq, A. A.; Sumdani, G.; Shende, R.; Paudel, T.; Xing, W., #A01-0417, “An Effective Polysulfide Trapping Strategy for the Development of a Scalable, High Energy Density Lithium-Sulfur Battery”, 243rd ECS Meeting, Boston, MA, May 28 – June 2, 2023. Acknowledgment This work was supported by the Larry and Linda Pearson Endowed Chair at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, South Dakoda School of Mines and Technology. Figure 1

Effectiveness of Distance Learning Computer Numerical Control Based on Virtual Laboratory Using a Metaverse Platform to Improve Students’ Cognitive Ability and Practice Skills

This study analyzes the effectiveness of virtual laboratory-based distance learning as a means of improving the learning outcomes of students’ cognitive abilities and practical skills in the Computer Numerical Control course. This study utilized a pre-experimental design with a onegroup pretest-posttest structure. The research subjects were 31 second-year vocational students from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Universitas Negeri Padang who had recently participated in four distance learning sessions. The research instruments included a pre-test, a post-test, and a student perception survey to assess the effectiveness of virtual laboratory treatment. The findings of this study demonstrate that the presence of a virtual laboratory enhances learning outcomes in terms of cognitive abilities. The pre-test value for cognitive abilities was 52.04, which increased to 82.36 in the post-test. Similarly, the pre-test value for practical skills was 56.98, which improved to 83.44 in the post-test. These improvements significantly contribute to the enhancement of learning outcomes, as indicated by an average N-gain value of 0.642 in the medium/effective category. We conclude that the use of virtual laboratory media through the Metaverse platform is effective for distance learning. This method reduces the initial requirement of 24 hours of face-to-face learning to just five hours of more effective self-study.

Development of dough kneading machine for small and medium-sized enterprises

This work focuses on the development of a motor-powered dough-kneading machine for small to medium-scale businesses to aid the efficient production of their edible products. It employs dual electric motors configured to rotate in opposite directions on the same axis for an efficient kneading process. The work was carried out at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State. The machine employs upper and lower electric motors configured to rotate in opposite directions on the same axis for an efficient kneading process. The design analysis was carried out in line with the defined specifications, which was followed by fabrication and evaluation. The result showed a kneading torque of 128 Nm at average kneading power and speed of 1.37 kW and 102.02 RPM respectively. The dough volume per batch and the mixing bowl volume were 0.00397 and 0.00512 m3. The capacity and efficiency of the machine were estimated to be 0.87 kg/min and 90.65% at the R2 of 92.2%. The performance showed that the dough-kneading machine is efficient and can be produced in mass to meet the market demands of small and medium-scale businesses.

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Fourth Conference of Computational Methods & Ocean Technology (COTech 2023) November 30 – December 1, 2023, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway The COTech (Computational Methods & Ocean Technology) conference started as part of the research and dissemination activities of the Program Area for research “COTech - Computational methods in Offshore Technology” at Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Stavanger (UiS) with its first event in 2017. This Program Area for Research was founded in 2015 with seven professors, four associate professors, two adjunct professors and five research (PhD) students from the Department of Mechanical and Structural Engineering and Materials Science (IMBM), whose expertise and competence lies primarily within use of computational methods such as finite element methods, boundary and volume element methods, computational fluid dynamics and the like in marine and subsea technology, marine operations, design and analysis of mechanical systems, integrity and reliability of offshore structures and mechanical systems, renewable energy and wind engineering. In the ocean-related engineering area in particular, numerical computation approach is nowadays not only serving as a means to cultivate and realize innovative ideas, but also it is becoming the primary choice to solve complex engineering problems for the harsh and unfriendly environment in the Arctic.Like the previous conference, this year’s COTech conference is conducted as part of the dissemination activities of the Institute Strategic Program (ISP) entitled “Computational Methods and Ocean Technology” established under the research activities of the Department of Mechanical and Structural Engineering and Materials Science. This three-year program (2021 - 2023) intends to bring researchers of the department under four selected research areas:1. Ocean Energy Conversion - installations & dynamic analysis of offshore wind turbines, structural health monitoring, corrosion assisted fatigue, ocean wave energy.2. Aquaculture Technology - efficient farming techniques, advanced numerical modeling and computation, fluid-structure interaction, design effective maintenance programs for aquaculture.3. Marine and Subsea Technology - sediment erosion (scour), scour prediction CFD models, structural integrity and fatigue life of offshore structures, adaptive control of ROVs in subsea application, predictive maintenance of subsea structures4. Innovative Solutions - 3D printing based innovative solutions, inspection drones, augmented reality for maintenance training,…In addition to the thematic areas covered in the last three conferences, the 4th COTech conference accommodated some of the emerging technologies and applications such as machine learning techniques, additive manufacturing technologies, 3D printing in healthcare technology, smart energy storage and bio-inspired design.In general, the conference is intended to provide a platform for academics and professionals working within diverse forms of the computational methods, Ocean/Offshore technology and Oil and Gas technologies to come together, present their recent works in the area, exchange ideas, and establish professional networks. It will serve as a forum for multidisciplinary research and bring together enable them to exchange their research experience and disseminate their results within the involved fields.List of Conference Organizing Committee, Volume Editors, Invited Keynote Speakers, Additional plenary session speakers, Technical Committee Members and Reviewers are available in this Pdf.

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Hybrid System for Preserving Agri-Food Products

This article presents an experimental refrigeration plant equipped with a hybrid cooling system, which was developed at the Technical University of Moldova as a result of the cooperation of researchers from the Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Production Engineering Departments to study the cooling process of various agricultural products. All stages of conception, design, development of the refrigeration plant were carried out in laboratory conditions, and field tests were carried out both in laboratory and real conditions, within the framework of specialized enterprises in this field, to evaluate the effectiveness in relation to the practical application of the developed plant. The results of multiple series of experiments have shown that the use of the proposed plant significantly reduces electric energy consumption and environmental impact.

Analisis Tingkat Kenyamanan Termal dan Kepuasan Pengguna di Laboratorium Teknik Mesin Universitas Malikussaleh

The laboratory is a place used for practicum, research, and can support the teaching and learning process. The mechanical engineering laboratory space is the most important space and is often used to support study activities in the mechanical engineering department of the university. However, laboratory conditions that do not use air conditioning and only rely on natural ventilation result in the lack of thermal comfort for users to comfortably support user activities. Apart from that, the high temperatures produced by heat through metal roofs from exposure to sunlight, equipment machines that emit hot temperatures, as well as the small amount of incoming and outgoing air flow are the objectives of selecting objects in this research. Thermal comfort is influenced by several variables, namely external, internal factors and air opening design. This research uses a mix method, namely qualitative and quantitative research methods with a descriptive approach. The results of this research are in the form of an analysis which shows that the thermal conditions of the four laboratory rooms do not meet the thermal comfort standards set by ASHRAE with conditions being above the comfort zone and the PMV comfort index cannot be said to be comfortable because there is no wind blowing into the building.

Analysis of the Braking System in the Gardapati Prototype Energy Saving Car

The braking system is one of the crucial components in a vehicle because braking is a vital safety feature of the vehicle. The braking system functions to reduce or slow down the speed and stop the vehicle, as well as to enable the possibility of parking the vehicle on a downward slope. The braking system under investigation is examined in the prototype vehicle called Gardapati, which employs a hydraulic brake system. Gardapati is a vehicle created by students from the University of Riau's Mechanical Engineering Department, affiliated with the UKM Selembayung, following the standard references provided by the Energy-Efficient Vehicle Competition organized by BPTI.
 This final project will involve several calculations related to the braking system, following the specifications used in the Gardapati vehicle. First, calculations will determine the dynamic braking force required (Fb) when the vehicle is moving at a speed of 50 km/h with a distance of 20 meters, as well as the static braking force (Fb) required when the vehicle is on an incline of 11.2 degrees, adjusted to the requirements and regulations of the 2023 Energy-Efficient Vehicle Competition (KMHE). Then, the braking distance will be calculated for speeds of 30, 40, and 50 km/h on dry and wet asphalt road conditions.
 From the calculation results and data analysis, it is found that the required dynamic braking force (Fb) is 510,76 N, and the static braking force (Fb) is 830,31 N. Meanwhile, the minimum braking distance is observed on dry asphalt road conditions at a speed of 30 km/h with a percentage error of 1,59 %, where the theoretical value is 5.67 m and the actual value is 5,76 m. On the other hand, the highest braking distance is observed on wet asphalt road conditions at a speed of 50 km/h with a percentage error of 7,39%, where the theoretical value is 14.47 m and the actual value is 15.54 m. Of the two road conditions, the largest percentage error occurs when testing the vehicle at speeds of 30, 40, and 50 km/h on wet asphalt conditions, amounting to 4,61%. With this level of percentage error, it can be concluded that the variation in the obtained data is relatively small, which is less than 10%.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COURSE MODULE OF MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING DRAWING FOR VOCATIONAL STUDENTS

This research developed a learning modules that fit the curriculum and determine the level of eligibility to be applied in learning of Manufacturing Drawing Engineering. This research applied a Research Development methode with the 4D model from Thiagaradjan, that are Define, Design, Develop, and Disseminate. The developed course module was validated by material and media experts which is presented using Likert scale. The results of the validation from the lecturers as material experts scored 3,33 in very feasible category, the validation from the lecturers as media experts scored 3,35 in very feasible category, the validation from the teachers as material experts scored 3,04 in feasible category, and the validation from teachers as media experts scored 3,35 in very feasible category. Products that have been developed and revised were tested on 30 students of XI class in Mechanical Engineering department of SMK Negeri 3 Yogyakarta by distributing evaluation questionnaires to find out the responses of students. The product got a score 3,58 from the students in very feasible category. The module received a very feasible evaluation from lecturers as a material and media experts, teachers as a media experts, and students. The module received a feasible evaluation from teachers as a material experts.

Design and Construction of a Turbine Pump as Laboratory Scale Micro Hydro Electricity Learning Media

Lack of understanding of students about renewable energy can be produced from pumps, namely electrical energy. The energy produced by this pump is beneficial for rural areas that do not have electricity. The purpose of this research is to modify the pump as a turbine for a micro-hydro power plant which can be used by students of the Mechanical Engineering Department, the University of Muhammadiyah Pontianak as learning media in the field of fluid machines and laboratory-scale energy conversion machines. The research subjects were 15 students of mechanical engineering and pumps that were converted into turbines to generate electricity. The data collected first comes from the performance test of a pump that has been converted into a pump as a turbine. Further data was obtained from students through a pretest with a conceptual type of pump used as a power plant. Then after the pretest, students were treated by using and operating a pump as a turbine as a learning media. From this media, students must also explain the concept and how the pump as a turbine can produce electrical energy in writing. The student's written results obtained were analyzed to determine the effect of the pump as turbine model on students' understanding of conceptual analysis. The result of this research is a pump that has been converted into a pump as the turbine. In addition, as a simple practical tool to test the performance of the pump as a turbine. There was an increase in students' understanding in terms of the ability to describe the concept of power generation sources from pumps and analyze the process and workings of the pump as a turbine to produce electrical energy.

A Case Study on the Administrative Impacts of Different Engineering Capstone Teaching Modalities

The capstone experience in engineering curriculums is a critical component focused on the unification of several years of student learning, but its unique nature can present challenges to engineering departments in faculty assignment and ensuring consistent, high-quality instruction. During a seven-year period, five instructional modalities, defining the interaction between students and faculty, were explored in capstone courses in the University of Maine Mechanical Engineering Department. By sharing the lessons learned from this case study, other engineering departments can make more informed decisions about how to operate capstone courses. We present the benefits and challenges of each modality and evaluate them for scalability, student satisfaction, project diversity, cost, and instructor workload. Annual data were collected on student, instructor, and project counts. Data from student evaluations and department budgets were used to evaluate student satisfaction and costs, respectively. Insights from the three authors, who were the primary capstone instructors during this study, are shared as part of the evaluations and lessons learned. Key results are that cost, student satisfaction, and project diversity did not depend strongly on the teaching modality. However, scalability and instructor workload were highly dependent on the teaching modality. The University of Maine Mechanical Engineering Department sees the most promise in a modality with multiple lead instructors who each oversee a portion of the teams, which provides scalability to add or remove instructors, and the ability for high-quality instruction through close coordination of a small instructor group.

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11th Brazilian Congress on Metrology (Metrologia 2021) The Metrology 2021 congress was held from October 18th to 21st, 2021. It was a remote event, with all activities done in virtual rooms. The general president of Metrology 2021 was Americo Bernardes, president of the Brazilian Society of Metrology and professor at the Federal University of Ouro Preto.Metrology 2021 Magna session was the lecture Dr. Claire M. Saundry (NIST) gave on the first day, October 18th. Dr. Saundry spoke about the main activities of the Interamerican Metrology System (or “Sistema Interamericano de Metrologia” – SIM) regarding capacity building and knowledge transfer.Following the Magna session, on the morning of October 18th, the work began with the plenary lecture given by Dr. Daniel Varela Magalhães from the Mechanical Engineering Department at USP. The speaker gave a general outline of the new edition of the International Vocabulary of Metrology (VIM).Further after, on the afternoon of October 18th, two virtual rooms were held in parallel with the sessions related to CBM (general metrology) and CBMRI (ionizing radiations). CBMRI sessions also featured four thematic discussions on specific topics of interest.The second day of the congress, October 19th, started with the lecture of Dr. Thomas Hartung from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He spoke about assessing the health effects of drugs and chemicals, which is considered a scientific revolution and a critical application of Metrology in the Health Area. Continuing in the Health area, Dr. Cameron Miller from NIST presented his lecture on documentary standards and the development of measurement methods for UV disinfection technologies. The plenary lectures were closed by Dr. Renato Garcia from UFSC, who spoke about quality programs in medical equipment used in primary health care, specifically about post-market safety and performance trials.Later, on the afternoon of October 19th, two virtual rooms were held in parallel sessions related to CBM (general metrology) and CBMO (optical metrology).The third day of the congress started with an exciting round table about female researchers’ presence in ionizing radiations. A plenary lecture by Stephane Solve from the “Bureau International de Poids et Mesures” (BIPM) Radiometry-Photometry group followed. The main subject was an extension of the BIPM on-site primary voltage standards comparisons to AC voltages, an important topic in Electrical Metrology. Further on, the morning works ended with a round table about Metrology in Health, featuring Renata Souza from FIOCRUZ and Roberto Macoto Ichinose from the Biomedical Engineering of COPPE/UFRJ.The afternoon of the third day started with two virtual rooms that held parallel sessions related to SEMETRO (electrical metrology) and to CIMMEC (mechanical metrology). Later on, there was another round table about Metrology in Health, specifically about metrological traceability of laboratory tests, with lectures by Dr. Marcelo Medeiros from INMETRO, Debora Michele Morone D’Aiuto from FIOCRUZ, Rafael Monsores from the company CONTROLLAB and MD Luisane Maria Falci Vieira, manager of the laboratory Álvaro Apoio.The event’s last day, October 21st, started with a plenary lecture by Dr. Jim Huggett from National Measurement Laboratory (NML), talking about the role of measurement science in supporting a molecular diagnosis of SARS-COV-2, a very current and hot topic. A vivid discussion on Metrology Education followed the plenary lecture.The afternoon of the last day started with two virtual rooms that held parallel sessions related to REMEQ (chemical metrology) and CBM (general metrology). Later, round tables were held in the two parallel virtual rooms, discussing hot topics such as metrological traceability, quality control on COVID-19 diagnostics, alternative methods applied to toxicology, and a web app developed for the performance evaluation of laboratories.Metrologia 2021 disclosed about 170 articles. After the second round of revision, the editorial committee selected the best 35 to be published by IOP JPCS.Metrology 2021 had sponsors from the industrial sector (Fluke Calibration and Sartorius do Brasil (Gold sponsors) and institutional support (ARBB Consultoria em Metrologia e Qualidade, RMMG, Canal Metrologia, REDE, SBLUZ and GM Metrologia). The event’s next edition will be face-to-face in 2023, from 28th to 30th November, in Itaipava, a gorgeous area belonging to the “Imperial City” of Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro state. You are all welcome to join us! Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil, August 28th, 2023. List of Editorial committee, Organizing committee are available in this Pdf.

MAINTENANCE PERALATAN PRODUKSI DI PONDOK PESANTREN DARUL MUTTAQIN KOTA BATU

Darul Muttaqin Islamic boarding school product production activities are very dependent on the equipment that supports the production of these products. By increasing the reliability of production equipment, production from Islamic boarding schools will increase so that the economic level can be achieved well. Production equipment whose reliability is maintained by maintenance includes chili sauce making machines, tempe chips making machines, transportation equipment and other workshop equipment. The maintenance process is carried out by starting with mapping damage data for each component of the existing equipment. This data is taken from several sources that are close to or equal to existing treatments. From the existing analysis, several care and maintenance processes need to be carried out on certain parts of the equipment. The problem found by the Darul Mutaqin Islamic boarding school is a lack of knowledge regarding the proper maintenance process. This maintenance is carried out by the students of the Darul Mutaqin Islamic boarding school with direction and supervision from the service team from the Mechanical Engineering department of Brawijaya University. This activity will result in an increase in students' skills in the field of maintenance.

Thermal efficiency enhancement of an Evacuated Tube Collector: Experimental, numerical and analytical approach

In this work a commercial Evacuated Tube Collector with U-pipe flow system and mini compound parabolic concentrators was investigated analytically, numerically and experimentally. The thermal function of the solar collector was tested experimentally in Athens city (Greece) at 26th of April for water inlet temperatures in the range of 50–75 °C. An analytical approach and a simulation model were utilized and validated through experiments. The comparisons showed mean deviations lower than 6 % from the experimental results, with the non-experimental solutions to appear a mean declination of 1.6 % between them. A detailed thermal analysis was followed using the validated analytical solution for an inlet temperature range of 10–80 °C. The volumetric flow rate was optimized analytically. Two different geometrical characteristics were modified for studying possible enhancement of the collector. These parameters were the number of the evacuated tubes and the diameter of each receiver tube considering the collector’s aperture area as constant. The increment of these parameters had positive effect on the thermal efficiency leading to enhancements greater than 6 %. The experiments were held at the Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics (Mechanical Engineering Department) of National Technical University of Athens. The design and the numerical simulations of the collector were conducted with Solidworks.

Advances and Challenges in Combustion Control of Radio Frequency Oscillating Plasma Discharge

Article Advances and Challenges in Combustion Control of Radio Frequency Oscillating Plasma Discharge Linyan Wang , Xiao Yu , Graham Reader , and Ming Zheng * Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, N9B 3P4 Ontario, Canada * Correspondence: mzheng@uwindsor.ca Received: 18 July 2023 Accepted: 13 September 2023 Published: 20 September 2023 Abstract: Oscillating plasma (corona) ignition is a promising technique for producing a larger initial ignition volume for achieving cleaner combustion. The oscillating plasma system provides a quick response to the ignition command compared with the conventional transistor-coil-ignition systems (TCI). Subsequently, the shorter combustion duration contributes to further improvement of engine efficiency under lean/diluted conditions. The challenges of oscillating plasma ignition appear under elevated background pressures, mostly owing to fewer plasma streamers and even void discharge, thus the advantage of oscillating plasma discharge over spark discharge is compromised. To suffice the industrial applications, the challenges of plasma generation and control platforms are investigated and discussed in this work. The challenges include ignition control, background condition impacts, and other external disturbances. A flexible modulation for oscillating plasma generation is established, with the measurements of discharge voltage and current. High-speed imaging, simultaneous with electrical waveform measurements is applied to record the plasma formation and flame propagation. This research provides advances in the ignition control for the oscillating plasma discharge, adding a foundation and reference for the oscillating plasma diagnostics under engine-like conditions with variations of pressure, temperature, gas composition, and flow pattern.

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I am hugely delighted and excited to be writing this preface to the Proceedings of the 2023 International Conference on Intelligent Robotics, Mechatronics and Automation Systems (IRMAS 2023). IRMAS 2023 is the third international conference organized by Centre for Automation (CFA) & School of Mechanical Engineering (SMEC) of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, India in association with Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), Malaysia and Department of Mechanical Engineering, COEP Technological University, Pune, India. The previous two versions of the conference have been conducted successfully in virtual mode in 2021 and 2022.Mechatronics and Robotics deal with the synergistic incorporation of diverse disciplines, such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, manufacturing engineering, computer and software to solve complex problems. Intelligent Mechatronics Systems transform world towards complete automation. The transformations include industrial automation (Industry 4.0), smart manufacturing systems, connected machines, Intelligent and autonomous vehicle technologies, autonomous and service robots, etc. These technological developments drive us into the future where almost everything will be automatic.The conference provides an opportunity to bring together industrial practitioners, researchers, young innovators, academicians and students to present and exchange new ideas and applications in this broad field. The main aim of the conference is to bring down the gap between actual research and innovation with actual requirement. This conference aims in planting seeds of ideas in the minds of the delegates with realistic applications and challenges in creating automated future.A wide range of papers is encouraged at the IRMAS 2023, from work in progress through to high quality scientific papers. These 69 papers comprise an extensive range of areas covered by the conference theme: Robotics and Mechatronics, Automation, Design and Manufacturing, Intelligent Systems and Vehicle Systems.List of Committees are available in the pdf.

Penerapan Metode Project Based Learning pada Mata Kuliah Teknologi Pengelasan Logam di Jurusan Teknik Mesin FT-UNP

Learning as a learning process built by lecturers to develop creative thinking that can improve students' thinking skills. Project-based learning is a teaching and learning strategy that involves students to work on a project that is useful for solving community or environmental problems. The type of research used is research in the form of classroom action research. However, according to researchers, classroom teaching is not only in a room, but a group of students who are learning. This classroom action research can be done not only in the classroom, but anywhere, as long as there is a group of students who are learning. This study aims to see the results of the application of Project-based learning in Welding Technology Subjects with 29 students of the Department of Mechanical Engineering FT-UNP. The aspects seen in the observation results are visual, oral, listening, writing, monotoric, mental, emotional activities. Aspects seen in student learning outcomes include: project worksheets and assessment sheets. The results of the recapitulation of observation of activeness in Cycle I averaged 60.16% and the percentage of activeness in Cycle II averaged 80.56%. The overall average liveliness between cycles is 70.4% and learning outcomes are 79.65%. Based on the results of classroom action research that has been carried out in 2 (two) cycles in this study, it can be concluded that the application of the project-based learning model can improve learning activeness and learning outcomes of Welding Technology courses of Mechanical Engineering Department Students FT-UNP.

An Effective Polysulfide Trapping Strategy for the Development of a Scalable, High Energy Density Lithium-Sulfur Battery

Rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries represent an attractive, “beyond Li-ion”, battery technology because they offer a high specific energy of 2,500 Wh/kg at the material level1 and 550 Wh/kg at the cell level.2 However, Li-S batteries face substantial technical challenges that have thus far prevented the realization of the battery’s tremendous performance potentials.3 One of the major technical challenges is low practical specific capacity and fast performance degradation due to the formation, migration, and shuttling of intermediate lithium polysulfides (PSs). Several strategies have been used to trap the PS species either chemically or physically; however, they either incur increased cost due to the use of expensive catalysts4 or suffer from the reduced battery specific energy due to added inactive weights from the cell design.5,6 We will present a novel strategy to address the PS-shuttle issue using a nanolayer polymer modified high surface area carbon (NPC) as a new type of PS-trapping material.7 When thin films of NPC were coated on sulfur electrodes (NPC-S), we found that our NPC-S based Li-S battery demonstrated a high discharge specific capacity (~1,600 mAh/g) that is nearing sulfur’s theoretical specific capacity. Our molecular dynamics simulation suggests such an excellent performance is attributed to NPC’s strong PS trapping capability via dipole-dipole interactions. We will show that, using a sustainable starting material, our approach is low-cost and economically scalable for the advanced Li-S battery technology. References Zhang, S. S., Journal of Power Sources 2013, 231, 153-162.Manthiram, A.; Fu, Y.; Su, Y.-S., Accounts of Chemical Research 2013, 46 (5), 1125-1134.Chen, Z. X.; Zhao, M.; Hou, L. P.; Zhang, X. Q.; Li, B. Q.; Huang, J. Q., Advanced Materials 2022, 2201555.Hamal, D.; Awadallah, O.; El-Zahab, B., Catalysis in Lithium-Sulfur Cathodes for Improved Performance and Stability. In 242nd The Electrochemical Society Meeting, Atlanta, GA, USA, 2022.Chung, S.-H.; Han, P.; Singhal, R.; Kalra, V.; Manthiram, A., Advanced Energy Materials 2015, 5 (18).Singhal, R.; Chung, S.-H.; Manthiram, A.; Kalra, V., Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2015, 3 (8), 4530-4538.Hasan, W.; Hyynh, K.; Razzaq, A.; Smdani, G.; Shende, R.; Paudel, T.; Xing, W., "Scalable, High Energy Density Lithium-Sulfur Batteries". In NASA Battery Workshop, November 15-17, 2022 , Huntsville, AL, USA, 2022. Acknowledgment This work was supported by the Larry and Linda Pearson Endowed Chair at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, South Dakoda School of Mines and Technology and by the South Dakota Governor’s Research Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage. Figure 1