Hybrid Design Research Articles

Topology optimised novel lattice structures for enhanced energy absorption and impact resistance

ABSTRACT This study evaluates topologically optimized lattice structures for high strain rate loading, crucial for impact resistance. Using the BESO (Bidirectional Evolution Structural Optimisation) topology optimisation algorithm, CompIED and ShRIED topologies are developed for enhanced energy absorption and impact resistance. Micromechanical simulations reveal CompIED surpasses theoretical elasticity limits for isotropic cellular materials, while the hybrid design ShRComp achieves theoretical maximum across all relative densities. Compared to TPMS, truss, and plate lattices, the proposed structures exhibit higher uniaxial modulus. Manufactured via fused deposition modeling with ABS thermoplastic, their energy absorption capabilities are assessed through compression tests and impact simulations. The ShRComp lattice demonstrates superior energy absorption under compression compared to CompIED. Impact analyses of CompIED and ShRComp sandwich structures at varying velocities show exceptional resistance to perforation and higher impact absorption efficiency, outperforming other classes of sandwich structures at similar densities. These findings position these new and novel topologies as promising candidates for impact absorption applications.

Review of Solar Greenhouse Drying Systems in Conjunction with Hybrid Technological Features, Designs, Operations, and Economic Implications for Agro‐Food Product Processing Application

This review reports recent developments in solar greenhouse drying systems in conjunction with hybrid technological features and their designs, operations, and economic implications as well as application in agro‐food product processing. Solar energy is one of the most efficient renewable energy sources to be used as an alternative to fossil fuels. This form of energy is the finest option for space heating and electricity generation among the available renewable energy sources. Solar energy can be used directly or indirectly for dehydrating agricultural and nonagricultural products. However, the products are susceptible to natural disasters such as rain, insects, and animals in open‐air sun drying. Solar greenhouse drying systems in conjunction with hybrid technological features are one of the most recent applications used in the agro‐food processing sectors. The review shows that the quality of products dried in conservatories is superior to that of products traditionally dried under the sun. Further, higher sustainability of the solar greenhouse‐oriented hybrid drying system in terms of embodied energy, energy return time, CO2 emission, net CO2 mitigation, and carbon credit can also be observed with the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis, i.e., strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of solar dryers. This shows the framework for abundant real‐world applications.

Insight into the Interface Design for Li Metal Anode: Organic‐Rich or Inorganic‐Rich

AbstractMicrocracks and surface heterogeneity in solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI) induced by repeated plating/stripping of lithium (Li) metal exacerbate SEI fracture propagation and dendrite growth, which lead to unsatisfactory Coulombic efficiency and limited cycle life of Li metal anode. In this study, the hybrid artificial interfaces with controlled organic–inorganic ratios are designed and deep insight into their impacts on the electro‐chemo‐mechanical properties is obtained. The organic–inorganic ratios in the hybrid interfaces influence the mechanical properties, lithiophilicity, and diffusion kinetics of the interfaces, which in turn affect the nucleation, early growth, and repeated deposition/dissolution behavior of Li. It is found that increasing the inorganic ratio in the hybrid interface can realize significantly enhanced electrochemical performances. This work answers a key question for hybrid interfaces: should organic‐rich or inorganic‐rich be preferred in the hybrid interface? It is believed that this work will guide the future design of hybrid interfaces for Li metal anode and open up opportunities for the realization of next‐generation Li metal batteries.

Novel interaction effects enhance specific energy absorption in foam-filled CFRP tapered tubes

This study unveils a novel interaction effect in the foam-filled CFRP tapered tubes that enhances their specific energy absorption (SEA), challenging the conventional understanding that foam fillers decrease the SEA of structures like foam-filled CFRP straight tubes and foam-filled metal tapered tubes. Quasi-static axial compression tests were conducted on foam-filled CFRP tubes with varying taper angles (0°, 5°, 10°, 15°) to confirm and quantify this newfound interaction effect. The energy absorption characteristics and interaction effect due to the foam filler in the foam-filled CFRP tapered tubes were thoroughly evaluated and compared to 3D-printed 316L stainless steel tubes and unfilled CFRP counterparts. Contrary to expectations, our results indicate that the foam-filled CFRP tubes consistently outperform both steel and unfilled CFRP tubes in energy absorption. Intriguingly, the CFRP foam-filled tapered tubes in this study demonstrated higher SEA compared to CFRP tubes without foam filler, underscoring the remarkable effectiveness of CFRP materials in foam-filled tapered tube applications. Our comprehensive interaction effect analysis highlights the substantial contribution of the unique synergy between the foam filler and the debris of the CFRP tapered tube to this increased SEA. Additionally, we propose a novel hybrid design that integrates straight and tapered CFRP tubes with foam fillers, leveraging the newfound interaction effect to further enhance the energy absorption of tapered tubes. This research not only emphasizes the advantages of foam fillers in enhancing CFRP tapered structures but also introduces innovative possibilities for energy absorption applications across various industries.

Rock fishways: Natural designs for an engineered world

Globally, fishways have been constructed as a technical solution to reduce the damaging effects of dams and weirs on fish movement. Some common design typologies are rock fishways and nature-like bypasses. While rock fishways are common in Australian rivers, there has been no general evaluation of their effectiveness, location, or costs to demonstrate their success and help guide future investment. Our objective was to develop an Australian inventory of rock fishways to visualise their location, major design elements, capital cost and frequency of evaluation. We also present two rock fishway case-studies that highlight key ecological and engineering design criteria, field evaluation of effectiveness and a summary of construction learnings. In Australia, there were 332 rock fishways, most typologies were lateral-ridge rock ramps (161), random rock fishways (123), nature-like bypasses (13) and hybrid designs (10). Approximately 20% of these have biological monitoring. Trends over time, included: (i) a slight flattening of fishway slope (from 1 V:20H to 1 V:30H) (ii) a progression from dumped loose rock to keyed-in formalised lateral-ridge fishways, increased use of natural sealing and (iii) an emerging tendency to hybrid concrete baffle and rock designs. Construction costs were available for 183 sites, with a total adjusted investment of USD$22 M and although highly variable the average cost per metre differential head was USD$110,000 (range USD$4500–286,000) per vertical-metre making rock fishways one of the most cost-effective designs available. Two field case-studies provided support for passage of a broad size range (15–410 mm long) of fish at a wide range of flows with hydraulic reliability over considerable design life-spans (i.e., >25 years). The publicly-available rock fishway database forms a platform for sharing technical information to promote more effective designs, contributing to continued global development of rock fishways and conservation of freshwater fish communities.

Analytical robust design optimization for hybrid design variables: An active-learning methodology based on polynomial chaos Kriging

In robust design optimization, statistical moments of performance are widely adopted in formulating robustness metrics. To address the high computational costs stemming from the many-query nature of such optimizations with respect to robustness metrics, analytical formulas of the statistical moments have been developed based on surrogate models. However, existing methods consider random variables as the sole model input, which excludes, from the application scope, problems that also involve deterministic design variables. To remedy this issue, this paper proposes a new Polynomial Chaos Kriging-based methodology for efficient and accurate analytical robust design optimization. The analytical solutions for the statistical moments of performance are developed considering that the Polynomial Chaos Kriging model is established in the augmented space of the deterministic design and random variables. This is achieved by systematically decoupling associations with deterministic input from random input, providing effective solutions even when the orthonormality of the basis function is not applicable in the augmented space. This work also presents an active-learning framework enabling seamless implementation of various numerical optimization methods. Several numerical examples and a practical application illustrate the performance and superiority of the proposed method.

Hybrid indirect and regenerative evaporative cooling design for enhanced cooling density

Indirect evaporative coolers (IEC) enable low-energy cooling of air without humidification. While a conventional IEC is limited to cooling incoming air down to its wet-bulb temperature, a regenerative IEC (M−cycle) can cool air further, approaching its dew point. In this study, a hybrid IEC-M−cycle design is proposed and evaluated for enhanced cooling, with initial cooling in the IEC portion, followed by subsequent cooling in the M−cycle section. Such a hybrid design produces the same product air temperature as a stand-alone M−cycle with 12–18 % lower heat transfer area. At a fixed system size, around 20 % higher cooling rate is achieved with the hybrid system while achieving the same product air temperature by optimizing the area fraction of the IEC section, and the recirculation flow rate. Overall, the proposed hybrid design enables improved indirect evaporative cooling at lower system sizes.

Accelerating Graph Analytics Using Attention-Based Data Prefetcher

Graph analytics shows promise for solving challenging problems on relational data. However, memory constraints arise from the large size of graphs and the high complexity of algorithms. Data prefetching is a crucial technique to hide memory access latency by predicting and fetching data into the memory cache beforehand. Traditional prefetchers struggle with fixed rules in adapting to complex memory access patterns in graph analytics. Machine learning (ML) algorithms, particularly long short-term memory (LSTM) models, excel in memory access prediction. However, they encounter challenges such as difficulty in learning interleaved access patterns and high storage costs when predicting in large memory address space. In addition, there remains a gap between designing a high-performance ML-based memory access predictor and developing an effective ML-based prefetcher for an existing memory system. In this work, we propose a novel Attention-based prefetching framework to accelerate graph analytics applications. To achieve high-performance memory access prediction, we propose A2P, a novel Attention-based memory Access Predictor for graph analytics. We use the multi-head self-attention mechanism to extract features from memory traces. We design a novel bitmap labeling method to collect future deltas within a spatial range, making interleaved patterns easier to learn. We introduce a novel super page concept, allowing the model to surpass physical page constraints. To integrate A2P into a memory system, we design a three-module prefetching framework composed of an existing memory hierarchy, a prefetch controller, and the predictor A2P. In addition, we propose a hybrid design to combine A2P and existing hardware prefetchers for higher prefetching performance. We evaluate A2P and the prefetching framework using the widely used GAP benchmark. Prediction experiments show that for the top three predictions, A2P outperforms the widely used state-of-the-art LSTM-based model by 23.1% w.r.t. Precision, 21.2% w.r.t. Recall, and 10.4% w.r.t. Coverage. Prefetching experiments show that A2P provides 18.4% IPC Improvement on average, outperforming state-of-the-art prefetchers BO by 17.2%, ISB by 15.0%, and Delta-LSTM by 10.9%. The hybrid prefetcher combining A2P and ISB achieves 21.7% IPC Improvement, outperforming the hybrid of BO and ISB by 16.3%.

A hybrid design method of steady-state throttling control schedules for high-flow variable cycle engine

It is critical for variable cycle engine to design throttling control schedules that exploit its full steady-state performance potential. However, the increasing amount of variable geometry components makes it difficult to design the optimal control schedules, and the control schedules cannot adapt to the engine performance degradation. Therefore, a novel hybrid design method of steady-state throttling control schedules is proposed in this study by combining an offline optimization phase and an online compensation phase. In the offline optimization phase, a novel multi-objective differential evolution algorithm with neighborhood-based hierarchical mutation and cluster-based environment selection is first proposed to optimize the control schedules. The stratified selection method is then proposed to select the optimal and smooth control schedules. In the online compensation phase, the sensitivity calculation is first employed to identify the variable geometry component most sensitive to engine performance, and the compensator based on the extreme gradient boosting method is then designed to adjust the control schedules online. The hybrid design method is applied to the high-flow variable cycle engine. By comparing with the traditional design method, the results demonstrate that the proposed method can optimize the engine performance under the premise of ensuring good thrust linearity and that the control schedules can adapt to performance degradation during online use.

Efficient bioreduction of 4-phenyl-2-butanone to drug precursor (S)-4-phenyl-2-butanol by a whole-cell biocatalyst using a novel hybrid design technique

Asymmetric synthesis is a critical tactic in pharmaceutical industries for creating chiral medications as it allows an enantiomer to be obtained in synthetic chemistry. The asymmetric bioreduction processes by biocatalysts have shown significant potential in producing chiral alcohols. The amount of substrate and the production method of the biocatalytic synthesis of (S)-4-phenyl-2-butanol ((S)-2) are not still desired levels. Furthermore, the biocatalytic asymmetric reduction of 4-phenyl-2-butanone (1) to (R)- or (S)-4-phenyl-2-butanol did not use any mathematical modeling techniques. In this study, the asymmetric bioreduction of 1 was carried out in this work employing Lactobacillus paracasei BD71 biocatalyst and a novel hybrid design-based optimization approach. By using the hybrid design technique, the optimal circumstances were discovered to be pH = 7, temperature = 29 °C, incubation period = 66 h, and agitation speed = 189 rpm. Also, the enantiomeric excess (ee) and conversion could be 99.15 % and 98.19 %, respectively. Next, (S)-2 was acquired to be ee: 99 %, conversion: >99 %, and yield: 97 % from the optimum bioreduction conditions. Furthermore, 14.08 g of 1 under optimal conditions was entirely transformed into (S)-2 (13.84 g, 97 % isolated yield). This study is the first research attempt to use a biocatalyst and an innovative and new hybrid design-based optimization approach to fabricate enantiopure (S)-2 at a high gram scale. This work has successfully demonstrated that the new hybrid design-based optimization technique is applicable to biocatalytic asymmetric reduction processes.

Testing effectiveness and implementation of a standardized approach to sexual dysfunction screening among adolescent and young adult-aged survivors of childhood cancer: A type I hybrid, mixed methods trial protocol: Effectiveness of sexual dysfunction screening among AYA cancer survivors: a study protocol.

Approximately 20-50% of adolescent and young adult-aged childhood cancer survivors (AYA-CCS) experience sexual dysfunction (SD), although this healthcare need is widely underrecognized. Previous research from both AYA-CCS patients and their providers report that SD needs are unaddressed despite patient desires for SD discussions to be incorporated as part of their care. Patients and providers agree that standardized use of a patient-reported outcome measure may facilitate SD discussions; an SD screening approach was developed with patient and provider input. This study will measure the effectiveness of a standardized SD screening intervention and assess implementation outcomes and multilevel barriers and facilitators to guide future research. This multi-site, mixed methods, type 1 effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial will be evaluated using a pre-post design (NCT05524610). The trial will enroll 86 AYA-CCS (ages 15-39) from two cancer centers in the United States. The SD intervention consists of core fundamental functions with a "menu" of intervention options to allow for flexibility in delivery and tailoring in variable contexts. Effectiveness of the intervention on facilitating SD communication will be measured through patient surveys and clinical data; multivariable logistic regression will be used for the binary outcome of self-reported SD screening, controlling for patient-level predictors. Implementation outcomes will be assessed using mixed methods (electronic health record abstraction, patient and provider surveys, and provider interviews. Quantitative and qualitative findings will be merged using a joint display to understand factors affecting intervention success. Identification and treatment of SD in AYA-CCS is an important and challenging quality of life concern. The type 1 hybrid design will facilitate rapid translation from research to practice by testing the effects of the intervention while simultaneously identifying multilevel barriers and facilitators to real-world implementation. This approach will inform future testing and dissemination of the SD screening intervention.

MyBack - effectiveness and implementation of a behavior change informed exercise programme to prevent low back pain recurrences: a hybrid effectiveness-implementation randomized controlled study protocol

BackgroundLow back pain (LBP) is a common health condition and the leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide. Most LBP episodes have a favourable prognosis, but recurrences within a year are common. Despite the individual and societal impact related to LBP recurrences, there is limited evidence on effective strategies for secondary prevention of LBP and successful implementation of intervention programmes in a real-world context. The aim of this study is to analyse the effectiveness of a tailored exercise and behavioural change programme (MyBack programme) in the secondary prevention of LBP; and evaluate acceptability, feasibility and determinants of implementation by the different stakeholders, as well as the implementation strategy of the MyBack programme in real context.MethodsThis protocol describes a hybrid type I, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of MyBack programme in the context of primary health care. The Behaviour Change Wheel framework and FITT-VP principles will inform the development of the behaviour change and exercise component of MyBack programme, respectively. Patients who have recently recovered from an episode of non-specific LBP will be randomly assigned to MyBack and usual care group or usual care group. The primary outcome will be the risk of LBP recurrence. The secondary outcomes will include disability, pain intensity, musculoskeletal health, and health-related quality of life. Participants will be followed monthly for 1 year. Costs data related to health care use and the MyBack programme will be also collected. Implementation outcomes will be assessed in parallel with the effectiveness study using qualitative methods (focus groups with participants and health providers) and quantitative data (study enrolment and participation data; participants adherence).DiscussionTo our knowledge, this is the first study assessing the effectiveness and implementation of a tailored exercise and behaviour change programme for prevention of LBP recurrences. Despite challenges related to hybrid design, it is expected that data on the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and implementation of the MyBack programme may contribute to improve health care in patients at risk of LBP recurrences, contributing to direct and indirect costs reduction for patients and the health system.Trial registration numberNCT05841732.

Hybrid design of optimal reconfiguration and DG sizing and siting using a novel improved salp swarm algorithm

Hybrid design of optimal reconfiguration and DG sizing and siting using a novel improved salp swarm algorithm

Introducing Interrelated Models Appropriate for Designing a Mixed Research Design Within a Hybrid Design

In this article, interrelated models appropriate for conceptualizing a mixed research design within a hybrid design are presented. Initially, the discussion centers on outlining the core principles defining community-based participatory research and characteristics defining mixed research. The design model presents selective examples of mixed research elements to be considered when the researcher is strategizing the design. The integration model details the language of integration and the role of legitimation as it relates to integration. The integrity model presents selective quality criteria designed to elevate credibility of the conclusions. The contribution of this article lies in its focus on mixed research design within the hybrid design, and the presentation of interrelated models, namely, design, integration, and integrity models that address this focus.

A survey of isatin hybrids and their biological properties.

The emergence of diverse infections worldwide, which is a serious global threat to human existence, necessitates the urgent development of novel therapeutic candidates that can combat these diseases with efficacy. Molecular hybridization has been established as an efficient technique in designing bioactive molecules capable of fighting infections. Isatin, a core nucleus of an array of compounds with diverse biological properties can be modified at different positions leading to the creation of novel drug targets, is an active area of medicinal chemistry. This review containing published articles from 2005 to 2022 highlights isatin hybrids which have been synthesized and reported in the literature alongside a discussion on their biological properties. The enriched structure-activity relationship studies discussed provides insights for the rational design of novel isatin hybrids with tailored biological properties as effective therapeutic candidates inspired by nature.

Holistic Concept for Simulation-based Planning and Design of Hybrid AC/DC Energy Grids for Production Systems

Holistic Concept for Simulation-based Planning and Design of Hybrid AC/DC Energy Grids for Production Systems

RETRACTED: An improved hybrid network‐on‐chip with flexible topology and frugal routing

AbstractThis study proposes an improved Hybrid Network‐on‐Chip (HNoC) with a flexible topology and frugal routing. The key advantage is in terms of latency and saturation because of the optimal use of RF‐based wireless networks. The performance improvement is achieved by managing the communication resources through a radio bandwidth allocation algorithm and a frugal routing algorithm that optimizes RF consumption by choosing between wired and wireless networks. The architecture of a hybrid network‐on‐chip has been modeled in SystemC by extending IP from the SoCLib library and Noxim simulator. The distinction of the flexible topology is exhibited by an 11% reduced delay compared to the fixed topology and a 31% shorter delay compared to a wired mesh network for lower transaction rates. A 21% increase in saturation has also established the superiority of the frugal routing algorithm. The hybrid design can be useful in addressing the limitations of purely wireless design, and the frugal routing algorithm can be seen as a complex topology for increasing the size of on‐chip networks.

Stabilizing dual-cation liquid metal battery for large-scale energy storage: A comprehensive hybrid design approach

Liquid metal batteries (LMBs) hold immense promise for large-scale energy storage. However, normally LMBs are based on single type of cations (e.g., Ca2+, Li+, Na+), and as a result subject to inherent limitations associated with each type of single cation, such as the low energy density in Ca-based LMBs, the high energy cost in Li-based LMBs, and the short cycling lifespan in Na-based LMBs. Here we propose a dual-cation (Ca2+ and Li+) liquid metal battery, which allows access to, simultaneously, high energy density, prolonged cycling lifespan, reduced energy cost, and enhanced cycling stability. For this strategy to work, the main obstacle to overcome is the instability of the dual-cation system in electrochemical reactions. We have undertaken a hybrid design approach to resolve this issue, by integrating phase diagram design, first-principles calculations, and machine learning techniques. We discover that incorporating magnesium as an inert additive can effectively stabilize the cycling performance of dual-cation LMBs. Furthermore, our results reveal that specific ion ratios are required to release tailor dual-cation chemistry, to enable the designed multi-component alloy (Ca-Li-Mg in our case) electrode to function properly in LMBs. These findings are expected to have general implications for future developments of innovative LMBs with enhanced performance.

Multistable compliant linkages with multiple kinematic paths separated by energy barriers

Multistable morphing structures can reconfigure between different stable states that are separated by energy barriers, and one-degree-of-freedom (1-DOF) mechanisms have many merits, like simple actuation. This paper combines the two and proposes a new family of reconfigurable compliant linkages with many (2−6) 1-DOF kinematic paths that are separated by energy barriers. This new type of design is an extension of multistable structures, where each stable state corresponds to not just one configuration but a 1-DOF configuration space, i.e., a kinematic path. Components of the linkages are made elastically compliant, therefore enabling the switch between two isolated compatible paths with multi-stability. A generation-selection hybrid design algorithm to follow prescribed reconfigurable paths is proposed, and a minimum energy path (MEP) finding method to guide actuation to switch between different kinematic paths is developed. Four design examples with 2–3 reconfigurable paths and their experiments are presented, and the effectiveness of this method is verified. This work provides a fresh perspective to design the single-DOF reconfigurable mechanisms with larger design space, more reconfigurable kinematic paths, and easier reconfiguration actuation.

Design & Fabrication of Vertical Surface Cleaner

Abstract: The Wall Climbing Robot designed in this study to combines the innovative propulsion system of propellers with the traditional locomotion method of wheels to achieve versatile and efficient mobility on both vertical and horizontal surfaces. By integrating propellers and wheels, the robot can seamlessly transition between climbing walls and moving along flat surfaces. The hybrid design not only enhances the robot's mobility but also optimizes its energy efficiency, making it suitable for prolonged missions in various environments. This research explores the synergistic integration of propellers and wheels, showcasing the robot's adaptability in real- world applications such as surveillance, inspection, and maintenance tasks in both indoor and outdoor scenarios. The developed Wall Climbing Robot presents a significant advancement in robotic mobility, offering a promising solution for complex tasks in diverse settings