Hybrid Micro Research Articles

Hybrid micro and nanostructured silicon surfaces fabricated by laser ablation and electrochemistry

This work reports on laser-processed silicon surfaces' morphological and wetting characteristics. The silicon surfaces were initially exposed to pulsed laser radiation in the femtosecond regime. The laser emitted in its fundamental wavelength (λ = 1030 nm), and the processing was carried out in air at atmospheric pressure. The surfaces were then subjected to electrochemical modification to create micro and nano porosity. The experimental conditions allowed the creation of various hybrid systems based on laser radiation and subsequent electrochemical treatment (using HF-DMSO). This procedure altered the surface wetting behavior from hydrophilic to hydrophobic due to the distinct surface morphology without needing a specific coating.

Large-scale floating polyacrylonitrile hybrid micro-/nanofiber membrane achieves efficient H/D isotope separation via photocatalytic proton transport

Advancements in isotope separation are both essential and challenging. The separation of water isotopes is vital in industrial production, biopharmaceuticals, and healthcare applications. This process is energy-intensive and complex due to the similarity of the isotopes. Pure polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is resistant to proton permeability, but neutral hydrogen radicals are capable of penetration. In this study, we report a novel approach using PAN macroscopic hybrid micro-/nanofibers in combination with a photocatalyst to separate hydrogen ion isotopes. Application of photocatalytic water splitting to generate protons results in significantly slower deuteron permeation in these fibers relative to protons, resulting in a separation factor of approximately 15 at room temperature. The composite PAN fibers exhibit a conductivity of 17.5 mS cm−1 at 25 °C and 95 % relative humidity. Our approach not only converts sunlight directly into storable hydrogen, but also enriches heavy water from H₂O/D₂O by H/D isotope separation. This study provides new insights into proton transport mechanisms in acidic media and demonstrates the significant potential of high molecular weight polymers for hydrogen isotope separation.

Squirrel cage induction generator based micro grid voltage assessment with STATCOM using different metaheuristic approaches

Squirrel Cage Induction Generators are the most common machine to operate wind-based power plants. Microgrids are small-scale electrical systems that provide power to a local area, and optimization methods for microgrids aim to ensure that these systems operate in a way that is both efficient and cost-effective. In such applications, STATCOM is used as reactive power provider and It is necessary to use advanced controllers like the Genetic Algorithm (GA), Firefly Algorithm (FA), and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) as the usual approaches for setting gain factors of STATCOM controller which does not perform well in the case of sudden voltage level changes due to disturbances. The firefly algorithm is primarily required to estimate the gain factors of the STATCOM controller which is used in hybrid micro grid with SG and SCIG for controlling the output voltage in the occurrence of large probabilistic ambiguity. The effectiveness of firefly controlled STATCOM controller for voltage-reactive power control in hybrid microgrid is further examined and validated by comparing the results with other GA, ANN and ANFIS tuning techniques. The need for reactive power is accomplished by STATCOM to minimize the time required to control voltage transient response. The main contribution of this paper includes: an assessment of STATCOM performance with step variations in the input wind energy and reactive power load requirement under conditions of severe probabilistic uncertainty, system analyses conducted under dynamic conditions rather than using a composite load model. Additionally, a comparison of reactive power and voltage control by STATCOM is presented, and employing FA techniques to improve, a comparative of STATCOM reactive power and voltage control. Results comparing all tuning techniques shows that utilizing the Integral of Square of Errors (ISE) criterion, sophisticated tuning techniques can maintain excellent performances under a variety of disruptions.

Hybrid Micro-/Nanoprotein Platform Provides Endocrine-like and Extracellular Matrix-like Cell Delivery of Growth Factors.

Protein materials are versatile tools in diverse biomedical fields. Among them, artificial secretory granules (SGs), mimicking those from the endocrine system, act as mechanically stable reservoirs for the sustained release of proteins as oligomeric functional nanoparticles. Only validated in oncology, the physicochemical properties of SGs, along with their combined drug-releasing and scaffolding abilities, make them suitable as smart topographies in regenerative medicine for the prolonged delivery of growth factors (GFs). Thus, considering the need for novel, safe, and cost-effective materials to present GFs, in this study, we aimed to biofabricate a protein platform combining both endocrine-like and extracellular matrix fibronectin-derived (ECM-FN) systems. This approach is based on the sustained delivery of a nanostructured histidine-tagged version of human fibroblast growth factor 2. The GF is presented onto polymeric surfaces, interacting with FN to spontaneously generate nanonetworks that absorb and present the GF in the solid state, to modulate mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) behavior. The results show that SGs-based topographies trigger high rates of MSCs proliferation while preventing differentiation. While this could be useful in cell therapy manufacture demanding large numbers of unspecialized MSCs, it fully validates the hybrid platform as a convenient setup for the design of biologically active hybrid surfaces and in tissue engineering for the controlled manipulation of mammalian cell growth.

Ultrafast In-Situ synthesis of flexible MoO3 anode in five seconds for High-Performance aqueous zinc ion hybrid capacitor

The efficient synthesis of high-performance α-MoO3 on flexible conductive substrates is crucial for enhancing its value in the field of energy storage. However, traditional synthesis methods currently employed often suffer from slow heating rates, intricate reaction processes involving multiple steps, sluggish reaction kinetics, high energy consumption, and prolonged preparation times, thereby hindering efficient production. Presented herein is a facile, ultrafast, and versatile approach utilizing microwave carbon thermal shock, a one-step reaction synthesis of α-MoO3 on carbon substrates within 5 s. During microwave carbon thermal shock, the precursor salt experiences an extremely rapid heating rate, swiftly decomposing to form small-sized α-MoO3 crystals. Simultaneously, this process promotes the oxidation of adjacent carbon sites, thereby imparting multi-scale defects and oxygen-containing functional groups to the resulting carbon cloth (CC). The exceptionally low reaction energy barriers and superior Gibbs free energy (ΔG) further substantiate the advantages of the microwave carbon thermal shock strategy over traditional synthesis methods in terms of both kinetics and thermodynamics. The air-assisted transient microwave carbonthermal shock (AMCTS) process circumvents high energy requirements, multistep reactions, and extended preparation times, endowing AMCTS-CC@MoO3 with remarkable flexibility and processability. In demonstrating its practical utility within zinc-ion hybrid micro capacitors, it exhibits outstanding specific capacitance (up to 2300mF cm−2) and mechanical stability. This air-assisted transient microwave thermal shock process provides an efficient route for ultrafast and low-cost synthesis of flexible zinc-ion anode materials.

The splitting tensile strength and impact resistance of concrete reinforced with hybrid BFRP minibars and micro fibers

Basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) minibar is a novel kind of macro fiber, which is high-performed, green and durable. This study aimed to use hybrid BFRP minibars and micro fibers to control cracks of concrete from micro size to macro size, ultimately improving the mechanical properties of concrete. The compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and impact resistance of concrete reinforced with hybrid BFRP minibars and various micro fibers were tested and evaluated. The micro fibers contained micro basalt fibers, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers and steel fibers. Test results showed that the hybrid fibers provided significantly positive synergistic effects on the impact resistance, compressive and splitting tensile strength of concrete. Micro fibers improved the microcrack resistance capacity of concrete that increased with micro fiber content and modulus, but most of fractured during the development process of microcracks owing to their tiny size, showing little contribution to macrocrack resistance. BFRP minibar showed the pull-out failure, and the force preventing BFRP minibar from pullout bridged macrocracks, improving the macrocrack resistance capacity of concrete., but they seldom improved the microcrack resistance capacity of concrete because of its large size. Hybrid fibers improve the sustained resistance to crack during the whole crack development process owing to the synergistic contribution of hybrid fibers. Thereby, the concrete reinforced with hybrid 1.5% BFRP minibars and 0.75% micro steel fibers showed the highest compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and final-fracturing impact life under the failure probability of 30%, which were 22% 29% and 415% higher than those of concrete with mono 1.5% BFRP minibars. The method, which is that using hybrid macro fibers and micro fibers with high modulus and proper content to reinforce concrete, supports for further improving the mechanical properties of concrete in practice.

Design and Analysis of Solar/Wind Power Electronics Converters

The primary objective of this paper is to present the design and analysis of a power converter for a hybrid solar/wind micro grid energy conversion system. The power converter can transfer the power from a wind generator and photovoltaic panels and improve the safety and stability of hybrid micro grid systems. This micro grid system consists of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG), a full wave AC-DC bridge rectifier, a DC-DC boost converter, a bidirectional DC-DC converter, and a full wave bridge DC-AC inverter. The wind generator and the photovoltaic panels are used as the primary power sources of the system, and a battery is used for energy storage and to compensate for the irregularity of the power sources. This paper also presents the structure of the rectifier stage for the power conversion system. This structure provides two energy sources simultaneously yet independently, according to their respective availability. Analysis for the power conversion system will be discussed in this paper and will give a design and analysis plan for hybrid wind/solar converter circuit. The power converter can transfer the power from a wind generator and photovoltaic panel. The wind generator and the photovoltaic panel are used as the primary power sources of the system, and a battery is used for energy storage and to compensate for the irregularity of the power sources. This paper also presents the structure of the beginning rectifier stage for the hybrid wind- solar energy power conversion system. This structure thereby provides two energy sources simultaneously yet independently, according to their respective availability. Analysis for the power conversion system will be discussed in this paper and will give a design and analysis plan for hybrid wind/solar converter circuit.

A large-scale hybrid micro- and mesoscopic simulation approach for railway operation

In this study, the existing agent-based simulation framework MATSim is extended towards a module for the simulation of trains and their interactions with the infrastructure. The proposed railway simulation module railsim offers several advantages over existing railway planning tools: railsim is open-source, easily adaptable, allows for a microscopic, mesoscopic or hybrid micro-mesoscopic simulation setup and is fully integrated in an existing simulation framework. Trains have a spatial dimension along several infrastructure segments. Trains accelerate and decelerate based on vehicle- and infrastructure-specific attributes as well as the available capacity ahead of the vehicle. The interaction of vehicles as well as the modeling of the infrastructure is adapted to the railway system. Trains are enabled to reserve infrastructure elements (fixed block segments, moving blocks), and reservation requests interact with each other. The illustrative Switzerland case study reveals that an overall unique capacity of 3 trains per section and 10 trains per station ensures most trains reach their destinations successfully, while lower capacities lead to insufficient infrastructure and train disruptions.

Metal-organic framework-based high-performance column chip for micro gas chromatography: hybrid function for simultaneous preconcentration and separation of volatile organic compounds.

Numerous attempts have been made to replace commercial bulky gas chromatography (GC) systems with compact GC systems for monitoring volatile organic compounds in indoor air. However, recently developed compact GC systems are still too bulky in terms of user convenience, portability, and on-site analysis. Hence, an advanced miniaturization of compact GC systems is needed. Importantly, the small and high-performance gas pretreatment chip devices should be developed for compact GC systems. This paper reports the development of a metal-organic framework (MOF)-coated hybrid micro gas chromatography column chip (hybrid GC chip) capable of preconcentration and separation on harmful volatile organic compounds at low-concentration in one single chip device. The hybrid GC chip, 2 cm × 2 cm in size, was fabricated using a microelectromechanical systems process. The synthesized MOF-5 particles were coated on the inner wall of the fabricated hybrid GC chip and acted as an adsorbent and a stationary phase. The developed hybrid GC chip afforded high preconcentration factors with 1033-1237 and high separation resolutions with 3.8-13.3. The developed column showed good performance as a gas preconcentrator and separation column, and is the first device to perform both roles in one single chip device.

Synergistic effects of hybrid macro basalt fibers and micro fibers on the mechanical properties of UHPC

Synergistic effects of hybrid macro basalt fibers and micro fibers on the mechanical properties of UHPC

Behavior of self-compacting concrete with technological advances in the application of new materials and their influence on the behavior of its physical-mechanical properties: A Review

Self-compacting concrete is one of the most innovative materials of the moment in the construction industry, being one of the most required due to its high resistance. In this systematic review, the behavior of self-compacting concrete with the incorporation of new materials was analyzed. The objective is to determine which material, when incorporated into self-compacting concrete, has presented a large improvement in its physical-mechanical properties in a fresh and hardened state, based on the search for documents, of which there were 50, of which the following bases stand out. digital data such as: DYNA, ELSEVIER, IOPSCIENCE, MDPI, SCIELO, SCOPUS among others. Thus, obtaining results in Spanish and English, from this, through eligibility criteria such as temporality, access, its results, its focus on the object of study, 30 were selected. Where, the following conclusion was reached, for buildings self-compacting concrete with the addition of hooked hybrid fibers and micro steel have presented better results in eliminating cracking, likewise the incorporation of ashes in self-compacting concrete at a structural level has presented great benefits in compression resistance, this is supported by research and His studies carried out on the properties in the fresh state such as workability and in the hardened state improving resistance to compression and bending.

Stacked ZnS multilayers of ZnS(en)0.5 hybrids with enhancing photocatalytic performance for H2 production

Zinc sulfide hybrids with different stacked ZnS multilayers were prepared using a chemical precipitation method in a solvent mixture of Ethylenediamine:Water:Butanol via two routes - nitrate and acetate salt precursors. The impact of butanol solvent contents (30 and 60 vol%) on the formation of orthorhombic-ZnS(en)0.5 hybrid with different stacking of ZnS layers was comprehensively analyzed using X-ray diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy was employed to study the influence of the mixture solvent on particle size and morphology of the resulting ZnS(en)0.5 hybrid micro flakes or nanosheets. The photocatalytic response was evaluated through hydrogen production reactions using low photocatalyst load under UV light irradiation, conducted over four reaction cycles. A significant increase in hydrogen production rate (4.6 and 4.0 times more active) was achieved for the exfoliated ultrathin nanosheet ZnS(en)0.5 hybrid prepared with lower butanol contents from the nitrate and acetate route, respectively. This enhancement was attributed to the reduced size of the nanosheets of stacked ZnS multilayers, which resulted from the incorporation of 30 vol% of butanol during the synthesis. Overall, the findings indicate that the Ethylenediamine:Butanol solvent system plays a crucial role in tuning the degree of ZnS stacking layers, the particle size, and morphology of ZnS(en)0.5 hybrids, leading to improved photocatalytic performance in hydrogen production reactions.

Bellman–Genetic Hybrid Algorithm Optimization in Rural Area Microgrids

Incorporating renewable Distributed Energy Resources (DER) into the main grid is crucial for achieving a sustainable transition from fossil fuels. However, this generation system is complicated by the fluctuating behavior of renewable resources and the variable load demand, making it less reliable without a suitable energy storage system (ESS). This study proposes an Optimal Power Flow Management (OPFM) strategy for a grid-connected hybrid Micro Grid (MG) comprising a wind turbine (WT), a photovoltaic (PV) field, a storage battery, and a Micro Gas turbine (MGT). This proposed strategy includes (i) minimizing the MG’s daily energy cost, (ii) decreasing CO2 emissions by considering the variable load, weather forecast, and main grid fees to optimize the battery charging/discharging strategy, and (iii) optimizing the decision-making process for power purchase/sell from/to the main grid. The suggested OPFM approach is implemented using a Genetic Algorithm and compared with the Bellman Algorithm and a restricted management system via several simulations under the Matlab environment. Furthermore, the hybridization of the Bellman Algorithm and the Genetic Algorithm is proposed to enhance the OPFMC strategy’s efficiency by leveraging both algorithms’ strengths. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy in lowering energy costs and CO2 emissions and enhancing reliability. Additionally, the comparison of the hybridized GA algorithm reveals a cost 16% higher than the Bellman Algorithm; however, the use of the hybridized GA algorithm leads to a reduction in GHG emissions by 31.4%. These findings underscore the trade-off between cost and environmental impact in the context of algorithmic optimization for microgrid energy management.

Bubble jet propulsion of a “Flying Shuttle” zinc phosphate micro robot driven by enzyme-catalyzed reaction

Synthetic micro/nano robots have great potential for applications in controlled release of drugs, biosensing, medical imaging, and other fields due to the advantages of tiny size, flexible movement and precise targeting. However, currently developed micro/nano robots are limited by their complex preparation processes, potential systemic toxicity and poor biodegradability. Herein, the work reports a facile and mild biomimetic strategy for fabricating a micro-robot that is driven at low fuel concentrations and with good biocompatibility and biodegradability. To demonstrate the feasibility of the strategy, we directly use catalase as organic component, zinc (II) as inorganic component to construct organic–inorganic hybrid micro robot. The catalase-zinc (II) micro robot (CAT@Zn3(PO4)2 MR) had a “flying shuttle” morphology with a particle size of ∼3 μm and enzyme loading of 27.7%, great stability and biocompatibility. Moreover, the flying shuttle can achieve self-propulsion by decomposing oxygen bubbles generated by 0.5% H2O2. This is especially significant for future applications of micro/nano robots in biological environments, especially in systems where rapid autonomous movements of fuels occur at physiological concentrations. In addition, these robots can encapsulate and transport drug by themselves in a simple way, performing drug release via a pH-responsive regulatory mechanism.

μMOSM: A hybrid multi-objective micro evolutionary algorithm

In multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs), several mutually conflicting objectives are optimized simultaneously. In such scenarios, there is not a unique solution to the problem; instead, there is a set of solutions known as the Pareto front, representing the trade-off between objectives. Multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) can approximate these solutions in a single run. However, due to their resource-intensive nature, MOEAs are not suitable for solving real-time and engineering MOPs such as the optimization of manufacturing processes and energy consumption in wireless networks, where a fast convergence rate with less computational cost is required. Fortunately, micro versions of MOEAs can meet this requirement by utilizing a tiny population size. However, this can result in a rapid loss of diversity and the algorithm may easily fall into a local optimum. While some approaches such as the restart technique have been proposed to address this issue, hybrid techniques such as integrative, collaborative, and decomposition-based methods have not been effectively considered in the design of micro algorithms, despite hybridization being a widely accepted method for enhancing the diversity of evolutionary algorithms. In this study, we propose a hybrid micro MOEA called μMOSM that can effectively tackle the diversity loss problem and accelerate the convergence rate in approximating Pareto front solutions. Experimental results on benchmark test suites and a real-world MOP demonstrate the advantages of our proposed algorithm and confirm that μMOSM outperforms state-of-the-art MOEAs and micro MOEAs such as MOSM, ADE-MOIA, MMOPSO, NSGA-III, MOEA/D-FRRMAB, μFAME, and ASMiGA.

Spalling resistance and mechanical properties of ultra-high performance concrete reinforced with multi-scale basalt fibers and hybrid fibers under elevated temperature

The weak spalling resistance of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) at elevated temperature restricts the further application of UHPC and urgently needs to be improved. Macro basalt fiber (MBF), a kind of minibar produced by basalt fiber reinforced polymers (BFRP), was innovatively used to improve the spalling resistance of UHPC in this study as mono fiber or one of hybrid fibers. The effect of MBFs and hybrid fibers on the spalling resistance and mechanical properties of UHPC under elevated temperature were systematically tested and evaluated. The mechanism was comprehensively revealed by analyzing the permeability, porosity, microstructures of UHPC, and thermal analysis of fibers. According to test results, compared to UHPC with steel fibers, UHPC with MBFs showed better spalling resistance and higher mechanical properties at 400 and 500 °C, as well as the close mechanical properties and higher flowability at normal condition. The reason for higher spalling resistance was that more vapor released from channels formed by resin volatilization which was a part of MBF, thereby decreasing pore pressure. Although the obvious synergistic effects of hybrid micro and macro basalt fibers on the mechanical properties of UHPC were observed at normal condition, the spalling resistance was significantly reduced compared to UHPC with MBFs at elevated temperature. It was because that microcracks were restricted by micro basalt fibers with superb thermal stability, resulting in relatively isolated channels and decrease in vapor release. In brief, this work proposed a novel method to improve the spalling resistance and mechanical properties of UHPC under elevated temperature by using MBFs, the method which slightly reduced the mechanical properties and improved the flowability of UHPC at normal condition compared to the UHPC with steel fibers.

Estimating the Stability of an AC-DC Hybrid Micro Grid with Multilayer Power Flow While Using Interconnected Converter

Abstract: Regionalized networks, also known as micro grids, must be able to operate independently by cutting off their connection to the main grid in order for a system to stay stable. Customers' reliability can be raised by providing a more robust power supply. Due to reversed energy flow from distributed generator units, regional fluctuations, temporary micro grid modes, significant frequency discrepancies in electrically isolated mode operation, as well as financial and supply demand uncertainties, consistency, dependability, and security are in fact the main problems with micro grids. The system is more unstable when electrical energy is transmitted from the AC side to the DC side and from the DC side to the AC side, despite the fact that strengthening the stability of the hybrid micro grid is their main objective. Therefore, a variety of circuit breakers, buck boost converters, grid bidirectional converters, and intermediate IC (Interlinking converter) are utilized to preserve the stability of the hybrid micro grid. This article explains how to build a bidirectional power flow through an interactive converter using stability evaluation using MATLAB. Simulation may improve the circuit's performance for the best outcomes achievable. The most stable hybrid micro grid findings were shown. An interlinking converter is utilized in this work to improve micro grid stability while power is flowing via the AC and DC grids in both directions. The findings might be acquired using a MATLAB simulation. This method also has the advantage of reducing the amount of time needed for the system to stabilize. Consequently, the system will be more dependable and will provide excellent supplies.

Evaluating the energy properties of the short-flow process based on the industrial metabolism: A case study on the metal 3D printing of hybrid deposition and micro rolling (HDMR)

The hybrid deposition and micro rolling (HDMR) is a new ultra-short process additive manufacturing (AM) technology, which combines in-situ rolling with additive manufacturing to greatly shorten and integrate the processing flow. In order to well understand the energy properties of the new technology, an industrial metabolic (IM) model is proposed with the complex processing parameters and equipment properties. The experimental test verifies that the deviation of specific energy consumption (SEC) computed by the IM model is 4.43% in the short-flow process of HDMR. Further study compares the energy properties of HDMR process with the conventional manufacturing (CM) processes by taking a cross-shaping part made of Ti-6Al-4V as an example. The results using the IM model show that the energy consumption of HDMR is reduced by 46.83% comparing with CM, by shortening the processing flow greatly. The short flow process of HDMR extremely reduces the melting heat and deformation energy in the deposition and rolling processes, compared with the significant energy consumption in the conventional processes of casting and forging. Meanwhile, the specific energy loss (SEL, energy loss per kilogram of materials) in HDMR is approximately 2 times lower than that of CM, which implies that HDMR has obvious advantages in the energy utilization with a shorter processing cycle. The study implies that industrial metabolism of the short-flow process like HDMR is more effective and appropriate to processing the titanium alloy with higher efficiency.

Study of discharge characteristics and multi objective optimisation of machining parameters in ultrasonic vibration assisted micro electrical discharge machining

Micro-EDM is a non-traditional manufacturing technique that uses the heat energy of the plasma to remove material. When there is a sufficient electric potential between two electrodes, the dielectric in between becomes ionised, resulting in the formation of a plasma channel. The net discharge energy produced is the result of the current and voltage present at the inter-electrode gap (IEG). The current and voltage waveforms obtained from the oscilloscope are used to calculate the discharge energy. A small part of this discharge energy gets converted as plasma temperature, which facilitates material removal in micro-EDM. Because plasma is the only source of heat, its properties must be studied. In the present study, Optical Emission Spectroscopy is used to calculate the temperature of the plasma. This article explores the scope of a hybrid micro EDM process, where an ultrasonic vibration is integrated to the tool electrode. A systematic approach using Response Surface Methodology is employed for modelling and analysis of plasma properties and material removal in micro EDM. Two types of input parameters were chosen: Voltage and pulse on time being the electrical parameters, and Amplitude and Frequency as the vibrational parameters. Dielectric used is deionised water. A single spark experiment was performed on Nitinol Shape Memory Alloy and tool used was of same material. Ultrasonic vibration was provided to the tool using a piezoelectric actuator. It was found that electrical parameters have a significant impact in determining plasma properties and material removal properties. Vibrational parameters play a vital impact in enhancing the crater’s surface features.

A Novel Hybrid Micro Power Control Fed by Hydro/Solar Energy

A Novel Hybrid Micro Power Control Fed by Hydro/Solar Energy