Browse Topic: Cost analysis
Zero emission vehicles are essential for achieving sustainable and clean transportation. Hybrid vehicles such as Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) use multiple energy sources like batteries and fuel cell stacks to offer extended driving range without emitting greenhouse gases. Optimal performance and extended life of the important components like the high voltage battery and fuel-cell stack go a long way in achieving cost benefits as well as environmental safety. For this, energy management in FCEVs, particularly thermal management, is crucial for maintaining the temperature of these components within their specified range. The fuel cell stack generates a significant amount of waste heat, which needs to be dissipated to maintain optimal performance and prevent degradation, whereas the battery system needs to be operated within an optimal temperature range for its better performance and longevity. Overheating of batteries can lead to reduced efficiency and potential safety hazards
This research explores the use of salt gradient solar ponds (SGSPs) as an environmentally friendly and efficient method for thermal energy storage. The study focuses on the design, construction, and performance evaluation of SGSP systems integrated with reflectors, comparing their effectiveness against conventional SGSP setups without reflectors. Both experimental and numerical methods are employed to thoroughly assess the thermal behavior and energy efficiency of these systems. The findings reveal that the SGSP with reflectors (SGSP-R) achieves significantly higher temperatures across all three zones—Upper Convective Zone (UCZ), Non-Convective Zone (NCZ), and Lower Convective Zone (LCZ)—with recorded temperatures of 40.56°C, 54.2°C, and 63.1°C, respectively. These values represent an increase of 6.33%, 11.12%, and 14.26% over the temperatures observed in the conventional SGSP (SGSP-C). Furthermore, the energy efficiency improvements in the UCZ, NCZ, and LCZ for the SGSP-R are
Soft skin coverings and touch sensors have emerged as a promising feature for robots that are both safer and more intuitive for human interaction, but they are expensive and difficult to make. A recent study demonstrates that soft skin pads doubling as sensors made from thermoplastic urethane can be efficiently manufactured using 3D printers.
The automotive industry is facing unprecedented pressure to reduce costs without compromising on quality and performance, particularly in the design and manufacturing. This paper provides a technical review of the multifaceted challenges involved in achieving cost efficiency while maintaining financial viability, functional integrity, and market competitiveness. Financial viability stands as a primary obstacle in cost reduction projects. The demand for innovative products needs to be balanced with the need for affordable materials while maintaining structural integrity. Suppliers’ cost structures, raw material fluctuations, and production volumes must be considered on the way to obtain optimal costs. Functional aspects lead to another layer of complexity, once changes in design or materials should not compromise safety, durability, or performance. Rigorous testing and simulation tools are indispensable to validate changes in the manufacturing process. Marketing considerations are also
The future of wireless technology - from charging devices to boosting communication signals - relies on the antennas that transmit electromagnetic waves becoming increasingly versatile, durable and easy to manufacture. Researchers at Drexel University and the University of British Columbia believe kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of cutting and folding paper to create intricate three-dimensional designs, could provide a model for manufacturing the next generation of antennas. Recently published in the journal Nature Communications, research from the Drexel-UBC team showed how kirigami - a variation of origami - can transform a single sheet of acetate coated with conductive MXene ink into a flexible 3D microwave antenna whose transmission frequency can be adjusted simply by pulling or squeezing to slightly shift its shape.
North American automakers and EV battery firms have five years to erase China's dominance in technology and manufacturing or they may face the reality of buying batteries from China for the foreseeable future. That was the message from battery-analysis company Voltaiq CEO Tal Sholklapper at a media briefing in Detroit. “We're in the final innings now,” Sholklapper said. “If the industry around batteries and electric vehicles and all the follow-on applications wants to make it, we're going to have to change the way we play.”
Vehicle quality and affordability will always be the most distinguishing summative characteristics in a fully saturated and highly competitive market. While vehicle quality differentiates between brands in any market segment, affordability remains the key decisive factor for many buyers in each segment. Equally important, affordability is a critical factor in achieving equity in transportation by providing reasonably priced vehicles with quality fitting the needs of different users. Keeping in mind that the cost of quality is usually in conflict with affordability, the main challenge during the different phases of the vehicle design and development process from inception to production becomes the achievement of the multi-objective conflicting goals of maximizing affordability and quality at the same time. In this paper, guided by quality characteristics framework, that accounts for affordability as a context and structured participation of the customers during the vehicle realization
Metal cutting/machining is a widely used manufacturing process for producing high-precision parts at a low cost and with high throughput. In the automotive industry, engine components such as cylinder heads or engine blocks are all manufactured using such processes. Despite its cost benefits, manufacturers often face the problem of machining chips and cutting oil residue remaining on the finished surface or falling into the internal cavities after machining operations, and these wastes can be very difficult to clean. While part cleaning/washing equipment suppliers often claim that their washers have superior performance, determining the washing efficiency is challenging without means to visualize the water flow. In this paper, a virtual engineering methodology using particle-based CFD is developed to address the issue of metal chip cleanliness resulting from engine component machining operations. This methodology comprises two simulation methods. The first is the virtual chip test
The demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has been steadily increasing in recent years, led by the factors like environmental concerns, government incentives, and improvements in EV technology. The EV’s growth is expected to increase in the coming years as EVs become more affordable and more models become available on the market. Predicting the price of electric vehicles provides valuable insights on the EV market and inform a range of business, consumer, financial, and policy decisions. Predicting the price of electric vehicles using simple linear regression involves building a linear regression model with a single independent variable usually the vehicle’s characteristics or features to predict the dependent variable the price.This work has predicted the price of Electric Vehicle using a data set prepared for the Indian context. It has been predicted that there is significant correlation between battery capacity in Ah and the vehicle price. The measured RMSE value is 26274.942642891292
Medical and surgical instruments are utilized daily to save and improve lives. Because of this, they demand an exact level of accuracy and infallibility in their manufacture. Traditionally, aluminum and other metals have been the standard material of choice for medical and surgical instruments due to their weight, strength, durability, and cost benefits. However, new advances in technology are challenging the status quo and offering exciting new manufacturing possibilities that allow for greater material choices. One such advancement already making waves in the aerospace, leisure, and automotive industries — and poised to benefit medical and surgical manufacturing — is Additive Fusion Technology (AFT)™.
ABSTRACT The U.S. Army must adapt and upgrade ground platforms at the speed of technology advancement to maintain competitive advantages over adversaries. The Program Executive Office (PEO) Ground Combat Systems (GCS) Common Infrastructure Architecture (GCIA) is a new ground systems approach to enable persistent modernization of future platforms. For legacy platforms, Project Lead Capability Transition and Product Integration (PL CTPI) is developing plans to incrementally incorporate standards and portions of GCIA where feasible and affordable on legacy platforms. The GCIA will enable rapid integration of ground system capabilities, increasing the Army’s ability to counter emergent threats on the battlefield. Citation: PEO GCS / PL CTPI, “Architecting for Persistent Modernization,” In Proceedings of the Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium (GVSETS), NDIA, Novi, MI, Aug. 16-18, 2022.
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