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Experimental Methods & Numerical Modelling for Composites and Nanomaterials

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2019) | Viewed by 17184

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Prof. Dr. Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan

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Guest Editor

NanoCorr, Energy & Modelling (NCEM) Research Group, Department of Design & Engineering, Bournemouth University, Dorset BH12 5BB, UK
Interests: advanced materials; nanocomposite coatings; complex interacting systems; contact mechanics; corrosion; energy conservation; surface engineering; tribology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to announce that we have put together a Special Issue of Materials, a semi-monthly journal with an impact factor of 2.972 (2018) and a five-year impact factor of 3.532 (2018), entitled “Experimental Methods and Numerical Modelling for Composites and Nanomaterials” to publish new findings in the field of composites and nanomaterials.

There have been new developments in terms of experimental techniques to synthesize, process and fully characterize new materials for various applications. In parallel, new models have been developed for the prediction and prognostics of failures in complex interacting components and systems in diverse operating conditions. Ever-increasing operational demands for durability, reliability and precision combined with harsh operating conditions have put tremendous amount of pressure on engineers and designers to provide holistic yet cost effective solutions.

This presents challenges as the numbers and complexities of design parameters grow, at the same time there are opportunities to look for alternative solutions through multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches. This Special Issue is mainly driven by the need to provide robust solutions to complex problems.

I am therefore inviting original articles for publications in this Special Issue of Materials and selected review papers (please discuss with the Guest Editor in advance).

Prof. Zulfiqar A. Khan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Composites & nano materials
Coatings
Corrosion
Wear
Condition monitoring
Numerical modelling & simulation
Surface measurements
Surface engineering
Contact mechanics
Mechanics of materials
Tribo-testing
Tribo-corrosion

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 6349 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parallel Finite Element Model for Multispecies Transport in Nonsaturated Concrete Structures

by Okpin Na and Yunping Xi

Materials 2019, 12(17), 2764; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12172764 - 28 Aug 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2025

Abstract

The chloride-induced corrosion of steel reinforcement embedded in concrete is undoubtedly one of the most important durability problems of reinforced concrete structures. The chloride ions as well as other ionic species (Na⁺, Ca²⁺, K⁺, OH⁻) come from various deicing salts and they are transported from the environment into concrete. To investigate the transport mechanism of the multispecies, complex scientific methods and accurate mathematical models are needed. The purpose of this study is to develop a more robust mathematical model and better computational technique to characterize the coupled effect of ionic transport mechanisms as well as the influence of interaction of ionic species. The new mathematical model was developed based on the Nernst–Planck equation and null current condition to solve the ionic-induced electrostatic potential, and the model was implemented by a parallel finite element algorithm. The verification of mathematical model was done by comparing the model prediction with experimental results for ionic transport in saturated concrete. The comparisons showed good results. The model prediction of the multispecies transport in partially saturated concrete demonstrated that the ionic species dissolved in pore solution could be carried by the moisture movement and pressure gradient. Therefore, the multispecies transport model based on the parallel finite element method is effective, accurate, and can be used for solving the partial differential equations for ionic species transport in concrete. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experimental Methods & Numerical Modelling for Composites and Nanomaterials)

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17 pages, 494 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Asymptotic Homogenization Applied to Flexoelectric Rods

by David Guinovart-Sanjuán, Jose Merodio, Juan Carlos López-Realpozo, Kuppalapalle Vajravelu, Reinaldo Rodríguez-Ramos, Raúl Guinovart-Díaz, Julián Bravo-Castillero and Federico J. Sabina

Materials 2019, 12(2), 232; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12020232 - 11 Jan 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3164

Abstract

In this manuscript, the equilibrium problem for a flexoelectric one-dimensional composite material is studied. The two-scales asymptotic homogenization method is used to derive the homogenized formulation of this problem. The manuscript offers a step-by-step methodology to derive effective coefficients and to solve local problems. As an illustrative example, results reported in the literature for piezoelectric composites are obtained as a particular case of the formulation derived here. Finally, three flexoelectric/piezoelectric composites are studied to illustrate the influence of the flexoelectric property on the effective coefficients and the global behavior of the structure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experimental Methods & Numerical Modelling for Composites and Nanomaterials)

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22 pages, 16005 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wear Performance Analysis of Ni–Al₂O₃ Nanocomposite Coatings under Nonconventional Lubrication

by Muhammad Usman Bhutta, Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan and Nigel Garland

Materials 2019, 12(1), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12010036 - 22 Dec 2018

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3530

Abstract

This article presents a wear study of Ni–Al₂O₃ nanocomposite coatings in comparison to uncoated steel contacts under reciprocating motion. A ball-on-flat type contact configuration has been used in this study in which a reciprocating flat steel sample has been used in a coated and uncoated state against a stationary steel ball under refrigerant lubrication. The next generation of environmentally friendly refrigerant HFE-7000 has been used itself as lubricant in this study without the influence of any external lubricant. The thermodynamic applications and performance of HFE-7000 is being studied worldwide, as it is replacing the previous generation of refrigerants. No work however has been previously performed to evaluate the wear performance of HFE-7000 using nanocomposite coatings. The wear scar developed on each of the flat and ball samples was studied using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The micrographs show that a combination of adhesive and abrasive wear occurs when using uncoated steel samples. Micro-delamination is observed in the case of Ni–Al₂O₃ nanocomposite coatings accompanied by adhesive and abrasive wear. Wear volume of the wear track was calculated using a White Light Interferometer. Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopic (EDS) analysis of the samples reveals fluorine and oxygen on the rubbing parts when tested using coated as well as uncoated samples. The formation of these fluorinated and oxygenated tribo-films helps to reduce wear and their formation is accelerated by increasing the refrigerant temperature. Ni–Al₂O₃ nanocomposite coatings show good wear performance at low and high loads in comparison to uncoated contacts. At intermediate loads the coated contacts resulted in increased wear, especially at low loads. This increase in wear is associated with the delamination of the coating and the slow formation of protective surface films under these testing conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experimental Methods & Numerical Modelling for Composites and Nanomaterials)

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15 pages, 5948 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrochemical Comparison of SAN/PANI/FLG and ZnO/GO Coated Cast Iron Subject to Corrosive Environments

by Muhammad Khitab Ahmed, Muhammad Shahid, Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan, Ameen Uddin Ammar, Abdul Saboor, Amir Khalid, Asad Hayat, Adil Saeed and Mehran Koohgilani

Materials 2018, 11(11), 2239; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11112239 - 11 Nov 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3718

Abstract

ZnO/GO (Graphene Oxide) and SAN (Styrene Acrylonitrile)/PANI (Polyaniline)/FLG (Few Layers Graphene) nanocomposite coatings were produced by solution casting and sol-gel methods, respectively, to enhance corrosion resistance of ferrous based materials. Corrosive seawater and ‘produced crude oil water’ environments were selected as electrolytes for this study. Impedance and coating capacitance values obtained from Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) Alternating Current (AC technique) showed enhanced corrosion resistance of nanocomposites coatings in the corrosive environments. Tafel scan Direct Current (DC technique) was used to find the corrosion rate of nanocomposite coating. SAN/PANI/FLG coating reduced the corrosion of bare metal up to 90% in seawater whereas ZnO/GO suppressed the corrosion up to 75% having the impedance value of 100 Ω. In produced water of crude oil, SAN/PANI/FLG reduced the corrosion up to 95% while ZnO/GO suppressed the corrosion up to 10%. Hybrid composites of SAN/PANI/FLG coatings have demonstrated better performances compared to ZnO/GO in the corrosive environments under investigation. This study provides fabrication of state-of-the-art novel anti corrosive nanocomposite coatings for a wide range of industrial applications. Reduced corrosion will result in increased service lifetime, durability and reliability of components and system and will in turn lead to significant cost savings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experimental Methods & Numerical Modelling for Composites and Nanomaterials)

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18 pages, 13444 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of the AWJM Method on the Machined Surface Layer of AZ91D Magnesium Alloy and Simulation of Roughness Parameters Using Neural Networks

by Ireneusz Zagórski, Mariusz Kłonica, Monika Kulisz and Katarzyna Łoza

Materials 2018, 11(11), 2111; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11112111 - 26 Oct 2018

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4016

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of change of the abrasive flow rate and the jet feed on the effectiveness of machining of AZ91D casting magnesium alloy. The evaluation of the state of the workpiece surface was based on surface and area roughness parameters (2D and 3D), which provided data on: irregularities formed on the workpiece edge surface (water jet exit), the surface quality after cutting, the workpiece surface chamfering, microhardness of the machined surface, and of specimen cross-sections (along the water jet impact). The process was tested for two parameter settings: abrasive flow rate 50 at cutting speed v_f = 5–140 mm/min, and abrasive flow rate 100% (0.5 kg/min) at v_f = 5–180 mm/min. The results demonstrate a significant effect of the abrasive flow rate and the jet feed velocity on the quality of machined surface (surface roughness and irregularities). In addition, selected 2D surface roughness parameters were modelled using artificial neural networks (radial basis function and multi-layered perceptron). It has been shown that neural networks are a suitable tool for prediction of surface roughness parameters in abrasive water jet machining (AWJM). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experimental Methods & Numerical Modelling for Composites and Nanomaterials)

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