Smart Systems (SmaSys2023)

A special issue of Technologies (ISSN 2227-7080). This special issue belongs to the section "Innovations in Materials Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2024) | Viewed by 12343

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, Yamagata 992-8510, Japan
Interests: polymer chemistry; organic–inorganic hybrid material; green chemistry
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Guest Editor
Graduate School of Organic Materials Engineering, Yamagata University, Yamagata 992-8510, Japan
Interests: polymer physics; crystallization
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Guest Editor
Graduate School of Organic Materials Science, Yamagata University, Yamagata 992-8510, Japan
Interests: polymer chemistry; organic electronics; material science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Graduate School of Organic Materials Science, Yamagata University, Yamagata 992-8510, Japan
Interests: molecular simulations; soft matter dynamics and rheology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are planning to publish a Special Issue on "Smart Systems 2023" related to the International Conference of Smart Systems Engineering (SmaSys2023, https://smartsystems.yz.yamagata-u.ac.jp/), which will be held on 12 October 2023, in Yamagata, Japan. The Special Issue “Smart Systems 2023” provides opportunities for collaboration across a wide range of fields and technologies related to emerging smart systems. Smart systems concern broad scientific and engineering fields. They include organic materials, organic electronics, organic devices, biomaterials, biomedical and biosystem engineering, electrical engineering and informatics, mechanical systems engineering, smart flexible structures and systems, green materials and their processing, tourism engineering with agriculture and foods, and new engineering education.

All participants of SmaSys2023 and their colleagues, especially their students, are encouraged to submit their works to this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Bungo Ochiai
Prof. Dr. Go Matsuba
Prof. Dr. Tomoya Higashihara
Dr. Sathish K. Sukumaran
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Technologies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1600 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

  • organic materials, organic electronics, and organic devices
  • biomaterials, biomedical, and biosystems engineering
  • electrical engineering and informatics
  • mechanical systems engineering
  • smart flexible structures and systems
  • green materials and processing
  • tourism engineering with agriculture and foods
  • new engineering education
 

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 3831 KiB  
Article
Image Reconstruction in Ultrasonic Speed-of-Sound Computed Tomography Using Time of Flight Estimated by a 2D Convolutional Neural Networks
by Yuki Mimura, Yudai Suzuki, Toshiyuki Sugimoto, Tadashi Saitoh, Tatsuhisa Takahashi and Hirotaka Yanagida
Technologies 2024, 12(8), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12080129 - 7 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1594
Abstract
In ultrasonic nondestructive testing (NDT), accurately estimating the time of flight (TOF) of ultrasonic waves is crucial. Traditionally, TOF estimation involves the signal processing of a single measured waveform. In recent years, deep learning has also been applied to estimate the TOF; however, [...] Read more.
In ultrasonic nondestructive testing (NDT), accurately estimating the time of flight (TOF) of ultrasonic waves is crucial. Traditionally, TOF estimation involves the signal processing of a single measured waveform. In recent years, deep learning has also been applied to estimate the TOF; however, these methods typically process only single waveforms. In contrast, this study acquired fan-beam ultrasonic waveform profile data from 64 paths using an ultrasonic-speed computed tomography (CT) simulation of a circular column and developed a TOF estimation model using two-dimensional convolutional neural networks (CNNs) based on these data. We compared the accuracy of the TOF estimation between the proposed method and two traditional signal processing methods. Additionally, we reconstructed ultrasonic-speed CT images using the estimated TOF and evaluated the generated CT images. The results showed that the proposed method could estimate the longitudinal TOF more accurately than traditional methods, and the evaluation scores for the reconstructed images were high. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Systems (SmaSys2023))
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15 pages, 3102 KiB  
Article
Oxygen Measurement in Cuprate Superconductors Using the Dissolved Oxygen/Chlorine Method
by Yuliang Wei, Chengcheng Yan and Shiro Kambe
Technologies 2024, 12(7), 115; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12070115 - 16 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1625
Abstract
We have developed a dissolved oxygen (DO) method with differential equation (DE) correction. We measured the oxygen content in La-based and Y-based superconductors, and succeeded in measuring the oxygen content simply in one-third of the time required by the iodometric titration method. However, [...] Read more.
We have developed a dissolved oxygen (DO) method with differential equation (DE) correction. We measured the oxygen content in La-based and Y-based superconductors, and succeeded in measuring the oxygen content simply in one-third of the time required by the iodometric titration method. However, there was a problem with Bi-based superconductors where the measured oxygen content was smaller compared to the iodometric titration method. We hypothesized that not only O2 but also Cl2 gas is generated when dissolving Bi-based superconductors and developed a dissolved oxygen/chlorine (DO/Cl) method with DE correction. This method uses only a dissolved oxygen sensor and a dissolved chlorine sensor to measure the dissolved oxygen and dissolved chlorine content in Bi2Sr2−xLaxCuOy, allowing for the calculation of copper valence and oxygen content. The results from the DO/Cl method with DE correction show that the measured copper valence and oxygen content differ very little from those obtained using the iodometric titration method, with discrepancies within 0.016 and 0.008, respectively. Additionally, this method reduces the measurement time by one-third compared to the iodometric titration method. The results demonstrate that the DO/Cl method with DE correction can effectively measure the copper valence and oxygen content in cuprate superconductors, and using hydrochloric acid as the experimental solution is superior to sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Systems (SmaSys2023))
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28 pages, 3906 KiB  
Article
Smart Energy Systems Based on Next-Generation Power Electronic Devices
by Nikolay Hinov
Technologies 2024, 12(6), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12060078 - 1 Jun 2024
Viewed by 2045
Abstract
Power electronics plays a key role in the management and conversion of electrical energy in a variety of applications, including the use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydrogen energy, as well as in electric vehicles, industrial technologies, homes and [...] Read more.
Power electronics plays a key role in the management and conversion of electrical energy in a variety of applications, including the use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydrogen energy, as well as in electric vehicles, industrial technologies, homes and smart grids. These technologies are essential for the successful implementation of the green transition, as they help reduce carbon emissions and promote the production and consumption of cleaner and more sustainable energy. The present work presents a new generation of power electronic devices and systems, which includes the following main aspects: advances in semiconductor technologies, such as the use of silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN); nanomaterials for the realization of magnetic components; using a modular principle to construct power electronic devices; applying artificial intelligence techniques to device lifecycle design; and the environmental aspects of design. The new materials allow the devices to operate at higher voltages, temperatures and frequencies, making them ideal for high-power applications and high-frequency operation. In addition, the development of integrated and modular power electronic systems that combine energy management, diagnostics and communication capabilities contributes to the more intelligent and efficient management of energy resources. This includes integration with the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) for automated task solving and work optimization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Systems (SmaSys2023))
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12 pages, 4704 KiB  
Article
Effect of Oscillating Area on Generating Microbubbles from Hollow Ultrasonic Horn
by Kodai Hasegawa, Nobuhiro Yabuki and Toshinori Makuta
Technologies 2024, 12(6), 74; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12060074 - 25 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1189
Abstract
Microbubbles, which are tiny bubbles with a diameter of less than 100 µm, have been attracting attention in recent years. Conventional methods of microbubble generation using porous material and swirling flows have problems such as large equipment size and non-uniform bubble generation. Therefore, [...] Read more.
Microbubbles, which are tiny bubbles with a diameter of less than 100 µm, have been attracting attention in recent years. Conventional methods of microbubble generation using porous material and swirling flows have problems such as large equipment size and non-uniform bubble generation. Therefore, we have been developing a hollow ultrasonic horn with an internal flow path as a microbubble-generating device. By supplying gas and ultrasonic waves simultaneously, the gas–liquid interface is violently disturbed to generate microbubbles. Although this device can generate microbubbles even in highly viscous fluids and high-temperature fluids such as molten metals, it has the problem of generating many relatively large bubbles of 1 mm or more. Since the generation of a large amount of microbubbles in a short period of time is required to realize actual applications in agriculture, aquaculture, and medicine, conventional research has tried to solve this problem by increasing the amplitude of the ultrasonic oscillation. However, it is difficult to further increase the amplitude due to the structural reasons of the horn and the behavior of bubbles at the horn tip; therefore, the oscillating area of the tip of the horn, which had not received attention before, was enlarged by a factor of 2.94 times to facilitate the ultrasonic wave transmission to the bubbles, and the effect of this was investigated. As a result, a large number of gases were miniaturized, especially at high gas flow rates, leading to an increase in the amount of microbubbles generated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Systems (SmaSys2023))
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15 pages, 2575 KiB  
Article
Fluorine-Free Single-Component Polyelectrolyte of Poly(ethylene glycol) Bearing Lithium Methanesulfonylsulfonimide Terminal Groups: Effect of Structural Variance on Ionic Conductivity
by Bungo Ochiai, Koki Hirabayashi, Yudai Fujii and Yoshimasa Matsumura
Technologies 2024, 12(5), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12050065 - 9 May 2024
Viewed by 1403
Abstract
Fluorine-free single-component polyelectrolytes were developed via the hybridization of lithium methanesulfonylsulfonimide (LiMSSI) moieties to poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) derivatives with different morphologies, and the relationship between the structure and its ionic conductivity was investigated. The PEG-LiMSSI derivatives with one, two, and three LiMSSI end [...] Read more.
Fluorine-free single-component polyelectrolytes were developed via the hybridization of lithium methanesulfonylsulfonimide (LiMSSI) moieties to poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) derivatives with different morphologies, and the relationship between the structure and its ionic conductivity was investigated. The PEG-LiMSSI derivatives with one, two, and three LiMSSI end groups were prepared via the concomitant Michael-type addition and lithiation of PEGs and N-methanesulfonylvinylsulfonimide. The ionic conductivity at 60 °C ranged from 1.8 × 10−7 to 2.0 × 10−4 S/cm. PEG-LiMSSI derivatives with one LiMSSI terminus and with two LiMSSI termini at both ends show higher ionic conductivity, that is as good as fluorine-free single-component polyelectrolytes, than that with two LiMSSI termini at one end and that with three LiMSSI termini. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Systems (SmaSys2023))
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29 pages, 3092 KiB  
Article
Hunting Search Algorithm-Based Adaptive Fuzzy Tracking Controller for an Aero-Pendulum
by Ricardo Rojas-Galván, José R. García-Martínez, Edson E. Cruz-Miguel, Omar A. Barra-Vázquez, Luis F. Olmedo-García and Juvenal Rodríguez-Reséndiz
Technologies 2024, 12(5), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12050063 - 4 May 2024
Viewed by 1596
Abstract
The aero-pendulum is a non-linear system used broadly to develop and test new controller strategies. This paper presents a new methodology for an adaptive PID fuzzy-based tracking controller using a Hunting Search (HuS) algorithm. The HuS algorithm computes the parameters of the membership [...] Read more.
The aero-pendulum is a non-linear system used broadly to develop and test new controller strategies. This paper presents a new methodology for an adaptive PID fuzzy-based tracking controller using a Hunting Search (HuS) algorithm. The HuS algorithm computes the parameters of the membership functions of the fuzzification stage. As a novelty, the algorithm guarantees the overlap of the membership functions to ensure that all the functions are interconnected, generating new hunters to search for better solutions in the overlapping area. For the defuzzification stage, the HuS algorithm sets the singletons in optimal positions to evaluate the controller response using the centroid method. To probe the robustness of the methodology, the PID fuzzy controller algorithm is implemented in an embedded system to track the angular position of an aero-pendulum test bench. The results show that the adaptive PID fuzzy controller proposed presents root mean square error values of 0.42, 0.40, and 0.49 for 80, 90, and 100 degrees, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Systems (SmaSys2023))
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10 pages, 3004 KiB  
Communication
High Affinity of Nanoparticles and Matrices Based on Acid-Base Interaction for Nanoparticle-Filled Membrane
by Tsutomu Makino, Keisuke Tabata, Takaaki Saito, Yosimasa Matsuo and Akito Masuhara
Technologies 2024, 12(2), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12020024 - 7 Feb 2024
Viewed by 2032
Abstract
The introduction of nanoparticles into the polymer matrix is a useful technique for creating highly functional composite membranes. Our research focuses on the development of nanoparticle-filled proton exchange membranes (PEMs). PEMs play a crucial role in efficiently controlling the electrical energy conversion process [...] Read more.
The introduction of nanoparticles into the polymer matrix is a useful technique for creating highly functional composite membranes. Our research focuses on the development of nanoparticle-filled proton exchange membranes (PEMs). PEMs play a crucial role in efficiently controlling the electrical energy conversion process by facilitating the movement of specific ions. This is achieved by creating functionalized nanoparticles with polymer coatings on their surfaces, which are then combined with resins to create proton-conducting membranes. In this study, we prepared PEMs by coating the surfaces of silica nanoparticles with acidic polymers and integrating them into a basic matrix. This process resulted in the formation of a direct bond between the nanoparticles and the matrix, leading to composite membranes with a high dispersion and densely packed nanoparticles. This fabrication technique significantly improved mechanical strength and retention stability, resulting in high-performance membranes. Moreover, the proton conductivity of these membranes showed a remarkable enhancement of more than two orders of magnitude compared to the pristine basic matrix, reaching 4.2 × 10−4 S/cm at 80 °C and 95% relative humidity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Systems (SmaSys2023))
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