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The use of advanced pedagogical methodologies in connection with advanced use of modern information technology for delivery enables new ways of communicating, of exchanging knowledge, and of learning that are gaining increasing relevance in our society. Remote laboratory exercises offer the possibility to enhance learning for students in different technical areas, especially to the ones not having physical access to laboratory facilities and thus spreading knowledge in a world-wide perspective. A new “Remote Flutter Laboratory” has been developed to introduce aeromechanics engineering students and professionals to aeroelastic phenomena in turbomachinery. The laboratory is world-wide unique in the sense that it allows global access for learners anywhere and anytime to a facility dedicated to what is both a complex and relevant area for gas turbine design and operation. The core of the system consists of an aeroelastically unstable turbine blade row that exhibits self-excited and self-sustained flutter at specific operating conditions. Steady and unsteady blade loading and motion data are simultaneously acquired on five neighboring suspended blades and the whole system allows for a distant-based operation and monitoring of the rig as well as for automatic data retrieval. This paper focuses on the development of the Remote Flutter Laboratory exercise as a hands-on learning platform for online and distant-based education and training in turbomachinery aeromechanics enabling familiarization with the concept of critical reduced frequency and of flutter phenomena. This laboratory setup can easily be used “as is” directly by any turbomachinery teacher in the world, free of charge and independent upon time and location with the intended learning outcomes as specified in the lab, but it can also very easily be adapted to other intended learning outcomes that a teacher might want to highlight in a specific course. As such it is also a base for a turbomachinery repository of advanced remote laboratories of global uniqueness and access. The present work documents also the pioneer implementation of the LabSocket System for the remote operation of a wind tunnel test facility from any Internet-enabled computer, tablet or smartphone with no end-user software or plug-in installation.

The training process of learning-based distribution system state estimation (DSSE) methods relies on accurate state variables, which typically contain unknown noise and outliers in practice. To this end, this paper proposes an adaptive noise-resistant graphical learning-based DSSE method considering the impact of inaccurate state variables. Specifically, two global-scanning graph jumping connection networks are first developed to capture the regression rules between measurements and state variables considering the structure constraints. To mitigate the negative impact caused by inaccurate labels, a collaborative learning framework is further developed, within which Gaussian mixture model-based discriminators are employed to adaptively select clean samples in each mini-batch. These allow the method to obtain robustness against noisy state labels in historical data, as well as anomalous measurements during online operations. Comparative tests show the superiority of the proposed method in tackling abnormal data in both the training and test phases.

Nanocomposites (integrating the nano and composite technologies) for advanced fuel cells (NANOCOFC) demonstrate the great potential to reduce the operational temperature of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) significantly in the low temperature (LT) range 300-600ºC. NANOCOFC has offered the development of multi-functional materials composed of semiconductor and ionic materials to meet the requirements of low temperature solid oxide fuel cell (LTSOFC) and green energy conversion devices with their unique mechanisms.This work reviews the recent developments relevant to the devices and the patents in LTSOFCs from nanotechnology perspectives that reports advances including fabrication methods, material compositions, characterization techniques and cell performances.Finally, the future scope of LTSOFC with nanotechnology and the practical applications are also discussed.

Abstract Hereby we report first a commercial lithium battery LiMn-oxide (LMO) positive electrode material for fuel cell applications. The obtained LMO can be used for both anode and cathode in a three-layer fuel cell, but displays low electro-catalytic activity and power output. Using a nanocomposite approach we have significantly improved the cell performance from tens mW cm−2 up to 210 mW cm−2, which is technically useful for low temperature (bellow 600 °C) ceramic fuel cells. We also constructed single-layer fuel cell using the LMO/SDC–metal oxide composite and achieved even better performances than those for conventional anode–electrolyte–cathode three-layer fuel cells.

Carsharing is a mode of transportation that provides access to a set of vehicles in the form of organized short-term car rental, serving as a substitute for private car ownership with a number of transportation, environmental, and social benefits. Combining the mobility concept of carsharing with electric vehicles (EVs), referred to as e-carsharing, can contribute not only to more efficient use of the shared vehicles, but also to more sustainable urban mobility in smart cities. In this context, this paper advances the concept of university-based e-carsharing, to serve the mobility needs of an academic community in Bilbao, Spain, focusing on the technical design aspects to cover the energy requirements of the EV fleet of the proposed system through the installation of fast charging posts based on a battery-to-battery approach. In this regard, a MATLAB/Simulink model is implemented to simulate the fast charging infrastructure using the real-world data collected from the university parking lot in order to represent the potential utilization of the EVs. The simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed system design, ensuring that the energy demand of the EVs is successfully covered and concurrently the charging station batteries operate out of the low charge zone.

A mechanistic model of annular flow with evaporating liquid film has been developed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The model is employing a separate solver with two-dimensional conservat ...

Abstract In this work, Lithiated NiCuZnOx (LNCZO) composite is synthesized and evaluated as a potential symmetrical electrode for ceria-carbonate composite electrolyte based low temperature ceramic fuel cells. Its crystal structures, the hydrogen oxidation/oxygen reduction electrochemical activities and fuel cell performances are systematically examined on the symmetrical cell configuration. Nano crystallite particles in the form of composite are observed for these oxides. The LNCZO shows relatively high catalytic activities for hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction reaction according to the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. A remarkable low oxygen reduction activation energy of 42 kJ mol−1 is obtained on the LNCZO/ceria-carbonate composite, demonstrating excellent electro-catalytic activity. Especially, the catalytic activity can be further improved in the presence of water in the cathode chamber. The results show that the lithiated transition metal oxide composite is a promising symmetrical electrode for ceria-carbonate electrolyte and composite approach might a probable solution to develop super-performance electrodes for reduced temperature ceramic fuel cells.