Kinetostatic analysis, manufacturing, and experimental application of a press machine based on Stephenson II mechanism

Press machine tools are often used in important industrial establishments, such as automobiles, aerospace, and aviation; these machine tools must be produced with high precision. Therefore, studies related to improving press tools and enhancing their precision are being conducted. In this study, a press machine tool based on the Stephenson II mechanism is proposed. Compared to that of conventional crank presses, this mechanism increases the slider balance using a ternary link and unique connecting rods. Thus, the slider precision can be improved with a small addition to the mechanism, and load transmission can be ensured in a balanced manner. To test the contribution of the mechanism, dynamic analysis is performed using the kinetostatic method, and the dynamic data of the mechanism are obtained. Subsequently, a press machine prototype is designed and manufactured. The experimental results are verified against the theoretical results, confirming that the proposed press machine tool based on the Stephenson II mechanism has better characteristics than those of the conventional press machine owing to the favorable distribution of forces on the slide and lower reaction to the slide guides.

Corporeal architecture: a material response to sensorial experience

My project began with an interest in sensory experience and the means by which the body engages in architecture. Numerous threads were explored- studying the work of Aalto, Scarpa, Holl, Zumthor and the writing of Pallasmaa; examining the work of artists like David Rokeby and Michael Awad; research about perception and sensation, through Deleuze, J.J. Gibson, Frampton, Frascari...And through personal experience: documenting sites in the city through different seasons, visiting the American Folk Art Museum (and others) in NYC. The project developed into a critique of the critique, referring to the ocularcentric critique. This critique argues that vision has been the focus of architects and designers at the exclusion of the other senses. This critique is a point of departure for my work, which seeks to add a new layer--through a study of the links between the senses (intersensorality) as they occur in the experience of architecture. I have identified a number of key moments in architectural experience that highlight these links and provide a venue for experimentation (moments when a number of the senses are at play). Together with a number of threads and supporting ideas, the design portion of the project tests materials, forms and conditions in order to bring the links between the senses into focus. This design research is contained within my proposed, small addition to an existing branch Library on Queen Street West.

Corporeal architecture: a material response to sensorial experience

My project began with an interest in sensory experience and the means by which the body engages in architecture. Numerous threads were explored- studying the work of Aalto, Scarpa, Holl, Zumthor and the writing of Pallasmaa; examining the work of artists like David Rokeby and Michael Awad; research about perception and sensation, through Deleuze, J.J. Gibson, Frampton, Frascari...And through personal experience: documenting sites in the city through different seasons, visiting the American Folk Art Museum (and others) in NYC. The project developed into a critique of the critique, referring to the ocularcentric critique. This critique argues that vision has been the focus of architects and designers at the exclusion of the other senses. This critique is a point of departure for my work, which seeks to add a new layer--through a study of the links between the senses (intersensorality) as they occur in the experience of architecture. I have identified a number of key moments in architectural experience that highlight these links and provide a venue for experimentation (moments when a number of the senses are at play). Together with a number of threads and supporting ideas, the design portion of the project tests materials, forms and conditions in order to bring the links between the senses into focus. This design research is contained within my proposed, small addition to an existing branch Library on Queen Street West.

Integration of Stable Ionic Liquid-Based Nanofluids into Polymer Membranes. Part I: Membrane Synthesis and Characterization

In this work, polymeric membranes functionalized with ionic liquids (ILs) and exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets (xGnP) were developed and characterized. These membranes based on graphene ionanofluids (IoNFs) are promising materials for gas separation. The stability of the selected IoNFs in the polymer membranes was determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The morphology of membranes was characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and interferometric optical profilometry (WLOP). SEM results evidence that upon the small addition of xGnP into the IL-dominated environment, the interaction between IL and xGnP facilitates the migration of xGnP to the surface, while suppressing the interaction between IL and Pebax®1657. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was also used to determine the polymer–IoNF interactions and the distribution of the IL in the polymer matrix. Finally, the thermodynamic properties and phase transitions (polymer–IoNF) of these functionalized membranes were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). This analysis showed a gradual decrease in the melting point of the polyamide (PA6) blocks with a decrease in the corresponding melting enthalpy and a complete disappearance of the crystallinity of the polyether (PEO) phase with increasing IL content. This evidences the high compatibility and good mixing of the polymer and the IoNF.

The effect of small addition of copper on the growth process, structure, surface charge and adsorption properties of ZnO films in the pyrolysis of dithiocarbamates

Highly textured ZnO films are fabricated, the outer polar surface of which is decorated with copper complexes. The segregation of copper on the surface during growth is attributed to the manifestation of the Jahn–Teller effect.

Evolution of the Structural and Magnetic Properties of Bulk Fe61Co10B20W1Y8−XPtx Alloys through the Partial Substitution of Pt for Y

This paper presents the results of an investigation into rapidly quenched Fe-based alloys with the chemical formula: Fe61Co10B20W1Y8−xPtx (where x = 3, 4, 5). In these alloys, a small quantity of Pt was added, and the Y content was reduced concurrently. Samples of the aforementioned alloys were injection-cast in the form of plates with the dimensions: 0.5 mm × 10 mm × 10 mm. The resulting structure was examined using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Mössbauer spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of the structural research reveal that, with a small addition of Pt, areas rich in Pt and Y are created—in which Fe-Pt and Pt-Y compounds, with different crystallographic systems, are formed. It has also been shown that an increase in Pt content, at the expense of Y, contributed to the formation of fewer crystalline phases, i.e., it allowed a material with a more homogeneous structure to be obtained. Magnetic properties of the Fe61Co10B20W1Y8−xPtx (where x = 3, 4, 5) alloy samples were tested using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The magnetic properties of the investigated materials revealed that the saturation magnetisation increased with increasing Pt content, at the expense of Y. This effect is due to the occurrence of different proportions of crystalline magnetic phases within the volume of each alloy.