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Copyright of SDU Journal of Engineering Sciences & Design / Mühendislik Bilimleri ve Tasarım Dergisi is the property of Journal of Engineering Sciences & Design and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Composite structures have become one of the most preferred materials in the automotive industry by being improved day by day with their high strength per weight performance as well as their lightness. Natural fiber reinforced composite structures have an important share among all composite forms with recent developments. In this study, composite products in which epoxy resin is the matrix element with different stacking orders were produced by vacuum assisted resin transfer method. Basalt fabric was hybridized with carbon fabric and aramid fabric and the effect of this hybridization on thermal properties, mechanical properties, and morphological effects were examined. The mechanical test results indicated the tensile strength of the basalt/carbon hybrid configuration composite structure gave %40.18 better results than the basalt/aramid hybrid configuration structure. In terms of microhardness, in basalt/carbon hybrid configuration %22.34 better results were obtained in comparison with basalt/aramid hybrid configuration. Moreover, thermal analysis results displayed hybrid samples increased the combustion initiation temperature compared to homogeneous samples. In addition, the dominance of carbon fabrics was observed in the determination of cold crystallization temperature in hybrid samples, while basalt materials were predominant in melting temperature. Results of the article displayed that the carbon fiber hybridization to basalt fabric will greatly improve the deformation resistance and heat resistance of the materials compared to the aramid fabric hybridization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiesel has been produced from various vegetable oils, such as palm, canola (rapeseed), cottonseed, sunflower, and soybean oils as well as a variety of less common oils. This study evaluated the production of biodiesel using tea seed (Camellia sinensis)oil as a raw material. Methyl ester was produced by transesterification of tea seed oil with methanol in the presence of a catalyst (NaOH). The fuel properties such as pour point (PP), kinematic viscosity, cetane number, flash point, density, copper strip corrosion, and heating value were determined and discussed in light of American (ASTM D6751) and European (EN 14214) biodiesel standards. Not only the specifications of pure biodiesel but also its blends with diesel fuel were analyzed. Biodiesel produced from tea seed oil exhibit a low pour point value of −5°C, one of the lowest found for a biodiesel fuel. The cold flow properties of tea seed methyl ester (TSME) demonstrate its operational viability during the cold weather conditions. As a result, tea seed oil, as agricultural crop, might be a reasonable raw material for the biodiesel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]