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Abstract First-principle investigations explore materials science for functional purposes. The physical properties of CsGeCl3 are investigated under pressure in steps of 1.0 GPa. The CASTEP and GGA-PBE technique is used to understand the characteristics of cubic-based CsGeCl3 crystal structures with space group 221. The energy bandgap (BG) exhibited direct semiconductors to metallic transition nature at pressures and its value decreased from 1.06 to 0.0 eV. It is observed during computations that it maintains the cubic phase with lattice parameters decreasing from 5.33 to 5.02 Å. A thorough analysis of optical characteristics under pressure shows that the UV spectrum region corresponds to strong peaks in optical properties, with a slight shift in peaks towards greater energies. Additionally, it satisfies the Born stability for mechanical stability and has an anisotropic (A) nature due to the anisotropic factor (0.529 to 1.501) of unity. The ductile nature of CsGeCl3 is indicated by the Poisson scale (0.260 to 0.289) limits and Pugh’s ratio (1.751 to 2.037). If Cauchy pressure (Cp) is low, the material shows non-metallic behavior, and at high pressures, it shows metallic behavior, with a range of 1.299 to 9.961 GPa. As a result, the analysis shows that said material is suitable for photovoltaic and optoelectronic activity.

Abstract Prospective use of perovskite hydride materials in H storage a crucial element of clean energy systems has drawn a lot of attention. The structural, electrical, mechanical, thermodynamic, and H storage qualities of Na2CaCdH6 hydride alloys were examined in this work using DFT. According to the structural properties, Na2CaCdH6 has space group 225 (Fm3m), and optimized lattice parameters and volume of Na2CaCdH6 are 3.3485 Å and 593.764 Å3. The measured gravimetric H storage capacity of Na2CaCdH6 hydrides is 2.956 wt%. The hydrides under research are semiconductors, as indicated by the computed electronic characteristics. Elastic constants, Pugh’s ratio, modulus, Poisson’s ratio, anisotropic, and microhardness of Na2CaCdH6 are calculated under mechanical properties. The hydrides are dynamically stable, as indicated by the phonon dispersion curves, but mechanically stable according to the Born criterion for elastic constant (Cij). The Cauchy’s pressure (C″ = 7.836) revealed the ductile behavior. The electronic and mechanical characteristics imply that Na2CaCdH6 hydride can conduct electricity and is also mechanically stable. Our findings shed light on the possibilities of Na2CaCdH6 perovskite hydride material for H storage utilization.

Abstract In the modern era, the major problem is solving energy production and consumption. For this purpose, perovskite materials meet these issues and fulfill energy production at a low cost. Density functional theory and the Cambridge Serial Total Energy Package (CASTEP) are used to examine the characteristics of the cubic inorganic perovskites RPbBr3 (R = Cs, Hg, and Ga). In the context of the generalized gradient approximation (GGA), the ultrasoft pseudo-potential plane wave technique and the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof exchange–correlation functional are used for investigations. Structural, mechanical, electronics, and optical properties are investigated using CASTEP code. According to structural properties, compounds have a cubic nature with space 221 (Pm3m). Compounds formation energy (− 3.46, − 2.21, and − 3.14 eV)of (CsPbBr3, HgPbBr3, and GaPbBr3) and phonon calculations are studied and find that compounds are stable. The results of our investigation show that the compounds have narrow bandgaps of direct kind, with 1.85 eV for CsPbBr3, 1.56 eV for HgPbBr3, and 1.71 eV for GaPbBr3, respectively, indicating that they may be used to improve conductivity. Additionally, anisotropy (2.135, 3.651, 10.602), Pugh’s ratio (1.87, 2.25, 2.14), and Poison’s ratio (0.27, 0.31, 0.29) are traits that the compounds (CsPbBr3, HgPbBr3, GaPbBr3) display a ductile nature. The CsPbBr3 compound showed significant optical conductivity and absorption in terms of their optical properties, especially in the visible region, which makes them suitable for use in solar cell applications as well as for LED applications.

Here in, we study the structural, electronic, mechanical, optical and thermoelectric properties of As based Ba3AsX3 (X = F, Cl) using the density functional theory. The result show that both materials crystallize into cubic structure. The tolerance factor and octahedral factor indicates that both materials have stable perovskite structure. The obtained optimize lattice constant are 6.12 Å and 6.50 Å for Ba3AsF3 and Ba3AsCl3 respectively. The phonon dispersion curves show that both materials are dynamically stable. The electronic study reveals that both materials have semiconductor having band gap of 2.27eV and 1.73eV for Ba3AsF3 and Ba3AsCl3 respectively. Elastic constants are computed and found that both materials are mechanical stable. Furthermore, elastic study presents that both materials are ductile and have anisotropic nature. The optical results show that both materials have excellent optical absorption. It is observed that relaxation time for Ba3AsF3 is longer than that of Ba3AsCl3. Thermoelectric properties such as Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity electronic thermal conductivity, power factor and figure of merit are calculated for both materials. It is observed that for both materials Seebeck have almost same maximum value of 1.55 × 10−3 V/K at 300K. The electrical conductivity is found to be greater for Ba3AsF3 than Ba3AsCl3. The figure of merit ZT value is found 1.53 for Ba3AsF3 while 1.23 for Ba3AsCl3 at 700K. From obtained results it is concluded that these materials can be an excellent candidate for thermoelectric and optoelectronic applications.

To identify a promising alternative to lead-based materials for solar cell application, we investigated the different physical properties of K2ScCoX6 (X = F, Cl) perovskites. Both materials have ferromagnetic ground state. The obtained optimize lattice constants are found to be 8.48 Å and 10.04 Å for K2ScCoF6 and K2ScCoCl6 respectively. Our finding indicate that these materials exhibit excellent structural, mechanical, the thermal stability, as evidenced by their Goldsmith's tolerance factor, elastic parameters, and negative formation energies. The formation energy is found to be -2.4 and -2.1 eV/atom for K2ScCoF6 and K2ScCoCl6 respectively. The electronic properties reveals that both materials have semiconducting nature. Notably, we observed low direct bandgap of 0.93 eV for K2ScCoF6 and 1.22 eV for K2ScCoCl6, which contrast with the typically large bandgap values reported for most halide double perovskite. The calculated values of Poisson's and Pugh's ratios, along with positive Cauchy's pressure, suggest a ductile nature for these compounds. Additionally, the optical properties show high absorption and optical conductivity, coupled with low reflectivity and minimal energy loss in lower energy ranges. These results suggest that the halogen-based double perovskite materials have significant potential as photovoltaic absorber materials in solar cell applications. Furthermore, their higher Seebeck coefficients, power factors and low thermal conductivity at room temperature underscore their potential for thermoelectric applications.

This study evaluates the thermal and mechanical behavior of hybrid composites made from date palm (DP) and kenaf fibers (KF) in an epoxy thermoset matrix. Both DP and KF fibers are abundant and renewable, reducing environmental impact. KF offers high tensile strength and stiffness, improving composite strength and rigidity, while DP fibers offer toughness and impact resistance, enhancing durability. The composites were developed in 30%, 50%, and 70% DP-KF compositions using layup and hot-pressing methods. Fiber treatment through alkalization was analyzed for its impact on mechanical and thermal properties to find the optimal fiber ratio. The hybrid composites were subjected to DMA, TGA, and flexural tests. The treated composites exhibited fewer impurities and increased cellulose content, resulting in enhanced flexural performance. This improvement was evident through higher storage modulus, lower loss modulus, and reduced tan δ when exposed to thermal stress. The 30% DP and 70% KF composites exhibited best performance. The treated 30DP-70KF exhibited improvement in the flexural strength and modulus by 13.8% and 2.7%, respectively. TGA demonstrated that treated 30DP-70KF composites had a higher glass transition temperature (Tg) and better thermal degradation resistance. These findings highlight the potential of natural fiber hybrids in creating sustainable, high-performance composite materials for construction and industrial applications.

ABSTRACTNowadays, synthetic fiber composites are in decline because of their high initial cost and detrimental impact on the environment. The main aim of this work is to develop natural fiber composite materials that are made from moringa and bamboo fibers by using the hand lay-up method by maintaining a constant 40 vol.% of epoxy content. Both the natural composites were treated with NaOH and also compared with their hybrid composite. The mechanical properties, such as compression, hardness, impact, tensile, flexural properties were investigated. Additionally, thermo gravimetric analysis of composites was also carried out. The biggest boost in compressive strength was seen in bamboo with 60% volume, with improvements ranging from a pure resin value of 13.06 to 68.43% compared to moringa 60% and 30–30% moringa-bamboo. The maximum rise in impact strength was recorded by BM-30/30 at 21J. In addition to this, the highest hardness value was observed by moringa-reinforced composites (MM-60) and noted to be around 40.83 HV. Tensile and flexural properties of all the composites reveal improvement as compared with neat epoxy composites. Bamboo exhibits a considerable improvement in thermal stability as compared with other compositions. Scanning electron micrographs were used to analyze the structure-property correlations.

The zinc-based perovskites ZnLiX3 (X = Cl or F) were investigated for their structural, electronic, and optical properties using the WIEN2k package within density functional theory (DFT). Structural properties were calculated using the generalized gradient approximation (GGA), while the modified Becke-Johnson (mBJ) potential was applied for a more accurate description of the optical and electronic properties. Both compounds are confirmed to be stable, crystallizing in the cubic Pm-3 m (No. 221) space group. ZnLiCl3 has an indirect band gap of 0.30 eV between the Γ and M symmetry points, indicating semiconducting behaviour, while ZnLiF3 exhibits an indirect band gap of 5.45 eV, typical of an insulating material. The electronic states contributing to the band structure were analyzed using the total density of states (TDOS) and partial density of states (PDOS). Optical properties, evaluated in the energy range of 0–14 eV, reveal strong optical conductivity and absorption at higher energies, while both materials show transparency to lower-energy photons. These findings suggest that ZnLiCl3 and ZnLiF3 are suitable candidates for high-frequency UV optoelectronic device applications.

To explore a good candidate for solar cell applications as an alternative to lead-independent materials, we calculated the structural and mechanical stability of the Rb2TlSbX6 (X = Cl, Br, I) compounds with PBEsol potential. The optoelectronic and thermoelectric behaviors of these compounds are computed with TB-mBJ potential. Our results indicate that these materials possessed excellent structural, mechanical, and thermal stability on the basic values of their Goldsmith’s, elastic parameters and negative formation energies. The dynamic stability is observed through phonon dispersion curve and found that all materials are dynamically stable. The computed values of Poisson and Pugh ratios and a positive value of Cauchy’s pressure indicate the ductile nature of these materials. We observed the low direct bandgaps for Rb2TlSbCl6, (1.486 eV), Rb2TlSbBr6 (2.07 eV), and Rb2TlSbI6 (1.04 eV) unlike the majority of halide double perovskite family have large bandgap values in literature. In addition, the computed optical and thermoelectric characteristics of the Rb2TlSbX6 (X = Cl, Br, I) materials show large values of absorption and optical conductivity with low reflectivity and energy loss at small energy ranges. According to these findings, all these halogen-based double perovskite materials have the potential to be employed as photovoltaic absorb materials in solar cell applications. Furthermore, the large values of the Seebeck coefficient, high-power factor and figure of merit (ZT) at room temperature also ensured their significance for thermoelectric generators.

Owing to their outstanding performance, environmental friendliness and stability, perovskite materials are becoming very important for solar cells, renewable energy sources and thermoelectric generators. This work uses the first-principles approach to explore the structural, electronic, optical and elastic characteristics of K2ScCuF6 and K2YCuF6 double perovskites. The negative formation energy in Birch-Murnaghan confirms the stability of the compounds in Fm3m (225) space group. The analysis of the electronic properties concluded that both K2ScCuF6 and K2YCuF6 are narrow band gap semiconductors materials, having 1.2 and 2.3 eV of bandgap energies, respectively. This was further verified by the density of states. The mechanical stability, ductility and anisotropic nature of the compounds was shown by analyzing their elastic constants. In addition, the optical properties showed transparency at low energy values but showed both transmission and absorption characteristics at higher energy levels. These interesting results imply that K2ScCuF6 and K2YCuF6 have significant potential in solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), smart windows, displays and sensors.

In the current investigation, functionalization of the multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-TMD) is conducted to enhance the adsorption potential applications. A ratio of 1:3 of the oxidizing acids (HNO3 and H2SO4) is used to attach the oxygen functional groups to the surface of MWCNTs and the prepared sample is F-MWCNT. To examine the surface morphology of the functionalized tubes in the prepared samples, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were utilized. Meanwhile, energy dispersive X-ray, and X-ray diffraction analysis were employed to account for the elemental composition and structure, respectively. The data obtained from these investigations revealed a notable decrease in the length and diameter of the functionalized tubes. The adsorption efficiency of F-MWCNTs was examined by methylene blue removal from aqueous solutions. The results demonstrated that the removal percentage of F-MWCNTs could reach 80%. Functionalized MWCNTs have greater surface area than the pristine one, which improves the efficiency of MWCNTs-based filters for water purification. The functionalization process provides an effective approach to modify MWCNTs and significantly enhances their adsorption efficiency.

The solid solution of pure ZnO nanoparticles and doped Polyvinylepyrrolidone (PVP) green hybrid nanomaterial’s synthesized by using the electro spinning method. The synthetic polymer matrix nonwoven fibrous mats containing innovative properties are shown to shrink and encapsulated the zinc oxide materials to change the surface morphology when the concentration of PVP is increased from 1 % to 2 % dopants. The crystalline nature and morphological studies were examined by using x-ray diffraction and a scanning electron microscope. The average crystallite sizes of easily formed ZnO nanoparticles and nanorods that are 21 nm and 62 nm respectively. Moreover, the electrical and optical properties of the fibrous mesh were determined by using electrical impedance analyzer. The electrical conductivity values were measured in the pure ZnO nanoparticles in contrast to the doped ZnO/PVP. The tangent loss, dielectric constant, capacitance and relaxation time values are revealed in this study. All the characterization has been carried out at room temperature. The relaxation time for 1 %, and 2 % ZnO/PVP is (0.8 ns) and (0.79 ns) respectively which is suitable for the application of trigger using devices. The overall findings of this study implemented in a wide range of technologies i.e. photonics, electronics and super capacitor devices etc.

Abstract Recently, MAX phases have attained considerable technological interest owing to their two inherent properties metallic and ceramic properties. This study extensively examined Nb2ScAC2 MAX phases using DFT, to assess the structural, mechanical, electronic, and Thermal characteristics. Firstly, the stability of these two compounds was confirmed through the formation energy, elastic constants (Cij), and phonon band structure, which confirmed their thermodynamic, mechanical, and dynamical stability. The optimized lattice parameters of these compounds were examined and then utilized to calculate the physical properties of the Nb2ScAC2 compound. Our compounds are brittle due to their Pugh’s ratio of less than 1.75. The covalent bonding of the structure revealed by the Poisson ratio is less than 0.25 for the two compounds. The Nb2ScAC2 material is anisotropic, and Nb2ScAlC2 is harder than Nb2ScSiC2.The metallic character of the materials was affirmed by the electronic band structure analysis. Calculated thermal properties such as Debye temperature and minimum and lattice thermal conductivity reveal that both compounds have the potential to enhance their deployment in thermal barrier coating materials. On the other hand, the high melting temperatures indicate that our compounds could potentially be utilized in demanding or severe conditions. Finally, the thermodynamic characteristics, comprising the isochoric heat capacity (Cv) and Debye temperature (ϴD) were analyzed subjected to high temperatures and pressures. The optical constants such as real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function, refractive index and reflectivity, are investigated. The current study recognizes these two compounds as promising candidates for utilization in modern technologies and diverse industries.

There are several uses for ultraviolet photodetectors, including in the scientific, military, and industrial sectors. In this sense, UV photodetectors must have high responsiveness, be insensitive to visible light, and be inexpensive to produce. For this purpose, we report the development of Co and Ni based iron oxide nanoparticles via the cost effective low temperature sol–gel auto-combustion process. XRD study approves the cubic crystal structure of iron oxide (Fe2O3) with predominant orientation along (311) direction. A sharp and strong peak is obtained at 583 cm−1 and 594 cm−1 for both samples in FT-IR spectra assigned to metal oxide Fe–O network system which approves the formation of iron oxide. Raman spectroscopy analysis reveals the presence of two A1g and five Eg phonon modes in the case of both samples. Absorption study exhibits the strong absorption peaks for the iron oxide sample doped with cobalt and nickel, while poor absorption was noticed from the pure iron oxide nanoparticles. The large and low energy band gap values are found to be 2.77 eV and 1.68 eV for pure Fe2O3 and cobalt and nickel doped Fe2O3 nanoparticles, respectively. Stone and cloud-like shape morphology was observed from SEM analysis. The EDX spectra reveal the presence of essential elements, like Fe and O in the case of pure iron oxide while Fe, O, Co and Ni in the case of transition metals doped iron oxide nanoparticles. The photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy technique was recorded the luminescent properties which reveals the decrease in PL intensity that confirms the decline in electron–hole recombination. Therefore, I–V characterization analysis reveals that electrical conductivity increases with the addition of metals due to decrease in electron–hole recombination with the co-doping of metals. These modified opto-electronic properties of the developed Fe2O3 by metals co-doping make it suitable candidate for the use in photodetector application.

A numerical study was carried out on dual solutions of rotating stretching/shrinking surfaces to explore the influence of convective boundary conditions, viscous dissipation, thermal radiation, and heat sources/sinks on 3-D hybrid nanofluid flow. Hybrid nanofluids have great potential for a variety of applications due to their unique properties and versatility. It is improved the effectiveness of heat transfer rates. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence that certain parameters on the temperature and velocities profiles against the parameters, including the volume fraction of copper, suction effect, viscous dissipation, thermal radiation, Biot number and rotating parameter. Further, the impact of the suction effect and shrinking sheet on reduced heat transfer and skin friction is also considered against the volume fraction of copper. The nonlinear partial differential equations are transformed into a collection of ordinary differential equations by including linear similarity variables. The generated combination of higher order nonlinear ODEs is solved via a boundary value algorithm called bvp4c, which executes on the MATLAB computing tool. The findings confirmed the existence of two branches (dual solution) with varied quantities of copper volume fraction according to the shrinking surface and suction effect. Additionally, as the Biot number, Eckert number, thermal radiation, and copper volume fraction all increase in strength, the rate at which heat flows in both solutions also increases. However, the heat transfer rate declined as increased the suction effect. Besides, when a positive and negative increment is applied to the rotational parameter, both solutions suffer an increase in both velocities. In summary, unique solutions are obtained S

Investigating novel compounds has become necessary due to the need for sophisticated materials in optoelectronic devices and spintronics. Because of their unique properties, magnesium-based spinels MgSm2X4 (X = S and Se) are very promising for these applications. We used the spin-polarized PBEsol for structural properties and the PBEsol functional for mechanical behavior, both using the WIEN2k code. Both compounds' stability in the magnetic and non-magnetic phases was validated by the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state, and their stability in the cubic phase was verified by the Born stability criterion. Their ductile character was shown by the computation of Pugh's ratio and Poisson ratio. Both MgSm2S4 and MgSm2Se4 display metallic behavior in the spin-up channel and semiconducting behavior in the spin-down channel, indicating a half-metallic nature, according to TB-mBJ potential calculations. With total magnetic moments of 20 μB, both materials showed ferromagnetic properties. Samarium ions contributed 5.27 μB for MgSm2S4 and 5.34 μB for MgSm2Se4. Furthermore, we computed optical parameters in the energy range of 0 to 15 eV, such as absorption, extinction coefficient, reflectivity, dielectric function, and refractive index. Our results demonstrate the potential of MgSm2X4 spinels for future technological developments by revealing their prospective optoelectronic and spintronic applications.

Water is a necessary resource that enables the existence of all life forms, including humans. Freshwater usage has become increasingly necessary in recent years. Facilities for treating seawater are less dependable and effective. Deep learning methods have the ability to improve salt particle analysis in saltwater's accuracy and efficiency, which will enhance the performance of water treatment plants. This research proposes a novel technique in optimization of water reuse with nanoparticle analysis based on machine learning architecture. Here, the optimization of water reuse is carried out based on nanoparticle solar cell for saline water treatment and the saline composition has been analyzed using a gradient discriminant random field. Experimental analysis is carried out in terms of specificity, computational cost, kappa coefficient, training accuracy, and mean average precision for various tunnelling electron microscope (TEM) image datasets. The bright-field TEM (BF-TEM) dataset attained a specificity of 75%, kappa coefficient of 44%, training accuracy of 81%, and mean average precision of 61%, whereas the annular dark-field scanning TEM (ADF-STEM) dataset produced specificity of 79%, kappa coefficient of 49%, training accuracy of 85%, and mean average precision of 66% as compared with the existing artificial neural network (ANN) approach. HIGHLIGHTS Deep learning methods have the ability to improve salt particle analysis in saltwater's accuracy and efficiency, which will enhance the performance of water treatment plants.; This research proposes a novel technique in the optimization of water reuse with nanoparticle analysis based on machine learning architecture. Here, the optimization of water reuse is carried out based on nanoparticle solar cells for water treatment.;

In this research, the approach of FP-LAPW (full potential linearized augmented plane wave) is employed within WIEN2K for the investigations of structural, thermodynamic, electronic, and mechanical properties of the V2ScSnC2 and Nb2ScSnC2 MAX-phases quaternary compounds. The V2ScSnC2 and Nb2ScSnC2 compounds exist in “α” and “β” polymorph structures. The formation energies (Eform) investigated insure that the α-polymorph is more stable than the β one. As it happens, Nb2ScSnC2 is more stable than V2ScSnC2. The Nb2ScSnC2 has an enhanced mechanical property compared to the V2ScSnC2 compound. The elastic constants (ECs) of interested materials fulfill all the conditions of mechanical stability and revealed a ductile nature. The predicted Cauchy's pressure and Poisson's ratio possess positive values signifying the ionic character of the V2ScSnC2 compound. The quaternary Nb2ScSnC2 compound exists as amalgamation of covalent and ionic bonds with a predominance of the ionic bonding character. The high melting temperature and high Debye temperature of V2ScSnC2 and Nb2ScSnC2 make them suitable for use in harsh environments. Furthermore, they exhibit potential as a promising material for thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). Electronic structure analysis confirm the metallic character of the two interested compounds. At high temperatures and pressures the thermodynamic properties including the Cv (Heat capacity) and ƟD (Debye temperature) are explored. We deem that this study of quaternary MAX-phase compounds will bring new insight for the experimentalists to employ for their future applications.

Abstract Hybrid Nano fluid has emerged to be an important field of study due to its better thermal performance compared to other Nano fluids. The problem of carbon nanotubes rotating between two stretchable discs while suspended in water is investigated in this research. Due to numerous uses of this problem, such as metal mining, drawing plastic films, and cooling continuous filaments, this problem is essential to industry. Considerations here include suction/injection, heat radiation, and the Darcy-Forchheimer scheme with convective boundary conditions. The partial differential equations are reduced to ordinary differential equations by using appropriate transformation. To examine the approximate solution validation, training and testing procedures are interpreted and the performance is verified through error histogram and mean square error results. To describe the behavior of flow quantities, several tabular and graphical representations of a variety of physical characteristics of importance are presented and discussed in detail. The basic aim of this research is to examine the behaviour of carbon nanotubes (nanoparticles) between stretchable disks while considering the heat generation/absorption parameter by using the Levenberg–Marquardt technique of artificial neural network. Heat transfer rate is accelerated by a decrease in velocity and temperature and an increase in the nanoparticle volume fraction parameter which is a significant finding of the current study.

The present work distinguishes the thermal attributes of zirconium oxide (ZrO2) and single wall-carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in a three dimensional rotating frame under the magnetic field environment. Sodium alginate (NaC6H7O6) is assumed to be the base fluid. The slippage and convective conditions on boundary have also been incorporated. The analysis comprehends, comparatively, features of both SWCNTs-NaC6H7O6 and ZrO2–NaC6H7O6 nanofluids. The amalgamation of nanomaterial SWCNTs-ZrO2 in sodium alginate builds up the thermal characteristics. An algorithmic approach deals with the approximate solutions of the problem. The numerical algorithm is mainly based on order reduction and central difference discretization. A comparison, in limiting case, appraises the proficiency of the code. The outcomes are physically and numerically interpreted via graphical and tabular representations against the prime parameters. The nano-composition of SWCNTs-ZrO2 convincingly improves and embellishes the heat transport rate. It has been revealed from the results that higher the microrotation parameter Ω0, higher will be the thermal boundary layer thickness in both cases of nanofluids such as SWCNTs/NaC6H7O6 and ZrO2/NaC6H7O6. A sensible judgment of the outcomes discloses that SWCNTs possess, comparatively, better heat transfer features than zirconium oxide.

Power production through combustion of fuels plays a vital role in the progress of a nation. In liquid fuels, biodiesel has emerged as a potential replacement of fossil fuel. In this regard, the improvement of fuel properties or adjustment of the operating parameters can improve the efficiency and lower the emission for a biodiesel run diesel engine. In this regard, the current study focuses on the use of novel nano blended biodiesel, prepared by blending titanium dioxide nano particles along Eichhornia Crassipes biodiesel. Three different biodiesel blends are prepared having composition of titanium dioxide by 50 ppm, 100 ppm and 150 ppm which is tested in a four stroke, single cylinder, naturally aspirated water cooled diesel engine of 3.5 kW rated power for different loading conditions for performance, emission, and combustion evaluation. Further, at the same engine conditions, the biodiesel blend having 150 ppm of titanium dioxide is tested at fuel injection pressure of 220 bar. The findings suggests that the brake thermal efficiency improves and emissions lowers with the addition of nano particles at high fuel injection pressure. The maximum improvement of brake thermal efficiency of 1.01% in comparison to diesel mode has been found for nano blended biodiesel composition of 150 ppm of titanium dioxide at fuel injection pressure of 220 bar under full loading condition. For the same fuel injection pressure of 220 bar and same nano blended biodiesel composition, the hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emission were found to minimum at 60% load.

Perovskite materials are considered the gateway of various physical applications to meet the production and consumption of energy and medical fields. Density Functional Theory (DFT) becomes the most important field in the modern era to investigate perovskite materials for various physical properties. DFT nowadays is used to explore the perovskite materials for a lot of applications like photocatalytic, optoelectronic, and photovoltaics. We discussed radium based cubic hydrides RbRaX3 (while X = F & Cl) perovskite material's electrical, optical, elastic, & physical characteristics with the help of DFT-based CASTEP code with PBE exchange-correlation efficient of GGA. The RbRaF3 & RbRaCl3 have three-dimensional nature by means of space group 221 (Pm3 m). According to electronic characteristics, the direct bandgap of RbRaF3 RbRaCl3 are 3.18eV and 2.209eV, respectively. Both compounds are brittle in nature via Poisson's ratio & Pugh's criteria. Thus, our novel RbRaX3 (X = F and Cl) compounds have excellent applications for solar cell and medical areas.

Structural, electronic, optical and elastic properties of Silver based Perovskite AgXCl3 (X = Ca, Sr) are studied by utilizing wien2k package with in DFT. The structural investigation reveals their stability and shows that these compounds are cubic with space group pm-3m 221. For electronic properties the band structure and density of states are computed which indicates the semiconducting nature of both compounds. Elastic constants, Pugh’s ratio, bulk modulus, Poisson’s ratio and anisotropy factor are studied for the analysis of elastic characteristic. The Pugh’s ratio describes the ductile nature of the compounds and ionic nature is determined from the evaluated Cauchy pressure. Optical parameters such as dielectric function, extinction coefficient, refractive index, absorption coefficient, reflectivity and optical conductivity are calculated in the energy range of 0 eV–35 eV. The thermal stability is conformed from the thermal property. The study of these compounds reveals that they can be potential candidates for optoelectronic devices.

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials have huge demand in various fields due to their low weight and better mechanical qualities. Machining of FRP composite materials without damage is quite difficult using traditional machining systems owing to their intrinsic anisotropy, heterogeneity, and temperature sensitivity. Abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) is a known versatile technique to address the machining of FRP composite with minimal damage. However, kerf taper and delamination are the significant damages usually recorded in AWJM. The present work aims to minimize the above-said damages by applying a hybrid grey relational analysis (GRA)-principal component analysis (PCA) mathematical model. The glass and carbon fibers are used as reinforcements in the epoxy matrix. Nine experiments are conducted by considering hydraulic pressure, the mass flow of abrasive, standoff distance and transverse speed as machining parameters at three different levels each. The experimental and empirical results reveal that the mass flow of abrasive and hydraulic pressure are significant parameters to minimize the kerf damage, whereas the mass flow of abrasive and standoff distance are the parameters to reduce the delamination damage. The confirmation experiment based on the recommended optimized parameter records the reduction in delamination damage and kerf width damage to 33.9% and 11.72%, respectively. The adequacy and accuracy of the proposed mathematical model is being performed with the value of indicators R2 and adjR2, which are all closer to one.

In industry, double-diffusive convection has various and important technical applications. These applications include electronic apparatus cooling, drying processes, fuel cells, geothermal engineering, and thermal storage. We provide an entropy-thermal based analysis of magnetized Boussinesq-free double-diffusive convection engendered by internal heat and concentration source block in a nanofluid-filled C-shaped inclined confined space. Findings may be interpreted and assessed in terms of the leading variables such as Lewis number (Le = 2 to 8), Hartmann number (Ha= 0 to 20), buoyancy ratio (N = 1 to 3), and Rayleigh number (Ra = 105 and 106). Besides, to determine the effective geometry and good control of the phenomenon, the investigation also covered the system geometry parameters including the position of the concentration and heat source block (h/L = 0.2 to 0.8) and the inclination angle of the enclosure (δ = 0°–90°). We state that the mass and heat transfer rates increase with Ra, N, and δ while decreasing with Ha, Le, and h/L parameters. Furthermore, when Le, Ha, N, and δ increase, overall entropy increases, whereas it decreases as the h/L parameter increases.

A theoretical study on Rb-based fluorperovskites RbXF3(X = Rh, Os, Ir) is performed for the first time to explore their structural, electronic, optical and thermoelectric properties. The compounds are stable in cubic perovskite type structures with lattice spacing in the range of 4.30 4.35 Å. RbRhF3 and RbIrF3 exhibit half-metallic character with indirect band gaps of 4.2 eV and 2.1 eV, respectively, at R-Γ, whereas RbOsF3 possesses entirely semiconducting nature. The calculation of elastic properties revealed that under study compounds are mechanically stable, having ionic bonding. Furthermore, all compounds show ductile nature. Optical properties were also calculated in the broad energy range 0–40 eV.

The Mg-based dielectric ceramics of (Bi0.5Na0.5)(1−x)MgxTiO3, 0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.04 was successfully synthesized by mixed oxide route at 850 °C for 2 hrs. The XRD result revealed the single phase monoclinic crystal structure without any secondary phases. The SEM image shows the uniform grain size, low porosity and denser microstructure of the samples. The grains size gradually increases from 1.58 µm to 2.70 µm due to mass transportation during the sintering process. The EDX analysis of the spectra of all the samples was investigated and reported the peaks of elemental compositions (i.e. Bi, O, Ti & Mg). The maximum dielectric constant (εr=1291) for the base composition were observed at 200 °C temperature. The abrupt increasing in tangent loss (tanδ) was reported above 200 °C temperature at frequency range (100 Hz–1 MHz). The TGA analysis shows the net loss (∼0.47 % by weight) was observed and the sample was sustained up to 850 °C calcine temperature.

In the current investigation, the mechanical properties of epoxy composites reinforced with banana pseudostem fibres, specifically focusing on tensile and impact behaviour, are investigated. The manufacturing process employed the meticulous hand-lay-up technique to fabricate six distinct samples. These samples included various combinations of short and woven banana fibres, treated and untreated, as well as a hybrid configuration involving layers of woven and short fibres. A fixed weight ratio of 60% fibres to 40% epoxy matrix was maintained for consistency. To ensure optimal material integrity, a careful application of resin and hardener in a 10 : 1 weight ratio was layered, with each addition of fibre followed by thorough rolling to eliminate any potential bubbles. The density and void fraction of the resulting composites were meticulously assessed to gauge the influence of this layering approach. Additionally, an X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was conducted to ascertain the impact of the chemical treatment on the cellulose content of the fibres. Our findings revealed that the tensile and impact properties were notably superior in the woven fibre composites. In particular, the chemically treated woven banana fibre epoxy composite displayed impressive values of 64.95 MPa for tensile strength and 24.37 KJ/m2 for impact strength. To gain deeper insights into the structure-property relationship, test specimens were analyzed using scanning electron micrographs. Lastly, comparative analysis by mapping the tensile properties from our present work with those from existing studies was carried out.

The present research investigates the wear characteristics of an epoxy composite reinforced with a novel Caesalpinia decapetala (CD) shell. The CD is available abundantly worldwide, especially in Ethiopia, particularly in East and West Oromia near West Harar. The composite specimens were processed in the open mould casting technique by varying the vol.% of CD in 10, 20, and 30. EDS is used to evaluate the important elements present in the CD. The density of composites increases with the increase in the content of CD, while the void content estimations reveal good control over the composite fabrication. The wear response of composites is investigated by varying the sliding distance and load and by maintaining a fixed velocity (5 m/s). At a 5 km slide distance and 50 N load, the 30 vol.% Caesalpinia decapetala composition depicts better wear resistance and friction coefficient than other compositions. Experimental results are used to envisage the ideal wear factors and to assess the influence of parameters over the two wear objectives, wear rate and CoF. The grey relational analysis- (GRA-) coupled artificial neural network (ANN) hybrid technique was employed for the prediction and validation. It has been observed that a trivial error of 0.49% amidst GRA and ANN estimation is observed.

Spar caps, which cover 50% of the cost of windmill blades, were made of unidirectional and biaxial glass/carbon reinforcements of 600 gsm with thicknesses ranging from 100 to 150 mm for blades 70–80 m long. The significance of this study was to utilize an economical biodegradable material i.e bamboo fabric of 125 gsm to fabricate a lightweight composite and study its behavior for spar caps applications. The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of weave pattern and composite size at coupon level under thermal, dynamic, water absorption, and flammability conditions. Composites comprising 125 gsm plain and twill weave bamboo as reinforcements/AI 1041 Phenalkamine bio-based hardener with epoxy B-11 as matrix were tested. Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis revealed that the weave pattern and composite thickness had an effect on the rate of weight loss and sustenance until 450 °C. The pattern had an effect on the glass transition temperature, as seen by Differential Scanning Calorimetry. The weave pattern and size thickness had an effect on energy storage and dissipation, displaying the damping behavior in DMA. The weave pattern and size had an effect on the rate of water absorption, which saturated after a few hours. The wettability and thickness of composites hampered the burning rate, with 5.4 mm thickness resulting in a 30% decrease.

Purpose – Coronary artery disease (CAD) is reported as one of the most common sources of death all over the world. The presence of stenosis (plaque) in the coronary arteries results in the restriction of blood supply, leading to myocardial infarction. The current study investigates the influence of multi stenosis on hemodynamic properties in a patient-specific left coronary artery. Design/methodology/approach – A three-dimensional model of the patient-specific left coronary artery was reconstructed based on computed tomography (CT) scan images using MIMICS-20 software. The diseased model of the left coronary artery was investigated, having the narrowing of 90% and 70% of area stenosis (AS) at the left anterior descending (LAD) and left circumflex (LCX), respectively. Findings – The results indicate that the upstream region of stenosis experiences very high pressure for 90% AS during the systolic period of the cardiac cycle. The pressure drops maximum as the flow travels into the stenotic zone, and the high flow velocities were observed across the 90% AS. The higher wall shear stresses occur at the stenosis region, and it increases with the increase in the flow rate. It is found that the maximum wall shear stress across 90% AS is at the highest risk for rupture. A recirculation region immediately after the stenosis results in the further development of stenosis. Originality/value – The current study provides evidence that there is a strong effect of multi-stenosis on the blood flow in the left coronary artery.

Rural roads contribute significantly to the living conditions of rural populations. However, they also lead to detrimental impacts on physical and social environments. In this context, the present study proposes a novel fuzzy multicriteria approach that amalgamates fuzzy TOPSIS and an improved fuzzy weighted average method to assess the negative impacts on physical and social environments, due to rural road construction. The approach offers a structured comprehension and incorporates detailed criteria that reflect the adverse effects. The attributes identified and assessed in this study are air quality, vegetation cover status, noise pollution, transmissible disease, habits/behaviour, safety and security, and road accidents. The approach includes both qualitative and quantitative data from focus group discussions. The results presented here are essential to identify corrective actions, promote effective distribution of funds, and facilitate effective decisionmaking for sustainable rural development.

MWCNT/HDPE nanocomposite spur gears prepared in concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5% by weight using centrifugal ball milling dispersion method followed by CNC milling. SEM examination revealed a sound dispersion of the MWCNT in the HDPE matrix until 2 wt.%. Nanocomposites exhibited higher decomposition temperature and thermal stability than neat HDPE. Yield strength increased linearly in nanocomposites up to 2 wt.%, and then it saturated. Nanofillers' addition steadily increased the young’s modulus up to a weight fraction of 1.5 %, surging rapidly between 1.5 to 2 wt.%. In contrast, its rate of increase declined between 2 and 2.5 wt.%. The Taber abrasion test showed a reduction in wear loss of nanocomposites. The nanocomposites' toughness increased between 0 (neat HDPE) and 1.5 wt.% of MWCNT but declined at higher concentrations due to transition from ductile to brittle nature. At a torque of 5 N-m, the wear performance increased consistently with the increase in the concentration of nanofillers. At 10 N-m, 2.5 wt.% nanocomposite gears displayed a decline due to the increased brittleness. Satisfactory dispersion and developed interphase fervently contributed to the load transfer and mechanical properties. Nanofillers improved the wear resistance, hardness, and lowered plastic deformation. The gear damage mechanism changed from thermal bending to tooth cracking and deflection in the nanocomposite gears. The 2 wt.% MWCNT/HDPE nanocomposites emerged as potential gearing materials with enhanced hardness, tensile properties, uniform dispersion, thermal stability, wear performance, and reasonable toughness.

Recently, much research has revealed the increasing importance of natural fiber in modern applications. Natural fibers are used in many vital sectors like medicine, aerospace and agriculture. The cause of increasing the application of natural fiber in different fields is its eco-friendly behavior and excellent mechanical properties. The study’s primary goal is to increase the usage of environmentally friendly materials. The existing materials used in brake pads are detrimental to humans and the environment. Natural fiber composites have recently been studied and effectively employed in brake pads. However, there has yet to be a comparison investigation of natural fiber and Kevlar-based brake pad composites. Sugarcane, a natural fabric, is employed in the present study to substitute trendy materials like Kevlar and asbestos. The brake pads have been developed with 5–20 wt.% SCF and 5–10 wt.% Kevlar fiber (KF) to make the comparative study. SCF compounds at 5 wt.% outperformed the entire NF composite in coefficient of friction (µ), (%) fade and wear. However, the values of mechanical properties were found to be almost identical. Although it has been observed that, with an increase in the proportion of SCF, the performance also increased in terms of recovery. The thermal stability and wear rate are maximum for 20 wt.% SCF and 10 wt.% KF composites. The comparative study indicated that the Kevlar-based brake pad specimens provide superior outcomes compared to the SCF composite for fade (%), wear performance and coefficient of friction (Δμ). Finally, the worn composite surfaces were examined using a scanning electron microscopy technique to investigate probable wear mechanisms and to comprehend the nature of the generated contact patches/plateaus, which is critical for determining the tribological behavior of the composites.

This study explores the development and characterization of Aluminum alloy (AA) 5083 based nanocomposites, reinforced with equal proportion of graphene nanosheets (GNs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) using stir-rheo-squeeze casting. To control the problem of segregation of the nano dispersoids, the study successfully employs a novel approach of making nano-preform billets of the reinforcements by green compacting and then introducing their sections to the alloy melt having compositions 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5% by weight, while stirring. MWCNTs and GNs in 1:1 ratio mixed and milled with ten times the high purity Aluminum (Al) powder volume. HRTEM images and XRD patterns conformed to the size and purity of MWCNT and GNs. SEM images confirmed their sound mixture. The structure was refined by about 60% in 3 wt.% composite, but agglomeration and cracks appeared at this composition. BHN increased consistently as the reinforcement was increased. Tensile and compressive strength increased initially but declined in the composite with 3 wt.% nanofillers due to agglomerations and weak interface bonding. Elongation first decreased and then increased due to counter slip systems introduced by the presence of MWCNTs and GNs. Prominent crack growth was observed in the fractography in 3 wt.% composite. An optimum reinforcement concentration of 1.5–2 wt.% has emerged superior on a combined evaluation of dispersion, refinement of structure, and mechanical properties.

The response to heat treatment (HT) of (SiC + Al2O3)/6063 composites developed with 6063 aluminum (Al) alloy and a 5 weight % mix of alumina and silicon carbide particles in 1:1 ratio, at pressures of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 N/mm2 was investigated. The heat treatment (HT) includes T6 recommended for 6063-Al alloy, but the investigation validates the ageing parameters for the hybrid composites (HC). The results reflect the characterization of the HC for ageing kinetics and hardness in correlation with optical and scanning electron microscopies. The study presents the effect of applied pressure on the ageing kinetics and suggests the best suitable ageing variables within the study's scope. Pressure accelerates the ageing kinetics, and peak hardness is achieved quickly at a lesser temperature due to refined structure, less porosity, and increased density. The refined-dense and near pore-free structure limited the growth of precipitates and increases their nucleation, distributing them evenly and quickly, accelerating the ageing kinetics. The optimum ageing parameters for 6063-alloy and its composites are 172.5 °C and 8.5 h. A mathematical relationship suggests an innovative approach to estimate the hardness of the composite material by quantitative metallography. The validation of the predicted hardness by pressure and precipitate density in composites exhibited a standard error of less than 5%. The ANOVA test strongly rejected the null hypothesis, and the R-squared values were higher than 0.92, affirming the mathematical relationships.

Recently used nanoparticle additives are proposed to improve lubricant performance under different conditions because of their unique properties. The key objective of this exploration is to study the possibility to employ multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and graphene nanosheets (GNS) as additives for lubricants. Calcium grease (CG), without chemical modification, was selected for the study as the base. Hybrid calcium nano grease (HCNG) with different percentages of MWCNT/GNS (0.5, 1, 2, and 3 wt. %) in a ratio of 1:1 were prepared and their rheological and tribological properties were investigated. The microstructures of the prepared nano grease and nano additives were characterized using state-of-the-art equipment. The results showed that by adding MWCNT/GNS the CG exhibited a considerable reduction in friction and wear. As the nano additives were increased, the tribological performance and the rheological properties improved. A consistent NG was obtained with 2 wt.% additives. The shear stress, viscosity, and dropping point temperature increased with the amount of nano additives, while there was no effect on the work penetration. The COF and WSD exhibited a remarkable reduction, while the thermal conductivity exhibited almost linear improvement with the addition of nano additives.

Liquid forging alias squeeze casting gives the combined advantage of casting and forging. Optimum process parameters are important to get a cost-efficient process. In this study, four materials have been identified, which are extensively used in industries. These materials are commercially pure Al and three Al-alloys namely, 2124, 2218 and 6063. The pouring temperature and the mold temperature is maintained at 700oC and 250oC respectively. The materials were developed at seven pressure variations from 0 to 150 MPa. The effect of the pressure on the microstructures, porosity, and hardness has been reported. The coefficient of solubility is estimated for all materials and a polynomial relationship is found to be the best fit with the applied pressure. The pressure of 100 MPa gives better increment in hardness. The melting point and the freezing coefficient of the materials under study have been determined. A linear relationship between the pressure and the freezing time is deduced. It is observed that the solubility and the freezing coefficients depend on the pressure as well, in addition to the composition and temperature.

A significant growth in solar photovoltaic (PV) installation has observed during the last decade in standalone and grid-connected power generation systems. The solar PV system has a non-linear output characteristic because of weather intermittency, which tends to have a substantial effect on overall PV system output. Hence, to optimize the output of a PV system, different maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques have been used. But, the confusion lies while selecting an appropriate MPPT, as every method has its own merits and demerits. Therefore, a proper review of these techniques is essential. A “Google Scholar” survey of the last five years (2015-2020) was conducted. It has found that overall seventy-one review articles are published on different MPPT techniques; out of those seventy-one, only four are on uniform solar irradiance, seven on non-uniform and none on hybrid optimization MPPT techniques. Most of them have discussed the limited number of MPPT techniques, and none of them has discussed the online and offline under uniform and hybrid MPPT techniques under non-uniform solar irradiance conditions all together in one. Unfortunately, very few attempts have made in this regard. Therefore, a comprehensive review paper on this topic is need of time, in which almost all the well-known MPPT techniques should be encapsulated in one paper. This article focuses on classifications of online, offline, and hybrid optimization MPPT algorithms, under the uniform and non-uniform irradiance conditions. It summarizes various MPPT methods along with their mathematical expression, operating principle, and block diagram/flow charts. This research will provide a valuable pathway to researchers, energy engineers, and strategists for future research and implementation in the field of maximum power point tracking optimization.

Nanoparticles where holmium was substituted with nickel-cadmium Ni0.5Cd0.5HoxFe2-xO4 (X = 0, 0.02, and 0.04) ferrites were synthesized through a sol-gel auto-combustion process to reveal their structural and physical properties. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), a scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared ray (FTIR) spectroscopy, and impedance spectroscopy techniques. XRD revealed the formation of the cubic crystal structure had a preferential orientation along (311). By including holmium, the lattice constant was reduced, while the average crystallite size was increased. SEM analysis revealed that the nanoparticles exhibited regular shapes, and the average grain size increased with the holmium content. FTIR spectroscopy determined that all the organic and inorganic materials had an absorption range of 400 to 4000 cm−1. The dielectric properties were measured between the frequency ranges of 1 kHz and 2 MHz. This shows that the tangent loss and the dielectric constant were raised when the concentration of holmium was increased.

Prediction of new materials is crucial for the advancement of technology. Here, in this research work, the first-principle computation has been conducted utilizing the WIEN2K package to probe the structural, electronic, mechanical, and optical properties of barium-based chloroperovskites BaMCl3 (M = Ag, Cu) compounds. The optimized lattice constants are calculated for both compounds which are 9.90 Bohr for BaAgCl3 and 9.38 Bohr for BaCuCl3. To obtain better and more precise results for the electronic band’s structure, TDOS and PDOS (total and partial density of states), and the TB-mBJ potential approximation are employed. The indirect band gap (R–Γ) is found for both compounds having values of 1.173 eV and 2.30 eV for BaCuCl3 and BaAgCl3, respectively, which depicts its semiconducting nature. The calculation of elastic properties is conducted with IRelast code. The Cauchy pressure, Bulk modulus, Young’s modulus, Shear modulus, anisotropic ratio, Kleinman parameters, and Poisson’s ratio are calculated from the obtained elastic constants. The computation of elastic parameters indicates that the interested chloroperovskites are anisotropic, mechanically stable, hard to scratch, and ductile. From 0 eV to 40 eV incident photon energy ranges, the various optical parameter such as refractive index, absorption coefficient, dielectric function, reflectivity, extinction coefficient, and optical conductivity are analyzed. These compounds absorb maximum light within 5 to 25 eV incident photon energy. Hence, these materials are good light absorbers, therefore, they can be used in optoelectronic devices for high-frequency applications.

The present study has been numerically surveyed the effect of different expansion angles on the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of a sudden expansion in a microtube. For this purpose, Cu/water nanofluids flowing with Reynolds numbers (Re) of 10, 25, 50, and 100 through expansion angles of 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° were modeled. Governing equations were solved by the finite volume method (FVM). The findings indicated that the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) could enhance by nanoparticles concentration and Re augmentation. Also, It was revealed that HTC of a sudden expansion with an angle of 45° has optimum hydrodynamic performance; then, sudden expansions of 30°, 90°, and 60° are followed. The highest HTC was achieved for a microtube containing 4 vol% nanofluids at Re = 100 with a 45° expansion angle, 43.63% higher than conventional expansion angle (90°) working with distilled water at Re = 10. By comparing HTC at various angles, it can be found that there is a 14.57% further HTC by changing the expansion angle from α = 90° with α = 45°. Furthermore, the pressure drop investigation showed that the expansion angle with α = 30° has the lowest pressure drop. In contrast, α = 45° produced the highest pressure drop because of giant vortices created along the tube wall. The velocity streamlines and contours explained the reason for a lower pressure drop of α = 30°, 45°, and 60° which was regular streamlines along the tube wall due to the Coanda effect.

Dielectric ceramic capacitors have attained considerable attention due to their energy storage performance in the field of advanced high/pulsed power capacitors. For such a purpose, configurationally disordered composite material engineering, with the substitution of suitable oxide cations at a single lattice site have demonstrated a strong dielectric relaxor phase with the ability to show high performance capacitive properties. Herein, two prominent high-entropy ceramics systems (Ba0.2Na0.2K0.2A0.2Bi0.2)TiO3, (with A = La and Mg) were fabricated to evaluate their structural, ferroelectric and dielectric properties. XRD patterns and Rietveld refinement of the XRD analysis confirmed the cubic structure Pm3¯m space group of the ceramics. The relative dielectric analysis of Ba0.2Na0.2K0.2La0.2Bi0.2TiO3 (BNKLBT) and Ba0.2Na0.2K0.2Mg0.2Bi0.2TiO3 (BNKMBT) ceramics were demonstrated with relaxor ferroelectric behavior having diffusion coefficients of 1.617 and 1.753, respectively. Moreover, BNKLBT and BNLMBT ceramics presented better stored energy density (1.062 J/cm3 and 0.8855 J/cm3, respectively) and high energy conversion efficiency (80.27% and 82.38%, respectively) at an electric field of 100 kV/cm. The results clearly demonstrate that such high-entropy configured ceramics have the potential to be used in efficient energy storage devices.

The effective thermal conductivity (ETC) of soil is an essential parameter for the design and unhindered operation of underground energy transportation and storage systems. Various experimental, empirical, semi-empirical, mathematical, and numerical methods have been tried in the past, but lack either accuracy or are computationally cumbersome. The recent developments in computer science provided a new computational approach, the neural networks, which are easy to implement, faster, versatile, and reasonably accurate. In this study, we present three classes of neural networks based on different network constructions, learning and computational strategies to predict the ETC of the soil. A total of 384 data points are collected from literature, and the three networks, Artificial neural network (ANN), group method of data handling (GMDH) and gene expression programming (GEP), are constructed and trained. The best accuracy of each network is measured with the coefficient of determination (R2) and found to be 91.6, 83.2 and 80.5 for ANN, GMDH and GEP, respectively. Furthermore, two sands with 80% and 99% quartz content are measured, and the best performing network from each class of ANN, GMDH and GEP is independently validated. The GEP model provided the best estimate for 99% quartz sand and GMDH with 80%.