Engineering Journal 

About: Engineering Journal is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Finite element method & Ultimate tensile strength. It has an ISSN identifier of 0125-8281. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 868 publications have been published receiving 6016 citations.

Shear in beam - column joints in seismic design of steel frames

Abstract: This paper discusses the importance of joint shear in the response of frame structures to severe earthquakes. Presently used AISC design criteria for joint shear are reviewed in the light of limited experimental evidence. The effects of high shear in joints on the strength, stiffness, and energy-dissipation characteristics of frames are discussed. The most important conclusions can be briefly summarized: Joints usually are very ductile elements capable of undergoing severe inelastic strain reversal without a decrease in strength. The shear force defined by the AISC design equation for combined gravity and lateral loads usually causes some inelastic deformation in joints. This is reduced when the allowable shear stress is modified by the factor alpha, which accounts for the effect of the axial force in the column on the yield stress in shear. Solutions for the ulimate shear strength, associated with controlled inelastic distortions, are given, for joints with unreinforced and reinforced webs, respectively. When joints are designed according to allowable stress criteria, inelastic deformations may be concentrated primarily in the joints and to a lesser degree in plastic hinge regions of beams and columns. Maximum strength and stiffness of frames is attained when all joints are designed for the maximum shear force that can be developed based on the strength capacity of the members framing into the joint. The need for this design criterion has not been fully established, although it is widely used in areas of high seismicity. If this criterion is used, the joints should be permitted to participate in energy dissipation through inelastic deformations. Joint distortions contribute significantly to the elastic story drift in frames. Equations are given which permit an estimate of the effect of these distortions on the lateral deflections.

Review on Micro- and Nanolithography Techniques and Their Applications

Abstract: This article reviews major micro- and nanolithography techniques and their applications from commercial micro devices to emerging applications in nanoscale science and engineering. Micro- and nanolithography has been the key technology in manufacturing of integrated circuits and microchips in the semiconductor industry. Such a technology is also sparking a magnificent transformation of nanotechnology. The lithography techniques including photolithography, electron beam lithography, focused ion beam lithography, soft lithography, nanoimprint lithography and scanning probe lithography are discussed. Furthermore, their applications are reviewed and summarized into four major areas: electronics and microsystems, medical and biotech, optics and photonics, and environment and energy harvesting.

Reviews on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology

Abstract: Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) is one type of high temperature fuel cell that appears to be one of the most promising technology to provide the efficient and clean energy production for wide range of applications (from small units to large scale power plants). This paper reviews the current status and related researches on SOFC technologies. In details, the research trend for the development of SOFC components(i.e. anode, electrolyte, cathode, and interconnect) are presented. Later, the current important designs of SOFC (i.e. Seal-less Tubular Design, Segmented Cell in Series Design, Monolithic Design and Flat Plate Design) are exampled. In addition, the possible operations of SOFC (i.e. external reforming, indirect internal reforming, and direct internal reforming) are discussed. Lastly, the research studies on applications of SOFCs with co-generation (i.e. SOFC with Combined Heat and Power (SOFC-CHP), SOFC with Gas Turbine (SOFC-GT)) and SOFC with chemical production) are given.

Microalgal Lipid Extraction and Evaluation of Single-Step Biodiesel Production

Abstract: This work examined solvent extraction of lipid from microalgae for production of renewable biofuels, thereby allowing appropriate selection of solvent and extraction methods. The results of this study revealed that the mixture of chloroform and methanol (C/M) at the ratio of 2:1 (v/v) could extract the highest amount of total lipid from algae, while hexane was found to be a good solvent, concerning the selectivity for nonpolar targeted lipids such as mono-, di- and tri-glycerides. As far as the extraction methods are concerned, applying ultrasound could accelerate the rate of lipid extraction from algae with tough cell walls such as Chlorella vulgaris. On the other hand, ultrasound and microwave assisted extraction techniques added no benefits to the extraction of lipid from powder of Haematococcus pluvialis whose cell wall was previously damaged. Other than lipid extraction, this paper concerns with the development of transesterification process for algal lipid using C. vulgaris as a model system. Here, the effects of the amount of catalyst, alcohol to biomass ratio and reaction time on biodiesel yield were investigated. We also studied a single-step biodiesel production where extraction and transesterification simultaneously take place, and made comparison between this method and the conventional two-step biodiesel production process.