Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is a private university located in&nbsp;Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 1984, as Vellore Engineering College, the institution offers 20 undergraduate, 34 postgraduate, four integrated and four research programs. It has campuses in Vellore, Amravati, Bhopal and Chennai.

VIT is one of the top ranked private universities in India according to NIRF, THE and QS Rankings.&nbsp;Govt. of India has recognized&nbsp;VIT, Vellore as an&nbsp;Institution of Eminence. This has allowed VIT to take independent quality initiatives and move up in world ranking.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

VIT University

Department of Manufacturing Engineering

World University root node

School of Mechanical Engineering

Vellore Campus

Materials Today: Proceedings

Stress analysis of different cross-section for passenger truck chassis with a material of ASTM A148 Gr 80-50

International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Production Research

Application of DMAIC to Reduce the Rejection Rate of Starter Motor Shaft Assembly in the Automobile Industry: A Case Study

Agile manufacturing (AM) system focuses on the customised production with shorter lead time in a cost effective manner. Conceptual design is a vital phase of product development and AM obliges towards it. Selecting appropriate conceptual design often involves consideration of multiple factors, multi criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques facilitates in resolving this problem. In this study, hybrid fuzzy analytical hierarchical process (AHP) and fuzzy VIKOR approach was used for selecting the best conceptual design of instrument panel (IP). The article focuses on development of various concept designs for IP considering the recent manufacturing and technological aspects. Appropriate agile criteria were identified through several brainstorming sessions conducted among the stakeholders of the organisation. Fuzzy AHP model was used to compute the weights of the proposed conceptual designs and fuzzy VIKOR was used to select the best suited conceptual design. The case study was also practically validated in a manufacturing scenario. © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

International Journal of Services and Operations Management

Superiority of fuzzy AHP-VIKOR approach in an agile environment

The present study involves the development of citric acid-cross-linked carboxymethyl cellulose (C3CA) scaffolds by a freeze-drying process. Scaffolds were fabricated at different freezing temperatures of -20, -40, or -80 °C to investigate the influence of scaffold pore size on bone regeneration. All three scaffolds were porous in structure, and the pore size was measured to be 74 ± 4, 55 ± 6, and 46 ± 5 μm for -20, -40, and -80 °C scaffolds. The pores were larger in scaffolds processed at -20 °C compared to -40 and -80 °C, indicating the reduction in pore size of the scaffolds with a decrease in freezing temperature. The cytocompatibility, cell proliferation, and differentiation in C3CA scaffolds were assessed with the Saos-2 osteoblast cell line. These scaffolds supported the proliferation and differentiation of Saos-2 cells with significant matrix mineralization in scaffolds processed at -40 °C. Subcutaneous implantation of C3CA scaffolds in the rat model was investigated for its ability of vascularization and new matrix tissue formation. The matrix formation was observed at the earliest of 14 days in the scaffolds when processed at -40 °C while it was observed only after 28 days of implantation with the scaffolds processed at -20 and -80 °C. These results suggest that the citric acid-cross-linked CMC scaffolds processed at -40 °C can be promising for bone tissue engineering application. © 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.

Department of Bio-Sciences

School of Bio Sciences and Technology

Fulltext

ACS Omega

In Vitro and in Vivo Evaluation of Carboxymethyl Cellulose Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

The influence of reinforcement of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on microstructural features and mechanical properties of thermally sprayed Al2O3-3wt.%TiO2 and WC-20wt.%Co coatings was investigated. Alumina-Titania coatings were deposited by Air Plasma Spraying (APS) and Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt coatings were deposited by High-Velocity Oxy-Fuel (HVOF) spraying process. The coatings obtained with reinforcement of CNTs were characterized to interpret the microstructural changes and also to evaluate the variation in their mechanical properties. The percentage composition of CNTs in both APS and HVOF coatings systems were varied in the order of 2, 4, and 6wt.%. It has been found that homogenous dispersion of carbon nanotubes in the coating systems results in increased microhardness and reduced surface roughness. Also, the microstructural features of the coating systems clearly showed that the coatings are denser with fewer pores due to the presence of CNTs. © 2021 World Scientific Publishing Company.

Surface Review and Letters

Influence of carbon nanotubes reinforcement on characteristics of thermally sprayed ceramic coatings

Cellulose is abundant in the nature and nanocellulose (NC) in particular is regarded as a credible green substrate to be used in bio nanocomposites for various applications. NC exhibits excellent mechanical reinforcement properties comparable to conventionally used materials due to its high specific surface area and tunable surface chemistry. Additionally, low toxicity, biodegradability and biocompatibility of NC deem it a promising material for use in different biomedical applications. In this review, we highlight the biomedical applications of NC based hydrogels and aerogels/nanocomposites and advancements of their employment in the areas of wound dressing, drug delivery, tissue engineering, scaffolds and biomedical implants. This review also explores the recent use of NC in making biosensors for the detection of cholesterol, various enzymes and diseases, heavy metal ions in human sweat and urine, and for general health monitoring. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules

Nanocellulose in biomedical and biosensing applications: A review

The specimens of austenitic stainless steels were machined to different strain rates (105 s−1, 1050 s−1, 1500 s−1, 2100 s−1). These specimens were subjected to low-temperature sensitization (LTS) heat treatment. The LTS treatment was carried out at 475℃ and 575℃ for 24 h. Further, oxalic acid, double-loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (DL-EPR) were carried out. As-machined specimens were subjected to surface roughness measurements, optical microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) imaging measurements. Machined specimen exhibited more difficulty in passivation than the as-received specimen. The complete surface statistics were extracted. The specimens machined at a strain rate of 2100 s−1 were exhibited a higher degree of sensitization (DoS) at LTS of 575℃ and 475℃ for 24 h, respectively, than other specimens. It was found that specimens machined at a higher strain rate produced smoother roughness. FTIR imaging was used to extract the signal intensity of chromium oxide (Cr2O3) peak. Detected Cr2O3 peak/signal was strong for the specimen that exhibited lower DoS as estimated from FTIR-imaging. © 2021, ASM International.

Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis

Studies of Low-Temperature Sensitization after Sub-Surface Damage Evolution in Austenitic Stainless Steel

Wire electrical discharge hybrid turning (WEDHT) is one of the unconventional machining process following thermo-electric material removal principle to machine cylindrical components at meso and micro scale with very high accuracy and precision. Thermal simulation and validation of Ti6Al4V alloy on temperature profile, crater formation, rate of material removal during WEDHT process was reported less by previous researchers and this creates path for framing the objective. The objective of the present study is to, numerically simulate and validate the material removal through crater formation and temperature generation in WEDHT process using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.2. The time-dependent and heat transfer in solid module is chosen with current, voltage and discharge ON time (TON) of 106, 109, 112 µs as the input parameters for modelling. With the same varying TON, varying wire feed rate of 3, 4, 5 m/min and varying servo feed of 5, 7, 9 mm/min, the validation experiments are performed to validate the crater formed. Based on the comparison plot, the numerically predicted and experimentally obtained data resulted in the error percentage of 41.6%, 21.2%, 15% for 106, 109 and 112 µs discharge ON time, respectively. The images of the crater formed on the work material are captured using scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscopy images. The results of the numerical and experimental study, proved that, high the TON, more would be material removal. © IMechE 2020.

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part E: Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering

Numerical modelling and experimental validation of crater formation in WEDM hybrid turning of Ti-6Al-4V alloy

In this study, powder metallurgy process has been utilized to produce the composite materials. Pure aluminium (Al) has been selected as the matrix material for the preparation of composite materials. 4% of magnesium (Mg) has been added as the alloying element, whilst molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) is reinforced with a varying wt.% (2, 4 &amp; 6). The intent of this work is, to evaluate some basic mechanical properties (density, microhardness, compression strength and toughness), surface degradation properties (corrosion and wear), and electrical conductivity of the fabricated composite materials. Moreover, SEM mapping and EDAX analysis have been conducted to confirm the presence of reinforcement particles with homogenous distribution in the matrix material and to do the fractographic study of the compressive strength tested samples. The density of the composite material Al-4% Mg-6%MoS2 has been increased compared to the density of pure Al material. Micro Vickers hardness test shows that Al-4% Mg-6%MoS2 composite has 32.86% more hardness as compared to that of pure Al material. Compressive strength of the composite material with the higher wt.% of MoS2 is found to be 181.81 N/mm2, while Al material has only 167.52 N/mm2. The buckling formation during the compression test is avoided in the composite material owing to the existence of MoS2 particulates. The wear loss of composite materials is found low as compared with the unreinforced Al material, owing to the solid lubricant property of MoS2 particles, and hence, coefficient of friction (COF) is also lessened with the increase in the MoS2 wt.%. Also, the MoS2 reinforced materials show good resistance to corrosion due to the presence of molybdenum, which acts as a consistent layer obstacle to prevent the surface from further degradation. © IMechE 2021.

Investigation of Al-Mg based composite incorporated with MoS2 through powder metallurgy

This study examines the joining of a 4 mm thick plate of alloy C-2000 by continuous current gas tungsten arc welding (CCGTAW) and pulsed current gas tungsten arc welding (PCGTAW) techniques by using ERNiCrMo-4 (filler-4) and ERNiCrMo-17 (filler-17) as filler wires. This article aims to present a comprehensive structure-property relationship of these welded joints. Weld microstructure was characterized with optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. The results show that PCGTA weldments possess a refined microstructure compared to the CCGTA weldments in both filler wires. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy study divulged the existence of chromium (Cr)-rich and slight molybdenum (Mo)-rich segregation in the fusion zone interdendritic region of all the four weldments. However, the extent of microsegregation is very low in PCGTA-filler-4 weldment when compared with the other weld joints. Significant grain refinement (8.9 to 9.77%) was observed when shifting the welding mode from CCGTAW to PCGTAW. Weldment produced with PCGTAW-filler-4 offers higher tensile strength (~4 to 6%), higher toughness (~5 to 7.5%), and higher hardness (~3 to 6%) compared to other weldments. © 2021, ASM International.

Department of Design and Automation

Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance

Influence of Filler Wire and Welding Process to Mitigate the Microsegregation of Alloy C-2000 Using Continuous and Pulsed Current Gas Tungsten Arc Welding Techniques