With the advent of microprocessors and digital-processing technologies as catalyst, classical sensors capable of simple signal conditioning operations have evolved rapidly to take on higher and more specialized functions including validation, compensation, and classification. This new category of sensor expands the scope of incorporating intelligence into instrumentation systems, yet with such rapid changes, there has developed no universal standard for design, definition, or requirement with which to unify intelligent instrumentation. Explaining the underlying design methodologies of intelligent instrumentation, Intelligent Instrumentation: Principles and Applications provides a comprehensive and authoritative resource on the scientific foundations from which to coordinate and advance the field. Employing a textbook-like language, this book translates methodologies to more than 80 numerical examples, and provides applications in 14 case studies for a complete and working understanding of the material. Beginning with a brief introduction to the basic concepts of process, process parameters, sensors and transducers, and classification of transducers, the book describes the performance characteristics of instrumentation and measurement systems and discusses static and dynamic characteristics, various types of sensor signals, and the concepts of signal representations, various transforms, and their operations in both static and dynamic conditions. It describes smart sensors, cogent sensors, soft sensors, self-validating sensors, VLSI sensors, temperature-compensating sensors, microcontrollers and ANN-based sensors, and indirect measurement sensors. The author examines intelligent sensor signal conditioning such as calibration, linearization, and compensation, along with a wide variety of calibration and linearization techniques using circuits, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), microcontrollers, ANNs, and software. The final chapters highlight ANN techniques for pattern classification, recognition, prognostic diagnosis, fault detection, linearization, and calibration as well as important interfacing protocols in the wireless networking platform.

This indispensable handbook provides comprehensive coverage of the current state-of-the-art in inorganic, organic, and composite aerogels – from synthesis and characterization to cutting-edge applications and their potential market impact. Built upon Springer’s successful Aerogels Handbook published in 2011, this handbook features extensive revisions and timely updates, reflecting the changes in this fast-growing field.  Aerogels are the lightest solids known to man. Up to 1000 times lighter than glass and with a density only four times that of air, they possess extraordinarily high thermal, electrical, and acoustic insulation properties, and boast numerous entries in Guinness World Records. Originally based on silica, R&D efforts have extended this class of materials to incorporate non-silicate inorganic oxides, natural and synthetic organic polymers, carbon, metal, and ceramic materials. Composite systems involving polymer-crosslinked aerogels and interpenetrating hybrid networks have been developed and exhibit remarkable mechanical strength and flexibility. Even more exotic aerogels based on clays, chalcogenides, phosphides, quantum dots, and biopolymers such as chitosan are opening new applications for the construction, transportation, energy, defense and healthcare industries. Applications in electronics, chemistry, mechanics, engineering, energy production and storage, sensors, medicine, nanotechnology, military and aerospace, oil and gas recovery, thermal insulation, and household uses are being developed. Readers of this fully updated and expanded edition will find an exhaustive source for all aerogel materials known today, their fabrication, upscaling aspects, physical and chemical properties, and the most recent advances towards applications and commercial use. This key reference is essential reading for a combined audience of graduate students, academic researchers, and industry professionals.

In recent years microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have emerged as a new technology with enormous application potential. MEMS manufacturing techniques are essentially the same as those used in the semiconductor industry, therefore they can be produced in large quantities at low cost. The added benefits of lightweight, miniature size and low energy consumption make MEMS commercialization very attractive. Modeling and simulation is an indispensable tool in the process of studying these new dynamic phenomena, development of new microdevices and improvement of the existing designs. MEMS technology is inherently multidisciplinary since operation of microdevices involves interaction of several energy domains of different physical nature, for example, mechanical, fluidic and electric forces. Dynamic behavior of contact-type electrostatic microactuators, such as a microswitches, is determined by nonlinear fluidic-structural, electrostatic-structural and vibro-impact interactions. The latter is particularly important: Therefore it is crucial to develop accurate computational models for numerical analysis of the aforementioned interactions in order to better understand coupled-field effects, study important system dynamic characteristics and thereby formulate guidelines for the development of more reliable microdevices with enhanced performance, reliability and functionality.

Nanotechnology is the art, science, and engineering of designing materials, devices, and systems at the nanoscale from bottom-up and/or top-down approaches. The material properties at the nanoscale are governed by quantum mechanics, and hence are drastically different than those at the macro/micro scale. It is thus no surprise, that nanotechnology has led to a scientific and technological revolution. This book provides a gentle introduction to the field of nanotechnology for first-year undergraduate students. It not only covers the fundamental scientific concepts in a tutorial fashion, but also provides an overview of applications in nanoelectronics, spintronics, nanophotonics, nanofabrication and nanocharacterization. End of chapter research assignments focus on nanomanufacturing, computing and communication, renewable energy, defense applications, food processing and agriculture, automobile and aerospace technology, nanobiotechnology and bionanotechnology, industrial and consumer applications. Finally, the topics related to safety, health, and societal impact of nanotechnology are discussed.

Personal computers may have replaced the typewriter in most homes and offices, but the venerable writing machine is currently staging a comeback. From portable models that hipsters are snapping up in Urban Outfitters to Tom Hanks's bestselling app that recreates the manual experience on a tablet, the typewriter has never been so hot. This celebration of the typewriter covers what a platen knob is, why QUERTY won out over other arrangements of keys, which authors loved (or loathed) their typewriters, and much more. A gift book with yellowed paper and typewriter fonts for a cool vintage look Timeline of the typewriter features key models Foreword by Paul Schweitzer of Gramercy Typewriter Co.

This book investigates the fabrication of different types of flexible sensors and their subsequent implementation for energy-harvesting applications. A range of techniques, including 3D printing, soft lithography, laser ablation, micro-contract printing, screen-printing, inkjet printing and others have been used to form the flexible sensors with varied characteristics. These sensors have been used for biomedical, environmental and healthcare applications on the basis of their performances. The quality of these flexible sensors has depended on certain types of nanomaterials that have been used to synthesize the conductive parts of the prototypes. These nanomaterials have been based on different sizes and shapes, whose quality varied on the basis of certain factors like crystallinity, shapes and sizes. One of the primary utilization of these nanotechnology-based flexible sensors has been the harvesting of energy where nano-generators and nano-harvesters have been formed to generate and store energy, respectively, on small and moderate magnitudes. Mechanical and thermal energies have been harvested on the basis of the piezoelectric, pyroelectric and triboelectric effects created by the formed prototypes. The work highlights the amalgamation of these sectors to spotlight the essence of these types of sensors and their intended application.

Processing of polymer nanocomposites usually requires special attention since the resultant structure-micro- and nano-level, is directly influenced by among other factors, polymer/nano-additive chemistry and the processing strategy. This book consolidates knowledge, from fundamental to product development, on polymer nanocomposites processing with special emphasis on the processing-structure-property-performance relationships in a wide range of polymer nanocomposites. Furthermore, this book focuses on emerging processing technologies such as electrospinning, which has very exciting applications ranging from medical to filtration. Additionally, the important role played by the nanoparticles in polymer blends structures has been illustrated in the current book, with special focus on fundamental aspects and properties of nanoparticles migration and interface crossing in immiscible polymer blend nanocomposites. This book focuses heavily on the processing technologies and strategies and extensively addresses the processing-structure-property-performance relationships in a wide range of polymer nanocomposites, such as commodity polymers (chapter 1), engineering polymers (chapter 2), elastomers (chapter 3), thermosets (chapter 4), biopolymers (chapter 5), polymer blends (chapter 6), and electrospun polymer (chapter 7). The important role played by nanoparticles in polymer blends structures in particular is illustrated. The book is useful to undergraduate and postgraduate students (polymer engineering, materials science & engineering, chemical & process engineering), as well as research & development personnel, engineers, and material scientists.

This textbook and comprehensive reference source and serves as a timely, practical introduction to the principles of nanotribology and nanomechanics. This 4th edition has been completely revised and updated, concentrating on the key measurement techniques, their applications, and theoretical modeling of interfaces. It provides condensed knowledge of the field from the mechanics and materials science perspectives to graduate students, research workers, and practicing engineers.

This book reviews a range of quantum phenomena in novel nanoscale transistors called FinFETs, including quantized conductance of 1D transport, single electron effect, tunneling transport, etc. The goal is to create a fundamental bridge between quantum FinFET and nanotechnology to stimulate readers' interest in developing new types of semiconductor technology. Although the rapid development of micro-nano fabrication is driving the MOSFET downscaling trend that is evolving from planar channel to nonplanar FinFET, silicon-based CMOS technology is expected to face fundamental limits in the near future. Therefore, new types of nanoscale devices are being investigated aggressively to take advantage of the quantum effect in carrier transport. The quantum confinement effect of FinFET at room temperatures was reported following the breakthrough to sub-10nm scale technology in silicon nanowires. With chapters written by leading scientists throughout the world, Toward Quantum FinFET provides a comprehensive introduction to the field as well as a platform for knowledge sharing and dissemination of the latest advances. As a roadmap to guide further research in an area of increasing importance for the future development of materials science, nanofabrication technology, and nano-electronic devices, the book can be recommended for Physics, Electrical Engineering, and Materials Science departments, and as a reference on micro-nano electronic science and device design. Offers comprehensive coverage of novel nanoscale transistors with quantum confinement effect Provides the keys to understanding the emerging area of the quantum FinFET Written by leading experts in each research area Describes a key enabling technology for research and development of nanofabrication and nanoelectronic devices

Amorphous Silicon/Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells deals with some typical properties of heterojunction solar cells, such as their history, the properties and the challenges of the cells, some important measurement tools, some simulation programs and a brief survey of the state of the art, aiming to provide an initial framework in this field and serve as a ready reference for all those interested in the subject. This book helps to "fill in the blanks" on heterojunction solar cells. Readers will receive a comprehensive overview of the principles, structures, processing techniques and the current developmental states of the devices. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang R. Fahrner is a professor at the University of Hagen, Germany and Nanchang University, China.

The block diagrams as engineering means for closed loop control, which have been established by classic control theory for decades, are replaced in the above mentioned book by networks, the signals are replaced by data. It corresponds to the "Industry 4.0" and to the structure of today's automatic control systems. Thereby a classic closed loop is treated not isolated from other elements of nowadays automation like bus communication and process logical control, and is completed in proposed book with new control elements, so called data stream managers (DSM). The proposed book treats the control theory systematically like it is done in classical books considering the new concept of data management. The theory is accompanied in the book with examples, exercises with solutions and MATLAB (R)-simulations.

This book deals with existing technologies of solar energy conversion as well as novel methods under consideration in academic and commercial R&D sites. The experimental results presented in the work are well crafted by both analytical and first-principle numerical simulations. The book highlights the real potential for economically justified use of solar energy at every household and/or commercial solar farms. The ever-improving methods of thin-film epitaxial growth combined with a better understanding of the sun light absorption and antireflection are highlighted. While there was a period when the material quality was considered to be cornerstone of the conversion efficiency followed by substantial efforts to optimize multiple-cell architecture, it became clear that many old ideas such as variable band gap, multi-junction intrinsic region, as well as solar tracking mechanisms offer new possibilities for improved harvesting of energy. Amplifying the importance of materials selection efficient design of the photo-voltaic elements various aspects of the production cost and the impact on the environment are discussed. In addition, the eligibility of the proposed production technologies in the current photovoltaic market are evaluated and confirmed.

This book explores the different aspects of energy in human life especially expressing the advanced technologies in renewable energy resources. Due to the environmental pollution caused by fossil fuels and the non-permanent nature of these resources, the move towards the use of renewable energy has accelerated. In recent years, many attempts have been made to improve energy systems' performance by using multi-generation units, and these set-ups have been analyzed from the perspective of energy, exergy, economics, and environmental indicators. The book's primary goal is the effort to introduce new methods for assessing and upgrading the synergy. Therefore it examines sustainable practices such as water-energy-food nexus in poly-generation units, novel desalination systems, and smart greenhouses. One of the significant issues in these energy systems is the storage methods; for instance, carbon capture to reduce environmental pollution and the hydrogen store for the utilization in supplementary fuel. Also, robust optimization, uncertainty and risk-aware probabilistic analysis, energy management, and power supply of sensitive places such as oil rig platforms by renewables are examined.

Automation and Robotics in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Industry provides distinct and unified insight into current and future construction robotics, offering readers a comprehensive perspective for constructing a road map and illuminating improvements for a successful transition towards construction robotization. The book covers the fundamentals and applications of robotics, autonomous vehicles, and human-perceptive machines at construction sites. Through theoretical and experimental analyses, it examines the potential of robotics and automated systems for current and future fieldwork operations and identifies the factors that determine their implementation pace, adoption scale, and ubiquity throughout the industry. The book evaluates the technical, societal, and economic aspects of adopting robots in construction, both as standalone and collaborative systems, which in return can afford the opportunity to investigate these AI-enabled machines more systematically.

This book presents state-of-the-art coverage of synthesis of advanced functional materials. Unconventional synthetic routes play an important role in the synthesis of advanced materials as many new materials are metastable and cannot be synthesized by conventional methods. This book presents various synthesis methods such as conventional solid-state method, combustion method, a range of soft chemical methods, template synthesis, molecular precursor method, microwave synthesis, sono-chemical method and high-pressure synthesis. It provides a comprehensive overview of synthesis methods and covers a variety of materials, including ceramics, films, glass, carbon-based, and metallic materials. Many techniques for processing and surface functionalization are also discussed. Several engineering aspects of materials synthesis are also included. The contents of this book are useful for researchers and professionals working in the areas of materials and chemistry.

This comprehensive book focuses on the basic physical features and purpose of nanofluids and miniature heat sinks. The contents demonstrate the design modification, fabrication, experimental investigation, and various applications of miniature heat sinks. The book provides context for thermal performance of miniature heat sinks as well as summaries of experimental results correlations that reflect the current technical innovations are included. This book is a useful reference for both academia and industry alike.

This book comprehensively discusses the basic principles and working mechanism of all kind of batteries towards clean energy storage devices. In addition, it focuses on the synthesis of various electrode materials with 1D architecture via electrospinning technique. This book will give a clear idea about recent synthetic strategy towards nanofibers and nanocomposites for alkali-ion storage applications. The reader could understand the formation mechanism of nanofibers and their potential application in the future energy storage system.

This volume is part of collection of contributions devoted to analytical and experimental techniques of dynamical systems, presented at the 15th International Conference "Dynamical Systems: Theory and Applications", held in Lodz, Poland on December 2-5, 2019. The wide selection of material has been divided into three volumes, each focusing on a different field of applications of dynamical systems. The broadly outlined focus of both the conference and these books includes bifurcations and chaos in dynamical systems, asymptotic methods in nonlinear dynamics, dynamics in life sciences and bioengineering, original numerical methods of vibration analysis, control in dynamical systems, optimization problems in applied sciences, stability of dynamical systems, experimental and industrial studies, vibrations of lumped and continuous systems, non-smooth systems, engineering systems and differential equations, mathematical approaches to dynamical systems, and mechatronics.

Challenges in Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials, Mechanics of Biological Systems and Materials, and Micro-and Nanomechanics, Volume 2 of the Proceedings of the 2021 SEM Annual Conference & Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, the second volume of four from the Conference, brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering. The collection presents early findings and case studies on fundamental and applied aspects of Experimental Mechanics, including papers in the following general technical research areas: Characterization Across Length Scales Extreme Conditions & Environmental Effects Damage, Fatigue and Fracture Structure, Function and Performance Rate Effects in Elastomers Viscoelasticity & Viscoplasticity Research in Progress Extreme Nanomechanics In-Situ Nanomechanics Expanding Boundaries in Metrology Micro and Nanoscale Deformation MEMS for Actuation, Sensing and Characterization 1D & 2D Materials Cardiac Mechanics Cell Mechanics Biofilms and Microbe Mechanics Traumatic Brain Injury Orthopedic Biomechanics Ligaments and Soft Materials

This textbook is about economically competitive renewable energy sources (RES), including onshore and offshore wind, solar and small-hydro plants, and focusing on the electricity production from these sources. Clearly divided into sections discussing the different RES, the textbook begins with an introduction of AC electrical circuits, aimed at non-electrical engineers. It then offers an economic assessment of renewable energy projects, before discussing photovoltaic technologies and concentrated solar power. It explores the theory of wind to power conversion, electrical generator types and electrical part of offshore systems. Presenting theoretical concepts related to the electrical framework associated with RES, alongside examples and solved problems, this book will clearly introduce the topic of renewable power sources to graduate students, researchers and practitioners alike. After reading the book, readers will be equipped to make a preliminary techno-economic assessment of a RES.

This book describes the substantial progress recently made in the development of micro and nanorobotic systems, utilizing magnetic, optical, acoustic, electrical, and other actuation fields. It covers several areas of micro and nanorobotics including robotics, materials science, and biomedical engineering. Field-Driven Micro and Nanorobots for Biology and Medicine provides readers with fundamental physics at the micro and nano scales, state-of-the-art technical advances in field-driven micro and nanorobots, and applications in biological and biomedical disciplines.

This book presents how metasurfaces are exploited to develop new low-cost single sensor based multispectral cameras. Multispectral cameras extend the concept of conventional colour cameras to capture images with multiple color bands and with narrow spectral passbands. Images from a multispectral camera can extract significant amount of additional information that the human eye or a normal camera fails to capture and thus have important applications in precision agriculture, forestry, medicine, object identifications, and classifications. Conventional multispectral cameras are made up of multiple image sensors each externally fitted with a narrow passband wavelength filters, optics and multiple electronics. The need for multiple sensors for each band results in a number of problems such as being bulky, power hungry and suffering from image co-registration problems which in turn limits their wide usage. The above problems can be eliminated if a multispectral camera is developed using one single image sensor.

This book aims to discuss the basic principles of an electronic nose, and to provide an account of recent developments in this field, with practical examples of its application. It seeks to review the field together with the many new developments that have occurred since the first meeting was held on electronic noses in Iceland in 1991. It will be essential reading for anyone who is working, researching or simply interested in electronic noses or machine olfaction. A comprehensive appendix is provided at the end of the book.

The book is a multidisciplinary space and serves as a platform to share and learn about the frontier knowledge between different areas related to "Recent trends in sustainable engineering." Sustainable engineering promotes the responsible use of resources and materials involved in the different manufacturing processes or the execution stages of a service. An interdisciplinary approach is required in all aspects of engineering. In this sense, engineers, researchers, and the academic community will play a fundamental role in developing new technologies that respect the environment, still, at the same time, that considers social and economic factors.

This book gathers selected high-quality research papers presented at International Conference on Renewable Technologies in Engineering (ICRTE 2021) organized by Manav Rachna International Institute of Research & Studies, Faridabad, Haryana, India, during 15-16 April 2021. The book includes conference papers on the theme "Computational Techniques for Renewable Energy Optimization", which aims to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results on all aspects of renewable energy integration, planning, control and optimization. It also provides a premier interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends and concerns as well as practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in the fields of smart structures in energy infrastructure.