This book reports on the 13th International Workshop on Railway Noise (IWRN13), held on September 16-20, 2019, in Ghent, Belgium. It gathers original peer-reviewed papers describing the latest developments in railway noise and vibration, as well as state-of-the-art reviews written by authoritative experts in the field. The different papers cover a broad range of railway noise and vibration topics, such as rolling noise, wheel squeal, noise perception, prediction methods, measurements and monitoring, and vehicle interior noise. Further topics include rail roughness, rail corrugation and grinding, high-speed rail and aerodynamic noise, structure-borne noise, ground-borne noise and vibration, and resilient track forms. Policy, criteria and regulation are also discussed. Offering extensive and timely information to both scientists and engineers, this book will help them in their daily efforts to identify, understand and solve problems related to railway noise and vibration, and to achieve the ultimate goal of reducing the environmental impact of railway systems.

This book comprises the proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Asia-Pacific Microscopy Conference (APMC12) focusing on emerging opportunities and challenges in the field of materials sciences, life sciences and microscopy techniques. The contents of this volume include papers on aberration corrected TEM & STEM, SEM - FIB, ion beam microscopy, electron diffraction & crystallography, microscopy and imaging associated with bio-nanotechnology, medical applications, host-pathogen interaction, etc. This book will be beneficial to researchers, educators, and practitioners alike.

This book is focused on the introduction of the finite difference method based on the classical one-dimensional structural members, i.e., rods/bars and beams. It is the goal to provide a first introduction to the manifold aspects of the finite difference method and to enable the reader to get a methodical understanding of important subject areas in structural mechanics. The reader learns to understand the assumptions and derivations of different structural members. Furthermore, she/he learns to critically evaluate possibilities and limitations of the finite difference method. Additional comprehensive mathematical descriptions, which solely result from advanced illustrations for two- or three-dimensional problems, are omitted. Hence, the mathematical description largely remains simple and clear.

Programming has become a significant part of connecting theoretical development and scientific application computation. Fluid dynamics provide an important asset in experimentation and theoretical analysis. Analysis and Applications of Lattice Boltzmann Simulations provides emerging research on the efficient and standard implementations of simulation methods on current and upcoming parallel architectures. While highlighting topics such as hardware accelerators, numerical analysis, and sparse geometries, this publication explores the techniques of specific simulators as well as the multiple extensions and various uses. This book is a vital resource for engineers, professionals, researchers, academics, and students seeking current research on computational fluid dynamics, high-performance computing, and numerical and flow simulations.

This book presents the emerging regime of zero refractive index photonics, involving metamaterials that exhibit effectively zero refractive index. Metamaterials are artificial structures whose optical properties can be tailored at will. With metamaterials, intriguing and spellbinding phenomena like negative refraction and electromagnetic cloaking could be realized, which otherwise seem unnatural or straight out of science fiction. Zero index metamaterials are also seen as a means of boosting nonlinear properties and are believed to have strong prospects for being useful in nonlinear optical applications. In summary, this book highlights almost everything currently available on zero index metamaterials and is useful for professionally interested and motivated readers.

This proceedings gather a selection of peer-reviewed papers presented at the 8th International Conference on Fracture Fatigue and Wear (FFW 2020), held as a virtual conference on 26-27 August 2020. The contributions, prepared by international scientists and engineers, cover the latest advances in and innovative applications of fracture mechanics, fatigue of materials, tribology, and wear of materials. In addition, they discuss industrial applications and cover theoretical and analytical methods, numerical simulations and experimental techniques. The book is intended for academics, including graduate students and researchers, as well as industrial practitioners working in the areas of fracture fatigue and wear.

This book provides easy-to-understand explanations to systematically and comprehensively describe the X-ray CT technologies, techniques, and skills used for industrial and scientific purposes. Included are many references along with photographs, figures, and equations prepared by the author. These features all facilitate the reader's gaining a deeper understanding of the topics being discussed. The book presents expertise not only on fundamentals but also about hardware, software, and analytical methods for the benefit of technical users. The book targets engineers, researchers, and students who are involved in research, development, design, and quality assurance in industry and academia.

The progress of civilization can be, in part, attributed to their ability to employ metallurgy. This book is an introduction to multiple facets of physical metallurgy, materials science, and engineering. As all metals are crystalline in structure, it focuses attention on these structures and how the formation of these crystals are responsible for certain aspects of the material's chemical and physical behaviour. Concepts in Physical Metallurgy also discusses the mechanical properties of metals, the theory of alloys, and physical metallurgy of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys.

This book examines carbon-based nanocomposite materials and their application in various environmental fields, such as wastewater treatment, and air and soil remediation. Featuring illustrations, and tables summarizing the latest research, it gathers up-to-date information on the application of carbon nanocomposites in the removal of environmental pollutants from different sources. Given its scope, the book is a valuable textbook for research students, and a useful handbook and reference resource for researchers, academics and industrial scientists working in the field of environmental pollutants and their safe removal.

This book presents a state-of-the-art overview of the major aspects involved in the science, technology and applications of ceramics, glasses and glass-ceramics. After providing an historical perspective of the development and use of ceramics and glasses along the Silk Road, the theoretical background and fabrication techniques of such materials are described and discussed. A special focus is dedicated to emerging high-tech applications in various fields, including medicine, energy, optics and photonics, sensors, sustainability and circular economy. The chapters are written by leading experts in their respective fields and highlight the contemporary challenges associated to each topic. This book will serve as a valuable reference for both early-stage and skilled researchers as well as industry professionals interested in the broad field of glasses and ceramics.

This book focuses on the theory and design methods for guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) in the context of spacecraft rendezvous and docking (RVD). The position and attitude dynamics and kinematics equations for RVD are presented systematically in accordance with several different coordinate systems, including elliptical orbital frame, and recommendations are supplied on which of these equations to use in different phases of RVD. The book subsequently explains the basic principles and relative navigation algorithms of RVD sensors such as GNSS, radar, and camera-type RVD sensors. It also provides guidance algorithms and schemes for different phases of RVD, including the latest research advances in rapid RVD. In turn, the book presents a detailed introduction to intelligent adaptive control and proposes corresponding theoretical approaches to thruster configuration and control allocation for RVD. Emphasis is placed on the design method of active and passive trajectory protection in different phases of RVD, and on the safety design of the RVD mission as a whole. For purposes of verification, the Shenzhou spacecraft's in-orbit flight mission is introduced as well. All issues addressed are described and explained from basic principles to detailed engineering methods and examples, providing aerospace engineers and students both a basic understanding of, and numerous practical engineering methods for, GNC system design in RVD.

This book presents a selection of preliminary sizing procedures for turbomachinery. Applicable to both conventional and non-conventional fluids, these procedures enable users to optimize the kinematics, thermodynamics and geometry of the turbomachinery (in the preliminary design phase) using geometric correlations and losses models; to accurately predict the efficiency of turbomachinery - in most cases, in excellent agreement with CFD calculations; and to consistently analyze all turbomachines (axial and radial turbines, axial and centrifugal compressors, centrifugal pumps). The book is intended for bachelor's and master's students in industrial, mechanical and energy engineering, as well as researchers and professionals in the energy systems and turbomachinery sectors, guiding them step by step through the first sizing of turbomachines and the verification of the technological feasibility of turbomachines designed for new conversion systems operating with unconventional fluids.

With the aim to facilitate the dissemination of research from both academia and the industrial community, presented works from the 10th International Conference on Computational Methods and Experiments in Material and Contact Characterisation are included in this book. These papers discuss the latest developments in this rapidly advancing field. The demand for high-quality production for both industry and consumers has led to rapid developments in materials science and engineering. This requires the characterisation of the properties of the materials. Of particular interest to industry and society is the knowledge of the surface treatment and contact mechanics of these materials to determine the in-service behaviour of components subject to contact conditions. Modern society requires systems that operate at conditions that use resources effectively. In terms of components durability, the understanding of surface engineering wear frictional and lubrication dynamics has never been so important. Current research is focussed on modifications technologies that can increase the surface durability of materials. The characteristics of the system reveal which surface engineering methods should be chosen and as a consequence, it is essential to study the combination of surface treatment and contact mechanics. Combinations of different experimental techniques as well as computer simulation methods are essential to achieve a proper analysis. A very wide range of materials, starting with metals through polymers and semiconductors to composites, necessitates a whole spectrum of characteristic experimental techniques and research methods. Topics covered include: Experimental and measurement techniques; Mechanical testing and characterisation; Composites; Characterisation at multiple scales; Corrosion and erosion; Damage, fatigue and fracture; Recycled and reclaimed materials; Emerging materials and processing technology; Materials for energy systems; Contact mechanics; Coatings and surface treatments; Tribology and design; Biomechanical characterisation and applications; Residual stresses; Polymers and plastics; Computational methods and simulation; Biological materials; Evaluation and material processing.

The book highlights the recent research developments in biocomposite design, mechanical performance and utility. It discusses innovative experimental approaches along with mechanical designs and manufacturing aspects of various fibrous polymer matrix composites and presents examples of the synthesis and development of biocomposites and their applications. It is useful for researchers developing biocomposite materials for biomedical and environmental applications.

The certification of the structural integrity of buildings, bridges, and mechanical components is one of the main goals of engineers. For civil engineers especially, understanding the tools available for infrastructure analysis is an essential part of designing, constructing, and maintaining safe and reliable structures. Fracture and Damage Mechanics for Structural Engineering of Frames: State-of-the-Art Industrial Applications outlines the latest computational tools, models, and methodologies surrounding the analysis of wall and frame load support and resilience. Emphasizing best practices in computational simulation for civil engineering applications, this reference work is invaluable to postgraduate students, academicians, and engineers in the field.

This book looks at advanced nanocomposites, introducing long-awaited concepts towards bridging the gap between nanostructured optical materials and next-generation imaging systems. It investigates nanocomposites as bulk optical materials and highlights the immense potential they hold for real-world optical elements and systems, such as smartphone cameras. It covers the full spectrum of nanocomposite optical materials from their fundamental properties to analytical modeling and detailed application examples. This book also provides an in-depth discussion of the role these new materials play in the development of broadband flat optics - diffractive optical elements used for enhancing high-end broadband imaging systems. Written by an industry expert, this book seamlessly connects fundamental research and real-world applications. It is the ideal guide both for optical engineers working towards integrating new technologies, and researchers involved with fundamental research on optical materials.

Based on "The Virtual Conference on Chemistry and its Applications (VCCA-2020) - Research and Innovations in Chemical Sciences: Paving the Way Forward" held in August 2020 and organized by the Computational Chemistry Group of the University of Mauritius. The chapters reflect a wide range of fundamental and applied research in the chemical sciences and interdisciplinary subjects.

This collection presents papers from a symposium on extraction of rare metals as well as rare extraction processing techniques used in metal production. It covers metals essential for critical modern technologies including electronics, electric motors, generators, energy storage systems, and specialty alloys. Rare metals are the main building blocks of many emerging critical technologies and have been receiving significant attention in recent years. Much research in academia and industry is devoted to finding novel techniques to extract critical and rare metals from primary and secondary sources. The technologies that rely on critical metals are dominating the world, and finding a way to extract and supply them effectively is highly desirable and beneficial. Rapid development of these technologies entails fast advancement of the resource and processing industry for their building materials. Authors from academia and industry exchange knowledge on developing, operating, and advancing extractive and processing technologies. Contributions cover rare-earth elements (magnets, catalysts, phosphors, and others), energy storage materials (lithium, cobalt, vanadium, graphite), alloy elements (scandium, niobium, titanium), and materials for electronics (gallium, germanium, indium, gold, silver). The contributions also cover various processing techniques in mineral beneficiation, hydrometallurgy, separation and purification, pyrometallurgy, electrometallurgy, supercritical fluid extraction, and recycling (batteries, magnets, electrical and electronic equipment).