Research Output
Effect of Inclined Angle in Trimming of Ultra-high Strength Steel Sheets Having Inclined and Curved Shapes
High specific heterocontacts of p-CuO/n-ZnO thin film composites for enhanced sunlight absorption
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Publication
Trimming the scrap portion of ultra-high strength steel (UHSS) components poses a significant challenge due to the inherent high strength and hardness characteristics of the material. For UHSS components with a higher geometric complexity such consisting of inclined and curved sections, sharp tilt, and small bend radius, the large trimming load results in poor sheared quality and shape defects, which commonly happen in these areas. This research investigated the effects of applying a small inclination angle to the punch in the trimming of the UHSS parts having an inclined and curved shape. The inclined punch was modified to four sets of different degrees of inclination i.e., 1°, 3°, 5°, and 10°. A comparative analysis of the trimming load, trimming energy, sheared edge quality and shape defects was conducted between these modified punches and the normal punch for their effectiveness in the trimming operation. Results showed that the application of inclination angle significantly decreased the trimming load, reduced the trimming energy, and improved the sheared edge surface quality, as well as prevented the shape defects at the inclined and curved zones as compared to the outcomes produced when trimming using the normal punch. The study suggested that the change to the punch geometry is an effective option to improve the performance of the process as well as the quality of the part, particularly in trimming the high-strength components having complex shapes.
Publication
This study is focused on investigating the heterocontacts development between p-CuO and n-ZnO semiconductor composite for enhancing its sunlight absorption. CuO and ZnO are chosen as precursors due to their many potentials. High absorption of sunlight is one of the most important criteria in photovoltaic (PV) device. However poor crystal structure and low contact surface between the p and n semiconductors limits the light intake and is due to several factors. To carry out intensive study on the mechanism of the heterocontact growth, CuO:ZnO thin film is synthesized by mechanical alloying process using high energy ball mill (HEBM) followed by sol gel technique. Three parameters were studied; sol-gel's surfactant to solvent ratio, annealing temperature and annealing duration. The homogeneity and compounds' distribution of the composite is analysed by EDS analysis and structural characterization is done with XRD analysis. The UV-VIS analysis is done to determine the light absorbance and the bandgap of the composite. The initial mechanical centrifugation HEBM has aided the process for homogenizing the composite and boost the heterointerface between the semiconductors by mechanochemical effects such as phase transformations and solid-state reactions. EDS analysis reported that 500 C annealed specimen giving the lowest percentage of ratio gap than others temperature and the heterocontact surface between molecules of material also increased. Uv-Vis analysis also agrees with EDS, showing the specimen having highest absorbance spectra. However, bandgap narrowing occurred in the specimen, as resulted by the coexistence of transitional metal Cu in the composite system. XRD analysis shows a near single oriented crystal growth which promotes clean growth of crystal structure and hypothetically reduce the presence of unwanted voids and large boundaries.