G. Bharathiraja’s research while affiliated with Saveetha University and other places

Solar stills that use blue metal stones and Pebble stones to store heat are the subject of experimental studies and theoretical studies. Three identical solar stills measure 1 m² constructs for the analysis mentioned above. To avert water from evaporation and to maintain a consistent water level, each solar still has its glass cover with cooling and dripping mechanisms. Distillate yield from a solar still can be significantly increased by using blue metal stones in a cooling and dripping setup. Its purpose is to increase daily distillate output. It shows that theoretical predictions and experimental findings agree well. The blue metal stone in the solar still produced 1.5 times as much drinkable water as the pebble stone, while the combination of the two stones increased output by 18 % compared to a single still. The temperature was lowered to about 4 °C to 5 °C thanks to the cooling system on the glass cover.

Owing to the exceptional characteristics such as sustainability, biodegradability and environment friendly characteristics natural fibers are a dominant force in a variety of composite sectors. Among the many fruit fibers, Areca fruit husk fiber (AFHF) stands out and has been discovered in considerable quantities being rejected by tobacco processing enterprises. The investigation of AFHFs, helps to utilize the wealth out of iste in an eco-friendly nature for reinforcement in polymer composites. In light of this, the current work deals with AFHFs collected from agricultural enterprises and processed as raw fibers, which were further combined with unsaturated polyester resin to create a natural polymer composite material. Additionally, using Taguchi’s design technique, an orthogonal array is constructed by including process parameters and their stages when conducting testing. The influence of various fiber widths on various gauge distances has been discussed, as well as the optimal width and span for defining the possible tensile strength using Taguchi’s single response analysis. Additionally, the mechanical assets of manufactured natural fiber composites were evaluated using ASTM criteria to perceive whether it can be employed as a substitute reinforcement in polymer composite products.

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the surface roughness of a novel Snake grass fiber/Aluminium powder reinforced epoxy composite and compare it with Snake grass fiber epoxy composite in drilling process. In this work, the Snake grass fiber epoxy composite was taken as a control group with (N = 20) sample specimens. Also, Snake grass fiber with 20 % filler reinforced epoxy composites was considered as an experimental group with (N = 20) sample specimens. Composites plates were prepared with the hand layup method by various volume fractions of 0 % (without filler), 20 % Aluminium powder novel synthetic-filler. Surface roughness of the Snake grass fiber 20 % filler reinforced epoxy composite is 3.72 µm. Snake grass fiber with 20 % filler epoxy composite is 4.20 µm. Snake grass fiber with 20 % filler has statistically significant p = 0.024 (p < 0.05) than Snake grass fiber epoxy composite. Within the limitations of this study, the surface roughness of Snake grass fiber with a 20 % volume fraction of aluminum powder filler reinforced epoxy composite exhibited better significance than the Snake grass fiber epoxy composite.

The influence of lignite flyash into the interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) matrix is thoroughly investigated in this study. The standard weight ratio of E-Glass fiber have been chosen as the reinforcement into the IPN (vinylester/polyurethane) matrix, along with the varying loading of flyash as 0 %, 1 %, 3 %, 5 %, 7 %, 9 % (wt. ratio) respectively, fabricated through the hand lay-up technique. In order to completely understand the physical properties of the flyash loaded IPN composite (E-glass fiber reinforcement) specimen’s tests like differential thermal analysis (DTA), Tensile, Flexural, Compression, Impact, HDT (Heat Deflection Test), and wear test is performed. It was interesting to note that, upon loading the flyash into the matrix, the test result confirms that, there was a precipitous increase in the physical strength of all the specimens’ up to the level of 5 % flyash loading except compressive and Barcoal hardness. Moreover to completely know about the bonding and de-bonding strength (flyash & matrix) of the fractured surfaces scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis has been carried out. Out of all, the 5 % flyash loaded specimens have showed unique characteristics in physical strength, wear resistance and enhanced thermal stability as compared with the remaining set of flyash loaded samples.

The present investigation aims at studying the changes happening in the mechanical and microstructural characteristics of additively manufactured Stainless Steel SS316L components post heat treatment. The samples printed through the Laser powder bed fusion based AM technique is considered for investigation. The samples are heat-treated at 650 °C and 1100 °C for 2 h and furnace cooled. The heat treatment is found to impart a substantial impact on the mechanical and microstructural characteristics of the component. The as-built SS316L sample possesses a micro-hardness value of 221.5HV, a tensile strength of 529 MPa, and total elongation of 28.5%. The heat treatment of samples at 1100 °C for 2 h lowers the micro hardness value (175.6HV), tensile strength (510 MPa) and increases the ductility (83.5%). The grain size, porosities and dislocation density are reduced during the heat treatment and the mechanical characteristics get modified. Hence, heat treatment can be considered as an effective method for altering the mechanical characteristics of the additively manufactured SS316L functional components.

Automotive product manufacturing and analysis based on the material is one of the recent technological advancements in reduction of the vibration and noise. The new product development based on the weight reduction and high strength causes an emerging issue of vibration and noise, which can be addressed by changing the new type of engine mount material. Because, the engine mount is the main connector, and provides support between the vehicle engine and the chassis in this project. In this presented work, a newl design of the automotive engine mount was created and analysed with different materials. The stress and harmonic analysis had been done to find the dampening properties and stiffness parameter, which has the influence in the reduction of the vibration and noise. It was found through the analysis that the deformation and displacement of the engine mount was greatly suppressed by 14% and 26%, respectively, when the natural rubber material was replaced by polyurethane.

It has been observed that an engine vibration is a significant factor in on-road passenger vehicles. The issue that needs to be addressed from the standpoint of the customers, and in light of this issue, the dynamic characteristics of the four-cylinder engine chassis are analysed using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to determine the natural frequency. The modal analysis was performed and the natural frequencies were observed in various modes for low frequency vibration in damped as well as undamped situations and then, the corresponding displacements were compared. The results evidenced that the engine mount made of an elastomeric material can act as the vibration seal and it would help to suppress the transfer of vibration to the chassis, significantly. Specifically, the findings have proved that the elastomeric mount acted as the damper and suppressed the displacement and deformation by 17% and 26%, respectively.