Conformal cooling channels (CCCs) are widely used in the plastic injection molding process to improve the product quality and operational performance. Tooling that incorporates CCCs can be fabricated through metal additive manufacturing (MAM). The present work focuses on the MAM of a plastic injection mold insert with different CCC types that are circular, serpentine, and tapered channels with/without body-centered cubic (BCC) lattices. The entire manufacturing process of the mold insert is explained from the design step to the final printing step including the computational thermal & mechanical simulations, performance assessments, and multiobjective optimization. Compared to the traditional channels, conformal cooling channels achieved up to 62.9% better cooling performance with a better thermal uniformity on the mold surface. The optimum mold geometry is decided using the multiobjective optimization procedure according to the multiple objectives of cooling time, temperature non-uniformity, and pressure drop in the channel. Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) method is used for manufacturing the molds and the quality of the printed molds are analyzed with the X-ray Computed Tomography (X-ray CT) technique. The errors between the design and the printed parameters are less than 5% for the circular and tapered channels while the maximum deviation of the strut diameters of the BCC is 0.06 mm.
The introduction of high electrical stress EPR insulated medium voltage cables leads to the development of new cable joints suitable for installation. This paper presents the joint design considerations and test data. The test program is based on IEEE Standard 404-1993. Test samples include joints for high stress EPR cables and transition joints from high stress EPR cables to PILC cables. All test results have shown that both joint designs comply with the IEEE standard and suitable for operation in cable network systems.
This paper describes "smart charging" systems for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The principal design feature is that the system uses gathered information to adaptively control PHEV charging, and does so in a way that allows customer PHEVs to still be charged at a preferred rate (cost). This paper reviews the drivers for smart charging, including electric grid readiness for large adoption rates of PHEVs, and considers national, regional and local distribution level issues. At the distribution level, the effect of increased PHEV charging loads on transformers is considered. The current state of standardization is reviewed with emphasis on communication messages and use cases that reflect smart charging attributes. Centralized system approaches are described, such as integrating electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), i.e. chargers, into Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) networks, and treating EVSEs as controllable loads for Demand Response programs. Metering and monitoring the transformers that feed EVSEs can drive a control scheme that is either centralized or distributed. Alternatives to AMI-integration for centralized networks are also reviewed, including commercially available systems. Additionally, smart charging is considered from the billing perspective, where system approaches are described that allow for identification and association between connected PHEVs, EVSEs, premise meters and other smart devices.
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