Composite metallic materials (CMMs) are prepared by dispersing copper particulates in aluminum matrix using stir-cast technique. Their behavior is compared with the alloy having similar composition. The effect of particulate composition is studied by varying the copper concentration between 5 and 15 wt%. Hardness increased with increasing particulate contents in both cast and homogenized conditions. Composites show a 13% drop in strength and 15% drop in strain compared to the alloy. With increasing reinforcement content, the strength increased and dropped. Agglomeration due to increased reinforcement contents may be the reason for the decrease in strength values. Microstructures corroborate the above results.

The growing demand for electrical energy and the impact of global warming leads to a paradigm shift in the power sector. This has led to the increased usage of renewable energy sources. Due to the intermittent nature of the renewable sources of energy, devices capable of storing electrical energy are required to increase its reliability. The most common means of storing electrical energy is battery systems. Battery usage is increasing in the modern days, since all mobile systems such as electric vehicles, smart phones, laptops, etc., rely on the energy stored within the device to operate. The increased penetration rate of the battery system requires accurate modelling of charging profiles to optimise performance. This paper presents an extensive study of various battery models such as electrochemical models, mathematical models, circuit-oriented models and combined models for different types of batteries. It also discusses the advantages and drawbacks of these types of modelling. With AI emerging and accelerating all over the world, there is a scope for researchers to explore its application in multiple fields. Hence, this work discusses the application of several machine learning and meta heuristic algorithms for battery management systems. This work details the charging and discharging characteristics using the black box and grey box techniques for modelling the lithium-ion battery. The approaches, advantages and disadvantages of black box and grey box type battery modelling are analysed. In addition, analysis has been carried out for extracting parameters of a lithium-ion battery model using evolutionary algorithms.

Natural fibers have many advantages over synthetic fibers due to their lightness, low cost, biodegradability, and abundance in nature. The demand for natural fiber hybrid composites in various applications has increased recently, because of its promising mechanical properties. In this research work, the mechanical and wettability properties of reinforced natural fiber epoxy resin hybrid composites were investigated. The main aim of this research work is the fabrication of hybrid composites and exploit its importance over individual fiber composites. The composites were fabricated based on the rule of hybridization mixture (0.4 wf) of two fibers using sets of either hemp and flax or banana and pineapple, each set with 40 wt%, as well as four single fiber composites, 40 wt% each, as reinforcement and epoxy resin as matrix material. A total of two sets (hemp/flax and banana/pineapple) of hybrid composites were fabricated by using a hand layup technique. One set as 40H/0F, 25H/15F, 20H/20F, 15H/25F, 0H/40F, and the second one as 40B/0P, 25B/15P, 20B/20P, 15B/25P, 0B/40P weight fraction ratios. The fabricated composites were allowed for testing to examine its mechanical, wettability, and moisture properties. It has been observed that, in both cases, hybrid composites showed improved mechanical properties when compared to the individual fiber composites. The wettability test was carried out by using the contact angle measurement technique. All composites in both cases, hybrid or single showed contact angle less than 90°, which is associated with the composite hydrophilic surface properties. The moisture analysis stated that all the composites responded for moisture absorption up to 96 h and then remained constant in both cases. Hybrid composites absorbed less moisture than individual fiber composites.

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