Five series of specimens with two different print orientations (−45/45 and 0/90) and two print layer thicknesses (0.1 and 0.2 mm) were made. In total 60 specimens with 100% filament infill were made. One specimen series (20 pieces) was isolated as a reference or thermally untreated. Before the thermal treatment (annealing), two specimen moulding methods were used: NaCl powder (granulation 63 mm: 20 pieces) and Calcium Sulphate (Gypsum: 20 pieces). During the annealing, specimens immersed in NaCl powder were heated in a drying oven to the filament melting point (for PLA: 200°C, with a duration interval of 30 min), while the treatment of the heated specimens in gypsum was performed at a temperature of around 190°C, with duration interval of 3 h with the observed temperature inside the mould of about 100°C. An ultrasonic bath and a drying oven were used in the gypsum treatment. Temperature measurement and control during both annealing treatments were performed using a thermal imaging camera, while the temperature control inside the drying oven was performed using a digital thermometer. After treatment, the specimens in the moulds were cooled at room temperature, and the dimensions of annealing and untreated specimens were controlled. Surface morphology was characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM analysis reveals improved internal structure after heat treatment of the PLA specimens. These results show that the investigated specimens after heat treatments had better structural properties than the referent specimens. Tensile testing on a universal testing machine in compliance with the ASTM D638 standard was also performed. The referent PLA specimen with −45/45 and layer thickness of 0.1 mm had the highest tensile stress value (64.08 MPa) while the specimen with minimal tensile stress value before fracture was 0/90, 0.2 mm (54.81 MPa). Heat treatment in gypsum showed the most significant increase in strength with −45/45 (0.1 mm) being the strongest (71.66 MPa) while the strongest specimen treated in sodium chloride was −45/45 (0.1 mm) with maximum tensile stress of 70.08 MPa. The mechanical characteristics of the PLA were characterised using the Vickers microhardness tester. The PLA microhardness value was calculated according to standards ASTM E384 and ISO 6507. The referent PLA specimen with −45/45 (0.2 mm) orientation shows the maximal microhardness value (125 MPa), and the minimal microhardness value was observed for the 0/90 (0.1 mm) orientation specimens (108 MPa). The heat treatment specimens in gypsum have a better hardness (185 MPa) than those treated in gypsum (165 MPa), with microhardness increasing by about 12%. The essence of the work is reflected in the additional filament processing to achieve a better structural and mechanical performance of the materials and reduce the anisotropy that is characteristic of 3D printing.

Darrieus type vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is optimized using the genetic algorithm (GA). The airfoil shape is parameterized using the Class-Shape Transformation (CST) method. The double multiple stream tube (DMST) method with the Gormont dynamic stall modification is used for the calculation of the VAWT performance parameters. Once the numerical codes are validated using availible experimental results, the airfoil parameters are varied as to achieve the optimum value of the genetic algorithm fitness function.

Rapid innovations in 3D printing technology have allowed highly complex parts to be manufactured quickly and easily, particularly for prototyping purposes. Fused Deposition Modeling of thermoplastic materials is one of the most commonly used techniques in three-dimensional (3D) printing. The major aim of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is to design and manufacture usable parts for fields such as engineering and medicine. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the mechanical properties of such FDM processed structures. One of the most commonly used materials currently on the market is Polylactic Acid (PLA). The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of aging and heat treatment on the tensile properties of PLA printed test specimens. The tensile properties of parts manufactured by the 3D printer are influenced by various parameters such as extrusion temperature, infill density, building direction, layer height, etc. A total of 96 specimens were built by altering building orientation and layer height to estimate and compare the tensile properties of the printed parts. To investigate the aging effect, 30 of 96 specimens were printed 6 months before the tensile experiment. Half of both aged and new specimens were cured in an oven at 57.5 [�ŞC] for 3 hours while the other half endured no heat treatment. After the performed measurement, it can be concluded that heat treatment generally improves structural strength of the printed parts, while aging decreases it. However, these effects are highly dependent on the layer thickness and printing quality. The tensile test is conducted according to the ASTM D638 standard. The fractured samples were further characterized using an electron microscope.

Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are attractive tools for wind energy extraction particularly suitable for small consumers or off-grid areas. Although their geometry is simple (here, rectangular blade of constant airfoil is assumed), aerodynamic analysis may be quite complex. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach is employed for the estimation of rotor aerodynamic performances. This paper provides a review of possible multiobjective optimization strategies for the design of small-scale VAWT laminate blades in terms of its main structural parameters: ply-order and ply-number. Numerous structural analyses of the composite turbine blades were performed by finite element method (FEM). Multi-criteria constrained optimizations, by an evolutionary method − particle swarm optimization (PSO), were performed with respect to blade total mass, maximum blade tip deflection under static loading, computed natural frequencies and failure index along the blade. By combining different input and output parameters (cost functions and constraints) a large variety of feasible solutions can be achieved.

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