In this work, a new supplementary formula was introduced to modify the Kerner model. This supplementary formula enable the Kerner model to predict the thermal expansion coefficient of multi-phase reinforced composites by normalization of the thermal expansion coefficient, bulk modulus, and shear modulus of the reinforcements. For comparison, the modified Kerner model as well as modified Schapery, the rule of mixtures, and Turner models were used to predict the thermal expansion coefficient of multi-phase reinforced composites 6092 Aluminum Alloy/silicon carbide/β-eucryptite. The results confirm the robustness of the modified Kerner model for predicting the thermal expansion coefficient of composites with multi-phase near-spherical inclusions. It may provide a fine selection to predict the thermal expansion coefficient of multi-phase reinforced metal matrix composites which cannot predict efficiently before.

The thermodynamic properties, which are the important bulk properties for solids, have been investigated for ZrB2 under pressure through the quasi harmonic Debye model. The dependences of thermal expansion, Gruneisen parameter, Debye temperature and specific heat on pressure P are successfully obtained. The obtained results are in a good agreement with the available experimental and other theoretical data.

The presence of noises in the vehicle cabin is an annoyance phenomenon which is significantly affected by the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. There are very limited studies reported on the specific type of noise characterisation and validation for both model and vehicle system levels. The present study developed a model of HVAC system that reflects the operation as in real vehicle, and the investigation of the HVAC components were carried out individually to determine which component contributes to the humming-type noise and vibration. The study was conducted under two conditions; idle speed of engine (850 rpm) and operating condition (850–1400 rpm). A ixed blower speed and fullface setting were applied throughout the experimental process. Three different sensors were used for the experiment, which are: accelerometer, tachometer, and microphone. From the results, the compressor and AC pipe components have contributed the most in generating the noise and vibration for both the model and vehicle systems. The findings also highlight that the humming-type noise and vibration were produced in the same operating frequency of 300–400 Hz and 100–300 Hz for idle and operating conditions, respectively, and this result was validated for both model and vehicle system levels.

Heating, ventilation and air conditional (HVAC) system provides a cold ventilation for the comfort of the driver and passengers in a vehicle. However, the vibration induced by the HVAC contributes to a reasonable level of noise emission, and hissing is one of the critical noises. So far, the characterization of hissing noise from the vehicle is least to be reported compared to other type of noises. Hence, this paper investigates the occurrence of hissing noise from several HVAC components. A lab-scale HVAC system was developed to imitate the real-time operations of the vehicle HVAC system. Two engine conditions, namely as ambient and operating conditions, were tested at speed of 850 rpm and 850–1400 rpm, with the blower speed maintained constantly at one level. The result shows that the hissing noise from the labscale HVAC was produced at frequency range of 4000–6000 Hz. The finding also highlights that the main component contributors of noise emission are an evaporator and a thermal expansion valve. The validation with a real vehicle system showed a good consensus whereby the hissing noise was produced at the similar operating frequency ranges. Also, the hissing noise was found to be louder when in an operating condition which could be taken into consideration by the vehicle manufacturers to improve the HVAC design.

The thermal expansion of a ZrO2-20 mol% Gd2O3 pellet has been systematically investigated using a thermo-mechanical analyzer in the temperature range of 293-1773 K. Variations in the thermal expansion coefficient and density upon temperature change were calculated using the thermal expansion data. The average linear thermal expansion coefficient of the ZrO2-20 mol% Gd2O3 pellet was found to be 9.522 × 10–6 K–1 in the range of 298-1073 K. This value is smaller than that of ZrO2 and larger than that of Gd2O3. Further, with an increase in temperature to 1773 K, the density of ZrO2-20 mol% Gd2O3 pellet was found to decrease to 94.98 % of the initial density at 293 K.

Trace elements Co, Cr were added to investigate their influence on the microstructure and physical properties of Al-Si extruded alloy. The Co, Cr elements were randomly distributed in the matrix, forms intermetallic phase and their existence were confirmed by XRD, EDS and SEM analysis. With addition of trace elements, the microstructure was modified, Si particle size was reduced and the growth rate of β-(Al5FeSi) phase limited. Compared to parent alloy, hardness and tensile strength were enhanced while the linear coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) was significantly reduced by 42.4% and 16.05% with Co and Cr addition respectively. It is considered that the low CTE occurs with addition of Co was due to the formation of intermetallic compound having low coefficient of thermal expansion. The results suggested that Co acts as an effective element in improving the mechanical properties of Al-Si alloy.

The dissimilar metal welds in the most of the reactors are connections between low alloy steel parts and stainless steel piping. There is a high possibility of primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) damage attributed to residual stress caused by the difference in material properties in the dissimilar metal weld joints. A number of accidents such as leakage of radioactive coolant due to PWSCC have been reported around the world, posing a great threat to nuclear safety. The objective of this study is to develop a technology that can fundamentally remove dissimilar metal welds by replacing the existing dissimilar metal parts with the functionally graded material (FGM) manufactured by metal 3D printing consisting of low alloy steel and austenitic stainless steel. A powder production, mixing ratio calculation, and metal 3D printing were performed to fabricate the low alloy steel-stainless steel FGM, and microstructure analysis, mechanical properties, and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) measurement of the FGM were performed. As a result, it is observed that CTE tended to increase as the austenite content increased in FGM. The gradual change of coefficient of thermal expansion in a FGM showed that the additive manufacturing using 3D printing was effective for preventing an abrupt change in thermal expansion properties throughout their layers.