This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation on low velocity impact response of S2 glass/epoxy and aramid/epoxy composite plates. Two different impact energy levels, 20 J and 30 J, were considered for impact tests. The commercial software called LS-DYNA was used in order to perform numerical simulations. The experimental and numerical results were found to be in good agreement.

In parallel to the developments in the fuel cell and hydrogen production, storage, and delivery technologies, fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) have started to take more attention; and several commercial products and prototypes have been already released. Modeling and simulation are important techniques to choose the design and operating parameters of the powertrain components of these vehicles and thus enhance their performance. This paper discusses, compares, and synthesizes different methods used for modeling vehicle dynamics and main powertrain components (fuel cell system, hydrogen storage unit, battery, transmission, electric motor, energy management system) as well as the drive cycle and life cycle simulations for FCEV. Rule-based and metaheuristic energy management methods for FCEV are discussed. Recent papers on the modeling and simulation of FCEV are categorized according to the powertrain components and methods used, and briefly discussed. The findings of this paper guide the researchers to select the optimum FCEV powertrain component types and their technical properties through modeling and simulation methods.

Worldwide need for renewable energy sources increases significantly with the drastic negative greenhouse effects of climate change. This study considers a water-cooled hybrid thermo-electric panel (PV/T) which contributes to better harvesting of solar energy. A numerical CFD model was developed for power generation of a standard PV panel as well as for a water-based PV/T system laminated with polymer matrix composite (PMC) materials, and user-defined functions (UDFs) were developed and integrated with the CFD model to implement exact boundary conditions. Experimentation under daily weather conditions was carried out in order to validate the numerical CFD model by measuring the surface temperatures of PV and PV/T systems as well as the temperatures of the water inlet and outlet of the cooling system. The results show that the maximum and minimum deviations of the surface temperature between numerical and experimental studies matched well compared with the studies performed in the literature. Moreover, the numerical model had a rapid response to temperature changes of PV and PV/T modules under sudden weather changes (cloudy/sunny). It was shown that the electrical efficiency of the cooled PV/T module can achieve 20.8% in addition to a thermal efficiency of 53.5%. The current study is a validation of the performance of polymer composite laminated water-cooled PV/T systems under daily weather conditions.

Spall behavior of single and multi-layered hybrid composite structures behind armor was investigated by using shaped charge. Firstly, spall cone angles of Aluminum 5083-H116 and rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) steel as base armor materials were determined without any composite to select base armor. The single and multi-plates composite samples were produced by using S2 glass plain fabric, Kevlar plain fabric and hybrid Carbon-Kevlar twill fabric and epoxy resin system. After that, composite samples were placed behind the selected base armor plates with different distance in between them. The changes of spall cone angle, spall diameter, and penetrated area after shaped charge penetration were determined and analyzed in terms of both material configuration and distance behind the armor plates. As a result, increasing the behind armor distance reduces the jetting area and thus spall distribution decreases. In addition, it can be recommended to use hybrid 1 and 50 mm behind armor distance by evaluating both spall distribution and in-vehicle volume restriction.