Polymeric resins are becoming increasingly popular in medical and engineering applications due to their properties, such as their low weight, high strength, corrosion resistance, non-allergenicity, and extended service life. The grinding process is used to convert these materials into desired products, offering high accuracy and surface quality. However, grinding generates significant heat, which can potentially degrade the material. This study investigates the grinding of acrylic-based resins, specifically focusing on the interplay between the grind zone temperature and surface finish. The low glass transition temperature (57 °C) of the acrylic necessitates the precise control of the grinding parameters (spindle speed, feed rate, depth of cut, and grinding wheel grain size), to maintain a low temperature and achieve high-quality machining. Thermal imaging and thermocouples were employed to measure the grind zone temperature under various grinding conditions. This study investigates the influence of four parameters: spindle speed, feed rate, depth of cut, and grinding wheel grain size. The best surface finish (Ra: 2.5 µm) was obtained by using a finer-grained (80/Ø 0.18 mm) grinding wheel, combined with slightly adjusted parameters (spindle speed: 11.57 m/s, feed rate: 0.406 mm/rev, depth of cut: 1.00 mm), albeit with a slightly higher grind zone temperature (~54 °C). This study highlighted the importance of balancing the grind zone temperature and surface finish for the optimal grinding of acrylic-based resins. Further, this research finds that by carefully controlling the grinding parameters, it is possible to achieve both a high surface quality and prevent material degradation. The research findings could be highly valuable for optimizing the grinding process for various medical and engineering applications.

The DIW approach offers numerous benefits, including expedited prototyping, cost-effectiveness, reduced waste in manufacturing, and enhanced design flexibility. It's currently a popular production method for building materials and has great potential for porous and electronic materials. In this study, porous cupric oxide (CuO) ceramics were fabricated using a direct ink writing (DIW) approach based on a copper particle–laden aqueous precursor. The ink formulation was optimized to achieve stable extrusion and crack-free green bodies, yielding a final composition of 68.0 wt% Cu, 31.3 wt% water, and 0.6 wt% CMC. Following oxidation and sintering in air, the printed structures exhibited a bulk density of 3.60 ± 0.20 g cm⁻³ and a corresponding theoretical porosity of 43.7 ± 0.9%. X-ray diffraction confirmed nearly phase-pure monoclinic CuO with no detectable Cu or Cu₂O residues. The printed components exhibited an interconnected, porous microstructure and a four-point-probe resistivity of 10.5 ± 0.3 Ω·m at 25 °C, reflecting the influence of high porosity on charge transport. The DIW route demonstrated here provides a controllable pathway for producing porous CuO architectures with tunable microstructure and moderate electrical conductivity. These characteristics suggest potential applicability in gas filtration, catalytic supports, and electrochemical sensing; however, device-level validation is still required to fully assess functional performance.

Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) is widely employed in structural steel fabrication; however, the thermo-mechanical response of dissimilar structural steel joints remains insufficiently explored through numerical modeling. In this study, a three-dimensional transient thermo-mechanical finite element model is developed to investigate SMAW of dissimilar S355J2+N and ASTM A572 Grade 50 steel plates. Goldak’s double-ellipsoidal heat source is implemented to represent arc heat input, and a Box–Behnken design is employed to systematically examine the influence of welding current, voltage, and travel speed. The analysis focuses on peak temperature, out-of-plane distortion, and elastic stress indicators derived from a linear thermo-elastic formulation. The results indicate that welding current predominantly governs peak temperature, while travel speed has the strongest influence on thermal gradients and distortion behavior; voltage exhibits a secondary but non-negligible effect on heat distribution. Simulated thermal and deformation trends are benchmarked against published experimental and numerical studies on comparable structural steels and show consistent qualitative behavior. Owing to the absence of plasticity, temperature-dependent material properties, and direct experimental validation, stress results are interpreted solely as qualitative indicators rather than physically realistic residual stresses. The study provides a structured thermo-elastic FEM and design-of-experiments–based sensitivity framework for a dissimilar structural steel combination not previously reported in SMAW numerical studies, offering practical insight into parameter screening for thermal and distortion control in structural steel fabrication.

The rapid expansion of solar photovoltaics has intensified land-use competition between renewable energy and agriculture, particularly in regions where food security and clean-energy transitions must progress together. Semi-transparent photovoltaic technologies may provide a land-use-compatible pathway for potential agrivoltaic applications by allowing partial light transmission while generating electricity. This study evaluates Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) as a semi-transparent photovoltaic option and investigates the use of DSSC-generated electricity to power Direct Air Capture (DAC). The scope is limited to photovoltaic-system performance and economics and does not include Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) transmission, crop growth, crop yield, or microclimate analysis. A techno-economic assessment was performed using the System Advisor Model for two contrasting regions, Karachi, Pakistan, and Davis, USA. DSSC and monocrystalline silicon systems were compared over the same land area. Due to their lower installed capacity, the DSSC systems generated less annual electricity. However, their lower assumed capital expenditure resulted in a Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) that was 10% lower in Davis, at US Dollars (USD) 0.29/kWh, and 0.7% lower in Karachi, at USD 0.25/kWh. Based on literature-reported DAC energy requirements, the DSSC systems could support annual Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) removal of 331–9707 tonnes in Karachi and 334–9783 tonnes in Davis, depending on the selected DAC pathway. These results indicate that semi-transparent DSSCs may provide a lower-capital, land-use-compatible photovoltaic pathway combined with renewable-electricity-driven carbon removal. Their suitability for practical agrivoltaic deployment requires future PAR-transmission measurements and crop-specific experimental validation.