Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have gained significant attention in recent times due to their suitability for a wide variety of civil, military, and societal missions. Development of an unmanned amphibious vehicle integrating the features of a multi-rotor UAV and a hovercraft is the focus of the present study. Components and subsystems of the amphibious vehicle are developed with due consideration for aerodynamic, structural, and environmental aspects. Finite element analysis (FEA) on static thrust conditions and skirt pressure are performed to evaluate the strength of the structure. For diverse wind conditions and angles of attack (AOA), computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis is carried out to assess the effect of drag and suitable design modification is suggested. A prototype is built with a 7 kg payload capacity and successfully tested for stable operations in flight and water-borne modes. Internet of things (IoT) based water quality measurement is performed in a typical lake and water quality is measured using pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), turbidity, and electrical conductivity (EC) sensors. The developed vehicle is expected to meet functional requirements of disaster missions catering to the water quality monitoring of large water bodies.

The goal of the work presented here was to develop a simulation approach for studying the effects of materials and geometry on the performance of Li-ion Solid State Batteries (SSB). Simulation provides the opportunity to explore, with ease, different material properties and cell geometries to optimize a Li-ion SSB's performance. Simulations shown in this paper are time-dependent and consider electrochemical reaction, heat transfer, the diffusion of Li-ions and electrons in the electrolyte, and solid Li diffusion in the positive electrode. A 2D model was simulated and the results shown. The simulations were able to show discharge curves, heat flux, the concentration of Li-ions, electrons, and solid Li at any time in the discharge cycle. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.