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Books in Physical sciences and engineering

  • Ecotourism and Wildlife Conservation in the Anthropocene

    • 1st Edition
    • David B. Weaver
    • English
    Ecotourism and Wildlife Conservation in the Anthropocene innovates by demonstrating ecotourism as an inclusive industry positioned to mobilize all people as agents of wildlife conservation. The Anthropocene and post-1950 "Great Acceleration" of human populations have dramatically altered our planet, and ecotourism is often framed as a niche activity that has limited potential to promote conservation of regional biodiversity. By showing that ecotourism as a sustainable, educational, and nature-focused activity can occur anywhere, the sector can better support the preservation and rehabilitation of diverse environments, networks, and natural communities. Accordingly, Ecotourism and Wildlife Conservation in the Anthropocene presents a cogent argument for a new management paradigm based on broader parameters of engagement. Here, all people are empowered to co-create a better future. Concurrently, the book provides practical advice for achieving this future through the examination of relevant real-world management considerations. For students and young professionals in the wildlife conservation discipline, the book conveys the growing importance of ecotourism as a vehicle for preserving and rehabilitating threatened habitats, flora, and fauna. Frequent case studies focused on Crawford Lake provide a focal point that personifies the parameters and possibilities of ecotourism in the Anthropocene and helps to integrate the comprehensive scope of this book.
  • Energy and Resource Recovery from Municipal Wastewater and Biosolids

    A Circular Economy Framework
    • 1st Edition
    • Yu Liu + 3 more
    • English
    Energy and Resource Recovery from Municipal Wastewater and Biosolids: A Circular Economy Framework covers the latest technological advancements and innovative processes for energy and resource recovery from municipal wastewater and biosolids. Focusing on multi-functional approaches for bioenergy production, wastewater reclamation, and resource recovery, the book presents sustainable practices to reduce carbon emissions in the waste industry within a circular economy framework. It begins with an overview of current status, challenges, and future directions of municipal wastewater treatment and biosolids management. Subsequent chapters explore direct energy recovery, ammonium and phosphorus recovery, biopolymers recovery, and enhanced fermentation and anaerobic digestion of waste sludge.The book also covers co-digestion of waste sludge and food waste, thermal-chemical treatment, microbial lipid production, and electric energy production from biosolids in microbial fuel cells. Integrated engineering approaches for biosolids management towards zero-solid disposal and the future of circular economy-driven wastewater and biosolids valorization are also discussed in detail.
  • Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

    Fundamentals, Design, Performance, Applications, and AI-Driven Commercialization
    • 1st Edition
    • Morteza Nazari-Heris + 2 more
    • English
    Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles: Fundamentals, Design, Performance, Applications, and AI-Driven Commercialization provides an authoritative resource on hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (HFCEVs), covering fundamentals, methods, and applications, and addressing the latest advances and changes in related technologies, and in the market. This book aims to serve as a comprehensive and interdisciplinary resource for understanding HFCEVs and their role in achieving net-zero electrification. It investigates HFCEVs from multiple dimensions, beginning with the fundamentals of HFCEV operation, their environmental benefits, and their principles. In addition, it presents a detailed strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis, examining the intricacies of hydrogen production and infrastructure development. It further assesses the techno-economic feasibility of green hydrogen-powered HFCEVs through levelized cost analyses, providing insights into their economic viability. In addition, the book covers the design, performance, and applications of HFCEVs, alongside the role of hydrogen fueling stations, their technologies, and prognostic management. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in optimizing energy management is explored, highlighting innovative approaches to enhancing efficiency. The book also addresses industrial and commercial gaps, identifying opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs in this field. In addition, it reviews international standards governing HFCEVs and aligns their advancements with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs), emphasizing their broader techno-socio-economi... impact. Finally, the challenges and future work are considered, including technological, infrastructural, and economic obstacles, and their possible solutions.This is a valuable book for all those with an interest in hydrogen fuel cells, clean energy technologies, electric vehicles, sustainable transportation, and energy storage, including researchers, students, faculty, engineers, Research & Development professionals, scientists, industry professionals, and policymakers.
  • Engineering Materials for 3D Printing

    Synthesis, Functionalization to Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Rupinder Singh + 3 more
    • English
    Engineering Materials for 3D Printing: Synthesis, Functionalization to Applications delves into the transformative world of additive manufacturing, covering the development and characterization of polymer-based materials crafted through processes such as extrusion, sol-gel, and pulverization. Over the past three decades, 3D printing has revolutionized the creation of functional prototypes, utilizing an array of materials like thermoplastics, resins, metals, and alloys. This book explores the advantages of 3D printing over conventional manufacturing, emphasizing its potential for structural and non-structural engineering applications. It stands out for its focus on meta-structure properties, offering insights into the fabrication of engineering prototypes.While existing literature extensively covers manufacturing processes, this work bridges the gap by exploring 3D printable materials for diverse engineering uses.
  • Fire-Resistant Nature-Derived Composite Materials for Industrial Applications

    • 1st Edition
    • Rajeshkumar Lakshminarasimhan + 4 more
    • English
    Fire-Resistant Nature-Derived Composite Materials for Industrial Applications presents the latest advances in this important field. The book provides an in-depth understanding of the materials, their properties including both fire resistance and structural integrity, and their industrial applications, including compliance guidelines and safety regulations. The detailed case study examples of successful implementation in industry will bridge the gap between theory and practice. The book will be a valuable reference resource for academic and industrial researchers, as well as materials scientists and engineers who need to keep updated on the latest advances and technologies in fire-resistant composite materials.
  • Home Digital Twins

    • 1st Edition
    • Tuan Anh Nguyen
    • English
    Home Digital Twins explores how digital twin technologies can serve as a bridge between the real home and the virtual home. It explains how IoT devices, wearable sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) can aid in the diagnosis, prediction, and prevention of abnormal/critical/ex... problems in real home environments, while also showing how digital twin computing can support the management of home energy consumption to optimize everyday living. The book also considers the security and ethical implications of introducing digital twin technology in the home to ensure the technology benefit the lives of the home's inhabitants.The introduction of sensor networks into the home environment allows automation into the home, utilizing internet of things (IoT) devices to program, for example, door opening, room luminosity, room temperature, and humidity. Digital Twin technology extends the capabilities of the smart home, collecting and analyzing data from the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and applying Human Activity Recognition (HAR) algorithms to provide adaptive services, including minimizing power consumption, improving healthcare, and enhancing overall well-being. However, there are many challenges when applying these algorithms to the smart home due to the variability and sparsity of sensor data, which can lead to a mismatch between the real home and the digital home.
  • Handbook of Polyurethanes, Polyureas, and Polyisocyanurates

    • 1st Edition
    • George Wypych
    • English
    Handbook of Polyurethanes, Polyureas, and Polyisocyanurates focuses on the raw materials required for polyurethane synthesis. It explores various isocyanates and polyols, detailing their chemical properties and roles in creating diverse polymer structures. Amines, solvents, catalysts, and other additives that enhance the synthesis process are also discussed, as are typical methods of synthesis, mechanisms of catalysis, factors affecting reaction rates, and potential side reactions that can occur during polymerization. Structures of linear and crosslinked polyurethanes are also covered, including how these configurations influence the physical and chemical properties of the final products. Typical methods for analyzing polyurethanes, allowing for their assessment, characteristics, and qualities are provided, as are the physical-mechanical properties of polyurethanes, including elasticity, tensile strength, and thermal stability. The creation of polyurethane blends and interpenetrating networks is discussed, and the book also features an extensive section on additives used with polyurethanes, such as plasticizers, pigments, flame retardants, and more. Processing methods such as metering, mixing, and storage are outlined, applications of polyurethanes in automotive parts, bedding, medical devices, and packaging are covered, and the book concludes with coverage of waste disposal, processing, and recycling strategies for these products.
  • Fundamentals of Extrusion-Based Aluminum Welding and Additive Manufacturing

    A Step-by-Step Guide
    • 1st Edition
    • Øystein Grong
    • English
    Fundamentals of Extrusion-Based Aluminum Welding and Additive Manufacturing explores the potential of extrusion-based aluminum welding and additive manufacturing (AM) in an industrial context, in light of how age-hardened Al–Mg–Si alloys respond to conventional fusion welding and friction stir welding (FSW). The primary focus is on the hybrid metal extrusion and bonding (HYB) process, which employs continuous rotary extrusion to achieve metallurgical bonding between different metals and alloys in the solid state with the addition of aluminum filler metal. Thanks to its versatility and flexibility, the HYB process can be applied to a wide range of operations, including butt, fillet, and lap welding, as well as plate surfacing, multimaterial welding, and AM.The chapters are organized in a manner that makes the HYB technology easily accessible to professionals in both academia and industry who are already familiar with FSW. Detailed information is provided on the design and operation of the PinPoint extruder, representing the core outcome of the HYB development project. To help readers with diverse backgrounds understand and engage with the topics covered, the learning process is enhanced by integrating relevant physically based models into specially designed case studies throughout the text.
  • Surface Modifications of Nanomaterials for Energy, Environmental and Biomedical Applications

    • 1st Edition
    • Subash C.B. Gopinath + 4 more
    • English
    Surface Modifications of Nanomaterials for Energy, Environmental and Biomedical Applications explores various strategies and techniques for successful surface modification of nanomaterials, focusing on the potential benefits of such modifications in a wide range of applications, including energy and environmental sectors, as well as biomedical applications. This book initially presents an overview of surface modification methods and characterization techniques of various nanomaterials, including two-dimensional materials, carbon nanomaterials, metals, and more. Other sections dive into the applications of surface modified nanomaterials in the fields of energy, biomedicine and environmental science. Future research directions and risk assessment are covered in the final section. This is an essential reference for academic and industrial researchers working to improve the properties of nanomaterials for several applications.
  • Hungarian Quantum Chemistry: Part B - Contemporary Research

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 94
    • English
    Hungarian Quantum Chemistry Part B – Contemporary Research, Volume 94 in the Advances in Quantum Chemistry series, highlights current directions and state-of-the-art contributions of Hungarian scientists to modern quantum chemistry. This volume brings together authoritative chapters written by leading researchers, showcasing theoretical developments, methodological advances, and computational approaches that shape contemporary molecular science. Chapters in this release address the joint use of experimental, empirical, and computed spectroscopic data; first-principles dynamics of fundamental chemical reactions; and the evolution of quantum chemical concepts from electron pairs to complex biomolecular systems.Additional contributions examine the electronic and geometric properties of carbon-based structures, tensor network methods and quantum information theory for strongly correlated molecular systems, and advances in density functional theory, including excited states and information-theoreti... perspectives. Finally, readers will find chapters that explore QM/MM free energy calculations for enzyme catalysis, modern approaches to electron correlation theory, conceptual frameworks connecting electronegativity to universal potential energy curves, and theoretical modeling of molecular polaritons.