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Item Open Access Evaluation of an intuitive 4WD drift assist control concept in a driving simulator(Taylor & Francis, 2025-12-31) Sun, Yiwen; Velenis, Efstathios; Krishnakumar, AjinkyaIn this paper, we present a concept of drift assist control for a 4-Wheel-Drive (4WD) electric vehicle that allows independent wheel torque control, aiming at an intuitive interaction with the average human driver. The concept is evaluated through a driver-in-loop trial using a driving simulator. Starting with a 4WD drift equilibrium analysis, we demonstrate the necessity of incorporating the throttle input for sideslip control and the idea of restricting the sideslip rate in order to assist the driver in stabilising the vehicle in drifting. Subsequently, we design a sideslip rate and yaw rate controller according to the desired sideslip angle from the driver using torque vectoring. To evaluate our control concept, a circular track is built in Cranfield University’s driving simulator based on the IPG CarMaker software. 34 participants were recruited to perform two drifting tasks, including the transition from normal cornering to drifting and regulating the sideslip under different configurations of sideslip damping rate and steering wheel feedback torque. Through subjective questionnaires and objective evaluation of vehicle states, the results show that our concept can assist the driver in intuitively controlling the vehicle during drifting.Item Open Access Investigation on the mechanism of improving the forming quality of cavitation water jet micro-punching by using a rubber membrane(Springer, 2025-05-01) Li, Fuzhu; Meng, Wei; Mori, Stefano; Wang, Yun; Wang, Chunju; Guo, YuqinCavitation water jet micro-punching (CWJP) is a high-strain-rate micro-punching technique that utilizes high-energy shock waves generated by the collapse of cavitation bubbles to perform micro-punching on metal foils. However, defects such as brittle fracture, warpage deformation, and edge tearing often occur in the micro-punched holes due to the reverse impact of high-speed backflow. To solve this issue, a novel rubber membrane-assisted cavitation water jet micro-punching (RA-CWJP) technique was proposed in the present work, in which a flexible rubber membrane was introduced as a soft punch to prevent cavitation water jet from entering the die hole. Comparative experiments of the CWJP and RA-CWJP processes were conducted on 50 μm-thick T2 copper foils. The forming quality of micro-punched holes in both processes was evaluated based on microscopic morphology (fracture surface and cross section), shape, and dimensional accuracy. Additionally, the effect of high-speed backflow on the CWJP process was analyzed in detail. Fluid–solid coupling numerical simulations were conducted to better understand the improvement mechanism of the rubber membrane on the forming quality of micro-punched holes. The research results show that applying a 200 μm-thick rubber membrane to the CWJP process prevents brittle fractures, warpage, and edge tearing caused by the reverse impact force of backflow. Meanwhile, the rubber membrane also increases the depth of the shearing zone, and reduces both the rollover zone and burr formation. Compared to the CWJP process, the shape and dimensional accuracy of micro-punched holes formed by the RA-CWJP process increased by 16.1%–63.5% and 45.4%–82.2%, respectively. In the RA-CWJP process, the excellent fluidity and compressibility of the rubber membrane enable precise shearing separation of the copper foil along the die edge. Furthermore, the rubber membrane reduces elastic recovery after punching through enhanced plastic deformation, significantly improving the dimensional accuracy.Item Open Access Lane centerline extraction based on surveyed boundaries: an efficient approach using maximal disks(MDPI, 2025-04-18) Yin, Chenhui; Cecotti, Marco; Auger, Daniel J.; Fotouhi, Abbas; Jiang, HaobinMaps of road layouts play an essential role in autonomous driving, and it is often advantageous to represent them in a compact form, using a sparse set of surveyed points of the lane boundaries. While lane centerlines are valuable references in the prediction and planning of trajectories, most centerline extraction methods only achieve satisfactory accuracy with high computational cost and limited performance in sparsely described scenarios. This paper explores the problem of centerline extraction based on a sparse set of border points, evaluating the performance of different approaches on both a self-created and a public dataset, and proposing a novel method to extract the lane centerline by searching and linking the internal maximal circles along the lane. Compared with other centerline extraction methods producing similar numbers of center points, the proposed approach is significantly more accurate: in our experiments, based on a self-created dataset of road layouts, it achieves a max deviation below 0.15 m and an overall RMSE less than 0.01 m, against the respective values of 1.7 m and 0.35 m for a popular approach based on Voronoi tessellation, and 1 m and 0.25 m for an alternative approach based on distance transform.Item Open Access High performance rechargeable aluminium ion batteries enabled by strategy of covalent organic frame material(Elsevier, 2025-05-01) Wei, Guokang; Qiao, Jia; Li, Xin; Dou, Aichun; Hu, Sijiang; Xie, Wei; Luo, Zhenhua; Yang, JianhongEmerging rechargeable aluminium-ion batteries (RAIBs) are a sustainable option for the next generation of low-cost, high-safety and large-scale energy storage technologies. While the unsatisfying availability of traditional inorganic materials has limited the development of RAIBs, the advance of organic materials is expected to be a breakthrough towards high-performance cathode. However, the existing extensive research often focuses on the selection of appropriate organic monomers or stay in the tentative stage of preliminary polymerization. It is difficult to break through the inherent characteristics of the instability of small organic ones and the easy aggregation and accumulation of macromolecular polymers, which is no doubt ignoring the huge potential of organic compounds for structural design at the molecular level. In this connection, our study demonstrates a material design strategy that introduces active functional groups to small molecular monomers and polymerizes them into REDOX active covalent organic framework (COF) with multiple N-containing groups. Theoretical simulations and ex-situ analysis revealed the key function of C-N and C=N as active sites for reversible storage of AlCl2 + ions. In addition, the macro-ring frame brings enhanced structural stability and environmental tolerance for COF in complex electrolyte, resulting in significantly improved electrochemical performance. At 1 A g−1, it exhibits a high specific capacity of 161.2 mAh g−1 and an excellent cycle life of approximately 100 % coulombic efficiency after more than 3,000 cycles. This work fully demonstrates the operability of the design strategy to synthesize COF from small molecular organics by introducing reactive functional groups and its great potential in the role of cathode materials in RAIBs. The success meanwhile provides an inspiration for the development of COF-based organic battery system in large-scale energy storage.Item Open Access Fuelling hydrogen futures? A trust-based model of social acceptance(Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), 2025) Gordon, Joel A.; Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye; Haq, Anwar U. l.; Nabavi, Seyed AliPublic trust plays a fundamental role in shaping national energy policies in democratic countries, as exemplified by nuclear phase-out in Germany following the Fukushima accident. While trust dynamics have been explored in different contexts of the energy transition, few studies have attempted to quantify the influence of public trust in shaping social acceptance and adoption potential. Moreover, the interaction between public trust and perceived community benefits remains underexplored in the literature, despite the relevance of each factor to facilitating social acceptance and technology uptake. In response, this quantitative analysis closes a parallel research gap by examining the antecedents of public trust and perceived community benefits in the context of deploying hydrogen heating and cooking appliances across parts of the UK housing stock. Drawing on results from a nationally representative online survey (N = 1845), the study advances insights on the consumer perspective of transitioning to ‘hydrogen homes’, which emerged as a topical and controversial aspect of UK energy policy in recent years. Partial least squares structural equation modelling and necessary condition analysis are undertaken to assess the predictive capabilities of a trust-based model, which incorporates aspects of institutional, organisational, interpersonal, epistemic, and social trust. Regarding sufficiency-based logic, social trust is the most influential predictor of public trust, whereas trust in product and service quality corresponds to the most important necessary condition for enabling public trust. Nevertheless, trust in the government, energy sector, and entities involved in research & development are needed to facilitate and strengthen public trust. Overall, this study enriches scholarly understanding of how public trust may shape prospects for trialling novel low-carbon technologies, highlights the need for segment-specific consumer engagement, and advances scholarly understanding of the innovation-decision process in the context of net-zero pathways. As policymakers approach critical decisions on the portfolio of technologies needed to support residential decarbonisation, public trust will prove fundamental to fuelling hydrogen-based energy futures.