Processes

The increasing quantity and complexity of code in vehicles have imposed a heavy burden on traditional integration testing methods. However, applying new testing methods, such as eliminating redundant test cases, prioritizing based on risk, and optimizing test matching, requires the testing team to possess sufficient information, which entails communication and time costs. In this study, an information management framework is developed for the integration testing phase of automotive software to assess the importance and acquisition difficulty of specific information. The framework mainly includes three core parts: (1) classifying 37 types of test-related information into five hierarchical levels (requirement level, architecture level, function level, component level, and source code level) based on risk theory; (2) designing a scale to evaluate the difficulty of information usage from three dimensions (acquisition, transmission, and evaluation); (3) providing an operational guide for integration testing departments to match information with testing strategies. This framework assists enterprises in making wiser decisions regarding testing methods and provides guidance for future collaboration between original equipment manufacturers and suppliers.

With the rapid development of communication, electronics, medical, and energy industries in modern society, film capacitors have garnered widespread attention and undergone significant growth. However, the low energy density (U_e) resulting from low breakdown strength (E_b) significantly limits the application of thin-film capacitors. In this work, we use a low-cost and effective dip-coating method to apply boron nitride (BN) layers onto the outer layers of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene)/barium titanate (P(VDF-HFP)/BT) composite films to prepare boron nitride-poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene/barium titanate-boron nitride (BN-P(VDF-HFP)/BT-BN) composite films with a sandwich structure that exhibits extremely high E_b and U_e. The experimental results show that the sandwich-structured BN-P(VDF-HFP)/BT-BN films containing 7.5 wt% BT nanoparticles obtained 530 MV/m E_b and 18.12 J/cm³ U_e, both of which are much higher than those of the corresponding monolayer films. In addition, the finite element simulation results show that the designed sandwich-structured films can reduce local field strength distortion, decrease leakage current, and suppress the development of breakdown channels, thereby significantly improving E_b and U_e. In summary, this study presents a low-cost and effective method for enhancing the breakdown strength and energy density of thin-film capacitors.

Raw biomass presents challenges for energy use due to its high moisture content, low bulk density, and susceptibility to biological degradation, which hinder storage, transport, and utilization. An experimental setup was developed to investigate exothermic behavior during torrefaction of agricultural and food industry wastes. Exothermic reactions were observed between 190 °C and 450 °C, with more prominent effects in corn waste, sugarcane bagasse, and straw compared to sunflower husks, palm residues, and coffee skin. A series of tests performed on a torrefaction reactor with a core-type wall heating system showed that the heat generated by exothermic reactions makes it possible to reduce the torrefaction time by a factor of 1.5 (from 120 to 80 min) to obtain biochar of the required quality, with only a slight process temperature increase (15%, from 200 to 230 °C). These findings offer practical pathways for transforming waste into valuable biochar, fostering environmental resilience and socio-economic benefits in communities reliant on biomass resources.