There was a time in human history when global risks were feared because of nuclear wars, armed rebellions and their aftereffects. In January 2020, when the world was fearing a major war between USA and Iran, who knew that a micro-object would create such destruction that would lock the entire globe. In December 2019, Chinese city of Wuhan reported an increase in the number of patients showing pneumonia-like symptoms and the researchers identified it to be "novel-Corona virus". This was a new virus strain that has not previously affected the human body. It did not discriminate between people on the basis of boundaries, financial status, race, religion, gender, age and any other aspect which a human can identify as a basis of discrimination. This virus has now wrecked almost two-hundred countries across the globe and has taken a heavy toll on the global economy. The pandemic has changed the lifestyle globally as work from home has become the new normal. The devastating situation has generated new challenges in the financial and technical activities of the power sector and hence most of the utilities around the world initiated a disaster management plan to tackle the threats. The report seeks to provide a comprehensive coverage of the prevailing untoward situation particularly in the energy sector, the challenges which have occurred and the various opportunities to uplift the countries by the use of renewable and green resources. The paper also highlights the importance of innovative technologies to be utilized as an alternative source of energy after Covid-19 crisis.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a rapidly growing technology with promising results and challenges. The aim of this study is to optimize the process parameters of fused deposition modeling (FDM) by exploring the wear performance of Polylactic acid (PLA). In this work, variation of process parameters like layer thickness, orientation and extruder temperature has been investigated. Based on these parameters wear specimen (accordance to ASTM G99) was printed by using FDM. The wear behavior of polymer pin under low sliding speed was investigated. Taguchi Design of experiments by using L9 orthogonal array is applied to optimize the process parameters at which minimum wear rate is obtained and the same has also been investigated by using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and artificial neural network (ANN) technique for rigorous validation / optimization. Results shows that build orientation have major influence on the wear performance of polymer pin. The paper is presented with the display of results, discussion, and conclusions drawn.

Currently, the Additive Manufacturing (AM) process has become the most researched area, leading to a revolution in the manufacturing industries. Among all additive manufacturing techniques, fused filament fabrication (FFF) is famous because simple to use and economical. However, in the FFF process, the final quality of parts depends upon the rigorous selection of process parameters, as it is necessary to understand the physical phenomena of process variables and their impact on the mechanical properties. This study involves the independent analysis of three process variables like layer thickness, orientation, and printing temperature. Taguchi L9 orthogonal array opted to investigate the tensile strength of Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). By using this, the number of experimental reduced from L27 to L9 experiments. The specimens are fabricated based on ASTM D-638 tensile standard design. For training and testing purposes, the Artificial Neural Network tool has opted by using MATLAB software 2015.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a method in which three-dimensional structures are successively laid down to create a solid object. The inherent advantages of AM technology are successfully drafted and exploited by the different organization across the globe. During the time of pandemic i.e. COVID-19, 3D printing has come to rescue and has been used for manufacturing critical medical supplies. 3D printing has been used in manufacturing some of the critical items like ventilators valves, face shields, swabs, oxygen valves, hand sanitizer holders, 3-DP lung models, etc. The main reason for its success has been the ability of 3D printing to print locally by using digital designs and thus reducing the number of supply chain actors. Also, the ability of 3D printing to manufacture/print complex geometrical designs locally is the main reason for its successful adoption during COVID-19. In this paper, we have discussed how AM has come to the forefront in fighting this pandemic. Various AM techniques have played a critical role in bridging the supply chain gap in the medical industry and locally printing critical devices. There were certain apprehensions before the pandemic along with slow adoption but this pandemic has also increased the adoption of AM due to its ability to overcome the demand created by COVID-19.

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