Scalability gaps in Engineering

Representative open questions

Showing 30 of 51 — one per source paper, highest-quality first.

• Sophisticated control design for direct drive permanent magnet synchronous generator-based wind turbines under voltage sags (2026) · doi

  The systematic controller parametrization procedure and BWKOA optimization approach were validated exclusively on a single PMSG-based wind turbine configuration with specific rated power (9.73 MW) and DC link voltage (6.5 kV). Scalability of the proposed design methodology to turbines with significantly different power ratings, generator specifications, and grid interconnection architectures remains unvalidated.

• Electrically switchable continuous phase liquid crystal Fresnel zone plate (2026) · doi

  While the paper demonstrates millimeter-scale continuous phase FZPs fabricated via TPP-DLW, the scalability to centimeter-scale monolithic apertures remains unvalidated. Two proposed approaches—holographic beam splitting parallelization for simultaneous multi-voxel writing and UV nanoimprint lithography replication using an electroformed nickel shim master—are described conceptually but lack experimental demonstration of their effectiveness for scaling the liquid crystal FZP fabrication process.

• Jellyfish bioactive compounds fueling marine biotechnology in blue economy and biomedicine (2026) · doi

  Peptide-based smart hydrogels derived from jellyfish compounds have been theoretically designed for therapeutic applications, but practical formulation optimization, mechanical property characterization, and biocompatibility testing specific to jellyfish-derived peptide sequences in tissue engineering scaffolds remain incomplete.

• Metal repair using hybrid additive manufacturing process: A comparative study of interfacial surface roughness for improved mechanical strength (2026) · doi

  The FE model was only applied to flat interfaces in bimetallic specimens under tensile loading. The authors explicitly identify the need to extend the model to non-flat interfaces with increased contact area and alternative repair geometries, which remain untested and would improve practical applicability to complex component repair scenarios.

• Advances of artificial intelligence applications to low-carbon metallurgy of iron and steel (2026) · doi

  Graph neural networks with semi-supervised multi-modal fusion for few-shot steel strip defect detection have been proposed, but their scalability to production-line speed imaging and applicability across different strip thicknesses, surface finishes, and defect size distributions requires empirical testing.

• Revisiting the Modification Strategies of Alloy-Base Anode for Solid-State Lithium-Ion Batteries Through Deconstructing Anode-Interface-Solid Electrolyte (2026) · doi

  The Si@MOF symmetric cell demonstrated stable cycling for 1200 h at 0.2 mA cm⁻², but performance at higher current densities (≥1.0 mA cm⁻²) and longer cycle numbers (>500 cycles in full cells) with quantified capacity fade mechanisms for PVDF-fiber-supported composite electrolytes remains unvalidated for practical high-power solid-state lithium-ion battery commercialization.

• Research on a strongly generalizable fault diagnosis method based on adversarial transfer learning (2026) · doi

  The HDAL model was evaluated only on 13 operational transient conditions (fault classes) from two reactor domains with 31 image samples per class in Domain A. The generalization capability to nuclear power plants with significantly larger numbers of fault classes, different sensor configurations, or reactors from different manufacturer designs remains unexplored in adversarial transfer learning for fault diagnosis.

• Design Optimization of an Additively Manufactured Passive Vibration Isolator for an Inertial Measurement Unit for Enhanced Measurement Performance (2026) · doi

  The optimization study minimizes natural frequency difference (achieving ~80Hz spread in nonlinear analysis) to decouple modes; however, the sensitivity of isolation performance to manufacturing tolerances in TPU rib dimensions and PLA ring geometry has not been systematically investigated.

• Non-coding RNA delivery via lipid nanoparticles: a novel strategy for cancer immunotherapy (2026) · doi

  Scalable manufacturing and stable formulation protocols for clinical-grade LNP-ncRNA therapeutics require process optimization; specific manufacturing parameters for maintaining ncRNA payload integrity, controlling particle size distribution, and achieving reproducible loading efficiency across different ncRNA classes during scale-up from pilot to GMP production have not been detailed.

• Smart Baby Cradle Monitoring System (2026) · doi

  The ESP32 microcontroller with Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/BLE capabilities is selected for wide-range applications, but the paper does not evaluate power consumption profiles, battery life under continuous sensor polling and wireless transmission, or energy optimization strategies for a portable cradle system.

• Multifunctional zinc-ion capacitors for energy storage (2026) · doi

  The cost, manufacturability, and scalability of additional multifunctional zinc-ion capacitor components (substrates, encapsulation layers) have not been systematically evaluated. Design strategies that minimize device costs while maintaining performance in these integrated systems require investigation toward grid-scale mass production.

• Sensor Data Fusion in Healthcare Monitoring System with Appropriate Rule-based Model for Error Reduction (2026) · doi

  The system demonstrated scalability for Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, Temperature, and the fused system, but the paper does not evaluate actual performance degradation or resource constraints when scaling to 50+ simultaneous patients or integrating more than five sensor types into the fusion framework.

• Electron-donor/-acceptor ratio-guided molecular engineering for buried interface optimization in n-i-p perovskite solar cells (2026) · doi

  The paper demonstrates a champion PCE of 24.18% with DBA-modified devices but does not report the statistical distribution of device performance across multiple fabrication batches or provide reproducibility data (standard deviation, efficiency range, yield percentage) to assess manufacturing scalability of the EDG/EWG ratio-guided engineering approach.

• A review of additive manufacturing techniques for wind turbine blade production: capabilities, AI integration, and Scale-Up Potential (2026) · doi

  AI-driven closed-loop manufacturing systems integrating real-time defect detection, process optimization, and adaptive control for wind turbine blade AM have not been demonstrated at industrial scale. Development and validation of integrated closed-loop control architectures requires systematic testing in utility-scale production environments.

• Integrated Solar Powered Smart Agriculture System with Vision Based Drone Surveillance (2026) · doi

  The system was tested for 'normal network conditions' but lacks validation data on large-scale agricultural field deployments; the paper acknowledges that 'additional power storage capacity and extended communication modules may be required' but provides no quantitative analysis of power requirements, battery sizing, or communication range extension for fields beyond the tested area.

• Performance Evaluation of Electric Vehicles Using PSO and AHA Based Optimal Control Methodology (2026) · doi

  The paper does not address computational complexity or real-time implementation feasibility of the AHA algorithm on embedded vehicle control units; processor requirements, execution time constraints, and hardware compatibility for in-vehicle deployment remain unspecified.

• Stochastic Proximal Linearized ADMM for Sparse Distribution Control Problem Constrained by Random Elliptic Equation (2026) · doi

  The finite element discretization using linear elements (mesh sizes h = 2⁻⁵ to 2⁻⁷) is tested only on a 2D square domain. Scalability of the stochastic proximal linearized ADMM to higher-dimensional problems (3D), non-convex domains, and the interaction between discretization error and stochastic approximation error in these settings has not been investigated.

• Agrivoltaic System Designing for Sustainability and Smart Irrigation (2026) · doi

  The smart irrigation system's reliance on solar panels to power irrigation pumps and control units is described conceptually, but lacks analysis of battery storage capacity, solar irradiance variability, peak water demand timing, and system performance during cloudy periods or monsoon seasons when solar generation may be insufficient for continuous pump operation in paddy fields.

• How to improve the lifespan of electric vehicle batteries using chemistry? (2026) · doi

  Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) coating creates thin protective electrode layers but operates at slow pace with high costs; the paper provides no analysis of minimum coating thickness requirements, throughput optimization targets, or cost reduction pathways needed for integration into large-scale EV battery manufacturing.

• AI-driven adaptive vibration control in smart plate systems: a sustainable approach for next-generation sports engineering (2026) · doi

  While the study analyzes relative frequency change across geometric ratios and voltage levels, it does not address how in-plane voltage sensitivity of natural frequency scales to large-format or non-rectangular composite plate geometries used in actual sports equipment.

• Chemical processing routes, crystal structure design and physical parameters of rare-earth doped Sm₂Zr₂O₇ for emerging applications (2026) · doi

  Compositionally simplified Sm₂Zr₂O₇ pyrochlore systems (mentioned as a future direction) have not been experimentally demonstrated or evaluated for scalability to mass production methods. Specific compositions optimized for reduced processing complexity and compatibility with industrial manufacturing need to be identified and validated.

• Smart Electrochemical Sensors and IoT for Monitoring Heavy Metals in Nigerian Water: Review of Advances and Deployment Challenges (2026) · doi

  The paper discusses IoT platforms for water quality monitoring but does not address power constraints and solar energy harvesting specifications for autonomous electrochemical sensor networks in rural Nigerian communities with limited electricity infrastructure. Optimization of SEH-WSN (solar energy harvesting wireless sensor networks) specifically for heavy metal detection devices in off-grid locations requires design parameters and performance benchmarks.

• Một phương pháp tính toán quy đổi lưu lượng trục xe khai thác về trục xe tiêu chuẩn trong thiết kế mặt đường bê tông xi măng (2026) · doi

  The study focuses on specific concrete slab thicknesses (20-26 cm) and foundation stiffness ranges (60-80 cm); broader ranges and additional pavement configurations require investigation.

• Performance evaluation of the effect of tilt angle on a grid connected photovoltaic power plant using PVsyst (2026) · doi

  Exploring the economic and environmental impacts of adopting optimized solar PV systems across different regions would provide a broader perspective on their scalability and feasibility.

• Inverse-synthetic-aperture-radar imaging-driven customized polarization-programmable meta-illusions enabled by spin-multiplexed single-layer metasurfaces (2026) · doi

  Migration of the BLPS-ISAR illusion paradigm from metallic realizations to high-index all-dielectric metasurfaces to provide reduced absorption loss, improved power-handling capability, and CMOS process compatibility.

• BIM Technology in Intelligent Driving Simulation: Potentials and Challenges to Address Virtual Environment Deficiencies (2026) · doi

  There is considerable inconsistency among various simulation platforms (CARLA, LGSVL) in building scenarios based on BIM; the same BIM model often has different performance across platforms, requiring platform-level adaptation or optimisation.

• Learning-assisted InSAR DEM Enhancement for High-Resolution, Terrain-Aware Hydrologic Digital Twins (2026) · doi

  While the workflow is designed for scalability across different SAR sensor configurations, actual implementation and testing across diverse sensor types remains to be demonstrated.

• Research Progress of Wearable Flexible Sensors (2026) · doi

  The field still faces challenges such as long-term stability, balance of sensitivity and detection range, signal crosstalk, large-scale manufacturing, and data security.

• Study on Heavy Oil Viscosity Reduction by Ultrasound and Parameter Optimization Based on COMSOL Simulation (2026) · doi

  The study reveals the potential of 20 kHz ultrasound through numerical simulation but there are still many challenges to push it to practical engineering application.

• Aerodynamic and Structural Enhancement Strategies for Modern Aircraft Fuselage Design (2026) · doi

  The paper lacks detailed analysis of manufacturing scalability and cost-effectiveness of Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) and advanced manufacturing technologies for large-scale aircraft production.