Intake Manifold of the Internal Combustion Engine

Intake Manifold of the Internal Combustion Engine Abstract Intake manifold of the Internal Combustion engine is a subsystem which supplies fresh air-fuel mixture into the engine cylinders where combustion of fuel takes place. For Efficient Combustion of the charge, the walls of the intake manifold must be smooth/polished to reduce any sidewall resistance. The traditional materials used for intake manifolds were cast iron and Aluminum. In order to reduce manufacturing costs and improve thermal efficiency, new composites are proposed. Inside the cylinder, the energy generated from combustion of fuel is converted into pressure and heat during the power stroke. The pressure and heat increase rapidly within a short span of time. The piston converts this energy into mechanical work. In place of the traditional aluminum alloys, Al-SiC material is proposed which have superior properties. Exhaust manifold is responsible to remove the depleted charge and create space for the incoming charge. Materials used in exhaust systems of engines must have High Temperature Service capability, superior fatigue strength, and good fracture toughness, be easily machinable and economic considering the overall cost of the automobile. Mo-Nb added ferritic stainless steel is a new material that is gaining reputation for its high formability and high heat-resistance. Introduction Internal Combustion Engine is a complex machine that does mechanical work when the air-fuel mixture is ignited under high pressure. The Air-Fuel mixture is sent into the Combustion chamber through the intake manifold which is responsible to maintain proper supply of ignition charge into the engine always. The structure of the intake manifold must be such that it has low sidewall friction and maintains lower temperature so that the charge doesnt pre-ignite. The piston is the component that creates the necessary horsepower inside the engine. It must be light weight and must have good thermal properties. The exhaust manifold deals with the hot gases coming out the combustion chamber. It must be able to maintain flow of exhaust gases without any hindrance. Failure in the exhaust system can cause loss of back pressure which can significantly affect engine performance. Intake Manifold 1. Introduction Intake manifold in the car engine is the system which supplies fresh air into the engine cylinders where combustion of fuel happens. The Intake Manifolds in Internal Combustion engines are one of the most engineered components. High precision is needed to efficiently send right amount of cold, high pressure air in equal quantities and at the same pressure. Earlier generations of cars had intake manifolds made from cast iron, which were heavy. In high volume production cars, the use of injection molded composite intake manifolds has been increasing rapidly. [1] AE 587 Final Research Report Winter 2017 Material Selection for Intake Manifold, Piston Exhaust Manifold Tarun Krishna Prabhakar, Rohit Vedachalam, Pranav Radhakrishna Figure 1: Intake manifold made from Nylon 6,6 [23] An intake manifold is an integrated unit of any engine, made up of a series of tubes/ducts which distribute fuel-air mixture to each cylinder. For V-shaped engine blocks, intake manifold is integrated between the two cylinder rows whereas inline engines have manifolds to side of cylinder head. Intake manifolds also perform as mounting points for Fuel injectors/carburetors, thermostats, throttle assembly depending on the manufacturers engineering designs. Because of the location and functions, intake manifold assemblies experience constant stress from the engine vacuum pressure as direct heat from cylinder combustion gases, and the cylinder head. Figure 2: Evolution of Intake Manifold over the years[24] Until 1990s, most automotive intake manifold assemblies were made from Cast Iron because of lower cost, or from Aluminum which has lighter weight is required for performance/efficiency. Intake manifolds made from plastic began to gain popularity during 1990s because they offered lower weight and cost combined. They were Factory installed when auto-manufacturers figured out how to manufacture them so that they are durable enough to survive high stresses. [2] Aluminum is robust metal, but it has few drawbacks. Namely, 1.) It is cheaper to manufacture intake manifolds with advanced composite molding plants than cast out of Aluminum.2.) Composites have superior heat retention and heat resistance compared to Aluminum and other metals. This means that Phenolic spacers used in previous aluminum intakes are no longer required.3.) Smoother airflow with lower sidewall resistance compared to Aluminum casting, which requires high level of polishing to achieve same flow of air. However, there are few disadvantages:1.) Composites are more flexible, more prone to damage.2.) Composites or plastics are cheap and deemed unattractive. Dissimilar materials such as plastic, aluminum, and iron all have different expansion and contraction rates as they change temperature, so gaskets that provide a seal between an intake manifold and a metal cylinder head must be flexible and durable enough to withstand serious pulling and twisting forces. Early ones were not, and leaks resulted along with warpage under intense heat that eventually led to cracks. Therefore, composites offer several advantages. they saves money, reduces weight, ease of assembly, better insulation, improved airflow, excellent strength to weight ratio, and is recyclable. 1.2. Material Comparison [3] Properties comparison for PA6 (dry/humid), AL 6082 T6 and 316 stainless respectively: Yield strength (MPa): 80/45, 260, 290Elongation at failure (%): 70/200, 8, 50Ultimate Tensile Strength (MPa): 85/48, 310, 579Charpy impact toughness (J/square cm): 0.7/8, 10.6, 134 1.3. Existing Material and Process Material: 319F Aluminum Cast Component: Aluminum Intake Manifold Process: Semi Permanent Mold Casting For a Manifold of an opposed cylinder layout, Intake Manifold alone weighs 4.5 kgs and with the Phenolic spacers it weighs 8.2 kgs. The casting is done by Gravity Tilt Pour process, which can achieve minute thickness upto 3mm. [4] 319F Aluminum is an alloy comprised of 6% Silicon and 3.5% Copper and Iron ( Table 1: Properties of 319F Aluminum [26] For Aluminum, permanent mold process can be utilized to have sand cores to create complex castings. Die castings cannot use cores made of sand. If cores are used in the permanent molding process, it is sometimes as called semi-permanent molding as the mold is permanent but new cores must be made for the next batch. Permanent mold casting is one of the low-cost method of producing any Aluminum casting. Generally, Permanent mold castings are better than simple sand castings when the factors like ultimate and yield strength are compared. They have better elongation, which is good for ductility. Even appearance of Aluminum in permanent mold castings is better than appearance of castings made from sand casting process, which translates that lesser machining and polishing is required after casting. The cast is made using a single core. The passageway core is made by coldbox process for making cores, main body core is a blown core type and the external core is made using semi-permanent mold process with three solid cores and one internal passageway core. Below is a picture of the finished Aluminum Air Intake Figure 3: Aluminum Air Intake [25] 1.4. Proposed Material and Manufacturing Process Material: A-6135 HN PPA(PolyPhthalAmide) Cast Component: Composite Intake Manifold Process: Thermoforming Nowadays, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) use PA6 or PA66 is used for intake manifolds. In the performance aftermarket, there is possible use of engine performance enhancers like nitrous oxide or turbocharging or supercharging, so perhaps a higher-grade composite would be more appropriate. A-6135 HN polyphthalamide (PPA) is a 35% glass reinforced resin which is heat stabilized. Main properties of this resin are high strength, high stiffness, and high heat resistance over a broad temperature range. It also exhibits low moisture absorption, good against chemical action and electrical properties. AMODEL A-6135 HSL polyphthalamide acts as a solution to both performance and processing requirements. At elevated temperature and humid conditions, the tensile strength of A-6135 resin is 20% stronger than nylon 6, and much stronger than nylon 66. The flexural modulus of this compound is a minimum of 20% greater than stiffness of nylon 6 or 66. [6] Figure 4: Tensile strength and Flexural strength comparison between composites [26] For current generation vehicles, plastic intake manifolds are made using the injection molding process. Thermoforming is explored as an alternative to injection molding for making intake manifold shells, which can then be joined by one of the welding techniques used for thermoplastic materials. There is now an increasing trend in integrating several components, such as fuel injection, in engine air/fuel modules. The assembly of these components is achieved via either snap fits or threaded fasteners. Increased integration is generally associated with increasing shape complexity. The advantages of shell design in the integration approach are lower number of fasteners required. Figure 5: Thermoformed Shell type vs Lost Core Design [27] 1.5. Thermoforming Figure 6: Shows thermoforming principle [28] It is a manufacturing process in which a plastic sheet is heated to a temperature where it melts and is flowable, to make molding into any predefined shape/pattern and the flash is trimmed to get the final product. Thinner gauges and other materials too are heated in an oven to high temperature which allows the film to stretch or mold and cooled to a final shape. In Thermoforming, Vacuum forming is the simplest method. [8] Press forming is another type of thermoforming process which is used in work like the sheet metal stamping. Matching metal die set is used here. Preheated plastic sheet is placed on the bottom die and the top die is lowered to close the mold. The hot Plastic sheet gets stretched as the mold closes and then drawn into the shape of die. The sheet is allowed to cool down to take its final shape. For Complex geometries, the component is divided into 2-3 layers where the molded parts can be assembled and held together by means of fasteners or adhesives. Figure 7: Dies used for Manufacturing Shell type Molding of Intake manifolds [29] Figure 8: Finished Air intake manifold made of PPA [30] Figure 9: Comparison of PPA and Aluminum intake manifolds [31] Automotive Pistons 2.1. Introduction In the cylinder of an engine, the energy of the fuel is converted into pressure and heat during the power stroke. The pressure and heat values increase rapidly within a short interval of time. The piston converts the same into mechanical work [9]. The pistons structure consists of piston crown, ring belt, skirt and piston boss as shown in Figure1.1. During the power stroke, the forces resulting from the combustion of fuel-air mixture are transferred from the piston crown to piston boss, piston pin, connecting rod and finally to the crankshaft [9]. Figure 10: Engine piston [9]. 2.2. Forces on piston The forces acting on the piston are, oscillating inertia forces of the piston and the connecting rod (FK), piston force in the direction of the connecting rod (FST) and lateral force or normal force (FS). During the working cycle, the direction of lateral force changes several times, which oscillates the piston from one end of the cylinder bore to the other, due to the existing piston clearance [9]. Figure 11: Forces on the piston [9]. 2.3. Temperatures in piston Temperature is an important parameter for the operational safety and service life of a piston. The exhaust gas temperatures, even though is present only for a short period, can exceed more than 2,200ÂÂ °C. In gasoline engines, the exhaust gas temperatures range between 800ÂÂ °C to 1,050ÂÂ °C, and 600ÂÂ °C to 850ÂÂ °C for diesel engines [9]. Figure 12:ÂÂ   Temperature distribution in a gasoline engine piston [9]. Figure 13:ÂÂ   Temperature distribution in a diesel engine piston [9]. 2.4. Failures of internal combustion engine pistons Failure of piston is one of the prime reasons for engine breakdown. The failure may occur at different mileage and operating conditions which are usually caused by material defects, engineering, and operational errors. Common causes of piston failures include: 1) insufficient cooling and lubrication of the piston, 2) thermal fatigue, 3) incorrect combustion process, 4) mechanical damage [10]. Figure 14 shows fusion of piston head and ring area in a gasoline engine. It is caused due to a phenomenon called hot bulb ignition occurring on the pistons, primarily on their heads, and in the larger flame extinguishing areas. The hot-bulb ignition occurs in the areas of combustion chamber, which have temperatures higher than the autoignition temperature of the air-fuel mixture. This causes the temperature of the piston head rapidly increase, soften, melt and fuse with the ring [10]. Fig. 14: Fusion of the piston head and the ring area [10]. Figure 15 illustrates a piston skirt seizure. From the figure, it is evident that piston skirt has completely seized. The dark coloring on the surface is due to rough and heavily over- ground abrasion spots. Causes for the failure include: 1) Overheating of the combustion chamber, 2) Poor lubrication, 3) Incorrect combustion process [10]. Fig. 15: Piston skirt seizure [10] Figure 15 illustrates propagation of fatigue crack of the piston pin along the semicircle. This fracture divides the piston head into two parts -as shown in Fig. 5. These are cracks due to excessive loads on the piston pin. The crack grows rapidly with poor lubrication and will ultimately result in the failure of the piston. Causes for the failure include: 1) Incorrect combustion process, mainly by delayed ignition, 2) incorrect starting of the cold engine, 3) hydraulic lock caused by water present in the fuel [10]. Fig: 16:ÂÂ   Crack in piston head and skirt [10]. 2.5. Materials Pistons are usually made of Aluminum and Aluminum alloys of eutectic, and partly hypereutectic composition which have high wear resistance. The most commonly used eutectic alloy is M124. Alloys such as M138 and M244 were used in two-stroke engine pistons, while M126 alloy was preferred in gasoline engines. The other recently developed alloys include M142, M145, and M174+, common composition of these alloys include elements of copper and nickel which provides high strength at elevated temperatures and thermal stability. The eutectic alloy M142 and M145 are used in gasoline engines, and the alloy M174+ in diesel engines. Aluminum Metal matrix composites are a new class of materials used in pistons which have superior properties than Aluminum alloys. These composites consist of Aluminum as metal matrix and SiC, Al2O3, TiC, TiB2, Graphite and certain other ceramics as reinforcements [9]. Table 2: Chemical composition of MAHLE Aluminum piston alloys (percent by weight) [9]. Elements M124 M126 M138 M244 AlSi12CuMgNi AlSi16CuMgNi AlSi18CuMgNi AlSi25CuMgNi Si 11.0-13.0 14.8-18.0 17.0-19.0 23.0-26.0 Cu 0.8-1.5 0.8-1.5 0.8-1.5 0.8-1.5 Mg 0.8-1.3 0.8-1.3 0.8-1.3 0.8-1.3 Ni 0.8-1.3 0.8-1.3 0.8-1.3 0.8-1.3 Fe max. 0.7 max. 0.7 max. 0.7 max. 0.7 Mn max. 0.3 max. 0.3 max. 0.3 max. 0.3 Ti max. 0.2 max. 0.2 max. 0.2 max. 0.2 Zn max3 0.3 max3 0.3 max3 0.3 max3 0.3 Cr max. 0.05 max. 0.05 max. 0.05 max. 0.05 Al remainder remainder remainder remainder Table 3: Chemical composition of MAHLE Aluminum piston alloys (percent by weight) [9]. Elements M142 M145 M174+ AlSi12Cu3Ni2Mg AlSi15Cu3Ni2Mg AlSi12Cu4Ni2Mg Si 11.0-13.0 14.0-16.0 11.0-13.0 Cu 2.5-4.0 2.5-4.0 3.-5.0 Mg 0.5-1.2 0.5-1.2 0.5-1.2 Ni 1.75-3.0 1.75-3.0 1.0-3.0 Fe max. 07 max. 07 max. 07 Mn max. 0.3 max. 0.3 max. 0.3 Ti max. 0.2 max. 0.2 max. 0.2 Zn max. 0.3 max. 0.3 max. 0.3 Zr max. 0.2 max. 0.2 max. 0.2 V max. 0.18 max. 0.18 max. 0.18 Cr max. 0.05 max. 0.05 max. 0.05 Al remainder remainder remainder 2.6. Current manufacturing process 2.6.1. Permanent Mold Aluminum Pistons Permanent mold is one of the oldest and common process used for manufacturing pistons. It consists of steel mold with single or multi-piece inner cores to create various intricate features of the piston.ÂÂ   This process is a relatively cheap for high volume for a justifiable tooling cost. Parts can be made of various alloys with improved strength at elevated temperatures. High tooling cost and porosity are the main disadvantages of permanent mold process [11]. 2.6.2. Forged Aluminum Pistons Pistons are forged for obtaining high performance, large bore, and increased strength.ÂÂ   Heated solid cylindrical aluminum blank is pressed into a die to create piston. The process yields low defective rate, increased ductility, and fracture toughness [11]. 2.6.3. Billet machined pistons Billet machined pistons are machined from the same wrought aluminum materials which are used in piston forging.ÂÂ   Billet machined pistons have high surface finish and has no tooling cost. The main disadvantage of this process is high cost [11]. 2.7. Improved materials: Aluminum-Graphite composites were primarily used for automotive antifriction applications. Low cost, good machinability, improved damping capacity are the main advantages of this composite. Aluminum-Graphite composites can be fabricated from various casting processes such as permanent mold casting, squeeze casting, centrifugal casting, and pressure die casting. Pistons made of Aluminum-Graphite composites exhibit properties like, low wear, minimal frictional loss, and elimination of seizure from poor lubrication [12]. Aluminum-Silicon Carbide composites have excellent specific strength, specific modulus and wear resistance. The amount of SiC determines the effect of coefficient of thermal expansion, higher the SiC content, lower the coefficient of thermal expansion. Conventional casting processes such as sand casting, permanent mold casting, investment casting and squeeze casting are used in manufacturing these composites [12]. 2.8. Analysis of aluminum and Aluminum-Silicon-Carbide pistons Firstly, a CAD model of a piston is built in CATIA V6, and is structurally and thermally analyzed using ANSYS 14.0 software [13]. Figure 17: Modeling of Piston and complete assembly [13]. 2.8.1. Aluminum composition. Table 4: Show the chemical composition of aluminum [13]. Elements Composition Si 0.10 Fe 0.20 Zn 0.03 Ga 0.04 V 0.03 Others 0.10 Aluminum 99.5 2.8.2. Aluminum Material properties. Table 5: Shows the material properties of Aluminum [13] [14]. Youngs Modulus 70000 MPa Poissons ratio 0.35 Density 2.7e-006 kg mm-3 Thermal conductivity 0.237 W mm-1 C-1 Bulk Modulus 77778 MPa Shear Modulus 25926 MPa Coefficient of thermal expansion 2.48e-005C-1 2.8.3. Aluminum-Silicon-Carbide composition. Table 6: Show the chemical composition of the aluminum alloy (6063) [13]. Elements Composition Elements Composition Si 0.4430 Zn 0.0001 Fe 0.1638 Cr 0.0024 Cu 0.0041 Ti 0.0078 Mg 0.5832 Ca 0.0003 Mn 0.0132 Al 98.751 To obtain the composite silicon carbide powder (15% by weight) is added to the aluminum alloy (6063). For example, 150g of silicon carbide is added to every 1kg of aluminum alloy (6063) [13]. 2.8.4. Aluminum-Silicon-Carbide composite material properties: Table 7: Shows the material properties of Aluminum-Silicon-Carbide composite [13] [15]. Youngs Modulus 230Gpa Poissons ratio 0.24 Density 2.937e-006 kg mm^-3 Thermal conductivity 0.197 W mm^-1 C^-1 Bulk Modulus 1.4744e+005 MPa Shear Modulus 92742 MPa Coefficient of thermal expansion 0.7e-005C-1 Figure 18: Mesh Model of Piston [13]. 2.8.5. Thermal Analysis Thermal analysis is a technique which analyses the variation of physical properties of a substance as a function of temperature [13]. Figure 19: Thermal boundary conditions applied to piston [13]. Figure 20: Temperature Distribution in Aluminum piston [13]. Figure 21: Temperature Distribution in Aluminum-Silicon-Carbide piston [13]. Figure 22: Total Heat Flux in Aluminum piston [13]. Figure 23: Total Heat Flux in Aluminum-Silicon-Carbide piston [13]. 2.8.6. Static Structural Analysis A static structural analysis helps in determining displacements, stresses, strains, and forces in structures or components. The loads do not take inertia and damping effects in consideration. Assumption: Steady state loading conditions i.e., variation of loads and response of structure are varied slowly with respect to time [13]. Figure 24: Fixed Support Model of piston [13]. Fig 25: Total Deformation on Aluminum piston [13]. Figure 26: Total Deformation on Aluminum-Silicon-Carbide piston [13]. Figure 27: Equivalent Stress Distribution in Aluminum Piston [13]. Figure 28: Equivalent Stress Distribution In Aluminum-Silicon-Carbide Piston [13]. 2.9. COMPARISON: 2.9.1. Results of static structural analysis Table 8: Shows the Results of static structural analysis of two pistons [13]. Material Total Deformation Equivalent Stress Equivalent strain Al 0.19052 mm 683.22 MPa 0.00976 mm/mm AlSiC 0.060777 mm 703.54 MPa 0.0030589 mm/mm From the above table, Aluminum-Silicon-Carbide composite has lesser deformation, lesser equivalent strain [13]. However, the equivalent stress of the composite piston is higher than Aluminum piston and this can be reduced by redesigning the stress concentration areas of the piston 2.9.2. Results of thermal analysis Table 9: Shows the Results of thermal analysis of two pistons [13]. Material Temperature Total Heat Flux Al

Modern Slavery Essay

The Secret World of 27 Million People is an analysis of modern slavery, going back to the history of slavery and the economic and political context of the present time. Other than the fact that it really places slavery into a much larger context, the book also seems exhausting , with lots of statistical references and a broad analysis. Kevin Bales is a researcher who has devoted years to finding solutions to modern slavery. I feel that the audience of this book is the general public and those that want to learn more about slavery in the world today. The purpose of this text is to make readers more aware of what is going on and to give more information to people who are making an effort to put a stop to slavery. In order to put everything into context, the book starts with a chapter on the history of slavery, then moves into chapters that describe the different forms of modern slavery (including trafficking of women and children and child soldiers), as well as the of modern slavery on the economy, on the environment or the global health.It also contains important recommendations, in the last chapter, as to what potential solutions governments and non-governmental organizations can implement in order to combat modern-day slavery. It is a thoroughly researched book, and is something I would use to get as many details on this subject as possible. Bickerstaff, Linda. Modern-Day Slavery. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group Inc, 2010. Print. Modern-Day Slavery by Linda Bickerstaff does an great job in providing a basic introduction to modern slavery. The book uses simple terms to bring the reader in front of the terrible tragedy that millions of individuals go to. It references several central books on this topic, including several by Kevin Bales, which provides the opportunity to go through some of the ideas that these writers present in a compilation of facts. Modern-Day slavery is a book full of simple research, but it also provides several sources that someone who wants more in depth information can use. Bickerstaffs’ book is good initial research, for someone that may be unfamiliar with all the details to start the entire process of gathering information, structuring their work and providing the basis of the rest of the paper. It also provides a good number of other resources that can be used, including some of Kevin Bales’ books that have been mentioned. Kara, Siddharth. Sex trafficking: inside the business of modern slavery. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009. Print. Kielburger, Craig, and Marc Kielburger. â€Å"Obama challenges Americans to fight modern slavery.† Vancouver Sun 1 Oct. 2012: n. pag. http://Vancouversun.com. Web. 12 Jan. 2013. This news article refers to President Obama’s speech at the Clinton Global Initiative. It is an impressive news article because it clearly shows where the highest authority in the United States stands on the issue: President Obama clearly calls things by their true name, emphasizing and focusing in his speech on human trafficking and modern slavery. Kristof, Nicholas D.. â€Å"The Face of Modern Slavery.† New York Times 16 Nov. 2011: A3. nytimes.com. Web. 12 Jan. 2013. This article is about another form of modern slavery, sex trafficking. The article is important for this research because the story it tells is so vividly expressed that the reader really understands the horror of sex trafficking. The article tells the story of a young girl sold into a brothel in Cambodia when she was only six years old. The article also highlights one of the key causes of sex trafficking- demand. The only reason that sex trafficking exists and that situations like the one described in the article occur is that there are people buying these services. Combating demand is a key instrument in fighting sex trafficking. The article also talks about the importance of nongovernmental organizations that offer shelters and assistance to victims after they escape slavery. â€Å"Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery.† Polaris Project | Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2013. . The website of the Polaris Project is focused on trafficking in the United States. It is important because many of the other existing websites are much more focused on fighting global slavery and trafficking while this one focuses on our own country. Although there is not one specific author, the organization as a whole has relevant information of modern slavery. Poorer and developing countries seem more subjected to such phenomena and the idea that this actually exists even in the US shows that modern slavery is not necessarily particular only to a certain category of countries. The website has several informative resources, including an interactive map that allows access to local information and resources. â€Å"antislavery.com: The Leading Anti Slavery Site on the Net.† antislavery.com: The Leading Anti Slavery Site on the Net. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2013. . This website is the site of Anti-Slavery International, a non-governmental Organization (NGO), that fights modern slavery at an international level. The website is useful from two perspectives. On one hand, it is a great informational resource for everybody interested in the subject. It does not limit itself to a particular category, it looks at everything from bondage labor to child labor, to forced labor and trafficking. On the other hand, by showing what the organization does, it also looks at some of the instruments that are employed in fighting modern slavery. Public outreach, for example, and partnerships, including with the business community, are excellent tools.

To what extent was the international situation in January 1933 conducive to Hitler achieving his foreign policy aims?

The extent to which the international situation in January 1933 was conducive to Hitler achieving his foreign policy aims is debatable. There are a variety of factors which both assisted and hindered Hitler in achieving his aims. Some key aims of foreign policy were as follows, to destroy communism, to unite the German speaking population, to wipe out the Jews, to colonise the East and to revenge Germany's defeat from the First World War. Some of the key factors which need to be looked at include the lack of agreement over how to deal with Germany, the internal weakness of Western countries, the weakness of the League of Nations, the defensive attitudes of certain countries and successor states. Many countries, particularly France had a defensive mentality towards Germany, as a repeat of the First World War was certainly not wanted. British foreign policy under Baldwin was based upon public opinion. The horrors of the First World War meant that there was a â€Å"never again mentality† which can be shown by the oxford union debate in February 1933 which voted on the motion â€Å"that this House would not fight for King and country. There was also strong public opposition to rearmament and many thought rearmament would only antagonise Hitler. Due to France's worry of being invaded again the Maginot line defence fortification was constructed in the years 1929-1938. This defence fortification however was hardly a problem to Hitler at all. This was because of the fact that it stopped at the Belgian border, which meant that there was still corridor open if Germany wanted to invade both France and Belgium. Furthermore France was politically divided and had 11 governments between 1932 and 1935. This therefore meant that there was rival ideology of fascism and communism and so there were no clear policies as to what to do with the German problem. French foreign policy was inconsistent. This meant that France's reactions to Hitler were delayed and weak and so therefore gave Hitler more encouragement. In contrast however France had the desire to develop links and ally with countries on Germany's eastern borders such as Czechoslovakia and Romania. This therefore hindered Hitler as it gave France further defence and support. There was a clear lack of agreement between the powerful countries as to what to do about Germany. France was very concerned at the possibility of a German threat and had wanted very harsh Versailles terms whereas Britain was preoccupied with its empire and favoured with a revision of peace. If the Treaty of Versailles was to be probably implemented it needed the support of the USA who failed to ratify the treaty in 1920. The United States then withdrew into isolationism. It can therefore be seen that the European powers were not able to enforce peace alone. It can be seen that the League of Nations both assisted and hindered Hitler in achieving his foreign policy aims. As the USA and USSR were not members of the League of Nations until 1934 they were not able to be part of making decisions and so gave Hitler and Germany more freedom. Key evidence to show how the League of Nations was a failing peacekeeping organisation and thus assisting Hitler is from the Manchuria crisis in 1931. In this year Japan invaded Manchuria in China; the League of Nations took no effective action. However, the League of Nations itself, although weak clearly limited Hitler's opportunities. The League was an international body set up in order to preserve peace and prevent aggression. Furthermore it had the power to call for economic sanctions and military actions by member states. It can therefore be seen that the League of Nations hindered Hitler's foreign policy, but only to a certain extent due to its weakness and lack of effective action. When Hitler came to power in January 1933 he told the world he wanted to rid Germany of the problems of the Versailles Treaty in order to make her strong once more. To achieve this goal the country needed massive rearmament. Hitlers reply in February 1933 to a proposal from the Reich Ministry of Transport to build a reservoir shows the extent to which, in his view, the policy of rearmament was more important than anything else: ‘The next five years in Germany had to be devoted to rendering the German people again capable of bearing arms. Every publicly sponsored measure to create employment had to be considered from the point of view of whether it was necessary with respect to rendering the German people again capable of bearing arms for military service.' Since 1922 under the Rapallo pact Germany had been rearming in the USSR and hade economic links. This clearly shows how the international was conducive to Hitler's aim of rearmament. Also In December 1932 there was a major conference over disarmament, where little happened. By 1933 it can be seen that Germany had in fact secured a substantial revision of the Treaty of Versailles as Germany was now a member of the League of Nations, rearmament was no longer subject to scrutiny and reparations had been, in effect, cancelled (at Lausanne, 1932) Various countries surrounding Germany contained German minorities and so this can be seen as an advantage to Hitler's foreign policy. An important aim of Hitler's was to unite all Germans, with many Germans in other countries it would be easier for Hitler to take over them. This is primarily because it is likely that the Germans in these countries, such as Czechoslovakia (300,000), Poland and Danzig (95%) would rather be part of Germany and would welcome German expansionism. In addition to this all of these countries were small and militarily and political weak which therefore means there would be little opposition. Also many Austrians were in favour of becoming part of Germany. The German Domestic situation however was also important to Hitler's Foreign policy aims. In 1933 Hitler had only just made Chancellor and there were only the Nazis in government other than Hitler. This means that it is likely Hitler would have little support in government. Furthermore Hitler was dependent upon elite support and Hindenburg as President could still remove Hitler. In conclusion it can be seen that there is evidence both for against the international situation being conducive to Hitler's Foreign policy aims. Whilst factors such as the USA being isolationist and the lack of agreement over how to deal with Germany were helpful to Hitler, others such as strong public opinion against war and Hitler being leader of a collation government show the problems that Hitler had to overcome.

Daily Struggles for Fame, Money, and Power in the Book Bel...

Bel Canto Bel Canto is a book full of complex characters, who are slowly unraveled throughout the novel. At the beginning of the novel, the characters are caught up in daily struggles for fame, for money, for power. But once captivity removes these struggles, people gravitate toward art and culture. Yet the transformation of Gen Watanabe, from a gifted individual into a man blind by love, could be considered immoral. He starts off as a very capable and sensible young man and in the end transforms into a foolish lovesick boy who gives in to his passions and forgets to think about the current situation. Despite being just a translator who possessed knowledge of several difficult languages, Gen was also a capable worker. Mr. Hosokawa praised him for doing things that were even asked of him. Mr. Hosokawa even commented that â€Å"When there was nothing that needed translating, Gen simply seemed to take care of things before anyone knew they needed taking care of.† Mr. Hosokawa was not the only one who praised Gen. Everyone else admired him likewise. The Generals, along with all the hostages, were surprised by his capabilities. General Benjamin even asked him â€Å"How did you get to be so smart?† Gen was complimented more than once that was probably nothing that he couldn’t do. Roxanne was even surprised that he couldn’t play the piano. She said â€Å"I thought you might†¦You seem to know how to do so many things.† Gen was very popular as everyone both liked and needed him Gen Watanabe’s