Search results for: one village one product.

Authors: O. Maklouf, Ahmed Abdulla

Abstract:

A general decline in the cost, size, and power requirements of electronics is accelerating the adoption of integrated GPS/INS technologies in consumer applications such Land Vehicle Navigation. Researchers have looking for ways to eliminate additional components from product designs. One possibility is to drop one or more of the relatively expensive gyroscopes from microelectromechanical system (MEMS) versions of inertial measurement units (IMUs). For land vehicular use, the most important gyroscope is the vertical gyro that senses the heading of the vehicle and two horizontal accelerometers for determining the velocity of the vehicle. This paper presents a simplified integration algorithm for strap down (ParIMU)\GPS combination, with data post processing for the determination of 2-D components of position (trajectory), velocity and heading. In the present approach we have neglected earth rotation and gravity variations, because of the poor gyroscope sensitivities of the low-cost IMU and because of the relatively small area of the trajectory.

Keywords: GPS, ParIMU, INS, Kalman Filter.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2866

Authors: Gabriela-Alina Dumitrel, Teodor Todinca, Carmen Holotescu, Cosmina-Mariana Militaru

Abstract:

The paper presents a computational tool developed for the evaluation of technical and economic advantages of an innovative cleaning and conditioning technology of fluidized bed steam/oxygen gasifiers outlet product gas. This technology integrates into a single unit the steam gasification of biomass and the hot gas cleaning and conditioning system. Both components of the computational tool, process flowsheet and economic evaluator, have been developed under IPSEpro software. The economic model provides information that can help potential users, especially small and medium size enterprises acting in the regenerable energy field, to decide the optimal scale of a plant and to better understand both potentiality and limits of the system when applied to a wide range of conditions.

Keywords: biomass, CHP units, economic evaluation, gasification.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1791

Authors: Debabrata Pradhan, Dong J. Kim, Jong G. Ahn, Seoung W. Lee

Abstract:

Spent petroleum catalyst from Korean petrochemical industry contains trace amount of metals such as Ni, V and Mo. Therefore an attempt was made to recover those trace metal using bioleaching process. Different leaching parameters such as Fe(II) concentration, pulp density, pH, temperature and particle size of spent catalyst particle were studied to evaluate their effects on the leaching efficiency. All the three metal ions like Ni, V and Mo followed dual kinetics, i.e., initial faster followed by slower rate. The percentage of leaching efficiency of Ni and V were higher than Mo. The leaching process followed a diffusion controlled model and the product layer was observed to be impervious due to formation of ammonium jarosite (NH4)Fe3(SO4)2(OH)6. In addition, the lower leaching efficiency of Mo was observed due to a hydrophobic coating of elemental sulfur over Mo matrix in the spent catalyst.

Keywords: Bioleaching, diffusion control, shrinking core, spentpetroleum catalyst.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2020

Authors: A. S. Kipcak, N. Baran Acarali, E. Moroydor Derun, N. Tugrul, S. Piskin

Abstract:

Zinc borates can be used as multi-functional synergistic additives with flame retardant additives in polymers. Zinc borate is white, non-hygroscopic and powder type product. The most important properties are low solubility in water and high dehydration temperature. Zinc borates dehydrate above 290°C and anhydrous zinc borate has thermal resistance about 400°C. Zinc borates can be synthesized using several methods such as hydrothermal and solidstate processes. In this study, the solid-state method was applied at low temperatures of 600oC and 700oC using the starting materials of ZnO and H3BO3 with several mole ratios. The reaction time was determined as 4 hours after some preliminary experiments. After the synthesis, the crystal structure and the morphology of the products were examined by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). As a result the forms of ZnB4O7, Zn3(BO3)2, ZnB2O4 were synthesized and obtained along with the unreacted ZnO.

Keywords: FT-IR, solid-state method, zinc borate, XRD.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2993

Authors: Siriwan Saithong, Unnop Panpuang

Abstract:

This research aimed to study correlation between work satisfaction and organization core value of officers in Waterworks Authority, Bangkean Branch. Sample group of the study was 112 officers who worked in the Waterworks Authority, Bangkean Branch. Questionnaires were employed as a research tools, while, Percentage, Mean, Standard Deviation, T-test, One-way ANOVA, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation were claimed as statistics used in this study. Researcher found that overall and individual aspects of work satisfaction namely, work characteristic, work progress, and colleagues significantly correlated with organization core value in aspect of perception in choice of work at 0.5, 0.01, and 0.01 respectively. Also, such aspects were compatible with income at .05 which indicated the low level of correlation, mid low correlation respectively at the same direction, same direction, opposite direction, and same direction, correspondingly.

Keywords: Employee of Bangkhen branch, Job Satisfaction, the organization Retention.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1830

Authors: Nabil Majd Alawi, Gia Hung Pham, Ahmed Barifcani

Abstract:

Dry reforming of methane that converts two greenhouses gases (CH₄ and CO₂) to synthesis gas (a mixture of H₂ and CO) was studied in a commercial bench scale microwave (MW) plasma reactor system at atmospheric pressure. The CO₂, CH₄ and N₂ conversions; H₂, CO selectivities and yields, and syngas ratio (H₂/CO) were investigated in a wide range of total feed flow rate (0.45 – 2.1 L/min), MW power (700 – 1200 watt) and CO₂/CH₄ molar ratio (2 – 5). At the feed flow rates of CH₄, CO₂ and N₂ of 0.2, 0.4 and 1.5 L/min respectively, and the MWs input power of 700 W, the highest conversions of CH₄ and CO₂, selectivity and yield of H₂, CO and H₂/CO ratio of 79.35%, 44.82%, 50.12, 58.42, 39.77%, 32.89%, and 0.86, respectively, were achieved. The results of this work show that the product ratio increases slightly with the increasing total feed flow rate, but it decreases significantly with the increasing MW power and feeds CO₂/CH₄ ratio.

Keywords: Atmospheric pressure, methane dry reforming, microwave plasma, synthesis gas production.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 961

Authors: Fei Hao, Hai Wang

Abstract:

One of research issues in social network analysis is to evaluate the position/importance of users in social networks. As the information diffusion in social network is evolving, it seems difficult to evaluate the importance of users using traditional approaches. In this paper, we propose an evaluation approach for user importance with fractal view in social networks. In this approach, the global importance (Fractal Importance) and the local importance (Topological Importance) of nodes are considered. The basic idea is that the bigger the product of fractal importance and topological importance of a node is, the more important of the node is. We devise the algorithm called TFRank corresponding to the proposed approach. Finally, we evaluate TFRank by experiments. Experimental results demonstrate our TFRank has the high correlations with PageRank algorithm and potential ranking algorithm, and it shows the effectiveness and advantages of our approach.

Keywords: TFRank, Fractal Importance, Topological Importance, Social Network

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1513

Authors: Youn-Sung Kim, Jin-Ho Jo, Mi-Sung Kim, Jae-Kun Lee

Abstract:

Accelerated life cycle test is applied to various products or components in order to reduce the time of life cycle test in industry. It must be considered for many test conditions according to the product characteristics for the test and the selection of acceleration parameter is especially very important. We have carried out the general life cycle test and the accelerated life cycle test by applying the acceleration factor (AF) considering the characteristics of brushless DC (BLDC) motor for washing machine. The final purpose of this study is to verify the validity by analyzing the results of the general life cycle test and the accelerated life cycle test. It will make it possible to reduce the life test time through the reasonable accelerated life cycle test.

Keywords: Accelerated life cycle test, reliability test, motor for washing machine, brushless dc motor test.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1883

Authors: M.M. Zahedi, L. Torkzadeh

Abstract:

In this note first we define the notions of intuitionistic fuzzy dual positive implicative hyper K-ideals of types 1,2,3,4 and intuitionistic fuzzy dual hyper K-ideals. Then we give some classifications about these notions according to the level subsets. Also by given some examples we show that these notions are not equivalent, however we prove some theorems which show that there are some relationships between these notions. Finally we define the notions of product and antiproduct of two fuzzy subsets and then give some theorems about the relationships between the intuitionistic fuzzy dual positive implicative hyper K-ideal of types 1,2,3,4 and their (anti-)products, in particular we give a main decomposition theorem.

Keywords: hyper K-algebra, intuitionistic fuzzy dual positive implicative hyper K-ideal.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1299

Authors: Daomao Yang, Qizhi Wang

Abstract:

Monoterpenoids are mainly found in plant essential oils and they are ideal substrates for biotransformation into oxygen-containing derivatives with important commercial value due to their low price and simple structure. In this paper, eleven strains of endophytic fungi from Praxelis clematidea were used as test strains to conduct the whole cell biotransformation of the monoterpenoids: (+)-limonene, (-)-limonene and myrcene. The fungi were inoculated in 50 ml Sabouraud medium and incubated at 30 ℃ with the agitation of 150 r/min for 6 d, and then 0.5% (v/v) substrates were added into the medium and biotransformed for further 3 d. Afterwards the cultures were filtered, and extracted using equal volume of ethyl acetate. The metabolites were analyzed by GC-MS technique with NIST database. The Total Ion Chromatogram of the extractions from the eleven strains showed that the main product of (+)- and (-)-limonene biotransformation was limonene-1,2-diol, while it is limonene and linalool oxide for biotransformation of myrcene. This work will help screen the microorganisms to biotransform the monoterpenes.

Keywords: Endophytic fungi, (+)–limonene, (-)–limonene, myrcene.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 641

Authors: Taneli Eisto, Venlakaisa Hölttä

Abstract:

Customer-supplier collaboration enables firms to achieve greater success than acting independently. Nevertheless, not many firms have fully utilized the potential of collaboration. This paper presents organizational and human related success factors for collaboration in manufacturing supply chains in casting industry. Our research approach was a case study including multiple cases. Data was gathered by interviews and group discussions in two different research projects. In the first research project we studied seven firms and in the second five. It was found that the success factors are interrelated, in other words, organizational and human factors together enable success but not any of them alone. Some of the found success factors are a culture of following agreements, and a speed of informing the partner about changes affecting to the product or the delivery chain.

Keywords: Casting industry, collaboration success factors, customer-supplier collaboration, supply chain collaboration.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1700

Authors: Charalampos Saridakis, Stelios Tsafarakis

Abstract:

Although environmental concern is on the rise across Europe, current market data indicate that adoption rates of environmentally friendly vehicles remain extremely low. Against this background, the aim of this paper is to a) assess preferences of European consumers for clean-fuel cars and their characteristics and b) design car lines that optimize the combination of fuel types among models in the line-up. In this direction, the authors introduce a new evolutionary mechanism and implement it to stated-preference data derived from a large-scale choice-based conjoint experiment that measures consumer preferences for various factors affecting clean-fuel vehicle (CFV) adoption. The proposed two-step methodology provides interesting insights into how new and existing fuel-types can be combined in a car line that maximizes customer satisfaction.

Keywords: Clean-fuel vehicles, product line design, conjoint analysis, choice experiment, differential evolution.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 999

Authors: Bian Cheng Xiang, Wang Qian

Abstract:

With the deepening of the research on the connotation of cultural heritage and human geography, cultural landscape takes landscape as a cultural product, integrates and blends cultural and natural heritage to explore the cultural value behind its material landscape. Qikou ancient town is a typical traditional settlement with homomorphism of mountain and water veins. Its cultural accumulation and natural landscape play an important role in its development. Therefore, this paper will combine the material and cultural elements of Qikou ancient town to analyze the composition of the cultural landscape of the ancient town, and explore the protection and utilization of the cultural landscape of Qikou ancient town from the four aspects of ecology, form, cultural form and business form, so as to provide effective strategies for the development of the ancient town.

Keywords: Four states, cultural landscape, ancient town, sustainable development.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Z. Soleymani, M. Amirzadeh

Abstract:

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was developed in 1960 in Japan and introduced in 1983 in America and Europe. The paper presents a real application of this technique in a way that the method of applying QFD in design and production aero fuel pumps has been considered. While designing a product and in order to apply system engineering process, the first step is identification customer needs then its transition to engineering parameters. Since each change in deign after production process leads to extra human costs and also increase in products quality risk, QFD can make benefits in sale by meeting customer expectations. Since the needs identified as well, the use of QFD tool can lead to increase in communications and less deviation in design and production phases, finally it leads to produce the products with defined technical attributes.

Keywords: Customer voice, engineering parameters, QFD, gear pump.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1718

Authors: Stephen V. Crowder, Jonathan W. Lane

Abstract:

With short production development times, there is an increased need to demonstrate product reliability relatively quickly with minimal testing. In such cases there may be few if any observed failures. Thus it may be difficult to assess reliability using the traditional reliability test plans that measure only time (or cycles) to failure. For many components, degradation measures will contain important information about performance and reliability. These measures can be used to design a minimal test plan, in terms of number of units placed on test and duration of the test, necessary to demonstrate a reliability goal. In this work we present a case study involving an electronic component subject to degradation. The data, consisting of 42 degradation paths of cycles to failure, are first used to estimate a reliability function. Bootstrapping techniques are then used to perform power studies and develop a minimal reliability test plan for future production of this component. 

Keywords: Degradation Measure, Time to Failure Distribution, Bootstrap.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1878

Authors: A. M. Omoare, E. O. Fakoya, B. G. Abiona, W. O. Oyediran

Abstract:

This study assessed fish marketing as panacea towards sustainable agriculture in Ogun State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used in the selection of 150 fish marketers for this study. Descriptive statistics were used for the objectives while Product Pearson Moment Correlation was used to test the hypothesis. Result of the findings revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 38.60 years. Majority (93.33%) of the respondents had acceptable levels of formal education. Many (44.00%) of the respondents had spent 1-5 years in fish marketing. The average quantity of fish sold in a day was 94.10kg. However, efficient fish marketing were hindered by inadequate processing equipment, storage rooms and ice holding facilities (86.67%). There was a significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics and profit realized from fish marketing (p < 0.05). It was recommended that storage and warehousing facilities should be provided to the fish marketers in the study area.

Keywords: Fish marketers, panacea, retail markets, sustainable.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2274

Authors: K. Matušínská, Z. Bednarčík, M. Klepek

Abstract:

This paper examines international marketing in business practice of Czech exporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with regard to the strategic perspectives. Research was focused on Czech exporting SMEs from Moravian- Silesia region and their behavior on international markets. For purpose of collecting data, a questionnaire was given to 262 SMEs involved in international business. Statistics utilized in this research included frequency, mean, percentage, and chi-square test. Data were analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software. The research analysis disclosed that there is certain space for improvement in strategic marketing especially in a marketing research, perception of cultural and social differences, product adaptation and usage of marketing communication tools.

Keywords: International Marketing, Marketing Mix, Marketing Research, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Strategic Marketing.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2106

Authors: Albert Albers, Pablo Enrique Leslabay

Abstract:

The Institute of Product Development is dealing with the development, design and dimensioning of micro components and systems as a member of the Collaborative Research Centre 499 “Design, Production and Quality Assurance of Molded micro components made of Metallic and Ceramic Materials". Because of technological restrictions in the miniaturization of conventional manufacturing techniques, shape and material deviations cannot be scaled down in the same proportion as the micro parts, rendering components with relatively wide tolerance fields. Systems that include such components should be designed with this particularity in mind, often requiring large clearance. On the end, the output of such systems results variable and prone to dynamical instability. To save production time and resources, every study of these effects should happen early in the product development process and base on computer simulation to avoid costly prototypes. A suitable method is proposed here and exemplary applied to a micro technology demonstrator developed by the CRC499. It consists of a one stage planetary gear train in a sun-planet-ring configuration, with input through the sun gear and output through the carrier. The simulation procedure relies on ordinary Multi Body Simulation methods and subsequently adds other techniques to further investigate details of the system-s behavior and to predict its response. The selection of the relevant parameters and output functions followed the engineering standards for regular sized gear trains. The first step is to quantify the variability and to reveal the most critical points of the system, performed through a whole-mechanism Sensitivity Analysis. Due to the lack of previous knowledge about the system-s behavior, different DOE methods involving small and large amount of experiments were selected to perform the SA. In this particular case the parameter space can be divided into two well defined groups, one of them containing the gear-s profile information and the other the components- spatial location. This has been exploited to explore the different DOE techniques more promptly. A reduced set of parameters is derived for further investigation and to feed the final optimization process, whether as optimization parameters or as external perturbation collective. The 10 most relevant perturbation factors and 4 to 6 prospective variable parameters are considered in a new, simplified model. All of the parameters are affected by the mentioned production variability. The objective functions of interest are based on scalar output-s variability measures, so the problem becomes an optimization under robustness and reliability constrains. The study shows an initial step on the development path of a method to design and optimize complex micro mechanisms composed of wide tolerated elements accounting for the robustness and reliability of the systems- output.

Keywords: Micro molded components, Optimization, Robustness und Reliability, Simulation

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1517

Authors: Andrej Miklošík, Eva Hvizdová, Štefan Žák

Abstract:

Many companies have switched their processes to project-oriented in the last years. This brings new possibilities and effectiveness not only in the field of external processes connected with the product delivery but also the internal processes as well. However centralized project organization which is based on the role of project manager in the team has proved insufficient in some cases. Agile methods of project organization are trying to solve this problem by bringing new view on the project organization, roles, processes and competences. Scrum is one of these methods which builds on the principles of knowledge management to drive the project to effectiveness from all view angles. Using this method to organize internal and delivery projects helps the organization to create and share knowledge throughout the company. It also supports forming unique competences of individuals and project teams and drives innovations in the company.

Keywords: agile software development, knowledge management, knowledge dissemination, project management, SCRUM

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2614

Authors: F. Lhafiane, A. Elbyed, M. Bouchoum

Abstract:

The design of Reverse logistics Network has attracted growing attention with the stringent pressures from both environmental awareness and business sustainability. Reverse logistical activities include return, remanufacture, disassemble and dispose of products can be quite complex to manage. In addition, demand can be difficult to predict, and decision making is one of the challenges task in such network. This complexity has amplified the need to develop an integrated architecture for product return as an enterprise system. The main purpose of this paper is to design Multi Agent System (MAS) architecture using the Prometheus methodology to efficiently manage reverse logistics processes. The proposed MAS architecture includes five types of agents: Gate keeping Agent, Collection Agent, Sorting Agent, Processing Agent and Disposal Agent which act respectively during the five steps of reverse logistics Network.

Keywords: Reverse logistics, multi agent system, Prometheus methodology.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2918

Authors: P. Ramana , K. Alice Mary, M. Surya Kalavathi, M. Phani Kumar

Abstract:

This paper discusses two observers, which are used for the estimation of parameters of PMSM. Former one, reduced order observer, which is used to estimate the inaccessible parameters of PMSM. Later one, full order observer, which is used to estimate all the parameters of PMSM even though some of the parameters are directly available for measurement, so as to meet with the insensitivity to the parameter variation. However, the state space model contains some nonlinear terms i.e. the product of different state variables. The asymptotic state observer, which approximately reconstructs the state vector for linear systems without uncertainties, was presented by Luenberger. In this work, a modified form of such an observer is used by including a non-linear term involving the speed. So, both the observers are designed in the framework of nonlinear control; their stability and rate of convergence is discussed.

Keywords: Permanent magnet synchronous motor, Mathematicalmodelling, Rotor reference frame, parameter estimation, Luenbergerobserver, reduced order observer, full order observer

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1867

Authors: G. Reinhart, S. Schindler

Abstract:

Due to dynamic evolution, the ability of a manufacturing technology to produce a special product is changing. Therefore, it is essential to monitor the established techniques and processes to detect whether a company-s production will fit future circumstances. Concerning the manufacturing technology planning process, companies must decide when to change to a new technology for maintaining and increasing competitive advantages. In this context, the maturity assessment of the focused technologies is crucial. This article presents an approach for defining the maturity of a manufacturing technology from a strategic point of view. The concept is based on the approach of technology readiness level (TRL) according to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), but also includes dynamic changes. Therefore, the model takes into account the concept of the technology life cycle. Furthermore, it enables a company to estimate the ideal date for implementation of a new manufacturing technology.

Keywords: Maturity Assessment, Manufacturing Technology Planning, Technology Life Cycle, Technology Readiness Level.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2492

Authors: A.H.Javadi, Sh.Mirdamadi, M.A.Faghisani, S.Shakhesi

Abstract:

Nanostructured materials have attracted many researchers due to their outstanding mechanical and physical properties. For example, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or carbon nanofibres (CNFs) are considered to be attractive reinforcement materials for light weight and high strength metal matrix composites. These composites are being projected for use in structural applications for their high specific strength as well as functional materials for their exciting thermal and electrical characteristics. The critical issues of CNT-reinforced MMCs include processing techniques, nanotube dispersion, interface, strengthening mechanisms and mechanical properties. One of the major obstacles to the effective use of carbon nanotubes as reinforcements in metal matrix composites is their agglomeration and poor distribution/dispersion within the metallic matrix. In order to tap into the advantages of the properties of CNTs (or CNFs) in composites, the high dispersion of CNTs (or CNFs) and strong interfacial bonding are the key issues which are still challenging. Processing techniques used for synthesis of the composites have been studied with an objective to achieve homogeneous distribution of carbon nanotubes in the matrix. Modified mechanical alloying (ball milling) techniques have emerged as promising routes for the fabrication of carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced metal matrix composites. In order to obtain a homogeneous product, good control of the milling process, in particular control of the ball movement, is essential. The control of the ball motion during the milling leads to a reduction in grinding energy and a more homogeneous product. Also, the critical inner diameter of the milling container at a particular rotational speed can be calculated. In the present work, we use conventional and modified mechanical alloying to generate a homogenous distribution of 2 wt. % CNT within Al powders. 99% purity Aluminium powder (Acros, 200mesh) was used along with two different types of multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) having different aspect ratios to produce Al-CNT composites. The composite powders were processed into bulk material by compaction, and sintering using a cylindrical compaction and tube furnace. Field Emission Scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and Vickers macro hardness tester were used to evaluate CNT dispersion, powder morphology, CNT damage, phase analysis, mechanical properties and crystal size determination. Despite the success of ball milling in dispersing CNTs in Al powder, it is often accompanied with considerable strain hardening of the Al powder, which may have implications on the final properties of the composite. The results show that particle size and morphology vary with milling time. Also, by using the mixing process and sonication before mechanical alloying and modified ball mill, dispersion of the CNTs in Al matrix improves.

Keywords: multiwall carbon nanotube, Aluminum matrixcomposite, dispersion, mechanical alloying, sintering

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2325

Authors: Ali Samadi Afshar, Sayed Reaza Hashemi

Abstract:

In the gas refineries of Iran-s South Pars Gas Complex, Sulfrex demercaptanization process is used to remove volatile and corrosive mercaptans from liquefied petroleum gases by caustic solution. This process consists of two steps. Removing low molecular weight mercaptans and regeneration exhaust caustic. Some parameters such as LPG feed temperature, caustic concentration and feed-s mercaptan in extraction step and sodium mercaptide content in caustic, catalyst concentration, caustic temperature, air injection rate in regeneration step are effective factors. In this paper was focused on temperature factor that play key role in mercaptans extraction and caustic regeneration. The experimental results demonstrated by optimization of temperature, sodium mercaptide content in caustic because of good oxidation minimized and sulfur impurities in product reduced.

Keywords: Caustic regeneration, demercaptanization, LPG sweetening, mercaptan extraction, temperature.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5983

Authors: Michal Lysek, Mike Danilovic, Jasmine Lihua Liu

Abstract:

HMS Industrial Networks AB has been recognized as one of the most innovative companies in the industrial communication industry worldwide. The creation of their Anybus innovation during the 1990s contributed considerably to the company’s success. From inception, HMS’ employees were innovating for the purpose of creating new business (the creation phase). After the Anybus innovation, they began the process of internationalization (the commercialization phase), which in turn led them to concentrate on cost reduction, product quality, delivery precision, operational efficiency, and increasing growth (the growth phase). As a result of this transformation, performing new radical innovations have become more complicated. The purpose of our research was to explore the dynamics of innovation at HMS from the aspect of key actors, activities, and events, over the three phases, in order to understand what led to the creation of their Anybus innovation, and why it has become increasingly challenging for HMS to create new radical innovations for the future. Our research methodology was based on a longitudinal, retrospective study from the inception of HMS in 1988 to 2014, a single case study inspired by the grounded theory approach. We conducted 47 interviews and collected 1 024 historical documents for our research. Our analysis has revealed that HMS’ success in creating the Anybus, and developing a successful business around the innovation, was based on three main capabilities – cultivating customer relations on different managerial and organizational levels, inspiring business relations, and balancing complementary human assets for the purpose of business creation. The success of HMS has turned the management’s attention away from past activities of key actors, of their behavior, and how they influenced and stimulated the creation of radical innovations. Nowadays, they are rhetorically focusing on creativity and innovation. All the while, their real actions put emphasis on growth, cost reduction, product quality, delivery precision, operational efficiency, and moneymaking. In the process of becoming an international company, HMS gradually refocused. In so doing they became profitable and successful, but they also forgot what made them innovative in the first place. Fortunately, HMS’ management has come to realize that this is the case and they are now in search of recapturing innovation once again. Our analysis indicates that HMS’ management is facing several barriers to innovation related path dependency and other lock-in phenomena. HMS’ management has been captured, trapped in their mindset and actions, by the success of the past. But now their future has to be secured, and they have come to realize that moneymaking is not everything. In recent years, HMS’ management have begun to search for innovation once more, in order to recapture their past capabilities for creating radical innovations. In order to unlock their managerial perceptions of customer needs and their counter-innovation driven activities and events, to utilize the full potential of their employees and capture the innovation opportunity for the future.

Keywords: Barriers to innovation, dynamics of innovation, in search of excellence and innovation, radical innovation.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3061

Authors: Muhammad Marsudi, Hani Shafeek

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to simulate the production process of a metal stamping industry and to evaluate the utilization of the production line by using ARENA simulation software. The process time and the standard time for each process of the production line is obtained from data given by the company management. Other data are collected through direct observation of the line. There are three work stations performing ten different types of processes in order to produce a single product type. Arena simulation model is then developed based on the collected data. Verification and validation are done to the Arena model, and finally the result of Arena simulation can be analyzed. It is found that utilization at each workstation will increase if batch size is increased although throughput rate remains/is kept constant. This study is very useful for the company because the company needs to improve the efficiency and utilization of its production lines.

Keywords: Arena software, case study, production line, utilization.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5375

Authors: M. B. Shuai, S. Xiao, Q. S. Li, M. F. Chu, X. F. Yang

Abstract:

Ambient hydrolysis products in moist air and hydrolysis kinetics in argon with humidity of RH1.5% for polycrystalline LiH powders and sintered bulks were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and gravimetry. The results showed that the hydrolysis products made up a layered structure of LiOH•H2O/LiOH/Li2O from surface of the sample to inside. In low humid argon atmosphere, the primary hydrolysis product was Li2O rather than LiOH. The hydrolysis kinetic curves of LiH bulks present a paralinear shape, which could be explained by the “Layer Diffusion Control" model. While a three-stage hydrolysis kinetic profile was observed for LiH powders under the same experimental conditions. The first two sections were similar to that of the bulk samples, and the third section also presents a linear reaction kinetics but with a smaller reaction rate compared to the second section because of a larger exothermic effect for the hydrolysis reaction of LiH powder.

Keywords: Hydrolysis, lithium compound, polycrystallinelithium hydride

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2012

Authors: Fernando Miguel Campos, Fernando Jesus Aguiar, Pedro Campos

Abstract:

A large amount of software products offer a wide range and number of features. This is called featuritis or creeping featurism and tends to rise with each release of the product. Feautiris often adds unnecessary complexity to software, leading to longer learning curves and overall confusing the users and degrading their experience. We take a look to a new design approach tendency that has been coming up, the so-called “What You Get is What You Need” concept that argues that products should be very focused, simple and with minimalistic interfaces in order to help users conduct their tasks in distraction-free ambiences. This isn’t as simple to implement as it might sound and the developers need to cut down features. Our contribution illustrates and evaluates this design method through a novel distraction-free diagramming tool named Delineato Pro for Mac OS X in which the user is confronted with an empty canvas when launching the software and where tools only show up when really needed.

Keywords: Diagramming, HCI, usability, user interface.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1432

Authors: Vichai Rungreunganaun, Chirawat Woarawichai

Abstract:

The objective of this research is to calculate the optimal inventory lot-sizing for each supplier and minimize the total inventory cost which includes joint purchase cost of the products, transaction cost for the suppliers, and holding cost for remaining inventory. Genetic algorithms (GAs) are applied to the multi-product and multi-period inventory lot-sizing problems with supplier selection under storage space. Also a maximum storage space for the decision maker in each period is considered. The decision maker needs to determine what products to order in what quantities with which suppliers in which periods. It is assumed that demand of multiple products is known over a planning horizon. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer programming and is solved with the GAs. The detailed computation results are presented.

Keywords: Genetic Algorithms, Inventory lot-sizing, Supplier selection, Storage space.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2153

Authors: Hyun Bae Jin, Myung Jin Kim, Wui Jun Chung

Abstract:

The impeller and the casing are the key components of a centrifugal pump. Although there have been many studies on the impeller and the volute casing of centrifugal pump, further study of the volute casing to improve the performance of centrifugal pumps is needed. In this paper, the effect of cross-sectional area on the performance of volute casing was investigated using a commercial CFD code. The performance characteristics, not only at the off-design point but also for a full type model are required these days. So we conducted numerical analysis for all operating points by using complete geometry through transient analysis. Transient analysis on the complete geometry of a real product has the advantage of simulating realistic flow. The results of this study show the variation of a performance curve by modifying the above-mentioned design parameter.

Keywords: Centrifugal Pump, Volute Casing, Cross-Section area, CFD

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3739