Refurbishment or quality recovery: joint quality and pricing decisions for new product development

Refurbishment and quality recovery, as two important strategies of reverse logistics, have been widely used for consumer durables, especially consumer electronics. This trend is driven by manufacturers’ profit-seeking behaviours and the increasing environmental concerns of society. This study investigates and compares the optimal emergence of these two strategies when product quality is endogenous. Model analyses provide several notable insights. First, we find that the refurbishment strategy dominates the quality recovery strategy when the fraction of the recoverable quality-inducing components in the defective product is low enough. Moreover, when the refurbishment strategy emerges as the optimum, the quality and price of the new product as well as the total realised sales of both new and refurbished products are consistently higher than those with the quality recovery strategy. In addition, when either the refurbishment or quality recovery strategy emerges as the optimum, the overall consumer surplus is also enhanced. Finally, in the model generalisation, we show that a synthetic strategy with which some of the returned defective products are refurbished and others are remanufactured through quality recovery can certainly increase the manufacturers’ profit compared to either one of them when the fraction of the recoverable quality-inducing components in the defective product is moderate.     

M-estimator based Chinese Remainder Theorem with few remainders using a Kroenecker product based mapping vector

The Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) explains how to estimate an integer-valued number from the knowledge of the remainders obtained by dividing such unknown integer by co-prime integers. As an algebraic theorem, CRT is the basis for several techniques concerning data processing. For instance, considering a single-tone signal whose frequency value is above the sampling rate, the respective peak in the DFT informs the impinging frequency value modulo the sampling rate. CRT is nevertheless sensitive to errors in the remainders, and many efforts have been developed in order to improve its robustness. In this paper, we propose a technique to estimate real-valued numbers by means of CRT, employing for this goal a Kroenecker based M-Estimation (ME), specially suitable for CRT systems with low number of remainders. Since ME schemes are in general computationally expensive, we propose a mapping vector obtained via Kroenecker products which considerably reduces the computational complexity. Furthermore, our proposed technique enhances the probability of estimating an unknown number accurately even when the errors in the remainders surpass 1/4 of the greatest common divisor of all moduli. We also provide a version of the mapping vectors based on tensorial n-mode products, delivering in the end the same information of the original method. Our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art CRT methods not only in terms of percentage of successful estimations but also in terms of smaller average error.     

[数据驱动的产品设计]基于功能模型和层次分析法的智能产品服务系统概念方案构建

为研究智能产品服务系统概念方案的构建，解决系统的复杂特性和功能耦合特性，提出应用发明问题解决理论（TRIZ）功能模型和层次分析法(AHP)两种工具，在概念设计阶段利用TRIZ功能模型定性地对其进行分析建模，并借助层次分析法对不同服务供应商所提供的服务功能模块进行定量的决策分析，通过择优集成相关功能模块，形成智能产品服务系统概念方案的构建方法。最后以3家服务供应商的服务功能模块构建为例，验证该方法的有效性。     

镍钴电池Co-S负极材料的电化学特性研究

通过水热法制备Co-S材料,结合XRD分析其相结构,SEM和EDS分析其表面形貌及元素种类,采用充放电测试、循环伏安和交流阻抗法对其进行电化学特性研究。结果表明,该合金仅含有Co3S4、Co9S8和Co(OH)2, 结晶性良好,呈交叉生长的纳米薄片状,放电电流密度为150 mA/g时的最大放电容量为393.1mAh/g,50次循环后的容量保持率高达80.6%。当放电电流密度为1200 mA/g时,该电极的高倍率放电性能为79.3%。通过循环伏安和交流阻抗分析可知Co-S电极主要发生Co/Co(OH)2的法拉第反应,不可逆产物CoOOH的生成降低了活性物质的利用率,导致放电容量衰减。     

高温烟气中煤焦气化行为

针对高温烟气中煤焦的气化行为，本文采用FactSage 6.1计算了煤焦在高温烟气下的高温反应特性，并利用热重分析仪分析了煤焦气化行为。通过沉降炉实验进一步研究了不同温度、气体配比、粒径条件下气体产物的动态析出特性，同时计算了评价指标α、β、LHV值。结果表明：随着温度的升高，气体产物H₂和CO的含量增加，β、α、LHV值增大，CH₄和CO₂的含量下降。在温度为1200℃时，β、α值分别由CO₂/CO比为10∶70时的10.80%、5.21%增加到CO₂/CO比为50∶30时的24.71%、41.06%。同时，随着CO₂/CO比值的增大，高温烟气对煤焦气化反应抑制减弱。通过对比反应温度和粒径对煤焦气化反应的影响，得出反应温度远大于粒径对煤焦气化反应的影响。通过实验验证了向高温烟气中喷吹煤焦制备高品质可燃气体方法的可行性。     

Consumers’ willingness to pay for upcycled foods

Research on food waste reduction suggests that solutions aimed at reducing waste early in the consumption cycle are the most impactful. Based on this premise, food research labs and food manufacturers have started creating and selling foods made from food ingredients that are generally discarded. Such foods, termed upcycled foods, are safe for human consumption and provide a promising solution to reduce food waste. However, the commercial success of this new category of foods will depend on consumers’ acceptance. This research examines a key indicator of acceptance – consumers’ willingness to pay. We find that although consumers are willing to pay less for upcycled foods compared to conventional alternatives, messaging increases consumers’ willingness to pay. Specifically, we find that rational messaging is more effective than emotional messaging. Overall, our findings suggest that upcycled foods may command good acceptance among consumers.     

Multiemotional product color design using gray theory and nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-III

When users select products, they consider the emotional experience resulting from the color of the product. However, the emotional demands of users for product color are multidimensional and diverse. It is very important yet difficult to accurately grasp multiemotional image requirements and effectively convert them into design elements. Therefore, multiemotional product color design (MEPCD) has become a very important and challenging research topic. In this article, a novel MEPCD system using gray theory (GT) and nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-III (NSGA-III) is proposed to effectively solve the MEPCD problem. First, the image perception spaces of users, which exist in different emotional dimensions, were collected using factor analysis and the semantic differential technique. Then, GT was used to establish a multidimensional emotional product color image evaluation model. Finally, NSGA-III was used to optimize and design a multiemotional color scheme for a product. Furthermore, according to actual conditions, an MEPCD system was established based on the proposed method. The design case study shows that the method and design system proposed in this article have a certain range of applicability and can effectively improve the practicality of MEPCD.     

Product design: Formulation of a screen-printable sintering-type conductive paste

Due to the complexity of the screen-printing operation and the rheological behaviors of the screen-printable paste, such a paste is usually formulated by trial-and-error. In this report, a systematic procedure, based on heuristics and mechanistic models, for the design of a screen-printable paste is developed. The procedure is demonstrated by a case study of the formulation of a conductive paste of copper particles.     

基于工业机器人的液压支架导向套柔性制造系统

自动化技术在小批量多品种的产品制造中，存在兼容难、换产时间长、人工干预多等问题，导致生产线难以高效率运行。设计的柔性制造系统，在充分分析了导向套不同结构、不同规格的基础上，以一套六关节机器人和行走地轨作为物流搬运设备，同时负责3台数控设备、自动辊道上料设备、自动堆垛下料设备、翻转机构、打标机构及抽检机构的上下料，并通过使用机器人双工位卡爪、机床六爪卡盘、自动刀补等卡具及技术，实现了一键换产，极大提高了制造系统的柔性。