Produktionsfunktion und Kostenfunktion bei flexibler Automatisierung der Produktion

The advantages of flexible production are well known in practical application. Theorectial understanding, however, is still not satisfactory. An explanation may be founded on differences in the consumption rate of process elements during preparation, of production capacity. This in, turn also results in different cost factors in the forefield of production caopacity. These costs can be quite considerable, given the tendency towards smaller series. Flexible automation permits the minimizing of these costs. The consideration mentioned above are based on analysis of the production function, on a comparison of more or less flexible production systems and of different cost functions.     

Developing a pragmatic evaluation of ICTs for older adults with cognitive impairment at scale: the IN LIFE experience

Implementing information and communications technology (ICT) at scale requires evaluation processes to capture the impact on users as well as the infrastructure into which it is being introduced. For older adults living with cognitive impairment, this requires evaluation that can accommodate different levels of cognitive impairment, alongside input from family and formal caregivers, plus stakeholder organisations. The European Horizon 2020 project INdependent LIving support Functions for the Elderly (IN LIFE) set out to integrate 17 technologies into a single digital platform for older people living with cognitive impairment plus their families, care providers and stakeholders. The IN LIFE evaluation took place across six national pilot sites to examine a number of variables including impact on the users, user acceptance of the individual services and the overall platform, plus the economic case for the IN LIFE platform. The results confirmed the interest and need among older adults, family caregivers, formal caregivers and stakeholders, for information and communications technology (ICT). Relative to the baseline, quality of life improved and cognition stabilised; however, there was an overall reluctance to pay for the platform. The findings provide insights into existing barriers and challenges for adoption of ICT for older people living with cognitive impairment.

     

Life-cycle assessment and repair of the railway transition zones of an existing bridge using geocomposite materials

The railway infrastructure is a very important component of the world’s total transportation network. Investment in its construction and maintenance is therefore significant on a global scale. Up to now, some results of the life-cycle assessment (LCA) of open railway line, as well as railway bridges and tunnels, have been published, but detailed analyses of transition zones have not so far been performed. In railway networks, transitional zones are a critical area where the transition from open rail to solid bridge construction can cause significant settlements. The goal of these analyses was to compare two different types of track renewal methods for railway transition zones. In the first method, traditional cement stabilisation is used, whereas the second solution makes use of a geocomposite anchored by steel anchors. The paper presents some results from an environmental study for railway transition zones based on the demonstration case. The results of the performed LCA showed that, in the case of track renewal for transition zones by means of a geocomposite and anchors, the environmental impact is lower than in the case when cement stabilisation works are performed. Less extensive excavation works and thus lower quantities of used material are additional benefits.     

Liquid-side diffusion controlled cation exchange kinetics. Comparison between macroporous and gelular resins

The rates of H⁺Mg²⁺ exchange at low solution concentration on several styrene sulfonic acid resins with either a macroporous or gelular matrix have been measured by the shallow-bed technique. The kinetics of Mg²⁺ uptake on macroporous and gelular resins were compared. The location of the liquid-solid interphase in the resin bead, where the ion diffusion rate controls the overall exchange rate, was estimated.     

Polymer dynamics in rubbery epoxy networks/polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes nanocomposites

Dielectric techniques, including thermally stimulated depolarization currents (TSDC, ?150 to 30°C) and, mainly, broadband dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS, 10^?2 – 10⁶ Hz, ?150 to 150°C) were employed, next to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), to investigate molecular dynamics in rubbery epoxy networks prepared from diglycidyl ether of Bisphenol A (DGEBA) and poly(oxypropylene)diamine (Jeffamine D2000, molecular mass 2000) and modified with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) units covalently bound to the chains as dangling blocks. Four relaxations were detected and analyzed: in the order of increasing temperature at constant frequency, two local, secondary γ and β relaxations in the glassy state, the segmental α relaxation associated with the glass transition and the normal mode relaxation, related with the presence of a dipole moment component along the Jeffamine chain contour. Measurements on pure Jeffamine D2000 helped to clarify the molecular origin of the relaxations observed. A significant reduction of the magnitude and a slight acceleration of the α and of the normal mode relaxations were observed in the modified networks. These results suggest that a fraction of polymer is immobilized, probably at interfaces with POSS, due to constraints imposed by the covalently bound rigid nanoparticles, whereas the rest exhibits a slightly faster dynamics due to increaseof free volume resulting from loosened molecular packing of the chains (plasticization by the bulky POSS units).The increase of free volume is rationalized by density measurements. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009