Research into integrated design and manufacturing based on STEP

This paper discusses a typical STEP-compliant manufacturing environment, which effectively integrates two systems. The first generates native data that retain the information needed to machine a part on a particular machine tool, whereas the second carries out optimization for machining parameters using the dispatched information from the first system. The related research work is divided into four areas, feature generation, macro process planning, micro process planning, and machining execution. The main part of the paper is devoted to reviewing the most recent research publications. The publications have been organized into the four areas as mentioned above. The discussion section that follows looks at the STEP-compliant research from the perspectives of industrial adoption, feature recognition for process planning, challenges in STEP-enabled inspection and STEP-NC controllers.     

Forced migration of soluble and suspended materials by freezing front in aqueous systems

Migration of soluble and suspended materials by directional freezing of aqueous systems has been studied qualitatively. Slow freezing was employed vertically as well as horizontally through solutions and suspensions. In all cases, the impurities (soluble salts as well as suspended materials) were appreciably forced out by dynamic freezing front. The phenomenon worked for concentrating/separating inorganic ions, soluble organic compounds and dyes in synthetic solutions as well as in natural streams. Various analytical techniques were employed to monitor the migrating species through the freezing media. It was found that separation efficiency depends on different factors like rate of cooling, pH and concentration. Model experiments were designed and exercised successfully to employ the technique for treatment of dye-polluted water.     

屏蔽泵常见故障分析及解决方案

轻质油装置屏蔽泵在运行中发生泵体内有杂音、振动超标、轴承磨损的故障。通过对屏蔽泵结构和故障现象的分析,找到了故障产生的原因。含气态组分的介质进入屏蔽泵冷却腔体和润滑轴承的循环管路,使得轴承容易磨损;泵体结构的流向设计得不合理,造成介质在泵腔内汽化,形成汽蚀,并造成轴承磨损;介质流量不平稳造成轴向力不平衡。实施了相应的解决方案,降低了设备故障率和检修率,确保了装置安全平稳运行。     

Evaluation of Some Nonionic Surfactants Derived From Vanillin as Corrosion Inhibitors for Carbon Steel During Drilling Processes

Four eco‐friendly nonionic surfactants based on vanillin were investigated as corrosion inhibitors against carbon steel dissolution during the drilling process in the oil field. The corrosion inhibition efficiencies of the tested compounds were determined using weight loss, electrochemical polarization, and electrochemical impedance techniques. The data obtained show that the nonionic surfactants prevent the corrosion of drilling tools and their inhibition efficiency increased with an increase in their concentration. Tafel curves revealed that the surfactants under study act as mixed inhibitors. The adsorption of the inhibitors on carbon steel surface decreases the double‐layer capacitance. The inhibition efficiencies of the surfactants were influenced by their chemical structure and surface activity.     

Synthesis,Structure Characterization and Biological Activity of Co (II), Cu (II), and Zn (II) Complexes with (Z)‐3‐((3‐hydroxybenzylidene)amino)pyridin‐1‐ium 4‐(dodecan‐4‐yl)benzenesulfonate Surfactant

(Z)‐3‐((3‐hydroxybenzylidene)amino)pyridin‐1‐ium4‐dodecylbenzenesulfonate anionic surfactant and its cobalt, copper and zinc complexes were synthesized (I, I‐Co, I‐Cu and I‐Zn). The chemical structures of it were characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, ¹H‐NMR, UV–Vis spectroscopy and atomic adsorption. The effects of the chemical structures of the synthesized anionic surfactant and the type of transition metals on the surface activity are presented in this paper. The thermodynamic parameters show that adsorption and micellization processes are spontaneous. The results of biological activity measurements showed that the synthesized compounds have a great efficiency against gram positive (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus), gram‐ negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) and fungi (Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger) as well as the sulfate reducing bacteria (Desulfomonas pigra). The complexation of the anionic surfactant with Co²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ increase the antimicrobial activity values.     

Brookite Formation in TiO2?Ag Nanocomposites and Visible‐Light‐Induced Templated Growth of Ag Nanostructures in TiO2

TiO₂? Ag‐nanocomposites exhibit various desirable properties that make them suitable for a variety of applications, for example in photocatalysis and as bactericidal coatings. In this work, a new method for processing TiO₂? Ag nanocomposites is presented. The nanocomposite films are fabricated from one precursor solution with high silver loading of up to 50%. The resulting films exhibit a microstructure consisting of TiO₂? Ag_xO nanocomposites with a largely XRD‐amorphous TiO₂ matrix containing brookite nanocrystals. This specific microstructure absorbs in the visible range so that photoreduction of Ag ions can be accomplished by using visible light. The thin films can be patterned using simple shadow masks. The illuminated areas show a high density of self‐organized nanoparticles (SNPs) and nanorods (SNRs), which are templated by the TiO₂ porous network. The particle size can be tuned by varying the irradiation time. Most of the SNPs and SNRs form faceted crystals, which are mostly a combination of {111} and {110}. The application of these films as substrates for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering is shown. Enhancement factors as high as 4.6 × 10⁶ could be obtained using rhodamine 6G dye molecules. More applications should involve photocatalytic water purification using visible light.     

Polymer electrolyte membrane modification in direct ethanol fuel cells: An update

Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) offer a high degree of design flexibility, ranging from a single cell to a massive multi-cell that can be used in various applications, including portable devices, transportation, and stationary applications. Unfortunately, the most significant barrier to the commercialization of DEFCs is getting low-cost and ethanol permeability, high conductivity performance, and extended durability of polymer electrolyte membranes, as key components that highly influence the overall performance. In this paper, the recent progress in developing the polymer electrolyte membrane for the application of DEFCs has been comprehensively reviewed. Focusing on an updated modification of polymeric materials in the last 5 years, including Nafion-based membrane, polyvinyl alcohol-based membrane, polybenzimidazoles-based membrane, chitosan-based membrane, and sodium alginate-based membrane, as well as factors and challenges that affected the performance of polymer electrolyte membranes have been discussed, including the main characterization, catalyst selection, cell design, and work in membrane and cell performance of DEFCs. All discussion addresses the strategy to improve the performance of polymer electrolyte membranes in DEFCs in order to penetrate the commercialization stages.     

An improved spectral analysis of the stray flux component for the detection of air-gap irregularities in squirrel cage motors

For machines? monitoring purpose, the classical motor current signature analysis has shown its weakness in distinguishing the eccentricity occurrence in presence of others mechanical faults. Although Park?s vector approach can cover this drawback, the high cost due to the requirement to use three current sensors associated with an advanced processing technique, makes it less desired by industrialists. In this paper, we suggest an alternative diagnosis method based on a suitable processing of the stray flux data. The experimental results have revealed the potential of a simple search coil for the detection and the distinction of the accurate eccentricity nature even in presence of similar mechanical faults.     

Evaluation-based closed-loop errors using principal component analysis and self-organisation map with an application to a pickling process

Closed-loop control is a basic technology in control engineering. Its role is to avoid the tracking error between set points and real variables. The evaluation of plant performance can be based on multivariate statistical process control connected to closed-loop errors behaviour. Due to its practicality, this approach has found many applications in several industries. This paper suggests a combined use of principal component analysis (PCA) and self-organisation map (SOM) algorithms to evaluate the process on the basis of closed-loop errors dynamic. Generally, it is possible to evaluate a product quality in the basis of the dynamic changes of the closed-loop control errors. In this paper, a new method based on the analysis of the control errors is proposed; it is carried out by a combined use of the PCA-SOM algorithm. Comparatively to the conventional PCA method, this new technique is characterised by the performant indexes that give an accurate evaluation of the process variability and its impact on the product quality. As shown in the different simulation results, the proposed approach gives a global evaluation and improves considerably the performance of computed indexes used for the evaluation of the controlled process.     

Antioxidant and anticholinesterase activity of essential oils and ethanol extracts of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thymus algeriensis</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Teucrium polium</Emphasis> from Algeria

This study aimed to investigate the cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitory and antioxidant activities of essential oil (EO) and ethanolic extract (EE) of two Lamiaceae medicinal plants from Algeria: Thymus algeriensis Boiss. & Reut. and Teucrieum polium subsp capitatum. The chemical composition of EOs analyzed by GC and GC–MS revealed the presence of carvacrol (43.2%), p-cymene (18.7%) and γ-terpinene (14.8%) as major compounds in T. algeriensis, while germacrene D (25.0%), bicyclogermacrene (10.4%), β-pinene (11.3%) and spathulenol (5.8%) were the most important components in T. polium oil. The best inhibitory activity on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was exhibited by the EO of T. algeriensis. On the other hand, T. polium oil was more efficient against butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) than against AChE, whereas EEs showed weak or no inhibitory effect, particularly against AChE. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by β-carotene bleaching, ferric and cupric reducing powers and inhibition of ABTS^?+, DPPH^? and superoxide radicals. EOs showed different antioxidant trends depending on the assay used while ethanol extracts had high activity with all tests.