Optimal maintenance, repairmen, and control strategies for systems with breakdowns

Optimal preventive maintenance and repairmen policies for a system of machines subject to degradation with age and intermittent breakdowns and repairs are derived using optimal control theory. When this system of machines forms part of a dynamic process control system, a method of obtaining optimal closed-loop control law is indicated.     

Tensile,flexural and morphological properties of electron beam-crosslinked LDPE–EPDM blends

The effect of electron beam (EB) irradiation on the tensile, flexural and morphological properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/ethylene-propylene diene elastomer (EPDM) blends had been studied in the absence and presence of crosslink promoters, such as trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) and triallyl cyanurate (TAC). Blends were prepared by melt mixing of LDPE and EPDM followed by EB irradiation at various doses. The gel fraction (%) of irradiated blends was increased with an increase in EPDM content as well as EB irradiation dose and consequently the tensile and flexural properties of the blends increased. The incorporation of crosslinking promoters accelerated the gel formation and improved the properties upon irradiation more efficiently. The phase morphology of fractured surface displayed immiscibility with a rough appearance before irradiation. But after irradiation, the surface became fine, smooth and uniform, which went on increasing upon irradiation, supporting the steady increase in mechanical properties. Surface appeared even smoother in the presence of TMPTA and TAC.     

Complex predicates in Indian languages and wordnets

Wordnets, which are repositories of lexical semantic knowledge containing semantically linked synsets and lexically linked words, are indispensable for work on computational linguistics and natural language processing. While building wordnets for Hindi and Marathi, two major Indo-European languages, we observed that the verb hierarchy in the Princeton Wordnet was rather shallow. We set to constructing a verb knowledge base for Hindi, which arranges the Hindi verbs in a hierarchy of is-a (hypernymy) relation. We realized that there are unique Indian language phenomena that bear upon the lexicalization vs. syntactically derived choice. One such example is the occurrence of conjunct and compound verbs (called Complex Predicates) which are found in all Indian languages. This paper presents our experience in the construction of lexical knowledge bases for Indian languages with special attention to Hindi. The question of storing versus deriving complex predicates has been dealt with linguistically and computationally. We have constructed empirical tests to decide if a combination of two words, the second of which is a verb, is a complex predicate or not. Such tests provide a principled way of deciding the status of complex predicates in Indian language wordnets.     

Calibration of a silver thin film gauge for short duration convective step heat load

Thin film gauges (TFGs) are a promising candidate for measuring transient heat fluxes in the applications involving very short duration of heating environment. They are basically resistance temperature detectors (RTDs) having the capability of responding in the range of few microseconds. In the present study, a silver thin film gauge (STFG) is fabricated and calibrated in-house with a view to assess the performance of STFGs in dynamic environment. Convective heat load is supplied by a hot-air gun where the heated air jet strikes the gauge and its response is obtained through voltage signal. Subsequently, the surface heat fluxes are estimated by using one dimensional heat conduction modeling. The similar experimental environment is studied to obtain the flow behavior of hot-air jet emanating into atmosphere by using numerical simulations. The self-similar velocities are plotted as well as the interference of outer domain into the experiment parameters has been studied. Ultimately, the surface heat fluxes obtained from various methods are compared to analyse the performance of this hand-made STFG. This study reveals the ability of STFGs to be used in practical short duration transient situations.     

Application of baby deck initiation to reduce coal damage during cast blasting

ABSTRACT

The extra explosive energy used in cast blasting reduces the amount of overburden to be handled by the machinery but increases the risk of damage to the underlying coal. This damage will lead to reduced coal recovery and may negate much of the benefit sought from cast blasting. The Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre in close association with the Australian open cut coal mining industry has conducted a blast monitoring program to understand and quantify the role of cast blasting in coal damage and loss. This paper attempts to explain the mechanisms of coal damage and the influence of toe confinement on coal damage during cast blasting.     

42—A STUDY OF TEAR-LENGTH DISTRIBUTIONS IN WOVEN APPAREL FABRICS IN SERVICE. PART II: APPLICATIONS

Extensive data on the tear lengths of apparel fabrics in service show good conformity to the exponential distribution. Weibull's distribution, however, shows a better fit in a few instances.

The most predominant or frequent mechanism governing the tearing process of garments in service appeared to be tearing under constant loads of about the tearing strength of the fabrics or the application of tear energy at a uniform rate per unit length torn.

The parameter μ of the exponential model shows some evidence of positive correlation with the tearing strength of the fabrics, but, in some instances, conditions in service made it difficult to demonstrate this correlation.