Augmented reality assisted facility layout digitization and planning

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - Facility layout planning (FLP) has an important role in manufacturing industries. There are few approaches to solve FLP such as procedural,...     

Optimization of single and mixed cultures for solid state fermentation of municipal sewage sludge

Trichoderma harzianum (Th), Phanerochaete chrysosporium ATCC 24725 (Pc) and Mucor hiemalis (Mh) isolated from three sources: wastewater; sewage sludge; and sludge cake were selected for use as compatible/incompatible single and mixed cultures in the treatment of municipal sewage sludge. Five experiments were carried out using (Pc), (Th), a mixture of (Pc/Th), (Mh) and a mixture of (Pc/Mh), in addition to a control where no micro‐organism was used. The experiments were used to evaluate their potential performance as compatible/incompatible single and mixed cultures for the treatment of municipal wastewater sewage sludge from treatment plants using solid state fermentation technique (SSF). The results showed that the best micro‐organism for composting was found to be (Th) and a mixture of (Pc/Th), while (Pc/Mh) was incompatible culture. The C/N ratio for Th changed from 8.46 to 17.8 at the end of the process, (Ph/Th) increased from 7.21 to 15.9, while (Pc/Mh) increased from 8.49 to 29. The pH value also affected by the fungal cultures which was also changed for (Th) from 4.29 to 6.8, for (Pc/Th) was changed from 7.27 to 6.7 and for (Pc/Mh) was changed from 6.6 to 5.3. Effective results were observed by using mixed culture after 19–21 days compared to other single treatments after 24–32 days.     

An analysis of construction productivity in Malaysia

The construction industry is an industry of major strategic importance. Its level of productivity has a significant effect on national economic growth. Productivity indicators are examined. The indicators consist of labour productivity, capital productivity, labour competitiveness, capital intensity and added value content of data, which are obtained from the published census/biannual surveys of the construction industry between the years 1999 and 2011 from the Department of Statistics of Malaysia. The results indicated that there is an improvement in the labour productivity, but the value-added content is declining. The civil engineering and special trades subsectors are more productive than the residential and non-residential subsectors in terms of labour productivity because machine-for-labour substitution is a more important process in those subsectors. The capital-intensive characteristics of civil engineering and special trade works enable these subsectors to achieve higher added value per labour cost but not the capital productivity. The added value per labour cost is lower in larger organizations despite higher capital productivity. However, the capital intensity is lower and unit labour cost is higher in the larger organizations.     

Exploring the internationalization of Malaysian contractors: the international entrepreneurship dimension

The internationalization of construction companies is a subject of enduring interest among construction management scholars. The internationalization pattern of Malaysian contractors was explored, this time mainly using the international entrepreneurship body of literature as the theoretical basis. In doing so, the focus of the internationalization process was on the entrepreneurs or top management. Data were collected with a postal questionnaire survey and follow‐up semi‐structured interviews. The findings underscore the importance of the entrepreneurs’ decision in the surveyed firms’ internationalization trajectory. Top management’s perception of how their companies might benefit from internationalization was the highest ranked foreign market entry consideration. Top managements’ initial and subsequent motivation also fashioned their companies’ degree of internationalization and tactics for securing contracts. The characteristics of the entrepreneurs which drove their companies to internationalize were also captured. The international entrepreneurship domain continues to expand into previously uncharted areas. As such there is potential to uncover even more interesting findings from future research endeavours on international contractors using the international entrepreneurship approach.     

Mini‐blasting for repair work

High chloride content of the concrete had led to corrosion of reinforcement in the brackets supporting the access balconies of a block of flats in Copenhagen; also affected were parts of the balcony decks and some wall panels. Widespread replacement of the suspect components was chosen, including re‐casting of the support brackets in situ. How the old concrete of the brackets was removed by controlled local blasting is described by a member of Demex consulting engineers, who acted as explosive demolition consultants to this project.     

Optimization of the Geometries of Biconical Tapered Fiber Sensors for Monitoring the Early‐Age Curing Temperatures of Concrete Specimens

In this article, a geometrical optimization procedure using biconical tapered fiber sensors is proposed for monitoring the early‐age curing temperatures of concrete specimens. The geometries of the sensors are theoretically optimized by the ray‐tracing theory. The results of the theoretical analysis show that the performance of the sensors is heavily influenced by Evanescent Waves, which are due to the tunneling rays and are fully escaped by tapering the fiber. The effects of the geometrical parameters, including the taper ratios, taper lengths, and ray launch angles, as well as the surrounding temperatures, on the behavior of the sensors are studied numerically. The numerical results demonstrate that higher performance of the proposed optimized sensors can be achieved by a longer taper length and smaller taper ratio combined with an initial ray launching angle of 0.01 rad. An experimental study on early‐age curing temperature monitoring of concrete specimens with the biconical tapered fiber sensors was carried out. The experimental measurements agree well with the theoretical results.     

Optimum structural modelling for tall buildings

It is a common practice to model multi‐storey tall buildings as frame structures where the loads for structural design are supported by beams and columns. Intrinsically, the structural strength provided by the walls and slabs are neglected. As the building height increases, the effect of lateral loads on multi‐storey structures increases considerably. The consideration of walls and slabs in addition to the frame structure modelling shall theoretically lead to improved lateral stiffness. Thus, a more economic structural design of multi‐storey buildings can be achieved. In this research, modelling and structural analysis of a 61‐storey building have been performed to investigate the effect of considering the walls, slabs and wall openings in addition to frame structure modelling. Sophisticated finite element approach has been adopted to configure the models, and various analyses have been performed. Parameters, such as maximum roof displacement and natural frequencies, are chosen to evaluate the structural performance. It has been observed that the consideration of slabs alone with the frame modelling may have negligible improvement on structural performance. However, when the slabs are combined with walls in addition to frame modelling, significant improvement in structural performance can be achieved. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Protein separation mechanisms in surfactant precipitation systems

Separation of globular proteins (cytochrome c and ribonuclease A) from buffer using precipitation by sodium bis-(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT), and their recovery with a counterionic surfactant, trioctylmethylammonium chloride (TOMAC) was investigated. The molar ratio between AOT and the protein (R) required for complete removal was 17 for cytochrome c, and 22 for ribonuclease A. Finally, three mixtures of the two proteins and lysozyme (studied earlier by us) were used to determine the factors controlling separation: selectivity was a strong function of surface charge distribution, indicating that charge interactions between the surfactant and surface groups of different proteins was driving precipitation.     

Simple self-assembly of SnS2 entrapped graphene aerogel and its enhanced lithium storage performance

In this work, SnS₂ nanoplates entrapped graphene aerogel has been successfully prepared by simple self-assembly of reduced graphene oxide obtained through mild chemical reduction. Structural and morphological investigations demonstrated that SnS₂ nanoplates are highly dispersed in the three dimensional (3D) porous graphene matrix. When served as anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the electrochemical properties of SnS₂/graphene aerogel (SnS₂/GA) were evaluated by galvanostatic discharge–charge tests, cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy measurement. Compared with pristine SnS₂, the SnS₂/GA nanocomposite achieved a much higher initial reversible capacity (1186 mAh g⁻¹), superior cyclic stability (1004 mAh g⁻¹ after 60 cycles, corresponding to 84.7% of the initial reversible capacity), as well as better rate capability (650 mAh g⁻¹ at a current density of 1000 mA g⁻¹). This significantly improved lithium storage performance can be attributed to the good integration of SnS₂ nanoplates with 3D porous graphene network, which can not only provide much more active sites and easy access for Li ions intercalation, but also prevent the aggregation of SnS₂ nanoplates and facilitate fast transportation of Li ions and surface electrons during the electrochemical process.