A strategy for integrating product conceptualization and bid preparation

Collaboration with other members of the supply chain is one means by which small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can compete in today’s global business environment. Thus, early stages of the new product development process involve both technical activities, e.g., product platform definition, and commercial activities, e.g., bidding for contracts. This paper introduces an integrated collaborative bidding and design system (CBDS) to help SMEs coordinate the two aspects. General sorting was employed for initial requirements acquisition and platform definition; while a self-organizing map (SOM) neural network was combined with a concurrent cost-schedule estimation strategy for refinement of design options and bid evaluation/preparation. A case study on cellular phone design was then applied for illustrating the proposed prototype system.     

Experimental investigation of the normal spectral emissivity and other thermophysical properties of pulse-heated Ni-Ti and Au-Ni alloys into the liquid phase

1. Introduction Metal working industry needs accurate thermo- physical properties of liquid metals and alloys as input data for different simulation routines to im- prove the performance of their products. Within this paper we continue the systematic investigation of the dependence of emissivity of binary alloys on the relative concentration of the constituent elements (for a previous paper see [1]). 2. Experimental method A fast ohmic pulse heating technique is applied to heat metallic wire-s…     

Alkylaminoborazine-based precursors for the preparation of boron nitride fibers by the polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) route

Various borazine-based polymeric precursors can be prepared from tris(alkylamino)boranes and B-tri(chloro)borazine. Their chemical structures are described and compared in this review, along with their melt-spinnability. After polymer-to-ceramic conversion, the mechanical performances of the ensuing BN fibers are analyzed in relation with the structure of the corresponding thermoplastic polymers. The most promising results were obtained with B-tri(methylamino)borazine, which appears, at the present time, as the best candidate for a potential industrialization of the process. However, promising results were also obtained with borylborazines. This comparative study clearly emphasizes that the synthesis of tailored polyborazines is one of the key point for the preparation of high-performance BN fibers.     

Flame inertia into lean region in stratified hydrogen mixture

In hydrogen engines, the direct-injection stratified charge system has the ability to realize a more lean operation than homogeneous charge systems. Flame propagation into the lean region in the stratified hydrogen mixture was investigated in this study. Hydrogen was injected into a lean hydrogen–air premixed mixture charge of the equivalence ratio of 0.074–0.257. This stratified hydrogen mixture was ignited by an electric spark. The flame generated in the hydrogen jet propagated into the lean premixed mixture charge as if it had “inertia”, even though the stoichiometry of the premixed mixture charge was less than the lower flammability limit. The amount of burned hydrogen in the case of a stratified mixture was greater than that in the case of the homogeneous mixture. The flame seems to be supported from behind by the burned gas in the rich region until the decay of this support.     

Repair evaluation of concrete cracks using surface and through-transmission wave measurements

Surface opening cracks are common defects in large civil structures like bridges. They allow penetration of water or other agents that result in loss of durability earlier than expected. Their repair can be conducted by the injection of epoxy material that seals the crack sides keeping out any aggressive substances in addition to the recovery of strength. In order to evaluate crack parameters before impregnation as well as to determine the final repair effectiveness, a combination of Rayleigh and longitudinal waves is applied. Rayleigh waves demonstrate the filling condition of the material into the shallow layer near the surface while tomography using longitudinal waves through the thickness yields information about the area inside the structure. Wave propagation dispersion features are exploited by the proposed tomography at different frequencies, demonstrating that higher frequencies lead to more accurate characterization.     

Transformation of carbon nanotubes to diamond in microwave hydrogen plasma

Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), synthesized by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, were used as the precursor to synthesize diamond in a pure hydrogen microwave discharge. Diamond-scratched silicon wafers, with and without precoated MWCNTs, were placed side by side on a substrate holder. Diamond was formed on both wafers with the consumption of MWCNTs. The present results suggest that the solid–gas–solid transformation mechanism is involved in this process.     

Correlating microstructural features with wear resistance of dual phase steel

In order to explore the tribological potential of the dual phase (DP) steel as a wear resistant material, the wear characteristics of the dual phase (DP) steel have been investigated with varying amounts of martensite from 43 to 81 vol pct, developed by varying holding time at the intercritical annealing temperature of 780 °C. Dry sliding wear tests have been conducted on DP steels using a pin-on-disk machine under different normal loads of 61.3, 68.5, 75.7 and 82.6 N and at a constant sliding speed of 1.20 m/s. At these loads, the mechanism of wear is mainly delamination, which has been confirmed by SEM micrographs of the subsurface and wear debris of the samples. Wear and friction properties have been found to be improved with increasing martensite volume fraction in dual phase steels.     

P–I diagram method for combined failure modes of rigid-plastic beams

Closed-form solutions of pressure-impulse (P–I) diagrams for simply supported and fully clamped rigid-plastic beams subjected to impact load are developed. Two failure categories, i.e., bending failure and shear failure, are considered and the responses of the beams are analyzed based on five transverse velocity profiles. With proper failure criteria, the critical P–I equations for bending and shear failure are derived. After the simplification of the critical P–I equations, the influences of the shear-to-bending strength ratio and the boundary conditions on the P–I diagrams are discussed. The results are compared with those based on a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model. It is shown that the proposed P–I diagram method can be conveniently applied to assess beam damage extents and damage patterns. Especially, the P–I diagrams have good agreement with those based on an elastic, perfectly plastic model when severe damage occurs.     

Development of composite tissue scaffolds containing naturally sourced mircoporous hydroxyapatite

The aims of this work were to investigate the conversion of a marine alga into hydroxyapatite (HA), and furthermore to design a composite bone tissue engineering scaffold comprising the synthesised HA within a porous bioresorbable polymer. The marine alga, Phymatolithon calcareum, which exhibits a calcium carbonate honeycomb structure, with a natural architecture of interconnecting permeable pores (microporosity 4–11 μm), provided the initial raw material for this study. The objective was to convert the alga into hydroxyapatite while maintaining its porous morphology using a sequential pyrolysis and chemical synthesis processes. Semi-quantitative XRD analysis of the post-hydrothermal material (pyrolised at 700–750 °C), indicated that the calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramic most likely consisted of a calcium carbonate macroporous lattice, with hydroxyapatite crystals on the surface of the macropores. Cell visibility (cytotoxicity) investigations of osteogenic cells were conducted on the CaP ceramic (i.e., the material post-hydrothermal analysis) which was found to be non-cytotoxic and displayed good biocompatibility when seeded with MG63 cells. Furthermore, a hot press scaffold fabrication technique was developed to produce a composite scaffold of CaP (derived from the marine alga) in a polycaprolactone (PCL) matrix. A salt leaching technique was further explored to introduce macroporosity to the structure (50–200 μm). Analysis indicated that the scaffold contained both micro/macroporosity and mechanical strength, considered necessary for bone tissue engineering applications.