Failure pressure of medium and high strength pipelines with scratched dent defects

It is very important in engineering design and integrity assessment of pipeline to accurately predict its failure pressure, especially for the pipeline with mechanical damages. This paper numerically investigates the failure pressure of medium and high strength pipelines with scratched dent which is on the outer surface of the pipe. Pipe materials of two different grades are chosen in the analysis which represent medium and high strength steel, respectively. Failure pressure of an intact pipeline with fixed ends is derived analytically. On the basis of the maximum plastic strain failure criterion put forward by previous scholars, failure pressure of finite element models containing dent and scratch defects is determined. Parametric studies are carried out to obtain the influencing rule of the dimensions of dent and scratch. The effects of scratch length and depth on failure pressure with various dent depths are obtained. Finally, a formula is fitted for predicting the failure pressure of pipelines with scratched dents on the basis of finite element results. Compared to burst test data from literature, the proposed formula is proved to be reasonable.     

Eco‐friendly synthesis of silver nanoparticles and its larvicidal property against fourth instar larvae of Aedes aegypti

In this study, larvicidal activity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesised using apple extract against fourth instar larvae of Aedes aegypti was determined. As a result, the AgNPs showed moderate larvicidal effects against Ae. aegypti larvae (LC₅₀  = 15.76 ppm and LC₉₀  = 27.7 ppm). In addition, comparison of larvicidal activity performance of AgNPs at high concentration prepared using two different methods showed that Ae. aegypti larvae was fully eliminated within the duration of 2.5 h. From X‐ray diffraction, the AgNP crystallites were found to exhibit face centred cubic structure. The average size of these AgNPs as estimated by particle size distribution was in the range of 50–120 nm. The absorption maxima of the synthesised Ag showed characteristic Ag surface plasmon resonance peak. This green synthesis provides an economic, eco‐friendly and clean synthesis route to Ag.Inspec keywords: silver, nanofabrication, X‐ray diffraction, zoology, particle size, nanoparticles, biomedical materials, nanomedicineOther keywords: time 2.5 h, size 50 nm to 120 nm, silver nanoparticle, larvicidal property, instar larvae, Aedes aegypti, larvicidal effect, larvicidal activity performance, X‐ray diffraction, nanoparticle particle size distribution, absorption maxima, silver surface plasmon resonance peak     

Self-reinforcing mechanisms for cellularisation: a longitudinal case study

Firms that adopt cellular manufacturing (CM) often need to restructure their products, personnel, equipment, factory management and organisation culture. Despite voluminous literature on CM, only a few case studies related to cellularisation exist. Therefore, to enhance understanding in this area, this paper presents a longitudinal case study on cellularisation in an electronic assembly plant. Six years of data were collected from the observations and discussions of an industrialist and an academician. Events instrumental to the persistence of CM were highlighted, with reference to path dependence analysis. Cellularisation is not entirely evolutionary or teleological but is an interplay of the two; it is significantly influenced by the positive feedback of self-reinforcing mechanisms after departing from critical junctures. The observed self-reinforcing mechanisms were expounded and divided into six categories.     

A new method of reinforcing graphene nanoplatelets in glass/epoxy composites

This research aims to develop a method for the amalgamation of graphene nanoplatelets in glass/epoxy composites. The poor interface bonding between the fiber and matrix is critical and hinders the full performance of the composites. Glass fabric and epoxy were used as reinforcement and matrix in the composite, respectively. Graphene nanoplatelets were utilized as an additional nano-materials filler for the composites. Glass/graphene/epoxy and glass/epoxy composites were fabricated via vacuum infusion molding. The new method of applying graphene nanoplatelets as secondary reinforcement in the composite was developed based on proper functionalization in the sonication process. The physical, tensile, flexural, and short beam interlaminar properties of fabricated composites were examined to analyze the method's effectiveness. The results showed that density decreased by around 5 %; however, thickness increased by around 34 % after introducing graphene nanoplatelets into the composites. The tensile strength and modulus of the composites declined by approximately 19 %, on the other hand, flexural strength and modulus increased by around 63.3 % and 8.3 %, respectively, after the addition of graphene nanoplatelets into the composites. Moreover, interlaminar shear strength of the composite was enhanced by approximately 50 %.     

Integrated knowledge management model and system for construction projects

In the past there has been no structured approach to learning from construction projects once they are completed. Now, however, the construction industry is adapting concepts of tacit and explicit knowledge management to improve the situation. Top managers generally assume that professionals in enterprises already possess tacit knowledge and experience for specific types of projects. Such knowledge is extremely important to organisations because, once a project is completed, professionals tend to forget it and start something new. Therefore, knowledge multifold utilisation is a key factor in productively executing a construction project. This paper discusses the benefits of knowledge management to construction industry organisations and projects and emphasises the significance of tacit knowledge. The main purpose of this paper is to present the integrated knowledge management model for the construction industry as well as system architecture and system of the Knowledge Based Decision Support System for Construction Projects Management (KDSS-CPM) which the authors of this paper have developed. Different knowledge management models that are presented in scientific literature are discussed and compared, and the proposed new, KDSS-CPM model, as developed by this paper’s authors, is introduced.     

Disturbance decoupled fault reconstruction using sliding mode observers

This paper investigates and presents conditions that guarantee disturbance decoupled fault reconstruction using sliding mode observers, which are less stringent than those of previous work, and show that disturbance reconstruction is not necessary. An aircraft model validates the ideas proposed in this paper. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society     

Adaptive fuzzy regulation of the DC-bus capacitor voltage in a wind energy conversion system (WECS)

This paper proposes a new voltage regulator of the DC-bus capacitor of a variable speed wind power generation system based on adaptive fuzzy system. The change in the fuzzy rule base is done using a variable-structure direct adaptive control algorithm to achieve the pre-defined control objectives. This algorithm has two merits. First, it has a good performance in the training phase as it makes use of the initial rule base defined for the fuzzy logic controller. Second, it has a robust estimator since it depends on variable structure technique. The adaptive nature of the new controller significantly reduces the rule base size and improves its performance.     

An integrated fuzzy TOPSIS and MCGP approach to supplier selection in supply chain management

Supplier selection is an important issue in supply chain management. In recent years, determining the best supplier in the supply chain has become a key strategic consideration. However, these decisions usually involve several objectives or criteria, and it is often necessary to compromise among possibly conflicting factors. Thus, the multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) becomes a useful approach to solve this kind of problem. Considering both tangible and intangible criteria, this study proposes integrated fuzzy techniques for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and multi-choice goal programming (MCGP) approach to solve the supplier selection problem. The advantage of this method is that it allows decision makers to set multiple aspiration levels for supplier selection problems. The integrated model is illustrated by an example in a watch firm.     

Comparisons of some improving strategies on MOPSO for multi-objective (r, Q) inventory system

This paper presents comparisons of some recent improving strategies on multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm which is based on Pareto dominance for handling multiple objective in continuous review stochastic inventory control system. The complexity of considering conflict objectives such as cost minimization and service level maximization in the real-world inventory control problem needs to employ more exact optimizers generating more diverse and better non-dominated solutions of a reorder point and order size system. At first, we apply the original MOPSO employed for the multi-objective inventory control problem. Then we incorporate the mutation operator to maintain diversity in the swarm and explore all the search space into the MOPSO. Next we change the leader selection strategy used that called geographically-based system (Grids) and instead of that, crowding distance factor is also applied to select the global optimal particle as a leader. Also we use ε-dominance concept to bound archive size and maintain more diversity and convergence in the MOPSO for optimizing the inventory control problem. Finally, the MOPSO algorithms created using these strategies are evaluated and compared with each other in terms of some performance metrics taken from the literature. The results indicate that these strategies have significant influences on computational time, convergence, and diversity of generated Pareto optimal solutions.