Mass loss and flammability of insulation materials used in sandwich panels during the pre‐flashover phase of fire

Nowadays, buildings contain more and more synthetic insulation materials in order to meet the increasing energy‐performance demands. These synthetic insulation materials have a different response to fire. In this study, the mass loss and flammability limits of different sandwich panels and their cores (polyurethane (PUR), polyisocyanurate (PIR) and stone wool) are studied separately by using a specially designed furnace. Expanded polystyrene and extruded polystyrene are tested on their cores only. The research has shown that the actual mass loss of synthetic and stone wool‐based cores is comparable up to 300 °C. From 300 °C onwards, the mass loss of PUR panels is significant higher. The mass losses up to 350 °C are 7%, 29% and 83% for stone wool, PIR and PUR respectively, for the influenced area. Furthermore, delamination can be observed at exposure to temperatures above 250 °C for the synthetic and 350 °C for the mineral wool panels. Delamination occurs due to the degradation of the resin between core and metal panels and the gasification of the (PUR) core. The lower flammability limits have been established experimentally at 9.2% m/m (PUR) and 3.1% m/m (PS). For PUR, an upper limit of 74% was found. For PIR and mineral wool, no flammability limits could be established. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of the solubility of Pb,Bi and Sn in aluminum by mixed CALPHAD/DFT methods: Applicability to aluminum machining alloys

The aim of this work is a formulation of a thermodynamic model for the development of new aluminum machining alloys. The three additives Bi, Pb and Sn have proven to help machining. Hence, a review of the literature showed that the liquid phase equilibria and thermodynamic data for the three binary systems Al-Bi, Al-Pb and Al-Sn is very thorough but the limited information for the FCC solution required the use of Density Functional Theory (DFT) to predict thermodynamic data. The partial heat of mixing of these three machining additives in Al(FCC) are obtained and the results helped to improve the thermodynamic model using the CALPHAD method. It was shown that for all three binary systems, the thermodynamic data obtained at three fixed compositions and that obtained for a very dilute solution gave different enthalpy curves. The thermodynamic model was used to compute the ternary systems Al-Bi-Pb, Al-Bi-Sn and Al-Pb-Sn and small adjustable parameters were added to reproduce the literature data.     

Research to reality: a critical review of the validity of various criteria for the prevention of occupationally induced low back pain disability

Criteria have been suggested to reduce the incidence, or severity of low back pain disability. Five underlying theories for such criteria have been identified in the literature, and a critical review of the validity of these criteria has been carried out. Despite attributions elsewhere, peer-reviewed validation of the various criteria range from modest to nil. The need for a validation criterion for use in workplace design in order to reduce low back pain disability, or severity, is identified and the need for an international protocol to allow cross-study validation of present and future criteria is suggested.     

Statistical Programs for High Speed Computers

Two objectives of much experimentation in science and engineering are (i) to establish the form of an adequate mathematical model for the system being investigated and (ii) to obtain precise estimates of the model parameters. In the past, statistical design procedures have been proposed for tackling either one of these problems separately. Investigators, however, frequently want to perform experiments which will shed light on both questions simultaneously. In this paper, therefore, we present a design criterion which takes both objectives into account. The basic design strategy is to emphasize model discrimination when there is considerable doubt as to which model is best and gradually shifting the emphasis to parameter estimation as experimentation progresses and discrimination is accomplished. It is assumed that experiments can be performed sequentially. The use of the design criterion is illustrated with an example.     

A cross-validation of the NIOSH limits for manual lifting

The psychophysical, biomechanical, and physiological criteria used in establishing the NIOSH limits for manual lifting were cross-validated against the data published by different researchers in the subject literature. Assessment of the 1991 NIOSH lifting equation indicated that: (1) NIOSH-based limits are significantly different from the psychophysical limits in the (i) low and high frequencies of lift, and (ii) small and large horizontal distances; (2) NIOSH limits are highly correlated with the data of Snook and Ciriello (1991) in the low frequency range, with the Recommended Weight Limit (RWL) protecting about 85% of the female population and 95% of the male population; (3) the 3·4 kN limit for compression on the lumbosacral joint cannot protect the majority of the worker population on the basis of damage load concept; and (4) energy expenditure limits used in development of the RWL index can be sustained by 57 to 99% of worker population when compared to the physiological limits based on previous fatigue studies. Results of the cross-validation for psychophysical criterion confirmed the validity of assumptions made in the 1991 NIOSH revised lifting equation. However, the results of cross-validation for the biomechanical and physiological criteria were not in total agreement with the 1991 NIOSH model     

Ermittlung von Verfahrensgrenzen für das Fügen durch Knickbauchen anhand des Werkstoffes E235+N

Through a systematic approach and the consistent comparison of the results between experimental and numerical investigations, a deep understanding of the bulging mechanisms has been first developed. From these investigations process limitations were derived and presented in the form of a working diagram for the material E235+N. With regard to a wide industrial use of upset bulging as a joining technology, a technologically, productively as well as economically appropriate method could be developed and validated by means of practical and numerical experiments.     

Confidence limits for Weibull parameters estimated using linear least squares analysis

Confidence limits (at selected levels of 68.27%, 90%, 95% and 99%) for unbiased estimation of Weibull parameters obtained using linear least squares (LLS) analysis were investigated in this paper. A Monte Carlo procedure was used to obtain probability distributions for unbiased estimates of Weibull modulus, m, and Weibull scale parameter, S_o, as a function of total specimen number, N (10 ≤ N ≤ 200), and m (1 ≤ m ≤ 25). Inspection of the probability distributions indicated that confidence limits for m depended only on N whereas those for S_o depended on both N and m. Whilst the determination of confidence limits for m proved to be relatively straightforward, the respective values for S_o were obtained by fitting an empirical equation to the S_o probability distributions approximated by a Gaussian curve. Example values of m and S_o confidence limits for selected N have been presented in this work.     

Effects of combustor size and filling condition on stability limits of premixed H2‐air flames in planar microcombustors

An experimental study on stability limits of premixed hydrogen‐air flames in planar microcombustors (H = 1 mm and 1.5 mm) partially filled with porous medium is carried out, focusing on the effects of combustor sizes and filling conditions. Critical conditions for blow‐off, flashback, and breaking through the porous medium are experimentally measured. The blow‐off limits are nearly independent of combustor sizes and filling conditions, while the flashback limits are strongly influenced by the combustor size and the filling conditions. Critical values for breaking through are identified with two different methods, and it is shown that standing combustion waves are settled over a range of velocities, instead of a fixed value of filtration velocity, which is considered an important characteristic of microcombustion. Most results can be explained by the classic boundary velocity gradient theory by von Elbe and Lewis, and thus the validity of the theory to the present channel spacings is confirmed. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 2571–2580, 2015     

The Negative Binomial Exponentially Weighted Moving Average Chart with Estimated Control Limits

The control chart based on the compound Poisson distribution (the negative binomial exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) chart) has been shown to be more effective than the c‐chart to monitor the wafer nonconformities in semiconductor production process. The performance of the negative binomial EWMA chart is generally evaluated with the assumption that the process parameters are known. However, in many control chart applications, the process parameters are usually unknown and are required to be estimated. For an accurate parameter estimate, a very large sample size may be required, which is seldom available in the applications. This article investigates the effect of parameter estimation on the run length properties of the negative binomial EWMA charts. Using a Markov chain approach, we show that the performance of the negative binomial EWMA chart is affected when parameters are estimated compared with the known‐parameter case. We also provide recommendations regarding phase I sample sizes, smoothing constant and clustering parameter. The sample size must be quite large for the in‐control chart performance to be close to that for the known‐parameter case. Finally, a wafer process example has been used to highlight the practical implications of estimation error and to offer advice to practitioners when constructing/analysing a phase I sample. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Attribute Charts for Monitoring the Mean Vector of Bivariate Processes

This article proposes two Shewhart charts, denoted np_xy and np_w charts, which use attribute inspection to control the mean vector (μ_x; μ_y)′ of bivariate processes. The units of the sample are classified as first‐class, second‐class, or third‐class units, according to discriminate limits and the values of their two quality characteristics, X and Y. When the np_xy chart is in use, the monitoring statistic is M = N₁ + N₂, where N₁ and N₂ are the number of sample units with a second‐class and third‐class classification, respectively. When the np_w chart is in use, the monitoring statistic is W = N₁ + 2N₂. We assume that the quality characteristics X and Y follow a bivariate normal distribution and that the assignable cause shifts the mean vector without changing the covariance matrix. In general, the synthetic np_xy and np_w charts require twice larger samples to outperform the T² chart. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.