Fuzzy set based cost model of additive manufacturing with specific example of selective laser sintering

A fuzzy set based cost model for additive manufacturing is proposed. The model is illustrated through an example of selective laser sintering (SLS), a commonly used additive manufacturing (AM) process. Initially, a deterministic cost model is developed. It is then converted to a fuzzy set based model by considering uncertainty in build time estimation and cost components. For the specific case of SLS, a build time estimation procedure is developed as a part of the cost model. A method to evaluate the reliability of the cost estimate in AM and its significance is also introduced. The cost model is illustrated through two examples of products manufactured by SLS.

     

Ceramic Composites Fabricated by Selective Laser Sintering

Selective laser sintering (SLS) uses a computer controlled laser beam to create objects directly from the CAD data without part-specific tooling. In this paper, the effect of material and processing parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of an alumina/aluminum phosphate composite fabricated by SLS is described. The precursor material is a blend of alumina and ammonium phosphate powder. This paper deals primarily with the effect of alumina particle size and material composition on the strength of the composite. A constitutive equation is also proposed to relate the mechanical properties of the composite to its microstructural characteristics.     

Robot manipulator kinematic compensation using a generalized jacobian formulation

The kinematic error compensation of robot manipulators is at present being attempted by improving the precision of the nominal robot kinematic parameters. This paper addresses the problem of kinematic compensation using a new mathematical joint model proposed to account for shortcomings in existing methods. The corrected manipulator transformation is formulated in terms of “generalized Jacobians”: relating differential errors at the joints to the differential change in the manipulator transformation. The details of application are discussed for a particular industrial manipulator.     

Distributed fair scheduling in a wireless LAN

Fairness is an important issue when accessing a shared wireless channel. With fair scheduling, it is possible to allocate bandwidth in proportion to weights of the packet flows sharing the channel. This paper presents a fully distributed algorithm for fair scheduling in a wireless LAN. The algorithm can be implemented without using a centralized coordinator to arbitrate medium access. The proposed protocol is derived from the Distributed Coordination Function in the IEEE 802.11 standard. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is able to schedule transmissions such that the bandwidth allocated to different flows is proportional to their weights. An attractive feature of the proposed approach is that it can be implemented with simple modifications to the IEEE 802.11 standard.     

A lower carbon footprint process for production of metals from their oxide sources

This paper will describe the solid oxide membrane (SOM) process as it applies to the energy-efficient and environmentally sound production of magnesium from magnesium oxide. Also, it will describe the challenges encountered while using this process for the production of transition metals like titanium from its higher oxides. Finally, a novel magnesiothermic SOM process will be proposed that can enable production of transition metals from its higher oxides.     

MCM-41-supported Co-Mo catalysts for deep hydrodesulfurization of light cycle oil

Light cycle oil (LCO), a by-product of the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process in a petroleum refinery, can be used as a blendstock for the production of diesel and jet fuels. Regulatory and operational issues result in need for new and more active catalysts for the deep hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of diesel feedstocks, such as LCO. This paper reports the activity of a mesoporous molecular sieve MCM-41-supported Co-Mo catalyst in comparison to a commercial γ-alumina (Al₂O₃)-supported Co-Mo catalyst for the desulfurization of a LCO with a sulfur content of 2.19 wt.%. The HDS of dibenzothiophene, 4-methyldibenzothiophene, and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene—polyaromatic sulfur compounds present in LCO—and their relative reactivities in terms of conversion were examined as a function of time on stream in a fixed-bed flow reactor. The MCM-41-supported catalyst demonstrates consistently higher activity for the HDS of the refractory dibenzothiophenic sulfur compounds, particularly 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene. The presence of a large concentration of aromatics in LCO appears to inhibit the HDS of the substituted dibenzothiophenes.     

Fine grinding of thermoplastics by high speed friction grinding assisted by guar gum

High speed friction grinding has been used to grind plant and food substances in water but never been explored for grinding of thermoplastics like polylactic acid (PLA), low and high density polyethylene and polypropylene. Such grinding was investigated in this work and was made possible by using 0.5% guar gum solution instead of just water because increasing the viscosity of water reduced their settling and the speed of passing through the grinder. Tensile, flexural, and impact strengths of the plastics were studied and higher grinding efficiency of PLA could be explained by its low elongation-at-break compared to low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, and polypropylene. The microplastics (2000–45 μm) were studied for mass and particle size distributions and by scanning electron microscopy, ¹³C CP/MAS NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. In addition, viscosity of guar gum and contact angles was measured. This new technology can produce finely ground microplastics (710–45 μm) for a variety of applications.     

Multidisciplinary approach to defining public e-procurement and evaluating its impact on procurement efficiency

Utilising the methodology of content analysis, this study uses a multidisciplinary approach to define public e-procurement. Various aspects of e-procurement have been discussed from information systems, supply chain management, electronic commerce/electronic government, and public procurement to come up with an integrated definition of public e-procurement. Following this, e-procurement assimilation has been defined and its impact on procurement efficiency has been evaluated. Following the confirmatory factor analysis in structural equation modelling, dimensional level analysis in ANOVA has been undertaken for the three forms of e-procurement technologies namely e-tendering, e-catalogue management systems, and e-marketplace. The results show the positive and significant impact of the assimilation process on procurement efficiency.     

Effect of numerical integration on meshless methods

In this paper, we present the effect of numerical integration on meshless methods with shape functions that reproduce polynomials of degree k1. The meshless method was used on a second order Neumann problem and we derived an estimate for the energy norm of the error between the exact solution and the approximate solution from the meshless method under the presence of numerical integration. This estimate was obtained under the assumption that the numerical integration scheme satisfied a form of Green’s formula. We also indicated how to obtain numerical integration schemes satisfying this property.