Study on Contamination Control for Yield Enhancement in the Manufacturing Line of Cellular Phone Modules

Practical studies on the method of contamination control for yield enhancement in the cellular phone modules production line were carried out. A contamination control method was proposed, consisting of data collection, data analysis, improvement action, verification, and implementation of control. The partition check method and the composition analysis for data collection and data analysis were respectively used in the cellular phone modules manufacturing process, and these methods were evaluated by the variation of yield loss before and after implementing the actions for improvement. In the partition check method, the critical process step was selected, and yield loss reduction through improvement actions was observed, whereas in the composition analysis, critical sources were selected, and yield loss reduction through improvement actions was investigated. From the results, it is concluded that the partition check and the composition analysis are effective solutions for contamination control in cleanroom production lines.     

Tribological behavior of plasma spray coatings for marine diesel engine piston ring and cylinder liner

High-temperature wear characteristics between plasma spray coated piston rings and cylinder liners were investigated to find the optimum combination of coating materials using the disc-on-plate reciprocating wear test in dry conditions. The disc and plate represented the piston ring and the cylinder liner, respectively. Coating materials studied were Cr₂O₃-NiCr, Cr₂O₃-NiCr-Mo, and Cr₃C₂-NiCr-Mo. Plasma spray conditions for the coating materials were established adjusting stand-off distance to obtain a coating with a porosity content of ∼5%. It was found that a dissimilar coating combination of Cr₂O₃-NiCr-Mo and Cr₃C₂-NiCr-Mo provided the best antiwear performance. The addition of molybdenum was found to be beneficial to improve the wear resistance of the coating. Hardness differences between mating surfaces were also important factors in determining the wear characteristics, so that it should be controlled below 300 in Vickers hardness under dry conditions. Adhesive wear accompanying with metal transfer was a dominant wear mechanism for dry conditions.     

Crumple zone design for pedestrian protection using impact analysis

This paper describes the design process for an automobile crumple zone for pedestrian protection. The impact load and bending moments predicted by impact analysis were used to design a plastic structure that may help reduce pedestrian injuries to the thigh area. The fracture effect was incorporated into the model by calculating the damage to the plastic material during impact, and the analysis was conducted under the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) test conditions, using the upper legform developed by ESI Corporation. In addition, the values predicted by the analysis were validated by comparison with results of actual impact tests.     

Influence of the duty cycle on structural and mechanical properties of oxide layers on Al-1050 by a plasma electrolytic oxidation process

Oxide layers were prepared on Al-1050 substrates by an environmentally friendly plasma electrolytic oxidation process using an alkaline solution of Na₂SiO₃ (8 g/L) and NaOH (3 g/L) as the electrolyte. The effects of three different duty cycles (20%, 40%, and 60%) on the structure and hardness of the oxides were investigated. XRD analysis revealed that the oxides were mainly composed of α-Al₂O₃, γ-Al₂O₃, and mullite. The proportion of each phase depended on various electrical parameters, such as the duty cycle and frequency. The morphology, thickness, and the elemental distribution of the oxides were examined by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The thicknesses of the oxides were found to vary from 20 μm to more than 60 μm for various duty cycles, when identical treatment durations were used. The oxidation treatment also resulted in good adhesion between the oxide layer and the substrate. SEM images indicated that the oxide layers formed at the 60% duty cycle exhibited relatively coarser surfaces with larger pore sizes and sintering particles, and slower growth rates than did those formed at the 20% duty cycle, under identical treatment durations. The oxides prepared at the 20% duty cycle showed smooth surfaces. The oxides layers were found to improve the micro-hardness of Al-1050. In particular, the oxide layers formed at the 40% duty cycle exhibited relatively better micro-hardness owing to their compact microstructures.     

High-temperature corrosion characteristics of yttria-stabilized zirconia material in molten salts of LiCl-Li2O and LiCl-Li2O-Li

The isothermal and cyclic corrosion behavior of yttria (Y₂O₃)-stabilized zirconia (ZrO₂) in a LiCl-Li₂O molten salt were investigated at 650 °C in an argon atmosphere. During isothermal and cyclic corrosion tests in the molten salt of LiCl-Li₂O for 168 h and 7 thermal cycles, the corrosion rate was very low, whereas under the molten salt of LiCl-Li₂O-Li for 168 h, the corrosion rate was almost 10 times higher than that in the molten salt of LiCl-Li₂O. No corrosion product was detected until 168 h for the isothermal corrosion test, however, after 7 thermal cycles, a very-low-intensity Li₂ZrO₃ peak was detected at the beginning stage of the chemical reaction between ZrO₂ and Li₂O. Additionally, in the molten salt of LiCl-Li₂O-Li for 168 h, a large amount of Li₂ZrO₃ was formed, with evidence of marked cracks, pores, and spallations on the corroded surface. The introduction of Y₂O₃-stabilized ZrO₂ was beneficial in increasing the hot corrosion resistance of the structural materials used to handle molten salts containing Li₂O at elevated temperature without forming a lithium at the cathode during the electrolytic reduction process.     

Effects of walking speed and age on the directional stride regularity and gait variability in treadmill walking

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - In Inertial measurement unit (IMU) based gait analysis systems, the shoe-type sensor is not commonly used, unlike trunk attached sensors. The purpose...     

Morphological control of Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> particles via glycothermal process

Acicular magnetite (Fe₃O₄) powders were synthesized through new glycothermal dehydration by using crystalline α-FeOOH as precursor and glycols as solvent. When ethylene glycol was used as solvent, the phase was in-situ transformed from acicular α-FeOOH to α-Fe₂O₃ and finally to Fe₃O₄ at 270 °C for 6 h without morphological change. When water was added as a co-solvent in glycothermal reaction, Fe₃O₄ powders were synthesized through dissolution–recrystallization process at 230 °C for 3 h. The volume ratio of ethylene glycol to water (E/W) in the reaction has a strong effect on the morphology of the synthesized Fe₃O₄ particles. The particle shape of Fe₃O₄ particles changed from needle to sphere when the water content in E/W volume ratio increased from 0.5 to 1 mL in mixed glycothermal condition. When the water were added by more than 10 ml, the particle shape of Fe₃O₄ changed from sphere to octahedron truncated with the {100} faces and finally distinct octahedron with only {111} faces. Also, it is demonstrated that the size of Fe₃O₄ particles can be controlled from 1–2 μm to 100–200 nm by varying the reaction conditions such as the volume ratio of water to ethylene glycol and additive in glycothermal reaction.     

Optimal design of composite hood with reinforcing ribs through stiffness analysis

Fiber glass reinforced composites like sheet molding compounds (SMC) have recently been widely used in the fabrication of two-piece automobile hoods for passenger cars. In the present investigation, a one-piece composite hood with reinforcing ribs was optimally designed and manufactured by resin transfer molding in order to reduce manufacturing cost. In order to obtain the optimal design, stiffness analyses for deflections due to self-weight, oil canning, and torsion test conditions were carried out by applying the ABAQUS/Standard program. Based on these analyses, the thickness dimension of the composite hood required to maintain a stiffness comparable to a conventional steel hood was determined. For optimization studies of the weight reduction of the currently proposed one-piece composite hood with reinforcing ribs, IDESIGN program was employed. Based on a recursive quadratic programming technique, the thickness dimensions of the reinforcing ribs were optimized. The deflection ratios between fiber glass reinforced composite and conventional steel hoods were minimized in the optimization studies. From the present studies, it was found that the weight saving effect obtained by introducing the optimally designed one-piece composite hood was 37% compared to the conventional steel hood. This ranged approximately from 30 to 40% for composite hoods manufactured by resin transfer molding, depending on the composite materials used. Through these studies, it was confirmed that the one-piece composite hood was a preferable design and manufacture, compared to currently used composite hood made in two pieces, in terms of weight reductions and manufacturing cost without losing the stiffness required.     

Flavonoids from Machilus japonica Stems and Their Inhibitory Effects on LDL Oxidation

Stems of Machilus japonica were extracted with 80% aqueous methanol (MeOH) and the concentrated extract was successively extracted with ethyl acetate (EtOAc), normal butanol (n-BuOH), and water. Six flavonoids were isolated from the EtOAc fraction: (+)-taxifolin, afzelin, (−)-epicatechin, 5,3''-di-O-methyl-(−)-epicatechin, 5,7,3''-tri-O-methyl-(−)-epicatechin, and 5,7-di-O-methyl-3'',4''-methylenedioxyflavan-3-ol. The chemical structures were identified using spectroscopic data including NMR, mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy. This is the first report of isolation of these six compounds from M. japonica. The compounds were evaluated for their diphenyl picryl hydrazinyl scavenging activity and inhibitory effects on low-density lipoprotein oxidation. Compounds 1 and 3–6 exhibited DPPH antioxidant activity equivalent with that of ascorbic acid, with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values of 0.16, 0.21, 0.17, 0.15 and 0.07 mM, respectively. The activity of compound 1 was similar to the positive control butylated hydroxytoluene, which had an IC₅₀ value of 1.9 µM, while compounds 3 and 5 showed little activity. Compounds 1, 3, and 5 exhibited LDL antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ values of 2.8, 7.1, and 4.6 µM, respectively.     

Contributions of system components and operating conditions to the performance of desiccant cooling systems

This study systematically analyzes the effect of various kinds of design parameters on the performance of a desiccant cooling system under two different system configurations. The considered parameters include system components such as the sensible heat exchanger, regenerative evaporative cooler and desiccant wheel, as well as operating conditions of outdoor conditions, regenerative temperature and rate of outdoor influx. Numerical simulation has been conducted for these 11 design parameters with 3 levels. The orthogonal array L₂₇(3¹³) is adopted for the analysis of variance. In the range of the parameters considered, the regenerative temperature is found to be the most dominant parameter of contribution ratio of 31.9% and 23.9% for each system configuration. In the case of confined interest of the applications such as a district cooling system or a solar system using medium-temperature collectors, the cooling performance of the regenerative evaporative cooler is the most crucial for the system performance.