A new mathematical approach to improve residual stress measurement in ring-core method

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - III-conditioning at the inverse equation of integral method in ring-core residual stress measurement leads to high stress sensitivity to strain...     

A Taguchi analysis on structural properties of polypropylene microcellular nanocomposite foams containing Fe2O3 nanoparticles in batch process

Polypropylene (PP) as a thermoplastic polymer has been foamed using batch foaming process. CO₂ is used as the blowing agent of the foaming. Ferrous oxide nanoparticles (nano Fe₂O₃) are also added as reinforcement. Effect of different parameters including nanoparticle weight percentage, foaming temperature and time on the structural properties of PP/nano Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites is investigated using Taguchi approach. Scanning electron microscope results depict that an appropriate microcellular structure is obtained with the cell density of 10⁹ cells/cm³ and almost 1 μm of cell size. Analysis of variance results indicated that foaming temperature is the most significant parameter on the structural properties. Cell density and expansion ratio are decreased by increasing foaming temperature. This phenomenon could be due to the reducing melt strength of polymer/gas mixture. It was also inferred that adding 2 wt% of nanoparticles leads to 80% improvement in cell density while cell size and expansion ratio was decreased.     

A heuristic model for dynamic flexible job shop scheduling problem considering variable processing times

In real scheduling problems, unexpected changes may occur frequently such as changes in task features. These changes cause deviation from primary scheduling. In this article, a heuristic model, inspired from Artificial Bee Colony algorithm, is proposed for a dynamic flexible job-shop scheduling (DFJSP) problem. This problem consists of n jobs that should be processed by m machines and the processing time of jobs deviates from estimated times. The objective is near-optimal scheduling after any change in tasks in order to minimise the maximal completion time (Makespan). In the proposed model, first, scheduling is done according to the estimated processing times and then re-scheduling is performed after determining the exact ones considering machine set-up. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed model, some numerical experiments are designed in small, medium and large sizes in different levels of changes in processing times and statistical results illustrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.     

Numerical and experimental analysis of wall thickness variation of a hemispherical PMMA sheet in thermoforming process

In thermoforming, a heated plastic sheet is stretched into a mold cavity by applying pressure, eventually assisted by direct mechanical loading. Since upon its contact with the cold surface of the mold the sheet is prevented from undertaking any further deformation, the forming sequence induces a thickness variation in the final part. This fundamental inherent defect of thermoforming technology highly affects the optical characteristics of optical products. Therefore, the more uniform the wall thickness, the less chance optical defects will occur. In this research, the production process of a hemispherical transparent PMMA sheet as an optical product was numerically simulated. The simulated process is a two-step process comprising a combination of free forming and plug-assisted forming. In the simulation, the acrylic sheet is assumed to undergo a nonlinear and large elastic deformation which merits application of hyperelastic models. Mooney–Rivlin hyperelastic model is used as the constitutive equation. The obtained numerical results are validated with those achieved from the experiments. Different combinations of free forming and plug-assisted forming methods are studied based on what percentage of total height of the final part is produced by each method. Finally, an optimum combination of the two-step forming process is proposed. With this optimum combination, satisfactorily uniform wall thickness and minimal mold marks on the product surface will be achieved.     

Improving structural properties of polymer fibers to design and construct fiber spinneret and optimize process parameters using response surface method and gage R&R

In this study, a syringe pump was designed and built to determine the effect of the physical properties of the spinning part of a machine and the physical properties of the wet spinning process. Through the wet spinning method and fuzzy separation process, solid fibers were produced under experiments designed by the response surface method and statistical model of composite center design to predict the exact tensile strength. Polymeric fibers produced by atomic absorption spectrometry were used as adsorbent. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of spinning velocity, length-to-diameter ratio of the spinner, spinner diameter, and weight percentage of the polymer on the mechanical properties and structure of the sample. Scanning electron microscopy tests were conducted on the samples to analyze their structural properties, and the output pictures showed that the samples had a desirable microstructure. Analysis of variance indicated that the physical parameters of spinning produced the most significant effect on improving fiber properties. Results of data analysis showed that the length-to-diameter ratio and spinner diameter were the most effective process conditions that could be used to examine the data on tensile strength and optimum ratio of fiber diameter to spinner diameter. Finally, optimization was performed using the utility function to maximize the amount of tensile strength, and the process experimental results were evaluated. The results showed that the response surface models could adequately predict the values of the response variable. The gage R&R method was used to determine the amount of error due to the measurement system.     

A systems approach to photolithography process optimization in an electronics manufacturing environment

There are many complex problems in the optimization of an electronics manufacturing environment, and it is the view of the authors that these problems should not be solved and optimized in isolation, but analysed in the framework of a system. A systems approach offers an overall approach for solving problems, and optimizing the whole of the system as well as discrete subsystems. The research introduced in this paper integrates several techniques, namely: Integrated computer aided manufacturing DEFinition (IDEF), and experimental design and response surface methods for the analysis, control and optimization of electronic manufacturing processes. Electronics manufacturing includes three major processes; Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturing, semiconductor device manufacturing and electronics assembly. This paper describes a novel generic systematic methodology that has been used to create a model to optimize the photolithography process in PCB manufacture. For this, photolithography has been considered as a whole system made up of several sub-systems. This is shown in the process map for PCBs that focuses on photolithography and its subprocesses. A model of the manufacturing process is then given with the results of this being validated using an industrial study. Optimized settings for processing equipment are given resulting in an increase in process yield within industry.     

Performance optimization of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene/thermoplastic polyurethane composite foams blown with carbon dioxide using Taguchi technique

In this study, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composite foam blown with CO₂ was fabricated. Optimization was done by design of experiment (DOE) on the cellular structure using the Taguchi method. Foaming time (20, 40, and 80 s), saturation pressure (4, 5.5, and 7 MPa), and foaming temperature (80, 90, and 120°C) are the input parameters. The results obtained from the signal-to-noise (S/N) analysis showed that the most effective factor on the cell density (CD) was the saturation pressure and its influence rate was 48.05%, and also, the CD improved with the increase in the saturation pressure because the high saturation pressure leads to an enhancement in gas solubility and the rate of cell nucleation. Moreover, the foaming temperature and the foaming time had a noteworthy impact on the void fraction and the cell size (CS), and they should be controlled accurately. The impression rate of the foaming time on the CS was 50.86%, and also, with increase in the temperature and the time of foaming, the void fraction showed an increasing trend. The optimal values for the CD, the CS, and the void fraction were predicted to be 1.18 × 10⁹ cells/cm³, 5.37 μm, and 0.5744%, respectively.     

Roughness optimization of flow-formed tubes using the Taguchi method

The present study reports the effect of various flow-forming process parameters and roller geometry on the roughness of flow-formed tubes of commercial pure copper UNS C11000. Thickness reduction ratio, feed rate, angular speed of mandrel, attack angle of roller, roller tip radius, and smooth angle of roller were considered as variable parameters. The effects of these input parameters on the roughness have been critically analyzed using the Taguchi method. Through ANOVA analysis, it has been found that the roller tip radius is the most important parameter affecting roughness followed by thickness reduction ratio. Selection of an optimum combination of variable parameters was performed based on “average of results.” The minimum roughness of 1.37 μm was achieved when the process parameters were set at their optimum values.