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The purpose of this paper is to review Lean Six Sigma (LSS) literature and report different definitions, demographics, methodologies and industries.

This paper highlights various definitions by different researchers and practitioners. A total of 235 research papers has been reviewed for the LSS theme, research methodology adopted, type of industry, author profile, country of research and year of publication.

From the review, four significant LSS classifications were identified that deal with the spread of LSS in different industries followed by observation for classification.

LSS is a strategy for success, but it did not examine its presence in various Industries. From this paper, readers can understand the quantum of its spread before implementing LSS. For academicians, it will be a comprehensive list of papers for research.

This paper reviews 235 research papers for their year, author profile, research methodology and type of industry. Various characteristics of LSS definitions and their theme are also reviewed.

This mathematical analysis has been accomplished for the purpose of understanding the propagation behaviour like phase velocity and attenuation of Love-type waves through visco-micropolar composite Earth’s structure.

The considered geometry of this problem involves a micropolar Voigt-type viscoelastic stratum imperfectly bonded to a heterogeneous Voigt-type viscoelastic substratum. With the aid of governing equations of motion of each individual medium and method of separation of variable, the components of micro-rotation and displacement have been obtained.

The boundary conditions of the presumed geometry at the free surface and at the interface, together with the obtained components of micro-rotation, displacement and mechanical stresses give rise to the determinant form of the dispersion relation. Moreover, some noteworthy cases have also been extrapolated in detail. Graphical interpretation irradiating the impact of viscoelasticity, micropolarity, heterogeneity and imperfectness on the phase velocity and attenuation of Love-type waves is the principal highlight of the present study.

In this study, the influence of the considered parameters such as micropolarity, viscoelasticity, heterogeneity, and imperfectness has been elucidated graphically on the phase velocity and attenuation of Love-type waves. It has been noticed from the graphs that with the rising magnitude of micropolarity and heterogeneity, the attenuation curves shift upwards, that is the loss of energy of these waves takes place in a rapid way. Hence, from the outcomes of the present analysis, it can be concluded that heterogeneous micropolar stratified media can serve as a helpful tool in increasing the attenuation or in other words, loss of energy of Love-type waves, thus reducing the devastating behaviour of these waves.

Till date, the mathematical modelling as well as vibrational analysis of Love-type waves in a viscoelastic substrate overloaded by visco-micropolar composite Earth’s structure with mechanical interfacial imperfection remain unattempted by researchers round the globe. The current analysis is an approach for studying the traversal traits of surface waves (here, Love-type waves) in a realistic stratified model of the Earth’s crust and may thus, serves as a dynamic paraphernalia in various domains like earthquake and geotechnical engineering; exploration geology and soil mechanics and many more, both in a conceptual as well as pragmatic manner.

The purpose of this study is to develop a novel rectangular linear induction motor as an electromagnetic stirrer (EMS) using analytical followed by a numerical approach. The rectangular linear electromagnetic stirrer (RLEMS) is mainly developed for rectangular slab and billet as the end product.

A two-dimensional analytical approach for evaluating flux density distribution within the mold is established for RLEMS structure. Subsequently, the average stirring force within the mold is estimated from those field variables. The paper presents an analytical and numerical model for calculating the stirring force and counters the end and edge effects of linear-type EMS. Magnetic field and force profile within the mold due to polyphase rectangular stator distribution has been done with the help of Maxwell’s equation with appropriate boundary conditions by using Fourier transform and inverse Fourier transform. Subsequently, a numerical study has been carried out using a coupled thermal and electromagnetic model.

The present study investigates the physical phenomena during the solidification process because of an induced electromagnetic field and is able to extract all the electromagnetic field variables under different operating conditions, and, subsequently, provides an insight into the actual happening within the mold.

It provides the analytical method for solving the stirring force of the proposed new RLEMS structure by addressing the smooth and efficient variation of field and velocity profile near the corner of the mold and improves the quality of end product.

This study aims to investigate the optimal process parameters of the wire-cut electrical discharge machining (WCEDM) for the machining of the GZR-AA7475 hybrid metal matrix composite (HMMC). HMMCs are prepared with 2 Wt.% graphite and 4 Wt.% zirconium dioxide reinforced with aluminium alloy 7475 (GZR-AA7475) composite by using the stir casting method. The objective is to enhance the mechanical properties of the material while preserving its unique features. WCEDM with a 0.18 mm molybdenum wire electrode is used for machining the composite.

To conduct experimental studies, a Taguchi L27 orthogonal array was adopted. Input variables such as peak current (I_p), pulse-on-time (T_ON) and flushing pressure (P_F) were used. The effect of process parameters on the output responses, such as material removal rate (MRR), surface roughness rate (SRR) and wire wear ratio (WWR), were investigated. The grey relational analysis (GRA) is used to obtain the optimal combination of the process parameters. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also used to identify the significant process parameters affecting the output responses.

Results from the current study concluded that the optimal condition for grey relational grade is obtained at T_ON = 105 µs, I_p = 100 A and P_F = 90 kg/cm². Peak current is the most prominent parameter influencing the MRR, whereas SRR and WRR are highly influenced by flushing pressure.

Identifying the optimal process parameters in WCEDM for machining of GZR-AA7475 HMMC. ANOVA and GRA are used to obtain the optimal combination of the process parameters.

Pressure on business to direct their activities responsibly has been increased during the last years to extent their suitability performance in all economic, social and environmental dimensions. This has motivated businesses and researchers to identify ways to implement sustainable and resilient operations. In the era of economic globalisation, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are recognised as an engine of sustainable economic development in both the developed and developing world. Their competitiveness drives the economy, both nationally and internationally. SMEs have faced challenges in developing, internationalisation and achieving competitive advantage. Purpose of current study is to identify and analyse the sustainability and resiliency (SR) barriers to SME internationalisation and prioritise the practices to overcome the negative influence of barriers. In this regard, first, barriers and innovative practices have been identified through the literature review. Second, the essential barriers will be selected through reduction steps by the intuitionistic fuzzy Delphi (IF-Delphi) method. After computing the weight of barriers through the IF-DEMATEL method, the practices were prioritised using four multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) methods in an IF environment. Finally, the scores were aggregated by correlation coefficient and standard deviation (CCSD) technique. Results present that ‘Lack of economical resources to global exports’ and ‘Complications in acclimatizing export product design’ are the top priority barriers and ‘Knowledge of global market opportunities’ and ‘Networking with business incubator institutions’ have been recognised as the essential SMEs internationalisation practices. This study contributes to creating a more focussed approach towards the growth of SMEs. The study results would be helpful for industry, policymakers and academia.

This paper aims to focus on the mathematical modeling of magnetohydrodynamic natural convective boundary layer flow of nanofluids past a stationary and moving inclined porous plate considering temperature and concentration gradients with suction effects.

The transformed non-dimensional and coupled governing partial differential equations are solved numerically using the finite element method.

The obtained numerical results for physical governing parameters on the velocity, temperature and concentration distributions are exemplified graphically and presented quantitatively. The boundary layer thickness increased with the increasing values of Soret, Dufour and Grashof numbers, while the thickness of boundary layer decreased with increasing values of suction for both stationary and moving plate cases. The primary and secondary velocity profiles are decreasing with an angle of inclination for moving plate and inclination has no significant effect for the stationary plate. An increase of the Soret number and Dufour number tend to increase the heat and mass transfer, while an increase of suction reduces the heat and mass transfer.

The problem is an important contribution to the field of nanofluid science and technology and is relevant to high temperature rotating chemical engineering systems exploiting magnetized nanofluids. This study is relatively original in nanofluids.

The purpose of this study is stated regarding the impact of the horizontally polarized shear wave vibration on a composite medium in the terms of phase and damped velocity.

The assumed composite is composed of magneto-elastic fiber-reinforced (MEFR) layer constrained between heterogeneous viscoelastic layer and heterogeneous elastic half-space. The considered heterogeneity is associated with the directional rigidity and mass density in the uppermost layer and half-space of quadratic and trigonometric types, respectively. The coupled field equations related to the respective medium are solved analytically by employing the method of separation of variables.

The dispersion relation of the stated problem is secured by using the continuity assumptions, imposed at the stress-free surface and the interfaces of the expressed medium. The adopted numerical examples are used to compute the dispersion relation and plot the graphs between phase/damped velocity and wave number. Parametric studies on the phase and damped velocity yield five main conclusions: (1) Phase velocity decreases with increasing value of wave number and damped velocity increases up to a certain number and then starts falling simultaneously with increasing magnitude of wave number while keeping the rest parametric values fixed. (2) The presence of heterogeneity in the upper layer enhances the phase velocity and diminishes the damped velocity, but the presence of heterogeneity in the half-space enhances both the phase and damped velocity. (3) The appearance of reinforced parameters enhances the phase velocity for the considered crystalline graphite material and diminishes the phase velocity for the rest materials (carbon fiber-epoxy resin and steel) of the MEFR layer. Similarly, damped velocity decreases for the assumed crystalline graphite material of the MEFR layer and increases for the rest materials of the MEFR layer. (4) The induced dissipation factor due to viscoelastic property shows reversal decreasing and increasing effect on phase and damped velocity of SH-wave. (5) Ascending values of the angle at which the wave crosses the magnetic field increase the phase velocity and decrease the damped velocity for all the considered MEFR examples.

Till date, the mathematical modeling as well as vibrational analysis of wave propagation through the composite structure consisting of MEFR layer constrained between viscoelastic media and elastic half-space under the effect of different varying properties with depth remains a new challenging issue for the researchers around the globe. The current analysis is an approach to move ahead in the era of wave propagation in different realistic models based on their parametric studies. Also, these studies are very helpful to find their applications in the field of mechanical, construction, aerospace, automobile, biomedical, marine, manufacturing industries and many branches of science and technology where magnetic fields induced in elastic deformation occur.