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Natalie Ishmael, Anura Fernando, Sonja Andrew and Lindsey Waterton Taylor
This paper aims to provide an overview of the current manufacturing methods for three-dimensional textile preforms while providing experimental data on the emerging techniques of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide an overview of the current manufacturing methods for three-dimensional textile preforms while providing experimental data on the emerging techniques of combining yarn interlocking with yarn interlooping.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the key textile technologies used for composite manufacture: braiding, weaving and knitting. The various textile preforming methods are suited to different applications; their capabilities and end performance characteristics are analysed.
Findings
Such preforms are used in composites in a wide range of industries, from aerospace to medical and automotive to civil engineering. The paper highlights how the use of knitting technology for preform manufacture has gained wider acceptance due to its flexibility in design and shaping capabilities. The tensile properties of glass fibre knit structures containing inlay yarns interlocked between knitted loops are given, highlighting the importance of reinforcement yarns.
Originality/value
The future trends of reinforcement yarns in knitted structures for improved tensile properties are discussed, with initial experimental data.
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Johann Wilhelm and Werner Renhart
The purpose of this paper is to investigate an alternative to established hysteresis models.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate an alternative to established hysteresis models.
Design/methodology/approach
Different mathematical representations of the magnetic hysteresis are compared and some differences are briefly discussed. After this, the application of the T(x) function is presented and an inductor model is developed. Implementation details of the used transient circuit simulator code are further discussed. From real measurement results, parameters for the model are extracted. The results of the final simulation are finally discussed and compared to measurements.
Findings
The T(x) function possesses a fast mathematical formulation with very good accuracy. It is shown that this formulation is very well suited for an implementation in transient circuit simulator codes. Simulation results using the developed model are in very good agreement with measurements.
Research limitations/implications
For the purpose of this paper, only soft magnetic materials were considered. However, literature suggests, that the T(x) function can be extended to hard magnetic materials. Investigations on this topic are considered as future work.
Originality/value
While the mathematical background of the T(x) function is very well presented in the referenced papers, the application in a model of a real device is not very well discussed yet. The presented paper is directly applicable to typical problems in the field of power electronics.
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Allen Z. Reich, Galen R. Collins, Agnes L. DeFranco and Suzanne L. Pieper
Because of the increasingly higher expectations of accrediting organizations, calls for greater accountability from state governments and students’ demand for an education that…
Abstract
Purpose
Because of the increasingly higher expectations of accrediting organizations, calls for greater accountability from state governments and students’ demand for an education that prepares them for a career, most hospitality programs are now required to have an effective assessment of learning outcomes process. The increasing popularity of the assessment of learning outcomes process is viewed as highly positive because it can be considered as best-practices in higher education. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This is Part 2 of a two-part article that provides an overview of the justifications for implementing an assessment of learning outcomes process, the steps that were developed by two hospitality programs, and the experiences of the two programs during implementation.
Findings
The steps in a closed-loop assessment of learning outcomes process are relatively detailed; however, because of changes in expectations of stakeholders and the requirements of accreditors, they are now mandatory for most hospitality programs. Therefore, the choice is not whether to implement them, but when. From a competitive standpoint, it is to the program’s advantage to begin as soon as possible. Another factor to consider is that the implementation of a closed-loop assessment of learning outcomes process will take several years to complete.
Originality/value
This paper is presenting a critical view of one of, if not the most important concepts in higher education, the closed-loop assessment of learning outcomes process. Hopefully, the information on the process that is provided and the experiences of the two programs can shorten the learning curve for other hospitality programs.
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Federico Barnabè and Sarfraz Nazir
This study seeks to: (1) discuss how the integrated reporting (IR) framework may provide the principles, concepts and the key elements to support the analysis and representation…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to: (1) discuss how the integrated reporting (IR) framework may provide the principles, concepts and the key elements to support the analysis and representation of circular economy (CE)–related activities and information; (2) explore how and to what extent current IR practices are including and disclosing CE-related information; (3) investigate through an exploratory case study the interplays between IR and CE.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on a theoretical analysis of the interplays between CE and IR, this study first performs textual content analysis on a dataset of 84 integrated reports to determine the type and extent of CE-related disclosure. Subsequently, the article presents and discusses an exploratory case study developed according to an action research perspective.
Findings
Through textual content analysis, the study provides data on CE-related reporting practices for 74 organizations operating worldwide, highlighting differences in reporting choices and emphasizing the role played by IR concepts. Through the exploratory case study, this article provides insights on how IR principles support the analysis and the (re)presentation of CE-related information.
Research limitations/implications
Content analysis is used to explore how and to what extent companies disclose CE-related information, not to investigate the quality of such disclosure. Only one single exploratory case study is used.
Practical implications
This article advocates to embed CE data into integrated reports and according to IR principles. The exploratory case study offers useful insights and examples.
Originality/value
This work represents one of the first studies advocating and exploring the interplays between CE and IR. Additionally, this study aids in the development of a more standardized and established terminology for CE research and reporting practices.
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Peter G. Kelly, Benjamin H. Gallup and Joseph D. Roy-Mayhew
Many additively manufactured parts suffer from reduced interlayer strength. This anisotropy is necessarily tied to the orientation during manufacture. When individual features on…
Abstract
Purpose
Many additively manufactured parts suffer from reduced interlayer strength. This anisotropy is necessarily tied to the orientation during manufacture. When individual features on a part have conflicting optimal orientations, the part is unavoidably compromised. This paper aims to demonstrate a strategy in which conflicting features can be functionally separated into “co-parts” which are individually aligned in an optimal orientation, selectively reinforced with continuous fiber, printed simultaneously and, finally, assembled into a composite part with substantially improved performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Several candidate parts were selected for co-part decomposition. They were printed as standard fused filament fabrication plastic parts, parts reinforced with continuous fiber in one plane and co-part assemblies both with and without continuous fiber reinforcement (CFR). All parts were loaded until failure. Additionally, parts representative of common suboptimally oriented features (“unit tests”) were similarly printed and tested.
Findings
CFR delivered substantial improvement over unreinforced plastic-only parts in both standard parts and co-part assemblies, as expected. Reinforced parts held up to 2.5x the ultimate load of equivalent plastic-only parts. The co-part strategy delivered even greater improvement, particularly when also reinforced with continuous fiber. Plastic-only co-part assemblies held up to 3.2x the ultimate load of equivalent plastic only parts. Continuous fiber reinforced co-part assemblies held up to 6.4x the ultimate load of equivalent plastic-only parts. Additionally, the thought process behind general co-part design is explored and a vision of simulation-driven automated co-part implementation is discussed.
Originality/value
This technique is a novel way to overcome one of the most common challenges preventing the functional use of additively manufactured parts. It delivers compelling performance with continuous carbon fiber reinforcement in 3D printed parts. Further study could extend the technique to any anisotropic manufacturing method, additive or otherwise.
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Riccardo Giannetti, Lino Cinquini, Paola Miolo Vitali and Falconer Mitchell
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a substantial organization gradually builds a management accounting system from scratch, changing its accounting routines by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how a substantial organization gradually builds a management accounting system from scratch, changing its accounting routines by learning processes. The paper uses the experiential learning theory and the concept of learning style to investigate the learning process during management accounting change. The study aims to expand the domain of management accounting change theory to emphasize the learning-related aspects that can constitute it.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides an interpretation of management accounting change based on the model of problem management proposed by Kolb (1983) and the theory of experiential learning (Kolb, 1976, 1984). The study is based on a 14-year longitudinal case study (1994‐2007). The case examined can be considered a theory illustration case. Data were obtained from a broad variety of sources including interviews, document analysis and adopting an interventionist approach during the redesign of the costing system.
Findings
The paper contributes to two important aspects of management accounting change. First, it becomes apparent that the costing information change was not a discrete event but a process of experience and learning conducted through several iterations of trial-and-error loops that extended over the years. Second, the findings reveal that the learning process can alter management accounting system design in a radical or incremental way according to the learning style of the people involved in the process of change.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the adopted research approach, results could be extended only to other organizations presenting similar characteristics. Several further areas of research are suggested by the findings of this paper. In particular, it would be of interest to investigate the links between learning styles and communication and its effect on management accounting change.
Practical implications
The paper includes implications for the management of learning during management accounting change, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of this process.
Originality/value
This paper is one response to the call for an interdisciplinary research approach to the management accounting change phenomena using a “method theory” taken from the discipline of management to provide an explanation of the change in management accounting. In respect of the previous literature, it provides two main contributions, namely, the proposal of a model useful both to interpret and manage learning processes; the effect of learning style on management accounting routines change.
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Guido Noto and Federico Cosenz
Lean Thinking is an operation management discipline which aims to identify, map and analyse the activities forming a process to detect “value waste” and outline the most effective…
Abstract
Purpose
Lean Thinking is an operation management discipline which aims to identify, map and analyse the activities forming a process to detect “value waste” and outline the most effective flow of activities to execute in sequence. Process mapping is often developed in lean projects through the use of the Value Stream Map (VSM). Like many other management tools, the VSM adopts a static and non-systemic perspective in the representation of an organizational process. This may result in the implementation of Lean projects inconsistent with the overall organizational long-term strategy, thus leading to dysfunctional performance. In order to overcome this limit, the paper suggests combining VSM with System Dynamics (SD) modelling.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a review of the literature on VSM. This review is matched with an analysis of SD modelling principles aimed at explaining the practical and theoretical contribution of this approach to operation and strategic management practices. An illustrative case study is then provided to explore the practical implications of the proposed approach.
Findings
Our results show that SD modelling provides robust methodological support to VSM and Lean Thinking due to its inner characteristics, namely: simulation, systemic view, explicit link between system structure and behaviour and effective visual representation.
Originality/value
This research proposes a novel approach to design VSMs aimed at fostering a strategic perspective in Lean Thinking applications. Such an approach connects two fields of research and practice – i.e. VSM and SD modelling – which have traditionally been kept separated or, at least, partially combined for specific organizational sub-systems, thereby neglecting a broader strategic view of the entire process system.
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