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The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of weft yarn diameter and pick density on the properties of surface roughness (SMD) of 3/1 (Z) twill-woven fabrics in three measurement directions weft (0°), the warp (90°) and the diagonal (45°).

Nine 3/1 (Z) twill samples were prepared with two factors and three levels and their roughness values were measured in the weft (0°), warp (90°) and diagonal (45°) directions of 3/1 (Z) twill fabrics using the Kawabata-FB4 instrument. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to determine the effect of weft yarn diameter and pick density on SMD properties and comparisons were done in the weft (0°), the warp (90°) and the diagonal (45°) directions.

From experimental analysis, weft yarn diameter and pick density affect SMD of 3/1 (Z) twill-woven fabrics in both diagonal (45°) and weft (0°) directions but slightly affect warp (90°) direction. Maximum SMD values were observed in diagonal (45°) directions and the minimum was in warp (90°) directions of fabrics. Weft yarn diameter and pick density are statistically significant on SMD values of 3/1 (Z) twill-woven fabrics for three directions at a 95% confidence interval. Parameter variation in weft directions of 3/1 (Z) twill-woven fabrics also varies SMD values in three directions measurements

The findings of this study can be usually used for textile technology, industries and laboratories to create a basic understanding for measuring roughness properties of 3/1 (Z) twill fabric. It is also possible to identify the surface characterizations in different directions of measurement for their usage in some specific areas of end application like consumer goods, home textiles, technical textiles, etc.

To investigate the impact of performance measurement in strategic planning process.

A large scale survey was conducted online with Warwick Business School alumni. The questionnaire was based on the Strategic Development Process model by Dyson. The questionnaire was designed to map the current practice of strategic planning and to determine its most influential factors on the effectiveness of the process. All questions were close ended and a seven‐point Likert scale used. The independent variables were grouped into four meaningful factors by factor analysis (Varimax, coefficient of rotation 0.4). The factors produced were used to build regression models (stepwise) for the five assessments of strategic planning process. Regression models were developed for the totality of the responses, comparing SMEs and large organizations and comparing organizations operating in slowly and rapidly changing environments.

The results indicate that performance measurement stands as one of the four main factors characterising the current practice of strategic planning. This research has determined that complexity coming from organizational size and rate of change in the sector creates variation in the impact of performance measurement in strategic planning. Large organizations and organizations operating in rapidly changing environments make greater use of performance measurement.

This research is based on subjective data, therefore the conclusions do not concern the impact of strategic planning process' elements on the organizational performance achievements, but on the success/effectiveness of the strategic planning process itself.

This research raises a series of questions about the use and potential impact of performance measurement, especially in the categories of organizations that are not significantly influenced by its utilisation. It contributes to the field of performance measurement impact.

This research fills in the gap literature concerning the lack of large scale surveys on strategic development processes and performance measurement. It also contributes in the literature of this field by providing empirical evidences on the impact of performance measurement upon the strategic planning process.

The problem of reconstructing the current profile in regions not directly accessible by sensors is tackled, with reference to current profile reconstruction in cable in conduit conductors cable. A possible strategy for the choice of the optimal number, location and direction of magnetic probes measuring the field outside the source region is discussed. In addition, some considerations on the related inverse problem resolution are presented.

The purpose of this paper is to propose the optimal allocation and alignment of probes for current distribution measurement (CDM) in the case of twin cable in conduit conductor (CICC) cables with equal and opposite current.

The most effective approach to CDM in CICC cables is to perform indirect measurements starting from magnetic field map measured externally to the cable. A number of approaches have been proposed to optimize the layout of magnetic field probes external to the cable, but all dealing with single cables. In this paper, an approach to the optimized design of measurement system for twin cables will be proposed, based on the minimization of a suitable cost function.

A method for the optimal allocation of probes both in terms of rejection of the background field and of condition number of the Green matrix has been defined.

The method is valid only in the hypothesis of linear relationship between currents and magnetic field.

The proposed approach allows to design more robust CDM systems, with increased noise and background field rejection capability.

The problem of optimal design of CDM systems has been previously tackled in literature, but typically with reference to single cables. In the paper, an approach able to explicitly deal with twin cables is proposed.

The purpose of this paper is to consider reconstructions of potential 2D fields from discrete measurements. Two potential processes are addressed, steady flow and heat conduction. In the first case, the flow speed and streamlines are determined from the discrete data on flow directions, in the second case, the temperature and flux are recovered from temperature measurements at discrete points.

The method employs the Trefftz element principle and the collocation. The domain is seen as a combination of elements, where the solution is sought as a linear holomorphic function a priori satisfying the governing equations. Continuity of piecewise holomorphic functions is imposed at collocation points located on the element interfaces. These form the first group of equations. The second group of equations is formed by addressing the measured data, therefore the matrix coefficients may reflect experimental errors. In the case of fluid flow, all equations are homogeneous, therefore one normalising equation is added, which provides existence of a non‐trivial solution. The system is over‐determined; it is solved by the least squares method.

For the heat flow problem, the determination of heat flux is unique, while for the fluid flow, the determined streamlines are unique and the determination of speed contains one free multiplicative positive constant. Several examples are presented to illustrate the methods and investigate their efficiency and sensitivity to noisy data.

The approach can be applied to other 2D potential problems.

The paper studies two novel formulations of the reconstruction problem for 2D potential fields. It is shown that the suggested numerical method is able to deal directly with discrete experimental data.

The mechanical properties and surface finish of functional parts are important consideration in rapid prototyping, and the selection of proper parameters is essential to improve manufacturing solutions. The purpose of this paper is to describe how parts manufactured by fused deposition modelling (FDM), with different part orientations and raster angles, were examined experimentally and evaluated to achieve the desired properties of the parts while shortening the manufacturing times due to maintenance costs.

For this purpose, five different raster angles (0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°) for three part orientations (horizontal, vertical and perpendicular) have been manufactured by the FDM method and tested for surface roughness, tensile strength and flexural strength. Also, behaviour of the mechanical properties was clarified with scanning electron microscopy images of fracture surfaces.

The research results suggest that the orientation has a more significant influence than the raster angle on the surface roughness and mechanical behaviour of the resulting fused deposition part. The results indicate that there is close relationship between the surface roughness and the mechanical properties.

The results of this paper are useful in defining the most appropriate raster angle and part orientation in minimum production cost for FDM components on the basis of their expected in-service loading.

The paper aims to predict the surface roughness of fused deposition modelling prototypes. Since average roughness is not comprehensive, this study aims to extend the characterization to all the roughness parameters obtainable by a profilometric analysis.

A theoretical model of the 3D profile is supplied as a function of process parameters and part shape. A suitable geometry was designed and prototyped for validation. Data were measured by a profilometer and complemented by microscopic analysis. A methodology based on the proposed model was applied to optimise prototype fabrication in two practical cases.

The proposed profile is effective in describing the micro‐geometrical surface of fused deposition modelling prototypes. The third dimension enables the calculation of amplitude, spatial and hybrid roughness parameters.

Because of mathematical assumptions and technological aspects, the validity of the model presents limitations related to the deposition angle.

The method is an effective tool in the process planning stage: it enables knowing in advance how to assure part specifications delivering a set of technical choices. Two practical applications point out the usability in the product development and process parameters optimisation.

This work fulfils an identified need to predict a complete surface characterization of fused deposition modelling technology.

The aim of this paper is to present an architecture and prototypical implementation of a context‐sensitive software system which combines the tangible user interface approach with a mobile augmented reality (AR) application.

The work which is described within this paper is based on a creational approach, which means that a prototypical implementation is used to gather further research results. The prototypical approach allows performing ongoing tests concerning the accuracy and different context‐sensitive threshold functions.

Within this paper, the implementation and practical use of tangible user interfaces for outdoor selection of geographical objects is reported and discussed in detail.

Further research is necessary within the area of context‐sensitive dynamically changing threshold functions, which would allow improving the accuracy of the selected tangible user interface approach.

The practical implication of using tangible user interfaces within outdoor applications should improve the usability of AR applications.

Despite the fact that there exist a multitude of research results within the area of gesture recognition and AR applications, this research work focuses on the pointing gesture to select outdoor geographical objects.

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of alignment of conductive particles on the piezoresistivity of composite based on a theoretical model. The piezoresistivity of composite is associated with the characteristics of conductive network formed by the conductive particles distributed in the composite, which can be changed through aligning the conductive particles.

The orientations of the tunnel resistors formed by each two adjacent conductive particles are dependent on the aligned level of the conductive particles, and different orientations induce different deformations for a tunnel resistor under external strain, which determines the piezoresistivity of the composites. To investigate the resistance behavior of composites with various characteristics of conductive networks, a piezoresistivity model is developed in this paper by considering the aligned level of conductive particles.

The results obtained from the proposed piezoresistivity model indicate that the sensitivity and stability of composites can be enhanced through aligning the conductive particles. Also, the piezoresistivity of composites filled with randomly distributed conductive particles is isotropic, and it turns to be anisotropic when the conductive particles are aligned.

The change and its mechanism of the piezoresistivity upon the aligned level of conductive particles have been pointed out in this paper based on the proposed model. The achievement of this paper will help the people understand, predict and optimize the piezoresistivity of composites, and provide a new approach to design a strain sensor based on the piezoresistivity.