Search results

ONE of the highlights of British production in recent years has been the enormous advances made in aircraft design and production and the consequent lead given us in the market for commercial airliners. This has been achieved despite the fact that up to 75 per cent of the total cost of an airliner may be spent on labour.

There is something uniquely fascinating about things which are smaller than life. From the model cars and trains of our childhood days, to the intricate scale models which draw visitors in their thousands to such places as London's Science Museum, somewhere along the line these miniature replicas of full‐sized originals have provided all of us with a memorable experience in our lives. While it might take a psychologist to identify the exact reasons why the everyday things in life, seen as it were through the wrong end of a telescope, should hold this fascination over the human brain, it is immediately obvious that the fascination exists, and that models can play an important role in teaching us about the full‐sized items they represent.

Industries, especially power plants, using steam as power fluid employ many equipment and systems using saturated steam. Mathematical modeling of this saturated steam water space (SSWS) equipment is important for simulators catering to these industries and power plants. Single-equation-based modeling approach and its optimized version, mass factor–volume factor approach, are very efficient in modeling SSWS with bounded volumes, where the volume of the space is fixed. In unbounded volumes, the volume may be changing or is unbounded because of expansion, contraction or pressure control. The purpose of this paper is to propose a single equation based modeling approach for unbounded SSWS. Such unbounded volumes are encountered in coolant channels of pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR)-type nuclear power plants (NPPs).

This paper proposes an extension of a single-equation approach by considering a subsection of the volume as miniature Point SSWS. In the proposed Point SSWS, the total heat, mass and volume of the SSWS are delinked and overall density and heat density are introduced in place. With this extension, Point SSWS can be applied to unbounded volumes.

In this study, 392 coolant channels of proposed 680 MWe PHWR have been simulated to ascertain the overall coolant density when coolant boils partially on nuclear heating. The simulation results have been compared with simulation results available from previous researchers and it has been found that the values are in line with previous researchers with maximum deviation of 1.2 per cent.

From the simulation results and their low value of deviation, it is clear that point space approach can be effectively used in modeling Point SSWS. Moreover, theoretically, it has been proved that the density of homogenous steam–water mixture is dependent only on the bulk heat density and temperature of the mixture.

ENHANCEMENTS in the cutting of materials such as composites and metals can provide manufacturers in the aerospace and aircraft industries with the improvements they require in productivity and quality.

This study intends to review the existing studies on the application of immersive learning technology (ILT) in architecture education field. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted on the characteristics and implementation of ILT, research purpose, approach and outcome of research.

The PICO concept (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome measures) was used to form the research keywords. The Scopus database was searched and supported by supplementary search on Google Scholar, ProQuest, Emerald Insight and Springer Link. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 19 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2013 and 2019 were identified.

Virtual reality was found to be the most prevalent ILT applied in architecture education and commonly used as simulation. Most of the studies were applied in year-two architecture study and were mainly implemented for architecture design subject. Very few studies have associated the use of ILT with learning theories, and most of the existing studies have examined the effect of ILT on learning performance. Motivation was found to be the dominant emotional state, and most of the interventions deal with a higher cognitive level.

Only a small number of articles were selected due to the limited number of studies on the subject. Nevertheless, analysis of the selected few has provided valuable insight into the current scenario of the research topic.

This study adds to the existing literature by examining the existing empirical evidence on ILT intervention in the architecture education field. The findings will contribute towards innovating the learning process among architecture students and encouraging the use the ILT as part of architecture education system in higher education institutions.

The increase in automobile usage across the world has fortified the opportunities of maintenance service garages. However, there are significant numbers of challenges in front of maintenance service providers at all stages of the business. This paper identifies, analyzes and prioritizes various challenges associated with the establishment and survival of garages specific to Indian context.

In this paper, challenges for automotive service garage are identified through expert opinion, garage survey and literature. A structural hierarchical framework of the identified challenges is established through structural models, including interpretive structural modeling and analytic hierarchy process.

This paper has identified nine challenges, namely proliferation of new models and variants; technological advancements in automobile systems; demand of better service quality; space and ambience requirements; labor requirements; requirement of modern support equipments, tools and spares; safety requirements and prevention of occupational hazards; environmental norms and concerns; proper documentation requirements. The drivers and dependent variables have been identified. A hierarchical framework of challenges has been established.

This paper provides a comprehensive list of challenges and their priority in establishing an automobile maintenance garage business in Indian context. This will help the budding entrepreneurs and existing maintenance organizations to focus on the challenges that necessitate immediate attention and corrective actions.

This paper provides a significant contribution in the literature of garage maintenance services, which is established on the viewpoint of different collaborators associated with this business. This study will be a foundation to investigate further in this domain.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the service quality automobile garages through development of a service quality index based on the factors influencing service quality.

A structural methodology of graph theory and matrix approach is applied for developing the service quality index.

The automobile maintenance can be considered as a service industry and in order to sustain in the competitive business environment, the service providers must ensure quality in their services. There are several factors that influence the service quality. Each factor is comprised of several sub-factors. Moreover, the factors are interrelated with each other. Modelling of these factors and their interrelations with due consideration of their structure is accomplished through the graph theory. The directed graph (digraph) of the service quality is defined; the nodes of this symbolize the quality influencing factors, while the edges represent their degrees of interrelationships. An equivalent matrix developed from the digraph establishes a service quality function which leads to evaluation of service quality index (SQI). A greater value of the service quality index displays that the organization and functioning of the garage is adequate.

The methodology can be applied for evaluating as well as comparing service quality of different garages. The observations would be helpful to the managers the garages to make strategies for improving their service quality.

The paper establishes the interrelations among various factors that influence the service quality at automobile garages and develop a numeric index for the evaluation of the same.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute a framework that explains how value is formed during the usage of immersive technologies in industrial contexts.

Drawing on activity theory and a customer-dominant logic, the authors tentatively develop an activity-centric framework for value formation enabled by physical and mental activities conducted by users of immersive technologies. The authors evaluate the framework through a case study focusing on the use of virtual reality (VR) in an industrial setting.

The findings from the case study illustrate the tentative framework and specify how it is enacted by users in the studied context through three physical activities constituted by a set of actions and reflected in five emotional responses.

Both researchers and practitioners may use the framework presented in this paper as a guide for further academic and practical developments concerning the value of immersive technologies such as VR and augmented reality.

The activity-centric framework contributes a novel perspective to the literature on value formation enabled by immersive technologies.

The job of ding man is very highly skilled: it contains a large number of advanced sensori‐motor skills and much decision‐making. For many years different car‐builders have wrestled with the training of this key worker, for a long time without success. Ray Basey, Skills Analyst at Fords, Dagenham, has studied this job in depth and developed highly effective training in it. His article is a study in how to approach the business of training for complex manual skills.