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Propagation characteristics of millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies that are being explored for implementing 5G network are quite different from sub 3GHz frequencies in which 4G network is operating, and hence antenna design for mmW 5G network is going to be significantly different. The purpose of this paper is to bring forth the unique challenges and opportunities of planar antenna design for mmW 5G network.

A lot of notable contemporary work has been investigated for this study and reported in this paper. A comparison of 4G and 5G technologies has been carried out to understand the difference between the air interface of two technologies that governs the antenna design. Important research gaps found after collating the work already done in the field have been bullet pointed for the use by many researchers working in this direction.

Several antenna design considerations have been laid out by the authors of this work, and it has been claimed that mmW 5G antenna design must satisfy these design considerations. In addition, prominent research gaps have been identified and thoroughly discussed.

As research in the field of mmW antenna design for 5G applications is still evolving, a lot of work is currently being done in this area. This study can prove to be important in understanding different challenges, opportunities and current state-of-art in the field of mmW planar antenna design for 5G cellular communication.

This paper aims to investigate the flexural properties i.e. the flexural strength and the flexural modulus under the influence of selected input variables, namely; fiber type, fiber loading and fiber size in fabricated natural fiber polymeric composites through using Taguchi’s design of experiment methodology.

The Taguchi’s design of experiment approach has been used to scheme a suitable combination to fabricate the polymeric composites. Pure polypropylene (PP) has been chosen as a matrix material, whereas two types of fibers, namely; wood powder (WP) i.e. sawdust and rice husk powder (RHP), have been used as a reinforcement in the matrix. Microstructure analysis of fabricated and tested samples has also been evaluated and analyzed using a scanning electron microscope. This analysis has divulged that at moderate fiber size and higher fiber loading, no gap or cavities presented between the fillers and matrix particles, which illustrates the good interfacial bonding between the materials.

The flexural strength of the wood powder pure polypropylene (WPPP) composite decreases if the fiber content gets increased beyond 20 Wt.%. In addition, the flexural strength of hybrid composite (WPRHPPP) has been revealed to get improved more in comparison to composites with single fiber as reinforcement. Furthermore, the flexural modulus of WPPP composite has also increased with the increase in fiber loading. It has been concluded that reinforcement size plays an imperative role in influencing the flexural modulus. The optimum parametric setting for the flexural strength and the flexural modulus has been devised as; fiber type – WPRHP, fiber loading – 10 Wt.% and fiber size – 600 µm; and fiber type – WP, fiber loading – 30 Wt.% and fiber size – 1,180 µm, respectively. The microstructure images clearly revealed that during conducted flexural tests, some particles get disturbed from their bonded position that mainly represents the plastic deformation.

The fabricated polymer materials proposed in the research work are green and environmentally friendly.

The natural fiber-based composites are possessing wide-spread requirements in today’s competitive structure of manufacturing and industrial applications. The fabrication of the natural fiber-based composites has also been planned through the designed experiments (namely; Taguchi Methodology- L₉ orthogonal array matrix), which, further, makes the analysis more fruitful and qualitative too. The fabricated polymer materials proposed in the research work are green and environmentally friendly. Shisham WP has been rarely used in the past researches; therefore, this factor has been included for the present work. The injection molding process is used to fabricate the three different polymer composite by varying the fiber weight percentage and fiber size.

Over the years, the fruit and vegetable supply chain has encountered several challenges. From the harvesting stage until it reaches the consumer, a significant portion of fruits and vegetables gets wasted in the supply chain. As a result, the present study attempts to identify and analyze the growth barriers in the fresh produce supply chain (FPSC) in the Indian context.

An integrated grey theory and DEMATEL based approach is used to analyze growth barriers in the FPSC. The growth barriers were analyzed and sorted based on their influence and importance relations.

The results emphasize that the most critical growth barriers in the FPSC that should be addressed to ensure food waste reduction are as follows: Lack of cold chain facilities (B2), lack of transportation or logistic facilities (B1), lack of collaboration and information sharing between supply chain partners (B3), lack of proper quality and safety protocols (B15), a lack of processing and packaging facilities (B14), and poor productivity and efficiency (B13). Results are also verified by conducting a sensitivity analysis.

The results are highly useful for policymakers to exploit growth barriers within the FPSC that require more attention. The obtained results show that the managers and policymakers need to utilize more funds to develop the cold chain facilities and logistics facilities to develop the FPSC. By improving the cold chain facilities, it is possible to improve the quality of food, make the food safe for human consumption, reduce waste, and increase the efficiency and productivity of the supply chain. Also, this study may encourage policymakers and industrial managers to adopt the most influential SCM practices for food waste reduction.

Many researchers have attempted to analyze the causes of food waste and growth barriers in the FPSC using various decision-making methods. Still, no attempts are made to explore the causal relations among various growth barriers in FPSC through the integrated Grey-DEMATEL technique. Also, we devise policy implications in the light of the new farm bills or the Indian agricultural acts of 2020. Lack of cold chain facilities (B2) was found to be the critical driving barrier in the FPSC, as it influences multiple barriers. Also, there is a dire need for cold chain facilities and transportation systems to enhance productivity and efficiency.