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Although China can be considered an early adopter of the circular economy, there are few studies of remanufacturing business models (BMs) in the context of the Chinese automobile industry. The purpose of this paper is to investigate viable BMs, summarizes current obstacles and anticipates future development opportunities and directions.

The cross-case analysis considers the roles of value networks and of customer value proposition and interface in circular business models (CBMs) by examining the strategies and tactical measures of two leading remanufacturers. The data are collected from semi-structured interviews, documents, etc.

The analysis identifies the following components of viable BMs of remanufacturers: reclaiming raw material, managing used components, producing new products and marketing. Several current obstacles are summarized from four perspectives: policy barriers and insufficient government support; consumer awareness; related product quality; and technology. The study also identifies future directions and opportunities for the automobile parts remanufacturing industry.

This study contributes to the CBM literature by mapping the barriers and opportunities in remanufacturing. The results have shed some light into the field of sustainability in manufacturing firms by empirically testing the theoretical model. The results will help managers to design viable CBMs in different contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the single-sided packaging structure and double-sided packaging structure of high-power module and study the overall heat dissipation performance and reliability of the module.

In this paper, the single-sided packaging structure and double-sided packaging structure of power module are designed based on Wolfspeed products. This paper is analyzed by finite element method. First, the heat dissipation performance of single-sided packaging structure and double-sided packaging structure is analyzed; second, the deformation and stress of single-sided packaging structure and double-sided packaging structure are compared and analyzed; and finally, the cumulative plastic deformation of single-sided packaging and double-sided packaging structures are compared and analyzed, and the fatigue life of the structure is calculated based on the plastic deformation.

In the heat transfer simulation, under the same power input, the heat dissipation performance of single-sided packaging structure is not as good as that of double-sided packaging structure. Under the reliability simulation of the same temperature cycle standard, the maximum equivalent stress of single-sided packaging structure is lower than that of double-sided packaging structure, but the fatigue life prediction based on plastic strain shows that the fatigue life of double-sided packaging structure is not different from that of single-sided packaging structure.

This paper creatively simulates the thermal characteristics and reliability of single-sided packaging structure and double-sided packaging structure and proves the advantages of double-sided packaging structure compared with single-sided packaging structure from the aspects of heat transfer performance and reliability.

This research addresses the diverse characteristics of existing railway steel bridges in China, including variations in construction age, design standards, structural types, manufacturing processes, materials and service conditions. It also focuses on prominent defects and challenges related to heavy transportation conditions, particularly low live haul reserves and severe fatigue problems.

The study encompasses three key aspects: (1) Adaptability assessment: It begins with assessing the suitability of existing railway steel bridges for heavy-haul operations through comprehensive analyses, experiments and engineering applications. (2) Strengthening: To combat frequent crack defects in the vertical stiffener end structure of girder webs, fatigue performance tests and reinforcement scheme experiments were conducted. These experiments included the development of a hot-spot stress S-N curve for this structure, validating the effectiveness of methods like crack stop holes, ultrasonic hammering and flange angle steel. (3) Service life extension: Research on the cruciform welded joint structure (non-fusion transfer type) focused on fatigue performance over the long life cycle. This led to the establishment of a fatigue S-N curve, enhancing Chinese design codes.

The research achieved several significant outcomes: (1) Successful implementation of strengthening and retrofitting measures on a 64-m single-span double-track railway steel truss girder on an existing heavy-duty line. (2) Post-reinforcement, a substantial 26% to 32% reduction in live haul stress on bridge members was achieved. (3) The strengthening and retrofitting efforts met design expectations, enabling the bridge to accommodate vehicles with a 30-ton axle haul on the railway line.

This research systematically tackles challenges and defects associated with Chinese existing railway steel bridges, providing valuable insights into adaptability assessment, strengthening techniques and service life extension methods. Furthermore, the development of fatigue S-N curves and the successful implementation of bridge enhancements have practical implications for improving the resilience and operational capacity of railway steel bridges in China.

The past 40 years of reform and opening up have seen the role of core competence receive unprecedented attention because of the impact of the new normal economy as well as the pressure of transformation and upgrading. Few Chinese enterprises have effectively constructed core competence, and there is also a lack of strategic perspective and contextual embedding of its construction process in theory. This study aims to analyse the unique contextual characteristics of China in the transitional period and the impact on the core competence construction of Chinese enterprises and proposes its construction mechanism for Chinese enterprises.

Through theoretical deduction and speculation, this paper analyses the process of concept formation, clarifies the concept, analyses its connotations and structure and emphasises its relativity. Based on a review of the theoretical research on the core competence construction process and an analysis of dual contextual impact, this paper puts forward a mechanism for core competence construction.

The results reveal that four specific characteristics of entrepreneurs in balancing and coping with the dual nature of external context constitute the key driving force for a Chinese enterprises’ core competence construction; under the influence of this driving force, the core competence construction mechanism includes process mode, knowledge source, management mode and key success factors.

Approaching it from a Chinese context, this study deepens the concept of core competence; enriches and develops the research related to the core strategic research proposition of its construction; and provides positive significance for Chinese enterprises to effectively build, develop and strengthen core competence and enhance their international competitiveness.

The purpose of this paper is numerical calculation of total electric field in oil-paper insulation. Now, there is no effective method to consider the influence of space charges when calculating the total electric field distribution in the main insulation system of the valve-side winding of an ultra-high-voltage direct current converter transformer.

To calculate the total electric field in an oil-paper insulation system, a new simulation method in single-layer oil-paper insulation based on the transient upstream finite element method (TUFEM) is proposed, in which the time variable is considered. The TUFEM is used to calculate the total electric field in an oil-paper insulation system by considering the move law of space charges. The simulation method is verified by comparing the simulation results to the test data. The move law of space charges and distribution characteristics of the electric field under difference voltage values in single-layer oil-paper insulation were presented.

The results show that the TUFEM has an excellent accuracy compared with the test data. When carrier mobility is a constant, the time to reach the steady state is inversely correlated with the initial electric field intensity, and the distortion rate of the internal total electric field is positively correlated with the initial electric field intensity.

This paper provides an exploratory research on the simulation of space charge transport phenomenon in oil-paper and has guiding significance to the design of oil-paper insulation.

Flexible mechanical gripper has better safety and adaptability than a rigid mechanical hand. At present, there are few soft grippers for small objects on a millimeter scale. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to design a soft pneumatic gripper for grasping millimeter-scale small and fragile objects such as jewelry and electronic components.

By simulating the clamping action of the bird’s mouth and combining the high flexibility of the soft material, the bird’s beak soft pneumatic gripper is designed. First, the internal cavity of the gripping end of the gripper is determined by bending deformation calculation, and the brief manufacturing process of the gripper is outlined. Then, the single finger of the soft gripper is modeled mechanically, and the relationship between air pressure and bending deformation of the single finger is obtained. Finally, the experimental platform of the soft mechanical gripper is built, and the gripping performance of silicone rubber material is tested by comparison test, bending deformation test, stability test, adaptability test and gripping accuracy test.

The designed gripper has the advantages of simple structure, convenient operation, easy grasping of different small objects of millimeter-scale and good adaptability. It can grasp the precise dispensing needle with a minimum diameter of 0.19 mm, and its accuracy meets daily use.

A new type of soft pneumatic, the mechanical gripper is proposed and manufactured. According to the shape of the bird’s beak and the calculation of bending performance, a hollow finger gripper with better bending performance is designed. Various test results show that the gripper has a significant clamping effect on millimeter small objects, which supplements the research field of millimeter small object gripper.

Lenders in online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms are always non-experts and face severe information asymmetry. This paper aims to achieve the goals of gaining high returns with risk limitations or lowering risks with expected returns for P2P lenders.

This paper used data from a leading online P2P lending platform in America. First, the authors constructed a logistic regression-based credit scoring model and a linear regression-based profit scoring model to predict the default probabilities and profitability of loans. Second, based on the predictions of loan risk and loan return, the authors constructed linear programming model to form the optimal loan portfolio for lenders.

The research results show that compared to a logistic regression-based credit scoring method, the proposed new framework could make more returns for lenders with risks unchanged. Furthermore, compared to a linear regression-based profit scoring method, the proposed new framework could lower risks for lenders without lowering returns. In addition, comparisons with advanced machine learning techniques further validate its superiority.

Unlike previous studies that focus solely on predicting the default probability or profitability of loans, this study considers loan allocation in online P2P lending as an optimization research problem using a new framework based upon modern portfolio theory (MPT). This study may contribute theoretically to the extension of MPT in the specific context of online P2P lending and benefit lenders and platforms to develop more efficient investment tools.

The mesoscale structure (MS) has a significant impact on the mechanical performance of parts made by additive manufacturing (AM). This paper aims to explore the design and fabrication of force-flow guided reinforcement mesoscale structure (FFRMS) compared with the homogeneous mesoscale structure (HMS), which is inconsistent with the stress field for a given load condition. Some cases were presented to demonstrate the mechanical properties of FFRMS in terms of MS combined with quasi-isotropy and anisotropy.

The paper consists of four main sections: the first developed the concept of FFRMS design based on HMS, the second explored volume fraction control for the proportion of force-flow lines in terms of mechanical property requirement, and the third presented a sequence stacking theory and practical manufacturing process framework and the final sections provided some application case studies.

The main contributions of this study were the definition and development of the FFRMS concept, the application framework and the original case studies. As an example, a typical lug designed with the proposed FFRMS method was fabricated by three different AM processes. The test results showed that both the strength and stiffness of the specimens are improved greatly by using the FFRMS design method.

The superposition of HMS as the basement and force-flow as an indication of the stiffener, leading to a heterogeneous structure, which exhibits more efficient and diversified means compared with the traditional way of increasing the HMS density merely.

The purpose of this study is to effectively optimize vehicle lane-changing behavior and alleviate traffic congestion in ramp area through the study of vehicle lane-changing behaviors in upstream segment of ramp areas.

In the upstream segment of ramp areas under a connected vehicle environment, different strategies of vehicle group lane-changing behaviors are modeled to obtain the best group lane-changing strategy. The traffic capacity of roads can be improved by controlling group lane-changing behavior and continuously optimizing lane-changing strategy through connected vehicle technologies. This paper constructs vehicle group lane-changing strategies in upstream segment of ramp areas under a connected vehicle environment. The proposed strategies are simulated by VISSIM.

The results show that different lane-changing strategies are modeled through vehicle group in the upstream segment of ramp areas, which can greatly reduce the delay of ramp areas.

The simulation results verify the validity and rationality of the corresponding vehicle group lane-changing behavior model strategies, effectively standardize the driver's lane-changing behavior, and improve road safety and capacity.

The purpose of this paper is to find out whether the election of star analysts leads to the conflict of interests between analysts\institutional investors and individual investors. And then, further investigate how the election results to influence the individual investors’ decision making.

Given the fact that earnings forecasts and stock ratings are the most important foundations for the investor’s investment decision, the authors investigate the relationship among the earnings forecasts, abnormal returns and the election of star analyst. This paper further analyzes the impact factors on investors’ decision. The data used in this paper for star analysts’ information, analysts’ forecast and recommendations, as well as stock performances-related data are from 2005 to 2012.

This paper finds that mass media cannot select analysts with high forecast accuracy, and then misleads investors. It demonstrates that the analysts with poorer forecast ability and more optimistic stock recommendations are more prone to be entitled as star analysts by mass media, and these titled star analysts tend to show a poorer performance. Therefore, the star analyst worsens investors’ cognition on analysts forecast ability and then misleads investors’ decision making.

Media plays a critical role in corporate governance, information collection and diffusion and reducing the information asymmetry, however, it is good to know the role of media in financial markets from a broader perspective. Because media may also bring negative factors to the financial markets such as misguiding the investors and intensify the conflict of interests between analyst and individual investors.

This paper supports a new perspective of the role of mass media in financial market, which is different from existing studies.