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1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 20 December 2023

Fadwa M. Al Chamaa, Ahmad El Ghor and Elie Hantouche

This study aims at investigating the effect of bolt hole-making processes on the post-fire behavior of S235 steel plates.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims at investigating the effect of bolt hole-making processes on the post-fire behavior of S235 steel plates.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of nine steel plates with a single bolt hole are tested. The single bolt holes are fabricated using three different hole-making processes: drilling, waterjet and plasma. Among the nine steel plates, three fabricated specimens are control specimens and are tested at ambient temperature. The six remaining steel plates with a single bolt hole are subjected to a complete heating-cooling cycle and then monotonically loaded until failure. The six fabricated specimens are first heated up to two different temperatures 800 and 925 °C, and then cooled back to the ambient prior to loading.

Findings

The results show that after being exposed to post-fire temperatures (800 and 925 °C), the maximum decrease in strength of the S235 steel plate was 6% (at 925 °C), 14% (at 925 °C) and 22% (at 800 °C) when compared to the results of ambient specimens for waterjet, drilled and plasma bolt holes, respectively. For post-fire temperature tests, drilled and waterjet bolt hole-making processes result in having approximately the same load-displacement response, and both have larger strength and ductility than those obtained using plasma cutting.

Originality/value

This study provides preliminary data to guide the steel designers and fabricators in choosing the most suitable hole-making process for fire applications and to quantify the post-fire reduction in capacity of S235 plates.

Details

Journal of Structural Fire Engineering, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-2317

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 June 2023

Brad C. Meyer, Daniel Bumblauskas, Richard Keegan and Dali Zhang

This research fills a gap in process science by defining and explaining entropy and the increase of entropy in processes.

Abstract

Purpose

This research fills a gap in process science by defining and explaining entropy and the increase of entropy in processes.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a theoretical treatment that begins with a conceptual understanding of entropy in thermodynamics and information theory and extends it to the study of degradation and improvement in a transformation process.

Findings

A transformation process with three inputs: demand volume, throughput and product design, utilizes a system composed of processors, stores, configuration, human actors, stored data and controllers to provide a product. Elements of the system are aligned with the inputs and each other with a purpose to raise standard of living. Lack of alignment is entropy. Primary causes of increased entropy are changes in inputs and disordering of the system components. Secondary causes result from changes made to cope with the primary causes. Improvement and innovation reduce entropy by providing better alignments and new ways of aligning resources.

Originality/value

This is the first detailed theoretical treatment of entropy in a process science context.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 December 2023

Nagat Zalhaf, Mariam Ghazy, Metwali Abdelatty and Mohamed Hamed Zakaria

Even though it is widely used, reinforced concrete (RC) is susceptible to damage from various environmental factors. The hazard of a fire attack is particularly severe because it…

Abstract

Purpose

Even though it is widely used, reinforced concrete (RC) is susceptible to damage from various environmental factors. The hazard of a fire attack is particularly severe because it may cause the whole structure to collapse. Furthermore, repairing and strengthening existing structures with high-performance concrete (HPC) has become essential from both technical and financial points of view. In particular, studying the postfire behavior of HPC with normal strength concrete substrate requires experimental and numerical investigations. Accordingly, this study aims to numerically investigate the post-fire behavior of reinforced composite RC slabs.

Design/methodology/approach

Consequently, in this study, a numerical analysis was carried out to ascertain the flexural behavior of simply supported RC slabs strengthened with HPC and exposed to a particularly high temperature of 600°C for 2 h. This behavior was investigated and analyzed in the presence of a number of parameters, such as HPC types (fiber-reinforced, 0.5% steel, polypropylene fibers [PPF], hybrid fibers), strengthening side (tension or compression), strengthening layer thickness, slab thickness, boundary conditions, reinforcement ratio and yield strength of reinforcement.

Findings

The results showed that traction-separation and full-bond models can achieve accuracy compared with experimental results. Also, the fiber type significantly affects the postfire performance of RC slab strengthened with HPC, where the inclusion of hybrid fiber recorded the highest ultimate load. While adding PPF to HPC showed a rapid decrease in the load-deflection curve after reaching the ultimate load.

Originality/value

The proposed model accurately predicted the thermomechanical behavior of RC slabs strengthened with HPC after being exposed to the fire regarding load-deflection response, crack pattern and failure mode. Moreover, the considered independent parametric variables significantly affect the composite slabs’ behavior.

Details

World Journal of Engineering, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1708-5284

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 August 2023

Qingfeng Xu, Hèrm Hofmeyer and Johan Maljaars

Simulations exist for the prediction of the behaviour of building structural systems under fire, including two-way coupled fire-structure interaction. However, these simulations…

Abstract

Purpose

Simulations exist for the prediction of the behaviour of building structural systems under fire, including two-way coupled fire-structure interaction. However, these simulations do not include detailed models of the connections, whereas these connections may impact the overall behaviour of the structure. Therefore, this paper proposes a two-scale method to include screw connections.

Design/methodology/approach

The two-scale method consists of (a) a global-scale model that models the overall structural system and (b) a small-scale model to describe a screw connection. Components in the global-scale model are connected by a spring element instead of a modelled screw, and the stiffness of this spring element is predicted by the small-scale model, updated at each load step. For computational efficiency, the small-scale model uses a proprietary technique to model the behaviour of the threads, verified by simulations that model the complete thread geometry, and validated by existing pull-out experiments. For four screw failure modes, load-deformation behaviour and failure predictions of the two-scale method are verified by a detailed system model. Additionally, the two-scale method is validated for a combined load case by existing experiments, and demonstrated for different temperatures. Finally, the two-scale method is illustrated as part of a two-way coupled fire-structure simulation.

Findings

It was shown that proprietary ”threaded connection interaction” can predict thread relevant failure modes, i.e. thread failure, shank tension failure, and pull-out. For bearing, shear, tension, and pull-out failure, load-deformation behaviour and failure predictions of the two-scale method correspond with the detailed system model and Eurocode predictions. Related to combined load cases, for a variety of experiments a good correlation has been found between experimental and simulation results, however, pull-out simulations were shown to be inconsistent.

Research limitations/implications

More research is needed before the two-scale method can be used under all conditions. This relates to the failure criteria for pull-out, combined load cases, and temperature loads.

Originality/value

The two-scale method bridges the existing very detailed small-scale screw models with present global-scale structural models, that in the best case only use springs. It shows to be insightful, for it contains a functional separation of scales, revealing their relationships, and it is computationally efficient as it allows for distributed computing. Furthermore, local small-scale non-convergence (e.g. a screw failing) can be handled without convergence problems in the global-scale structural model.

Details

Journal of Structural Fire Engineering, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-2317

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 March 2024

Pratheek Suresh and Balaji Chakravarthy

As data centres grow in size and complexity, traditional air-cooling methods are becoming less effective and more expensive. Immersion cooling, where servers are submerged in a…

Abstract

Purpose

As data centres grow in size and complexity, traditional air-cooling methods are becoming less effective and more expensive. Immersion cooling, where servers are submerged in a dielectric fluid, has emerged as a promising alternative. Ensuring reliable operations in data centre applications requires the development of an effective control framework for immersion cooling systems, which necessitates the prediction of server temperature. While deep learning-based temperature prediction models have shown effectiveness, further enhancement is needed to improve their prediction accuracy. This study aims to develop a temperature prediction model using Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) Networks based on recursive encoder-decoder architecture.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper explores the use of deep learning algorithms to predict the temperature of a heater in a two-phase immersion-cooled system using NOVEC 7100. The performance of recursive-long short-term memory-encoder-decoder (R-LSTM-ED), recursive-convolutional neural network-LSTM (R-CNN-LSTM) and R-LSTM approaches are compared using mean absolute error, root mean square error, mean absolute percentage error and coefficient of determination (R2) as performance metrics. The impact of window size, sampling period and noise within training data on the performance of the model is investigated.

Findings

The R-LSTM-ED consistently outperforms the R-LSTM model by 6%, 15.8% and 12.5%, and R-CNN-LSTM model by 4%, 11% and 12.3% in all forecast ranges of 10, 30 and 60 s, respectively, averaged across all the workloads considered in the study. The optimum sampling period based on the study is found to be 2 s and the window size to be 60 s. The performance of the model deteriorates significantly as the noise level reaches 10%.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed models are currently trained on data collected from an experimental setup simulating data centre loads. Future research should seek to extend the applicability of the models by incorporating time series data from immersion-cooled servers.

Originality/value

The proposed multivariate-recursive-prediction models are trained and tested by using real Data Centre workload traces applied to the immersion-cooled system developed in the laboratory.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 November 2022

April Denny, Bruce Moore, Sean Newcomer and Jeff Nessler

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences in skin temperature under graphene-infused fleece and traditional polyester fleece materials in the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences in skin temperature under graphene-infused fleece and traditional polyester fleece materials in the interior of a wetsuit.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 48 participants surfed for a minimum of 40 min in a custom wetsuit with a torso lined with graphene-infused fleece on one half and traditional polyester fleece on the other. Eight iButton thermistors were used to record skin temperatures bilaterally at the upper back, chest, abdomen and lower back every minute for the entire surf session. After surfing, participants responded to questions associated with their perception of warmth and comfort and their knowledge of fleece materials.

Findings

Skin temperatures did not differ between the two types of fleece at the upper back, chest and abdomen locations. Skin temperatures in the lower back were significantly warmer under the traditional polyester fleece compared to graphene-infused fleece. Participant responses associated with warmth were consistent with skin temperature measurements.

Practical implications

The results of this study indicate that a graphene-infused nylon fleece interior does not clearly influence skin temperature in surfers when compared to a traditional polyester fleece interior. While skin temperatures were significantly lower under the graphene-infused nylon fleece at the low back, the other three anatomical locations did not exhibit significant differences.

Originality/value

Thermoregulation is an important consideration for the safety and performance of surfers in the ocean. Evidence suggests that the inner lining of a wetsuit may impact thermoregulation while surfing; however, no prior studies have compared interior materials.

Details

Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1560-6074

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 April 2024

Jungang Wang, Xincheng Bi and Ruina Mo

The electromechanical planetary transmission system has the advantages of high transmission power and fast running speed, which is one of the important development directions in…

Abstract

Purpose

The electromechanical planetary transmission system has the advantages of high transmission power and fast running speed, which is one of the important development directions in the future. However, during the operation of the electromechanical planetary transmission system, friction and other factors will lead to an increase in gear temperature and thermal deformation, which will affect the transmission performance of the system, and it is of great significance to study the influence of the temperature effect on the nonlinear dynamics of the electromechanical planetary system.

Design/methodology/approach

The effects of temperature change, motor speed, time-varying meshing stiffness, meshing damping ratio and error amplitude on the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of electromechanical planetary systems are studied by using bifurcation diagrams, time-domain diagrams, phase diagrams, Poincaré cross-sectional diagrams, spectra, etc.

Findings

The results show that when the temperature rise is less than 70 °C, the system will exhibit chaotic motion. When the motor speed is greater than 900r/min, the system enters a chaotic state. The changes in time-varying meshing stiffness, meshing damping ratio, and error amplitude will also make the system exhibit abundant bifurcation characteristics.

Originality/value

Based on the principle of thermal deformation, taking into account the temperature effect and nonlinear parameters, including time-varying meshing stiffness and tooth side clearance as well as comprehensive errors, a dynamic model of the electromechanical planetary gear system was established.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2023

Sareh Khazaeli, Mohammad Saeed Jabalameli and Hadi Sahebi

Due to the importance of quality to customers, this study considers criteria of quality and profit and optimizes both in a multi-echelon cold chain of perishable agricultural…

Abstract

Purpose

Due to the importance of quality to customers, this study considers criteria of quality and profit and optimizes both in a multi-echelon cold chain of perishable agricultural products whose quality immediately begins to deteriorate after harvest. The two objectives of the proposed cold chain are to maximize profit and quality. Since postharvest quality loss in the supply chain depends on various decisions and factors, in addition to strategic decisions, the authors consider the temperature setting in refrigerated facilities and transportation vehicles due to the unfixed shelf life of the products which is related to the temperature found by Arrhenius formula.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use bi-objective mixed-integer nonlinear programming to design a four-echelon supply chain. The authors integrate the supply chain echelons to detect the sources and factors of quality loss. The four echelons include supply, processing, storage and customer. The decisions, including facility location, assigning nodes of each echelon to corresponding nodes from the adjacent echelon, allocation of vehicles to transport the products from farms to wholesalers, processing selection, and temperature setting in refrigerated facilities, are made in an integrated way. Model verification and validation in the case study are done based on three perishable herbal plants.

Findings

The model obtains a 29% profit against a total cost of 71 and 93% of original quality of the crops is maintained, indicating a 7% quality loss. The final quality of 93% is the result of making a US$6m investment in the supply chain, including the procurement of high-quality raw materials; facility establishment; high-speed, high-capacity vehicles; location assignment; processing selection and refrigeration equipment in the storage and transportation systems, helping to maximize both the final quality of the products and the total profit.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed supply chain model should help managers with modeling decisions, especially when it comes to cold chains for agricultural products. The model yields these results – optimal location-allocation decisions for the facilities to minimize distances between the network nodes, which save time and maintain the majority of the products’ original quality; choosing the most appropriate processing method, which reduces the perishability rate; providing high-capacity, high-speed vehicles in the logistics system, which minimizes transportation costs and maximizes the quality; and setting the right temperature in the refrigerated facilities, which mitigates the postharvest decay reaction rate of the products.

Practical implications

Comparison of the results of the present research with those of the traditional chain (obtained through experts) shows that since the designed chain increases the profit as well as the final quality, it has benefits for the main chain stakeholders, which are customers of agricultural products. This study model is expected to have a positive impact on the environment by placing strong emphasis on quality and preventing excessive waste generation and air pollution by imposing a financial penalty on extra demand production.

Social implications

Since profit and quality of the final product are two important factors in all cultures and communities, the proposed supply chain model can be used in any food industry around the world. Applying the proposed model induces growth in local industries and promotes the culture of prioritizing quality in societies.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research on a bi-objective four-echelon (supply, processing, storage and customer) postharvest supply chain for agricultural products including that integrates transportation logistics and considers the deterioration rate of products as a time-dependent variable at different levels of decision-making.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 April 2024

Amin Barzegar, Mohammadreza Farahani and Amirreza Gomroki

Material extrusion-based additive manufacturing is a prominent manufacturing technique to fabricate complex geometrical three-dimensional (3D) parts. Despite the indisputable…

Abstract

Purpose

Material extrusion-based additive manufacturing is a prominent manufacturing technique to fabricate complex geometrical three-dimensional (3D) parts. Despite the indisputable advantages of material extrusion-based technique, the poor surface and subsurface integrity hinder the industrial application of this technology. The purpose of this study is introducing the hot air jet treatment (HAJ) technique for surface treatment of additive manufactured parts.

Design/methodology/approach

In the presented research, novel theoretical formulation and finite element models are developed to study and model the polishing mechanism of printed parts surface through the HAJ technique. The model correlates reflow material volume, layer width and layer height. The reflow material volume is a function of treatment temperature, treatment velocity and HAJ velocity. The values of reflow material volume are obtained through the finite element modeling model due to the complexity of the interactions between thermal and mechanical phenomena. The theoretical model presumptions are validated through experiments, and the results show that the treatment parameters have a significant impact on the surface characteristics, hardness and dimensional variations of the treated surface.

Findings

The results demonstrate that the average value of error between the calculated theoretical results and experimental results is 14.3%. Meanwhile, the 3D plots of Ra and Rq revealed that the maximum values of Ra and Rq reduction percentages at 255°C, 270°C, 285°C and 300°C treatment temperatures are (35.9%, 33.9%), (77.6%,76.4%), (94%, 93.8%) and (85.1%, 84%), respectively. The scanning electron microscope results illustrate three different treatment zones and the treatment-induced and manufacturing-induced entrapped air relief phenomenon. The measured results of hardness variation percentages and dimensional deviation percentages at different regimes are (8.33%, 0.19%), (10.55%, 0.31%) and (−0.27%, 0.34%), respectively.

Originality/value

While some studies have investigated the effect of the HAJ process on the structural integrity of manufactured items, there is a dearth of research on the underlying treatment mechanism, the integrity of the treated surface and the subsurface characteristics of the treated surface.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 September 2022

Wanjun Yin and Lin-na Jiang

The purpose of this paper through the redundant monitoring unit reflecting the real-time temperature change of the array, an adaptive refresh circuit based on temperature is…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper through the redundant monitoring unit reflecting the real-time temperature change of the array, an adaptive refresh circuit based on temperature is designed.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposed a circuit design for temperature-adaptive refresh with a fixed refresh frequency of traditional memory, high refresh power consumption at low temperature and low refresh frequency at high temperature.

Findings

Adding a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) redundancy monitoring unit consistent with the storage unit to the storage bank can monitor the temperature change of the storage bank in real time, so that temperature-based memory adaptive refresh can be implemented.

Originality/value

According to the characteristics that the data holding time of dynamic random access memory storage unit decreases with the increase of temperature, a MOS redundant monitoring unit which is consistent with the storage unit is added to the storage array with the 2T storage unit as the core.

Details

Circuit World, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0305-6120

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 1000