Search results

Model-assisted probability of detection (MAPOD) is an important approach used as part of assessing the reliability of nondestructive testing systems. The purpose of this paper is to apply the polynomial chaos-based Kriging (PCK) metamodeling method to MAPOD for the first time to enable efficient uncertainty propagation, which is currently a major bottleneck when using accurate physics-based models.

In this paper, the state-of-the-art Kriging, polynomial chaos expansions (PCE) and PCK are applied to “a^ vs a”-based MAPOD of ultrasonic testing (UT) benchmark problems. In particular, Kriging interpolation matches the observations well, while PCE is capable of capturing the global trend accurately. The proposed UP approach for MAPOD using PCK adopts the PCE bases as the trend function of the universal Kriging model, aiming at combining advantages of both metamodels.

To reach a pre-set accuracy threshold, the PCK method requires 50 per cent fewer training points than the PCE method, and around one order of magnitude fewer than Kriging for the test cases considered. The relative differences on the key MAPOD metrics compared with those from the physics-based models are controlled within 1 per cent.

The contributions of this work are the first application of PCK metamodel for MAPOD analysis, the first comparison between PCK with the current state-of-the-art metamodels for MAPOD and new MAPOD results for the UT benchmark cases.

The purpose of this paper is to show how a quartz crystal microbalance modified with poly (epichlorohydrin) (PECH) is fabricated and used for detection of acetone vapor using a spin‐coating method.

Measurements are based on the frequency shifts due to the adsorption of acetone vapor on the surface of the modified electrodes. A first‐order linear time‐invariant (LTI) system model is used to simulate the sensor response.

It is found that frequency shifts are linear to the concentrations of analyte, and cycle test examination shows good repeatability. The sensitivity to acetone vapor is better than other volatile compounds. A good match result is obtained with the LTI system model.

The device performance opens a potential way for analyzing acetone vapor.

Autonomous driving depends on the collection, processing and analysis of environmental information and vehicle information. Environmental perception and processing are important prerequisite for the safety of self-driving of vehicles; it involves road boundary detection, vehicle detection, pedestrian detection using sensors such as laser rangefinder, video camera, vehicle borne radar, etc.

Subjected to various environmental factors, the data clock information is often out of sync because of different data acquisition frequency, which leads to the difficulty in data fusion. In this study, according to practical requirements, a multi-sensor environmental perception collaborative method was first proposed; then, based on the principle of target priority, large-scale priority, moving target priority and difference priority, a multi-sensor data fusion optimization algorithm based on convolutional neural network was proposed.

The average unload scheduling delay of the algorithm for test data before and after optimization under different network transmission rates. It can be seen that with the improvement of network transmission rate and processing capacity, the unload scheduling delay decreased after optimization and the performance of the test results is the closest to the optimal solution indicating the excellent performance of the optimization algorithm and its adaptivity to different environments.

In this paper, the results showed that the proposed method significantly improved the redundancy and fault tolerance of the system thus ensuring fast and correct decision-making during driving.

Concerning that limited explanation exists examining the function of corporate governance in trust processing within entrepreneurial network development, the purpose of this paper is to explore trust evolution and the role of corporate governance in an entrepreneurial network.

This paper makes an innovative exploration based on the case study of NVC Lighting Holding Limited.

It proposes that in the initial period of network relationship which is based on entrepreneur’s individual social network and embodies sole social network embeddness, entrepreneurial network relies more on affective trust than contractual trust. When stepping into extending period of network relationship which reflects separate embeddedness of social and market network, however, entrepreneurial network has an equal reliance on both affective trust and contractual trust. With further development, when ushering in the phase of maturity which undergoes superimposing embeddedness of both social and market network, entrepreneur network inclines to rely more heavily on affective trust than contractual trust. During the whole process, it can be found that the reliance of entrepreneurial network on trust has the tendency to transfer from affective trust to contractual trust. Furthermore, decreasing of equity ratio of founders and strengthening of controlling right heterogeneity in the corporate governance have facilitated the transfer process and the entrepreneurs’ authority has restraining effect on the evolution of the process.

Through case study, this paper presents the trust evolution process in different stages of entrepreneurial network. Another important theoretic contribution of this paper is that it reveals the function of corporate governance in trust processing within entrepreneurial network development.

Farm businesses in England are under pressure to intensify production sustainably while managing costs and meeting market demands. Commodity prices and support from Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments are important determinants of profitability. With the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union (EU), revised policy will see farming more exposed to fluctuating commodity prices and financial support from Government more focused on encouraging environmental land management. The research reported here, investigated whether business management practices of farmers influences financial performance, and how policy could be tailored to better meet the needs of farm businesses.

Regression models were estimated for 862 Cereals, Dairy and Livestock farms in England using official data for 2011–2012, in order to assess whether different farm characteristics, business management practices (identified from a systematic review of 102 studies), knowledge acquisition indicators and manager experience had an effect on four different financial performance ratios. The financial performance of the top 25% of the sample was also compared to the bottom 25% in terms of use of business management practices.

The results show that business planning and benchmarking had a positive, statistically significant, effect on financial performance, as do business size and knowledge acquisition, albeit to a lesser extent.

The research reported here is the most extensive examination, to date, of the impact of management practices on the financial performance of farms. Thus, it sends strong policy recommendations.

Firms innovate and sophisticate their offerings to remain competitive. This sophistication often finds opportunities in servitization. Given that many customers expect the service offering from manufacturing companies, it is crucial to research what capabilities drive service offerings and their impact on performance. The purpose of this paper is to test the capabilities–service–performance chain.

A conceptual model is proposed and the research hypothesis is tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) performed on a data set corresponding to 205 Spanish and Croatian manufacturing firms.

Using SEM, this research analyses the causal model between manufacturing, organizational and digital capabilities on base, intermediate and advanced services, and their impact on both service and financial performance.

This study has some limitations: the advanced service construct was mostly developed on case-based research. Some constructs have low convergent validity and reliability. The relative smallness of the data set used and its two-country provenance could raise issues about the international nature and generalizability of the findings.

Digital capabilities are important for the provision of all three groups of services in terms of using digital devices in data acquisition, helping to make the manufacturing company more agile.

The present study also contributes to the conceptual framework of servitization by providing a new and more up-to-date definition of capabilities and services, also considering digital capabilities, which are less explored. It also contributes to being the first to explore the entire manufacturing sector [nomenclature statistique des activités and économiques dans la Communauté éuropéenne (NACE) 10–31].