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1 – 7 of 7Yu Liu, Jing Zhao, Shu‐Jun Chen and Zhen‐Yang Lu
The purpose of this paper is to develop a portable all‐position welding robot for the welding of intersected pipes.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a portable all‐position welding robot for the welding of intersected pipes.
Design/methodology/approach
A complete procedure is adopted to conduct the design. The task and motion of the robot are analyzed and a mathematical description of the pose and position of the welding tool is given. Based on that, three representative types of robot are chosen in the type synthesis of mechanism. Two new indices proposed to evaluate required properties of the robot, along with the traditional dexterity index, are chosen to be the criteria in the dimension synthesis of mechanism. Through the optimization by genetic algorithm, the best robot in type and dimension is determined after comparison on their performances. Finally, the prototype is developed.
Findings
The paper finds a new robot for welding intersected pipes.
Originality/value
A new robot is introduced for the welding of intersected pipes. A complete design procedure is adopted to conduct the design. Two new indices are constructed for evaluating the required properties of this robot.
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Yuan Pan, Fengtao Zhan, Zhifeng Lu, Yan Lin, Zhen Yang and Zheng Wang
The purpose of this paper is to set out a study of a Mannich base, which was synthesized and used as an acidizing corrosion inhibitor first, and to the corrosion inhibitor…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to set out a study of a Mannich base, which was synthesized and used as an acidizing corrosion inhibitor first, and to the corrosion inhibitor mechanism.
Design/methodology/approach
A Mannich base, 1-phenyl-3-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-propanone (PHPP), was synthesized with acetophenone, pyrrolidine and formaldehyde at pH = approximately 2-3. The structure of PHPP was characterized by elemental analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The corrosion inhibition of PHPP on N80 steel in 15 per cent hydrochloric acid (HCl) was studied by weight loss method, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), and the adsorption behavior of PHPP on the surface of N80 steel was discussed.
Findings
The results showed that the inhibition efficiency reached to 99.8 per cent and corrosion rate was 2.65 g·m-2·h-1 at 0.6 per cent of PHPP concentration in 15 per cent HCl, which indicated that PHPP presented excellent corrosion inhibition performance. The results of SEM and EDAX analysis showed that PHPP could be absorbed on the surface of N80 steel. The adsorption process of PHPP on the surface of N80 steel was chemisorption. This process was spontaneous and obeyed Langmuir adsorption isotherm.
Originality/value
It was found that PHPP presented excellent corrosion inhibition performance, and it is practicable to enhance oil production in oilfield development as a oil-well acidizing inhibitor. The study results can provide theoretical guidelines for the development of the inhibitor.
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Chao Zhen Yang, Zhiwei Guo and Changkun Xu
Frictions in cylinder liner-piston ring often cause an inevitable loss of energy loss in the diesel engine. This study aims at evaluating the effect of depths in the cylinder…
Abstract
Purpose
Frictions in cylinder liner-piston ring often cause an inevitable loss of energy loss in the diesel engine. This study aims at evaluating the effect of depths in the cylinder liner groove texture on friction, wear and sealing performances.
Design/methodology/approach
Five depths of groove texture cylinder liners (50, 100, 150, 200, 250 µm) were fabricated, and experiments were carried out using a special-purpose diesel engine tester. Comparative analyses of cylinder liner contact resistances, piston ring wear losses and surface appearances were conducted with respect to different surface textures and applied loads.
Findings
Under no-load conditions, the cylinder liner with a 100 deep thread groove can significantly improve sealing and optimize its lubrication performance. On the other hand, the sealing is highly correlated with the depth of groove and the load within the cylinder liner. Under loaded conditions, the thread groove has less effect on the sealing performance.
Originality/value
The findings can provide feasible basis for the tribological design and production of diesel engines.
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Huiqiang Ni, Wenlong Liu and Zhen Yang
Human capital is acquired not only through formal education (e.g. general skills) but also through training at the workplace. Prior studies have ignored the role of government…
Abstract
Purpose
Human capital is acquired not only through formal education (e.g. general skills) but also through training at the workplace. Prior studies have ignored the role of government subsidies explicitly for on-the-job training, which may influence firm training decisions and firm innovation performance. Hence, the authors establish a comprehensive theoretical framework to consider these issues and fill these gaps.
Design/methodology/approach
Considering the Chinese manufacturing firms listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2017, the authors investigate the influence of training investment on innovation performance by illustrating the role of human capital updating in enhancing firm innovation. The authors also explore serval mechanisms on how training investment influences innovation performance.
Findings
The authors propose that training investment promotes firm innovation performance, whereas government training subsidies negatively moderate this relationship. The authors also reveal how technicists' involvement and corporate culture mediate the relationship between training investment and innovation performance.
Practical implications
This study provides policy implications for stimulating firm innovation by improving learning and absorption ability, strengthening cultural identity and implementing system norms. Effective policies should be adopted to provide subsidies for on-the-job training of enterprises, particularly for firms with technical executives and firms in diversified life-cycle.
Originality/value
This work contributes to the literature on the role of on-the-job training in promoting firm innovation and reveals the crowding-out effect of subsidies. This study also shows the heterogeneous effects of training investment on firm innovation.
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Yelin Hu, Qiwang Zhang, Zhen Yang and Sujian Huang
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between effective knowledge management and corporate performance, to explore the dynamic symbiosis phenomenon of effective…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between effective knowledge management and corporate performance, to explore the dynamic symbiosis phenomenon of effective knowledge management based on organizational ecology with multinational companies (MNCs) and non-multinational companies (non-MNCs) and to explore the symbiosis strategy of knowledge management between multinational and non-multinational companies (non-MNCs) in China.
Design/methodology/approach
To measure effective knowledge management, this paper first uses structural equation model to measure knowledge management, based on the evolution dynamics equation in organizational ecology to measure the effectiveness of knowledge management, and studies the symbiosis of effective knowledge management between MNCs and non-MNCs based on ecological perspective.
Findings
Effective knowledge management can promote the financial performance of enterprises, but different degrees of effectiveness have different effects. In addition, the coupling and collaboration between knowledge management and corporate performance can reflect the value of effective knowledge management. The results show that effective knowledge management plays a positive moderating effect between knowledge management and corporate performance. Finally, the effective knowledge management system of MNCs (non-MNCs) has negative effect on non-MNCs (MNCs), showing the exclusive relationship between MNCs and non-MNCs in China.
Research limitations/implications
The effectiveness of knowledge management is only based on the measurement of financial performance coupling. For other types of performance, it needs to be tested. The samples may not cover symbiosis relationship of effective knowledge management in other countries.
Practical implications
This paper provides practical and theoretical reference for confirming the symbiotic interaction and identifying the opportunities and challenges of knowledge management among different types of corporation groups.
Originality/value
The paper is one of the pioneering studies to explore the pattern of symbiotic evolution of effective knowledge management between MNCs and non-MNCs. From completely new perspectives, this study advances the research of knowledge management to a new and promising area.
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Hongji Xie, Zhen Yang and Shulin Xu
Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) has huge impact and harm on real economy, so the economic logic and other economic effects behind this must be further studied. By constructing…
Abstract
Purpose
Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) has huge impact and harm on real economy, so the economic logic and other economic effects behind this must be further studied. By constructing the “China Economic Policy Uncertainty Index” to capture the degree of EPU faced by Chinese companies, the authors empirically test whether and how EPU affects the level of executives' perquisite consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
This study investigates the relationship between EPU and executive perquisite consumption based on a sample of 3,185 publicly listed firms in China. To examine the relationship between EPU and executives' perquisite consumption, a mixed least squares method was used for regression. To alleviate the problem of missing variables that do not change over time and control the influence of unobservable individual heterogeneity at the firm level, the firm fixed effects model is used for regression.
Findings
The study finds that EPU is positively associated with executive perquisite consumption. This positive association is stronger for firms with smaller size, lower management shareholding and higher levels of separation of ownership and control. Effective external governance (i.e., analyst coverage, media coverage, auditor and market competition) can mitigate the relationship between EPU and executive perquisite consumption. Further analysis reveals that EPU increases executive perquisite consumption by holding more cash and decreasing firm risk taking. EPU hurts market value of firms by boosting executive perquisite consumption and tunneling.
Practical implications
In an environment with high EPU, the board of directors should reduce managers' compensation performance sensitivity to ease the agency conflict caused by uncertainty. Firms should improve their governance mechanisms and standard and pay attention to their environmental changes. Policymakers should pay attention to maintaining the continuity and predictability of policies, stabilizing the economic policy expectations of market entities and avoiding frequent changes in policies that can harm economic and firm value. The regulatory authorities should actively guide listed companies to increase active information disclosure during periods of high policy uncertainty.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the research on corporate governance by showing how EPU influences executives' behaviors. The authors advance relative studies by showing that this uncertainty embedded in a firm's external environments influences executive perquisite consumption. This study also contributes to the literature on how internal and external governances influence corporate behavior during uncertainty. These findings extend this line of research by suggesting that effective external governance is an attribute that can alleviate the effect of uncertainty on managers' opportunistic behaviors.
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Dehui Li, Libo Fan and Zhenning Yang
Although the importance of network embeddedness attracted much attention in recent years, the interpretations of the underlying mechanism almost focus on the positive effects and…
Abstract
Purpose
Although the importance of network embeddedness attracted much attention in recent years, the interpretations of the underlying mechanism almost focus on the positive effects and neglect the potential negative aspects. This paper aims to use Chinese listed manufacturing enterprises, in the perspective of network embeddedness, to analyze whether resource curse effects exist in strategic networks of enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines the resource curse effect that exists in enterprise networks through analysis of enterprise’s total factors productivity compared with those of its industry peers with different degrees of embeddedness. This paper then uses several different methods, such as clustered fixed and random effect model, core and peripheral model, and generalized method of moments estimation in endogenous checks, to detect network curse effects and reveal three potential mechanisms, including overinvestment, extra maintaining cost and innovation extrusion.
Findings
This paper finds that excessive network embeddedness hinders continuous improvement of productivity, which is derived from three mechanisms: excessive network embeddedness makes information redundancy among enterprises, and the imitate-follow effect makes excessive investment seriously; enterprises have to encounter more problems and difficulties, such as information coordination and benefit negotiation, to maintain network relationship, which leads to extra cost; enterprises with abundant network resources may tend to more emphasis on marketable operational abilities, resulting in resource decentralization and less investment on innovation, which is finally not beneficial to productivity improvement in the long run.
Originality/value
Compared with previous literatures, this paper not only enriches the understanding of negative mechanisms in enterprise`s network embeddedness, but also unfolds the inconsistency of network embeddedness effects in practice and finds new evidence that the two types of network embeddedness are consistent in certain circumstances.
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