Complex Service Environment Research Articles

Contextual Barriers and Enablers to Safewards Implementation in Victoria, Australia: Application of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.

Background: Safewards is a complex psychosocial intervention designed to reduce conflict and containment on inpatient mental health units. There is mounting international evidence of the effectiveness and acceptability of Safewards. However, a significant challenge exists in promising interventions, such as Safewards, being translated into routine practice. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) provides a framework through which to understand implementation in complex health service environments. The aim was to inform more effective implementation of Safewards using the CFIR domains and constructs, capitalizing on developing an understanding of variations across wards.Method: Seven Safewards Leads completed the Training and Implementation Diary for 18 wards that opted in to a trial of Safewards. Fidelity Checklist scores were used to categorize low, medium and high implementers of Safewards at the end of the 12-week implementation period.Results: Qualitative data from the diaries were analyzed thematically and coded according to the five CFIR domains which included 39 constructs. Twenty-six constructs across the five domains were highlighted within the data to have acted as a barrier or enabler. Further analysis revealed that six constructs distinguished between low, medium, and high implementing wards.Discussion: Our findings suggest that for implementation of Safewards to succeed, particular attention needs to be paid to engagement of key staff including managers, making training a priority for all ward staff, adequate planning of the process of implementation and creating an environment on each inpatient unit that prioritize and enables Safewards interventions to be undertaken by staff regularly.

The fabrication of FeMnO/RGO as anticorrosive microwave absorbent toward marine environment

Excellent microwave absorbers need to adapt to more complex modern service environments, especially corrosive environment. In this work, hollow cubic iron manganese oxide (FeMnO) with high corrosion potential property were used to neutralize the conductivity of reduced graphene (RGO) toward better absorption performance. And such 2D structure of reduced graphene developed the environmental adaptability by delaying the initiation of corrosion. Apart from the characterizations of compositions and structures, the electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption property, corrosion potential/corrosion current and electrochemical test of the FeMnO/RGO samples were successfully investigated. For absorption performance, both samples that the hollow MOF precursor combined with RGO calcined at 380 °C and 450 °C (FeMnO/RGO-380 and FeMnO/RGO-450) possess remarkable electromagnetic response, mainly attributed to high conductivity loss and better impedance matching. Thus, this work highlights the importance of hierarchically FeMnO/RGO material as a promising candidate for anticorrosive microwave absorbers.

Evaluation of a sealed layer on a porous thermal barrier coating against molten calcium–magnesium–alumina–silicate corrosion

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) can improve the high-temperature performance of turbine blades, however, the complex service environment such as Ca-Mg-Al-silicate (CMAS) is the main reason for the coating failure. The corrosive medium (Ca2+ and Si4+) penetrates the TBCs through the porous structure combined with surface defects. In this study, three different sealed layers (Zr, Al, and Al-Y) were deposited on the traditional TBCs by using magnetron sputtering. The cross-sectional morphologies showed the continuous structure of the sealed layer improved the pore filling effect. When O2 is adsorbed at the top position of the Al atom, the lowest adsorption energy of the YAl3 (0001) surface is −5.34 eV which can provide stronger chemical adsorption energies for Al and O. The Al-Y sealed layer was preferred to form an aluminum oxide film. The experimental results of CMAS corrosion showed that Al-Y sealed layer can achieve long-lasting protection because the aluminum yttrium oxide (Al2Y4O9) reacts with CaO and SiO2 at the interface and finally formed Ca3Y2(SiO4)6O2, resulting in rapid crystallization of CMAS.

Effect of the Service Temperature on the Strength Plasticity and Fracture Mechanism of Cr-Mo Casing Steel

In recent years, the oil and gas well casing is confronted with more complex service environment, and the casing is subjected to higher service load and temperature. In this study, the strength and plasticity of Cr - Mo low alloy casing steel of 80, 90 and 110 steel grades commonly used under high temperature service conditions was studied. The results show that with the increase of temperature, the yield strength and tensile strength of casing steel decreased. The sensitivity of high steel grade to temperature change was higher than that of lower steel grade; with the increase of steel grade, the fracture mechanism of casing steel changed from microporous polymerization fracture induced by large size second phase particles to shear propagation fracture induced by sub grain boundary microporous polymerization. This study has important guiding significance for the service safety and strain design of high grade steel under high temperature conditions.

Research on identification and monitoring method of bolt connection loosening based on piezoresistive effect

Bolted connection is commonly used in the joint connection of engineering structures, and its connection reliability plays an important role in ensuring the service performance of engineering structures. In complex service environment, bolt connection is easy to loose. In order to identify and monitor bolt connection looseness, a bolt looseness monitoring device based on piezoresistive effect is designed and manufactured in this paper. The feasibility of the device is verified through flange bolt looseness identification test. The results show that the monitoring device can effectively identify the minor bolt loosening damage, and the identification results have good stability, and the bolt loosening can be deduced based on the variation of the conductance value. The bolting connection loosening monitoring method based on piezoresistivity effect proposed in this paper can provide a reference for the identification and monitoring of bolt loosening.

Antibacterial Ti-35Nb-7Zr-xCu alloy with excellent mechanical properties generated with a spark plasma sintering method for biological applications

Given the biomechanical properties (including the elastic modulus and strength) of complex human service environment requirements for implants, Ti alloy-based implants must exhibit excellent mechanical properties and antibacterial self-healing ability. In this paper, the density, microstructure, mechanical properties, and antibacterial properties of Ti-35Nb-7Zr-xCu (x = 4, 7, 10, and 13 wt%) alloys prepared using Spark plasma sintering (SPS) were studied. The results showed that the Ti-35Nb-7Zr-xCu alloys with densities greater than 96% were composed mainly of β-Ti, α-Ti, Nb, Ti2Cu and CuxZry phases. The precipitated CuxZry phases were concentrated mainly near the grain boundaries, and the Ti2Cu phase exhibited a eutectoid lamellar morphology. With increasing Cu content, the amount of precipitated CuxZry phase increased, inducing grain refinement. The Ti-35Nb-7Zr-xCu alloys exhibited excellent yield strengths (1061–1469 MPa), with the maximum value corresponding to the alloy containing 10 wt% Cu. In addition, these alloys have elastic moduli (57–79 GPa) that are close to that of human bone. Tests of the antibacterial properties indicated that the antibacterial rate for the Ti-35Nb-7Zr-xCu alloy against E. coli and S. aureus reached 99.99% when the Cu content was greater than or equal to 10 wt%, indicating its excellent antibacterial properties. The Cu ion release capacity indicated that the amount of Cu ions released was correlated with Cu content and immersion time. The Cu ion release rate increased with increasing Cu content but decreased with increasing number of immersion days. Therefore, the Ti-35Nb-7Zr-10Cu alloy prepared by SPS has excellent mechanical properties and antibacterial properties, all of which meet the requirements of human hard tissue replacements.

Off/on switchable smart electromagnetic interference shielding aerogel

Summary Smart electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials with tunable EM wave response characteristics are attractive for future EM devices. Here, we report an off/on switchable EMI shielding material that can be tuned from EM wave transmission to shielding and vice versa by mechanical compression and decompression. This smart material is prepared by filling conductive carbon nanoparticles into wood-derived lamellar carbon aerogel, showing reversible compressibility and strain-sensitive conductivity. The original aerogel has good impedance matching and low dielectric loss, allowing the EM wave to pass through. Mechanical compression enables the carbon nanoparticles to establish highly conductive pathways in the aerogel, which significantly increases the conductivity of aerogel and thus activates its EMI shielding performance. This function switch is reversible by repeatedly compressing and decompressing the aerogel. The availability of such a never-before-realized off/on switchable EMI shielding material provides an opportunity for the development of advanced smart EM devices.

Wear and corrosion resistant coatings prepared on LY12 aluminum alloy by plasma electrolytic oxidation

Although aluminum alloys are widely used in the aerospace industry, their relatively poor wear and corrosion resistance have hampered some applications and reduce the lifetime of the components. In this work, by using a zinc-containing phosphate electrolyte, the corrosion resistance, surface hardness, and wear resistance of the coatings produced by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) are simultaneously improved. The micro-arc discharge is optimized by changing the phosphate concentration instead of introducing hard phase cations to improve the crystallinity of the zinc-doped alumina coating. Our results reveal that by using a concentration of (NaPO3)6 of 50 g/L, the hard phase of crystralline alumina and corrosive-resistant phase of Zn3(PO4)2 are produced in concert. In the salt spraying test, the lifetime of the PEO coating is over 5000 h and the electrochemical corrosion current density is reduced by about 2 orders of magnitude confirming the improved corrosion resistance and durability. Moreover, the surface hardness increases from 400 HV for the coating prepared using the conventional phosphate electrolyte to 711.8 HV and the wear rate also drops from 8.5 × 10−4 mm3·(N·m)−1 to 2.0 × 10−5 mm3·(N·m)−1. This strategy can guarantee the aluminum alloy PEO coating with simultaneous excellent wear and corrosion resistance to cope with the complex service environment.

Growth of NiAl-Layered Double Hydroxide on Graphene toward Excellent Anticorrosive Microwave Absorption Application.

High‐performance microwave absorbers with special features are desired to meet the requirements of more complex modern service environments, especially corrosive environments. Therefore, high‐efficiency microwave absorbers with corrosion resistance should be developed urgently. Herein, a 3D NiAl‐layered double hydroxide/graphene (NiAl‐LDH/G) composite synthesized by atomic‐layer‐deposition‐assisted in situ growth is presented as an anticorrosive microwave absorber. The content of NiAl‐LDH in the composite is optimized to achieve impedance matching. Furthermore, under the cooperative effects of the interface polarization loss, conduction loss, and 3D porous sandwich‐like structure, the optimal NiAl‐LDH/G shows excellent microwave absorption performance with a minimum reflection loss of −41.5 dB and a maximum effective absorption bandwidth of 4.4 GHz at a loading of only 7 wt% in epoxy. Remarkably, the encapsulation effect of NiAl‐LDH can restrain the galvanic corrosion owing to graphene. The epoxy coating with the NiAl‐LDH/G microwave absorber on carbon steel exhibits long‐term corrosion resistance, owing to the synergetic effect of the superior impermeability of graphene and the chloridion‐capture capacity of the NiAl‐LDH. The NiAl‐LDH/G composite is a promising anticorrosive microwave absorber, and the findings of this study may motivate the development of functional microwave absorbers that meet the demands of anticorrosive performance of coatings.

Study on chloride ion diffusion characteristics of reactive powder concrete under different loads

Reactive powder concrete (RPC) is a new cement-based material with ultra-high strength, high durability, high toughness and good volume stability. The study of chloride corrosion behavior is of great significance to the application of RPC in complex service environment. In this paper, the chloride ion immersion experiment is carried out to investigate the change rule of chloride ion concentration on the surface of RPC with soaking time under different loads. The results show that with the extending of soaking time, the chloride ion concentration of RPC surface gradually increases and tends to be stable, and the different depths from RPC surface also show similar rules. The results also show that the chloride ion diffusion characteristics of RPC under different loads are different, and the chloride ion diffusion rate under bending stress is higher than that under compressive stress.

In Situ Oxidation Studies of High-Entropy Alloy Nanoparticles.

Although high-entropy alloys (HEAs) have shown tremendous potential for elevated temperature, anticorrosion, and catalysis applications, little is known on how HEA materials behave under complex service environments. Herein, we studied the high-temperature oxidation behavior of Fe0.28Co0.21Ni0.20Cu0.08Pt0.23HEA nanoparticles (NPs) in an atmospheric pressure dry air environment by in situ gas-cell transmission electron microscopy. It is found that the oxidation of HEA NPs is governed by Kirkendall effects with logarithmic oxidation rates rather than parabolic as predicted by Wagner's theory. Further, the HEA NPs are found to oxidize at a significantly slower rate compared to monometallic NPs. The outward diffusion of transition metals and formation of disordered oxide layer are observed in real time and confirmed through analytical energy dispersive spectroscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy characterizations. Localized ordered lattices are identified in the oxide, suggesting the formation of Fe2O3, CoO, NiO, and CuO crystallites in an overall disordered matrix. Hybrid Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations based on first-principles energies and forces support these findings and show that the oxidation drives surface segregation of Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, while Pt stays in the core region. The present work offers key insights into how HEA NPs behave under high-temperature oxidizing environment and sheds light on future design of highly stable alloys under complex service conditions.

Research on Fatigue Mechanical Properties of Austenitic Stainless Steel for Marine Environment

Jiang, Z.; Wang, J., and Cao, D., 2020. Research on fatigue mechanical properties of Austenitic stainless steel for marine environment. In: Wan, Z. (ed.), Coordinated Sustainable Development in Coastal Areas: Environment and Economy. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 109, pp. 191–196. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Austenitic stainless steel is widely used in the marine environment because of its good strength, corrosion resistance, and weldability. However, the environment in the ocean is extremely complex and changeable, and the equipment may bear the combined action of static loads such as axial force, internal and external pressure, bending moment, and extreme temperature conditions. At the same time, it also bears the action of dynamic loads such as alternating external pressure, wave force, current force, which easily leads to fatigue damage of components. This study introduced the deformation behavior of austenitic stainless steel for the marine environment. In addition, the effects of oxidation damage and creep damage during fatigue deformation are summarized, and the dynamic strain aging effect in the process of fatigue deformation is described. It is very important to study fatigue behavior in a complex service environment.

Amorphous/crystalline ZrC alternating multilayers deposited by magnetron sputtering at room temperature

Multilayer films of alternating amorphous and crystalline layers have recently attracted research interest because they have the potential to suit an increasingly complex service environment. Amorphous zirconium carbide/crystalline zirconium carbide (a-ZrC/c-ZrC) multilayers with different layer thicknesses were prepared by magnetron sputtering at room temperature under 0.7 Pa Ar pressure. The microstructure of the multilayer film was analyzed by means of grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The characterization results confirmed that the multilayer films were composed of alternating a-ZrC and c-ZrC layers. Carbon atoms diffuse into the crystalline zirconium (Zr) layer and react with Zr atoms to form crystalline ZrC during the sputtering process. This research indicates that it is feasible to prepare amorphous/crystalline multilayer films with expected modulation ratios and the same chemical composition by utilizing and controlling the high diffusion of specified atoms to react with certain layers.

Decision-based models of the implementation of interventions in systems of healthcare: Implementation outcomes and intervention effectiveness in complex service environments.

Implementation is a crucial component for the success of interventions in health service systems, as failure to implement well can have detrimental impacts on the effectiveness of evidence-based practices. Therefore, evaluations conducted in real-world contexts should consider how interventions are implemented and sustained. However, the complexity of healthcare environments poses considerable challenges to the evaluation of interventions and the impact of implementation efforts on the effectiveness of evidence-based practices. In consequence, implementation and intervention effectiveness are often assessed separately in health services research, which prevents the direct investigation of the relationships of implementation components and effectiveness of the intervention. This article describes multilevel decision juncture models based on advances in implementation research and causal inference to study implementation in health service systems. The multilevel decision juncture model is a theory-driven systems approach that integrates structural causal models with frameworks for implementation. This integration enables investigation of interventions and their implementation within a single model that considers the causal links between levels of the system. Using a hypothetical youth mental health intervention inspired by published studies from the health service research and implementation literature, we demonstrate that such theory-based systems models enable investigations of the causal pathways between the implementation outcomes as well as their links to patient outcomes. Results from Monte Carlo simulations also highlight the benefits of structural causal models for covariate selection as consistent estimation requires only the inclusion of a minimal set of covariates. Such models are applicable to real-world context using different study designs, including longitudinal analyses which facilitates the investigation of sustainment of interventions.

Value of social robots in services: social cognition perspective

PurposeThe technological revolution in the service sector is radically changing the ways in which and with whom consumers co-create value. This conceptual paper considers social robots in elderly care services and outlines ways in which their human-like affect and cognition influence users’ social perceptions and anticipations of robots’ value co-creation or co-destruction potential. A future research agenda offers relevant, conceptually robust directions for stimulating the advancement of knowledge and understanding in this nascent field.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from service, robotics and social cognition research, this paper develops a conceptual understanding of the value co-creation/destruction potential of social robots in services.FindingsThree theoretical propositions construct an iterative framework of users’ evaluations of social robots in services. First, social robots offer users value propositions leveraging affective and cognitive resources. Second, users’ personal values become salient through interactions with social robots’ affective and cognitive resources. Third, users evaluate social robots’ value co-creation/destruction potential according to social cognition dimensions.Originality/valueSocial robots in services are an emerging topic in service research and hold promising implications for organizations and users. This relevant, conceptually robust framework advances scholarly understanding of their opportunities and pitfalls for realizing value. This study also identifies guidelines for service managers for designing and introducing social robots into complex service environments.

A green fabrication and variable temperature electromagnetic properties for thermal stable microwave absorption towards flower-like Co3O4@rGO/SiO2 composites

High efficiency and thermal stability are two key factors of ideal electromagnetic attenuation materials, which are becoming desired owing to more complex modern service environment. Herein, a new type of high-temperature microwave absorber, flower-like Co3O4@rGO/SiO2 composite is synthesized by a generic and green fabrication route. It possesses stable microwave absorption (MA) performance in the temperature range from 353 K to 473 K. Particularly, the optimal reflection loss (RL) reaches −52.6 dB with thickness of 1.78 mm at the temperature of 353 K, and maximum bandwidth (RL ≤ −10 dB) of samples can cover the entire X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz) at the thickness of ∼2.00 mm. The excellent high-temperature MA performance can be ascribed to the synergistic effect of the introduced magnetic loss and conduction loss, as well as the multiple polarizations loss of three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical structures. Our work confirms that 3D hierarchical Co3O4@rGO/SiO2 sample can provide a novel pathway for designing high-temperature microwave absorbers in the future.

Life prediction of the tensile damage progress for high-speed train gearbox shell based on acoustic emission sensor and an automatic optimization method

The high-speed train gearbox is one of the key components of the train system, and its working state is related to passengers’ safety. The gearbox shell is the protective shell for gears under harsh and complex service environment. Instantaneous impact of hard material during failure can lead to the rapid damage accumulation and fracture of the shell material. In this article, the accumulation of tensile damage of the high-speed train gearbox shell material has been studied. For the short tensile process leading to significant amount of damage, a real-time and non-destructive detection method has been used to monitor the tensile damage progression and predict the residual life of the material. An automatic optimization algorithm has been proposed to deal with data quality problems such as fluctuations, imbalances, and large intervals. In addition, an automatic life prediction optimization model for material tensile process has been established. The life prediction errors are controlled within 50 s, and the majority of errors are less than 20 s. For the accelerated test, in respect to real situation, a 6 h time slot is designed for disaster control such as passenger evacuation and train failure prevention.

Modeling and investigation of load and motion characteristics of offshore floating wind turbines

Development of offshore floating wind turbines is the future trend of wind power technology. However, due to the complex service environment, they are still in the exploratory stage without large-scale commercial application. Especially, the understanding of its load and motion characteristics is still lack. For this reason, firstly, a structure model of offshore wind turbines is proposed, and then multiple coordinate systems are established to describe the multiple loads and motion characteristics. Then, multiple load models including wind load, wave load, gravity load, centrifugal force and inertia load are established. To solve the complex motion process, it is divided into translational motion and rotational motion, and the idea of progressive iteration is used to solve the problem. Finally, in the Simulink environment, the input wind model, blade (wind turbine rotor) model, shaft model, generator model, converter model, grid model, controller model, pitch model, floating platform model and other models are integrated and the numerical simulation investigation is carried out. The simulation results can be used to analyze the running load and motion characteristics of the floating wind turbines, which is helpful to understand the operation mechanism and provide a reference for the design and control.

Highly Efficient and Reliable Transparent Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Film.

Electromagnetic protection in optoelectronic instruments such as optical windows and electronic displays is challenging because of the essential requirements of a high optical transmittance and an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE). Herein, we demonstrate the creation of an efficient transparent EMI shielding film that is composed of calcium alginate (CA), silver nanowires (AgNWs), and polyurethane (PU), via a facile and low-cost Mayer-rod coating method. The CA/AgNW/PU film with a high optical transmittance of 92% achieves an EMI SE of 20.7 dB, which meets the requirements for commercial shielding applications. A superior EMI SE of 31.3 dB could be achieved, whereas the transparent film still maintains a transmittance of 81%. The integrated efficient EMI SE and high transmittance are superior to those of most previously reported transparent EMI shielding materials. Moreover, our transparent films exhibit a highly reliable shielding ability in a complex service environment, with 98 and 96% EMI SE retentions even after 30 min of ultrasound treatment and 5000 bending cycles (1.5 mm radius), respectively. The comprehensive performance that is associated with the facile fabrication strategy imparts the CA/AgNW/PU film with great potential as an optimized EMI shielding material in emerging optoelectronic devices, such as flexible solar cells, displays, and touch panels.

Service Design for Value Networks: Enabling Value Cocreation Interactions in Healthcare

In the increasingly complex service environment, value is cocreated through webs of interactions between provider networks and customer networks. This is evident in healthcare services, where well-being can be achieved only through the joint efforts of professional healthcare networks and patient networks. Addressing the challenge of creating network-level services, the service design for value networks (SD4VN) method designs services as enablers of many-to-many value cocreating interactions among network actors. By integrating previous research on value networks and service design, SD4VN develops a process and a set of models beyond supporting dyadic (customer–service provider) interactions to understanding the interrelated activities, interactions, and goals of network actors and designing services to support the different actors in reaching their goals with balanced centricity. Following a design science research approach, this paper presents the SD4VN method and reports on a case application of the method used to design the Portuguese national electronic health record service Plataforma de Dados da Saúde (PDS). The case application involved focus groups, in-depth interviews, and participatory design sessions with over 170 participants at different service design stages, showing the importance of designing a balanced, integrated service. The case application also shows how SD4VN can support a wider adoption of the service and improve the health service system.