Complex Technological Systems Research Articles

Enhancing safety and reliability in multistory construction: A multi-state system assessment of shoring/reshoring operations using interval-valued belief functions

Ensuring safety and reliability in multistory concrete construction necessitates rigorous assessment methodologies capable of addressing the inherent uncertainties of the construction process. This paper introduces a novel reliability assessment methodology for shoring/reshoring (S/R) operations, framed within a multi-state parallel-series system (MSS). Our approach innovatively combines concrete slab capacities, forming system strengths, and construction quality, integrating cost and time efficiencies. Central to our method is the use of Interval Universal Generating Functions (IUGF), which leverage Dempster-Shafer (D-S) theory and interval analysis to robustly estimate system reliability under uncertainty. For instance, the model considers concrete strength ranging from 0.72 × 2.1D to 0.96 × 2.1D at different curing stages, producing a system reliability index between 0.63 and 0.76, against a desired threshold of 0.8. This methodology produces interval-valued belief functions that capture a comprehensive range of potential system states and their likelihoods, offering a refined perspective on system safety. An illustrative case study demonstrates the practical application of this methodology in optimizing formwork removal and S/R schedules, significantly enhancing decision-making in construction operations. This paper aligns with the core themes of reliability engineering and system safety by addressing critical safety and reliability issues in complex technological systems through advanced probabilistic safety assessment methods. It significantly enriches the professional discourse by presenting a robust method that can be adapted across various engineering fields facing similar reliability challenges.

The Use of Microfiltration for the Pretreatment of Backwash Water from Sand Filters.

Tests of microfiltration efficiency used for the pretreatment of backwash water from sand filters were conducted at two water treatment plants treating surface water and infiltration water. Microfiltration efficiency was evaluated for three membrane modules: two with polymeric membranes and one with a ceramic membrane. This study showed that the contaminants that limit the reuse of backwash water from both plants by returning them to the water treatment line are mostly microorganisms, including pathogenic species (Clostridium perfringens). Additionally, in the case of backwash water from infiltration water treatment, iron and manganese compounds also had to be removed before its recirculation to the water treatment system. Unexpectedly, organic carbon concentrations in both types of backwash water were similar to those present in intake waters. Microfiltration provided for the removal of organic matter, ranging from 19.9% to 44.5% and from 7.2% to 53.9% for backwash water from the treatments of surface water and infiltration water, respectively. Furthermore, the efficiency of the iron removal from backwash water from infiltration water treatment was sufficient to ensure good intake water quality. On the other hand, manganese concentrations in the backwash water, from infiltration water treatment, pretreated using the microfiltration process exceeded the levels found in the intake water and were, therefore, an additional limiting factor for the reuse of the backwash water. In both types of backwash water, the number of microorganisms, including Clostridium perfringens (a pathogenic one), was a limiting parameter for backwash water reuse without pretreatment. The results of the present study showed the possibility for using microfiltration for the pretreatment of backwash water, regardless of its origin but not as the sole process. More complex technological systems are needed before recirculating backwash water into the water treatment system. The polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane proved to be the most effective for DOC and microorganism removal from backwash water.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FORMATION OF PERSONNEL STRATEGY AT INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITALISATION

The relevance of research on the conceptual foundations of personnel strategy formation in industrial enterprises under the conditions of digitalisation appears to be very relevant, which is due to the following factors. The digital transformation of industrial enterprises leads to the emergence of new technologies, processes and personnel requirements. The HR strategy must adapt to these changes in order to ensure that the company has the necessary qualifications and skills. Under the conditions of digitalisation, the demand for specialists in the field of information technologies and digital data processing is increasing. Companies need to develop strategies to attract, retain and develop such personnel in order to remain competitive. Digital technologies make it possible to automate and optimise business processes, so the HR strategy must reflect these changes and take into account the new roles and requirements for personnel. As technologies and processes change, there is a need for continuous training and development of personnel. The HR strategy should include training and development programmes aimed at increasing digital skills. Studying the conceptual foundations of personnel strategy development in the conditions of digitalisation will help companies to effectively adapt to contemporary challenges and ensure their competitiveness. The purpose of the article is to disclose the conceptual foundations of forming a personnel strategy at industrial enterprises in the context of digitalisation. The methodology of the study is an interdisciplinary approach based on the idea of effective development of an industrial enterprise as a sociotechnological system, which allowed to combine systemic knowledge that will help to understand how social factors affect the implementation of technologies and the development of the enterprise as a whole. The enterprise as a complex social and technological system should be analysed within the framework of the socio-humanistic approach, which is based on the recognition of the human being as the subject and object of all processes. In the context of a socio-humanistic approach to business analysis, it is important to address aspects related to social relations, human needs and values, and the interaction between employees and management. The fundamental principles of the socio-humanistic approach, such as taking into account the individual needs of employees, supporting their development and satisfaction from professional activities, can be applied to the analysis of an enterprise's performance. This means that the efficiency and success of an organisation is assessed not only by financial indicators, but also by the level of satisfaction and development of its employees. Studying the social interactions, communication and psychological climate of the team can help to understand what factors contribute to or hinder the effective functioning of the organisation. This approach allows to see the company as a living, organic system in which human relationships and values play an essential role. The study opens up the possibility of integrating different scientific disciplines, such as sociology, technology, economics, psychology and management, in order to understand the complex relationships in today's industrial companies. The implementation of the recommendations will help companies improve the efficiency of personnel management, provide the necessary human resources and meet the requirements of the modern market. The research generates new knowledge in the field of personnel management and digitalisation, has direct practical application for companies in increasing their competitiveness and stability in the market.

Ensuring the reliability of filtration systems for transport and processing machines by redundancy

The relevance of this study is subordinated to the existing global trend of applying the scientific paradigm of redundancy of individual systems of transport and technological machines. This approach ensures the uninterrupted technological process of crop production following the regulatory reliability indicators. The purpose of this study was to identify failures of subsystems and elements of transport and technological machines depending on the operating time and to ensure reliability by redundancy. The study covered the methodological approaches to the formation of reliability of transport and technological machines. The study analysed the areas of ensuring the reliability of transport and technological machines on the example of machinery and equipment for animal husbandry. Methodical approaches to ensuring the indicators of reliability and maintainability during the operation of a self-propelled mixer were covered. A systematic approach to the self-propelled mixer as a complex transport and technological machine was developed. The principal subsystems that define a self-propelled mixer as a complex transport and technological system were identified. During the study, two groups of failures were identified, which lead to the loss of performance of the research objects. The features of using information and structural redundancy to improve the reliability of filtration systems of self-propelled mixers were presented. The technical condition of the engine air filter should be checked and cleaned after 50 hours, while the cartridge should be replaced after 1000 hours of operation. The functioning of the cabin filtration subsystem is ensured by a condenser, evaporator, desiccant filter, air filter, which should be checked and cleaned every 500 hours, while spare parts should be available in stock for replacement after one year of use. The formed criteria for assessing the technical condition of air filtration systems of a self-propelled mixer will provide a higher level of reliability and expand the list of their parameters. The methodology presented in this study allows increasing the reliability and maintainability of self-propelled mixers, to provide a methodical approach to the formation of reliability of engine air filtration and operator’s cabin air filtration subsystems

Approximate solution of the problem of redundancy optimization of a complex technological system of ore grinding

Approximate solution of the problem of redundancy optimization of a complex technological system of ore grinding

Open ECU EPS System, preliminary design using a Hardware-in-the-loop approach

The introduction of mechatronic systems in vehicles opens the possibility to a wide range of vehicle functionality. These systems allow active control of vehicle enabling a new level of driving comfort and safety. The development of these complex technological systems, however, requires a long time to integrate mechanical, electrical and software components. Innovative development strategies and devices are hence crucial to accelerate the integration and deployment of these mechatronic systems.In order to fulfil these needs, this paper presents the process to size a development electronic power steering which aims to support vehicle industry during testing and validation of innovative steering-based control strategies, including autonomous driving, steer-by-wire and all-wheel steering applications. Using an hardware-in-the-loop test bench for a wide range of vehicle maneuvers a stock power steering unit has been characterized taking into account both driver and assistance motor torque contributions.

Lorentz force and solar energy case study on CNTs and pollytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) paraffin oil-based hybrid nanofluid flow through a porous divergent/convergent channel

The concept of thermal transfer has fundamental implications in many areas, from the most basic physiological processes to the most complex technological systems. Kerosene oil, often known as paraffin oil, is frequently used as a fuel for jet lighting, engines and heating processes in many technologies. The rate of heat transmission is the fundamental requirement of all phenomena. But this cannot be achieved from base fluid like paraffin oil due to its less efficiency to rise the rate of heat transmission and save energy lost due to high temperatures. Therefore, current analysis is to explore effect of the Lorentz force, viscous dissipation and solar radiation on kerosene oil with the combination of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in a porous convergent/divergent and stretching/shrinking channel. SWCNTs and PTFE are added to kerosene oil to produce the hybrid nanofluid. The designed problem is modeled in terms of partial differential equations PDEs. The nonlinear PDEs system is then reduced into ODEs using the transformations framework. The ND Solve technique is applied to numerically simulate the reduced boundary value problem, and the results are sketched and discussed. Obtained results demonstrate that velocity profile increase for the divergent channel and a fall in the convergence channel against higher value of porosity parameter and as well as Hartmann number.

The impact of digitalization on corporate strategy in the heat-power industry

The article analyzes 8 directions areas of digitalization that affect corporate strategizing in the heat-power industry, classifies this direction into demanded and prospective, and conducts an OTSW analysis of these directions and their features that have a significant impact on the development of the industry. The main objectives of the study were to study the strategic trend of digitalization in the context of the heat-power industry, analyze the application and relevance of the main aspects of digitalization in strategic public documents of heat generating companies in Russia such as PJSC “Gazprom Energoholding”, PJSC “T-Plus”, PJSC “Quadra”, and identify prospects and the problems they face in the context of the current level of digitalization. The main methodological school on which the research is based is the scientific school of strategy by V.L. Kvint.The article emphasizes the important role of digitalization as one of the leading drivers of development of the heat-power industry and demonstrates examples of digitalization of operational processes of the heat generating companies. The OTSW analysis reveals negative characteristics of the digitalization trend, mainly associated with economic costs that limit its active implementation in the industry. The conducted research leads to the conclusion that digitalization is not only a trend, but also a global investment project for the heat generating companies and for the industry as a whole, stimulating investments increase in complex technological virtual and material systems and devices.

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF REGULATION OF CONTROL SYSTEMS WITH UNCLEAR INITIAL INFORMATION

This article presents a study of the properties of an automatic control system with a fuzzy controller, which includes a fuzzy pseudo-linear correction device with phase advance and a PID controller.One of the promising and effective approaches of the modern theory of control of complex technological systems in conditions of uncertainty caused by the fuzziness of initial information is an approach based on the use of expert assessment methods and the theory of fuzzy sets [1,2]. Technological processes characterized by multi-criteria function mainly in a fuzzy environment. Therefore, for optimal control of the operating modes of such systems, it is necessary to take into account the vectors of criteria and the fuzziness of the initial information. One of the alternative methods of building control and regulation systems for objects that are indistinctly defined from the point of view of classical theory is the use of so-called fuzzy logic controllers.Therefore, the development of fuzzy control controllers based on existing microcontrollers is a very urgent task, since a pseudo-linear fuzzy controller built on the basis of fuzzy sets and fuzzy logical I/O, under the condition of uncertainty of the disturbing effect, is able to provide higher quality indicators of the transient process than a traditional PID controller.As pseudolinear correction devices (PKU) we use: Amplitude-suppressed, phase-ahead, and with separate channels for amplitude and phase, since one of the main disadvantages of the PID controller is the presence of a phase delay and high sensitivity to interference in the measuring channel.

Space shaping in the design process for creative coding: a case study in media multiplicities

ABSTRACT This paper describes the design process for The Mind at Work, a light and sound art installation using networked devices, as a case study in working creatively with complex and unknown technological systems. The art installation evoked the development of a reusable framework for making scalable, re-configurable, audiovisual systems, while creating a specific artwork for a gallery exhibition. The development process was observed systematically to understand how creative coders navigate the challenge of integrating the technical and aesthetic considerations simultaneously. Building on existing design literature, the research is centred on an activity we call space shaping: setting up an environment to create tools for exploration. We consider critical points in the design process which affect how space shaping takes place.

Mandatory adoption of technology: Can UTAUT2 model capture managers behavioral intention?

In Bangladeshi ready-made garment (RMG) and textile sectors, technology-driven compliance standards are primarily imported directly from foreign buyers' corporate social responsibility (CSR) where managers do not have enough scope of involvement, engagement, or active authority. They neither have selection freedom nor adoption willingness. The aim of this exploratory research is to understand managers' perceptions around accepting these imposed technology-driven compliance standards in the name of safety through an empirical study of the RMG sector in Bangladesh. We have used the extended framework of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) model with certain modifications. After analyzing data through structural equation modeling (SEM), a modified theoretical framework was revealed to capture managers' behavioral intention toward a complex technological system that does not automatically arise from self-willingness; rather it is mandatory acceptance. Based on this knowledge, we recommend that the UTAUT2 model be extended and revised to capture this kind of mandatory adoption of technology. The findings of this research can provide deep and effective knowledge and experience to international buyers in the RMG sector, global supply chain members, RMG factory owners, and government policymakers.

Нейрорегулятор комплексной технологической системы переработки рудных отходов

The study is devoted to improving the management system of a complex technological system for processing ore waste. Such waste accumulates in large volumes in the territories adjacent to the mining and processing plants, posing a great environmental threat to both the population and the environment due to dust formation and the penetration of harmful compounds into the soil and groundwater. Therefore, the task of improving the management systems for the processing of ore waste, as one of the priorities, is on the current agenda of the management of mining and processing plants. The complexity of the technological system is manifested in the presence of two processing lines that differ in the set of units, and the choice of line depends on the granulometric composition of ore waste. The scientific novelty of the research results is the proposed structure of the neural network controller based on the reference model for the technological system, which is used as deep recurrent neural networks. The general structure of the neuroregulator includes several local neurocontrollers for each of the units of the technological system. Recurrent neural networks make it possible to create high-precision digital copies of individual units of two processing lines and use them to simulate the response of control objects when setting up controllers. Approbation of the proposed structure of the neuroregulator was carried out in the MatLab-Simulik environment, neural networks were designed using the Deep Network Designer tool. The results of testing showed that the speed of the control system is increased compared to other architectures of neuroregulators available in the Simulik environment, which can positively affect the operation of the entire technological system in transient conditions, in particular, reduce technological losses.

Optimal intervention policy of emergency storage batteries for expressway transportation systems considering deterioration risk during lead time of replacement

An emergency storage battery (ESB) is an important asset to ensure the reliability and safety of complex technological systems. Even if an asset owner decides to replace a deteriorated ESB in expressway transportation systems , a lead time (LT) from ordering replacement parts to delivery is inevitable because the replacement parts cannot be stockpiled. During the LT, the ESB continues to deteriorate, i.e., the risk of deterioration continuously increases. If the LT has a non-negligible length, it is necessary to find intervention policies that appropriately consider the risk during the LT. In this study, we propose a methodology to derive optimal intervention policies by explicitly considering deterioration risk during the LT in a stochastic control framework. Specifically, the geometric Brownian motion is statistically estimated as the deterioration process of the ESB, and an optimization model is proposed to find the optimal intervention policy. The proposed methodology is applied to a case study on an expressway transportation system. In the case study, a sensitivity analysis is also performed to obtain practical implications through a life cycle cost (LCC) comparison. Our findings show that the proposed methodology can reduce the LCC by 5.49% compared with when the LT is not considered.

Understanding the Development of High-Speed Rail in China

In this paper, we study the key factors affecting China’s high-speed rail development using a case study methodology and following the perspective of catch-up cycles. In addition to factors such as windows of opportunities and responses identified in the extant literature, we found that the focal organization’s strategic intent is the most important driving force. Strategic intents, opportunities, and responses, all change over time. This finding has important theoretical implications, and indicates the importance of effective coordination by the focal organization in the process of catching up in complex technology systems such as high-speed rail.

Synergy Management of a Complex Industrial Production System from the Perspective of Flow Structure

Modern industry has become very complex and requires an equally complex engineering technology system, which includes resource utilization, energy conversion, product research and development, technological innovation, environmental protection and industrial ecology, and other aspects of the system. Continued development of large-scale, streamlined, and continuous processes is critical; however, there are also problems such as data redundancy, overcapacity, redundant construction, and waste of resources. Based on the system synergy theory, this paper introduces the system analysis method from the perspective of flow structure, with the purpose of solving the management defects of complex industrial production systems. First, we analyze the complex industrial production system as a collaborative structure of three subsystems: material flow, energy flow, and information flow. The following concepts are clarified: “material flow is the main body, energy flow is attached to and drives material flow, material flow and energy flow generate information flow, and information flow reversely drives material flow and energy flow”. Secondly, the collaborative evolution process of the complex industrial production system is divided into three periods, which are the generation period, the stalemate period, and the maturity period, and a synergy degree evaluation model is established, which considers the Theil index and subsystem gray correlation method, and extends the dynamic differential equation model of three-stage collaborative evolution. Subsequently, we used MATLAB numerical simulation to demonstrate that the collaborative evolution of production systems is related to four aspects. They are the self-organizing ability of the system, the dominant role of order parameters, the competition and cooperation between order parameters, and whether mutations can become order parameters. At the same time, it was also found that it is basically independent of other factors, such as attenuation inertia. Then, the self-organizing map network (SOM) algorithm was used for the rapid identification of mutation data. Finally, we use the empirical research of SG enterprises to show that their production level and management system are advanced, but they were in a non-cooperative state from 2014 to 2021. In 2022, they had the basic conditions and trends to enter the synergistic generation period, and a synergistic management model is required. At the end of the article, we give a collaborative management method for complex industrial enterprises with a good management foundation. These include the management mechanism based on flow structure collaboration and the management path based on collaborative evolution. Of course, the management countermeasures given in this study are also applicable to other complex process-based industrial enterprises.

MODELING OF THE FLOW ADAPTIVE SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING THE SOIL TILLAGE

It is well known that one of the significant disadvantages of the development of modern technological processes is the use of aspects of thinking associated with the use of already used design positions. From a practical point of view, there is no single optimal solution for tillage in agriculture. The methodology for solving complex, multipolar problems of quality and efficiency of technology must take into account a significant number of factors and be presented in an accessible form for the response of the working bodies of tillage machines. Precision tillage has great potential. The result of tillage operations can be improved depending on the optimal solution of construction working bodies and technological parameters of cultivating, which, in addition, can be adapted to the tillage technology depending on the local agro-climatic conditions. The article presents the results of the synthesis of the system of adaptive control of soil cultivation by creating a complex technological system with modeling of the structural-matrix schemes and on-stream technological influences of working bodies of machines and external agro-climatic conditions on the agrophysical state of the soil. The research methods are methods of analysis of structural schemes of technological process control systems; system-analog modeling of tillage control systems; structural analysis and synthesis of technological changes in agrophysical indicators of soil tillage. The main results are the structural diagram of the on-stream adaptive control system of the tillage unit for the requirements of precise agriculture; matrix diagram of the imaging and generalized system of equations of on-stream adaptive control of working bodies of tillage machines; system-analog model of the machine-tractor unit with the adaptive control system of working bodies.

Forecast for the Adaptive Tillage System

Precision tillage has great potential. The result of tillage operations can be improved depending on the optimal solution of construction working bodies and technological parameters of cultivating, which, in addition, can be adapted to the tillage technology depending on the local agro-climatic conditions. The article presents the results of the synthesis of the system of adaptive control of soil cultivation by creating a complex technological system with modeling of the structural-matrix schemes and on-stream technological influences of working bodies of machines and external agro-climatic conditions on the agrophysical state of the soil. The research methods are matrix methods of analysis of structural schemes of technological process control systems; system-analog modeling of tillage control systems; structural analysis and synthesis of technological changes in agrophysical indicators of soil tillage. The main results are the structural diagram of the on-stream adaptive control system of the tillage unit for the requirements of precise agriculture; matrix diagram of the imaging and generalized system of equations of on-stream adaptive control of working bodies of tillage machines; system-analog model of the machine-tractor unit with the adaptive control system of working bodies.

Technology strategies in converging technology systems: Evidence from printed electronics

AbstractNovel technology systems, such as “fiber optics” and “printed electronics,” increasingly emerge at the interface of hitherto unrelated technology areas. As such, new technology systems often arise through technology convergence, characterized by integrating technology components and knowledge from different technology systems, resulting in a novel system architecture. This phenomenon is of utmost societal relevancy but simultaneously poses tremendous challenges for firms' technology strategies. Firms must not only cope with unrelated knowledge rooted in hitherto different technologies but also have to decide deliberately how systemic (i.e., complete technology system) versus focused (i.e., single component of the technology system) their engagement in technology development in the converging technology system ought to be. In addition, firms need to decide strategically to what extent to develop specialized or design knowledge. Extant concepts of technology strategy fall short of capturing this complexity inherent in converging technology systems. Therefore, to address how technology strategies co‐evolve along with the emergence of new technology systems, this study adds a systems perspective to technology strategy by developing the concept of technology system coverage. This novel dimension of technology strategy is formed by the scope (i.e., focused vs. systemic coverage of the technology system) and type of technological knowledge (i.e., specialized or design knowledge). We empirically apply this novel angle of technology strategy to the convergence field of printed electronics. Based on a longitudinal set of 828 patents over 30 years, 74 relevant corporate actors are identified. The underlying taxonomy enables us to reveal four technology strategies and develop five propositions. The results indicate that all firms build design knowledge over time, whereas not all firms build specialized knowledge, no matter what technology strategy is pursued. In sum, this work advances literature by understanding technology strategy in emerging complex technology systems, introducing a systems perspective.

Global and Local Differentially Private Release of Count-Weighted Graphs

Many complex natural and technological systems are commonly modeled as count-weighted graphs, where nodes represent entities, edges model relationships between them, and edge weights define some counting statistics associated with each relationship. As graph data usually contain sensitive information about entities, preserving privacy when releasing this type of data becomes an important issue. In this context, differential privacy (DP) has become the de facto standard for data release under strong privacy guarantees. When dealing with DP for weighted graphs, most state-of-the-art works assume that the graph topology is known. However, in several real-world applications, the privacy of the graph topology also needs to be ensured. In this paper, we aim to bridge the gap between DP and count-weighted graph data release, considering both graph structure and edge weights as private information. We first adapt the weighted graph DP definition to take into account the privacy of the graph structure. We then develop two novel approaches to privately releasing count-weighted graphs under the notions of global and local DP. We also leverage the post-processing property of DP to improve the accuracy of the proposed techniques considering graph domain constraints. Experiments using real-world graph data demonstrate the superiority of our approaches in terms of utility over existing techniques, enabling subsequent computation of a variety of statistics on the released graph with high utility, in some cases comparable to the non-private results.

Technical Maintenance of Vehicles: Improvement of Reliability of the Major Components and Units

The purpose is to determine the impact of operating conditions on the reliability of vehicles, to identify the main causes of failure of truck units and assemblies and to find ways to improve their reliability. The main methods are a systematic approach to analysis of complex technological systems, the fault tree analysis to identify the most common causes of failure of trucks in the climatic conditions of Central Asia. It has been revealed that one of the frequent causes of failure of units and assemblies is fatigue failure, the finite element modelling of which allowed the study to obtain a diagram of limit deviations for various cycle asymmetries and as a result, the ability to predict the process of fatigue failure under the influence of external factors. The study results are aimed at the possibility of predicting the failure of components and assemblies of trucks conditioned by fatigue failure.