Development Of Additive Technologies Research Articles

Effect of slot-shaped pins on heat transfer performance in the extended jet impingement cooling

In this study, effects of heat transfer performance on the roughened target surface with slot-shaped pins (SSP) were numerically investigated using an in-line array of extended jet impingement cooling models. The influence of pin heights on convective heat transfer for variable nozzle lengths, different pin arrangements, and Reynolds numbers (Re) in a rectangular channel flow was examined. The pins were located in a staggered and circular pattern. The numerical solution procedure has been verified by comparing numerical results with the available experimental data in the literature. The simulations were conducted with shear stress transport k-ω with low-Re correction turbulence model considering boundary conditions. The numerical model reasonably predicted heat transfer and pressure drop for flat plates and roughened plates with pins. Average Nusselt numbers on the surface were determined numerically using the model validated with experimental data for different dimensionless pin heights Hp/Dj (0.167, 0.417, and 0.667), various pin arrangements (R1, R2, R3), dimensionless nozzle lengths Gj/Dj (1.0, 2.0, and 6.0), and Re numbers (16250, 27100, and 32500). Numerical results were compared with the orifice plate; in other words, the conventional jet impinging configuration (Gj/Dj= 6.0 and Hp/Dj= 0). When the system's flow characteristics and performance evaluation criterion were considered, optimum geometric parameters for all Re were determined as Hp/Dj= 0.167 and R1_Gj/Dj= 1.0. Obviously, pin-roughened surfaces strongly affect the mean convective heat transfer and the homogeneity of the local heat transfer in extended jet impinging cooling systems. In this way, the negative effect of thermal stresses on the interested surface can be reduced, and the life of the material can be extended. Since the development of additive manufacturing technologies makes it possible to use these geometries in the internal cooling channels of gas turbine blades, a significant contribution will be made to the literature as a result of this study.

Non-linear dynamic finite element analysis of micro-strut lattice structures made by laser powder bed fusion

The development of additive manufacturing technologies enables the production of a new type of porous materials for the absorption of mechanical energy. These are, for example, metallic lattice structures produced by laser powder bed fusion. The structures can be made from a wide range of alloys, achieve high specific energy absorption, and can be manufactured as hybrid parts with conventional bulk components. To effectively develop lattice structures, it is necessary to complement experimental tests with simulations using the finite element method (FEM) performed under conditions of increased loading velocities. Therefore, this study focuses on the development of the FEM modelling strategy that reflects the effect of strain rate sensitivity of the base material (SS316L) and the most significant geometrical imperfections of the manufacturing process. The strain rate is reflected by the Cowper-Symonds constitutive law, which parameters are determined by the dynamic tensile test on Hopkinson split bars. The imperfections are captured by optical digitalization. The significance of the Cowper-Symonds parameters and geometric imperfections are studied independently, whereas agreement with the experiment is observed. Tests are performed for several lattice structures with different strut orientations and velocities to evaluate the versatility of the proposed approaches. A good correlation between computational and experimental results in terms of energy absorption is found for structures with an experimentally determined strut diameter and the proposed Cowper-Symonds input parameters.

Fracture of Honeycombs Produced by Additive Manufacturing

Lattice materials, such as honeycombs, are remarkable in their ability to combine high stiffness, strength and toughness at low density. In addition, the recent and pervasive development of additive manufacturing technologies makes it easier to produce these cellular materials and opens new possibilities to improve their properties by implementing small modifications to their microstructure. Such developments open new opportunities towards the design of new classes of architectured materials. For example, recent computational studies have shown that honeycombs with lattice density gradients have a fracture energy under tensile loading up to 50% higher than their uniform counterparts. The aim of this study is to provide experimental evidence for these promising numerical results. To achieve this, single-edge notched tension specimens, with a honeycomb lattice structures, were manufactured by stereolithography using a ductile polymer resin. The performances of three different honeycombs were compared: (i) a uniform sparse lattice, (ii) a uniform dense lattice, and (iii) a gradient lattice with alternating bands of sparse and dense lattices. The results indicated that specimens with a density gradient may achieve a work of fracture per unit volume that is up to 79% higher than that of a uniform lattice.

Study on Chemical Graft Structure Modification and Mechanical Properties of Photocured Polyimide.

The great challenge facing additive manufacturing is that the available high-performance 3D printing materials can hardly keep up with the rapid development of new additive manufacturing technology. Then, the commercial resins available in the market have some problems, such as poor thermal stability, insufficient light-curing degree, and large shrinkage after curing, which need to be solved urgently. This study reports a photocurable polyimide ink for digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing to prepare controllable 3D structures with high thermal stability, low shrinkage, and excellent comprehensive properties. In this study, pyromellitic dianhydride and diaminodiphenyl ether, the Kapton polyimide with the highest performance synthesized so far, were selected as raw materials, and 2,2′-bis(3,4-dicarboxylic acid) hexafluoropropane dianhydride containing fluorine was introduced to modify the branched-chain structure. The polyimide was prepared by one-step imidization, and then the graft with photocurable double bonds and certain functions was grafted by reaction of glycidyl methacrylate with phenolic hydroxyl groups. In this work, the solubility of the synthesized oligomer polyimide in organic solvents was greatly increased by combining three methods, thereby allowing the formation of ink for photocuring 3D printing, and the ink can be stacked to form low-shrinkage polyimide with complex controllable shape. Polyimide printed by DLP can produce complex structures with good mechanical character and thermal stability and small shrinkage. Therefore, the polyimide prepared in this study is considered to be a resin of great commercial possibility. In addition, due to its properties, it has important development potential in some fields with high demand for thermal stability, such as high-temperature cooling valves, aerospace, and other fields.

Patentability of Solutions in the Field of Bioprint Technologies: A Comparative Law Aspect

The paper is devoted to the issues of advisability of introducing amendments to the civil legislation in connection with the development of additive technologies or the possibility of effective application of the existing rules of law to the regulation of «innovative» civil relations.Digitization of objects of the material world associated with the creation of their digital prototypes constitutes a revolutionary element of 3D printing technology. A three-dimensional digital model (CAD file) can be easily modified, distributed and embodied in the form of a physical object by printing it on a 3D printer. This gives rise to new risks of infringement of exclusive rights to objects of patent law. In a foreign doctrine, a discussion has started regarding the possibility of qualifying the creation and circulation of digital models of patented products (inventions) as a direct infringement or indirect infringement of exclusive rights.The paper concluded that Russian patent law was not ready for the challenge generated by the development of 3D printing technology, since it was not aware of the concept of indirect infringement of the exclusive right. In Russian law enforcement practice, the concept of direct patent infringement is interpreted in a restrictive manner.The question of admissibility of patenting technical solutions in the field of bioprinting has been studied. It is concluded that in Russian law there are no fundamental obstacles to patenting technical solutions in the field of bioprinting technologies. Russian legislation provides for the possibility of patenting «natural products», as well as methods and means of treatment, which distinguishes the Russian approach from the American or European one. If the risk of genetic instability of pluripotent cells is leveled, the technology for creating bioprinted human organs will comply with the requirements of civil law. In particular, it will meet the requirements for the compliance of patented technical solutions with the public interest, the principles of humanity and morality.

Cybersyn, big data, variety engineering and governance.

This contribution offers reflections about Chilean Cybersyn, 50 years ago. In recent years, Cybersyn, has received significant attention. It was the brainchild of Stafford Beer, who conceived it to support the transformation of the Chilean economy from its bureaucratic history to hopefully create a vibrant and modern society, driven by cybernetic tools. These aspects have received much attention in recent times; however, in this contribution, I want to discuss how working in Cybersyn influenced my work after the coup of 1973. Perhaps, for me, its major influence was in the management of complexity, through what I refer here as variety engineering and through the Viable System Model VSM as a paradigm to the management of relationships with implications to enterprises, society and the economy. After the 1973 coup major interest was in technological aspects of Cybersyn such as real-time management and its contribution to decision support and executive information systems. In the late 70s I was personally influenced by information management, but by the early 1980s my work moved towards methodological aspects of how to use the VSM. By 1989 I had created the VIPLAN method (Espejo, 1989). Key questions I attempted to answer were, how to model the complexity of enterprises and their interactions with environmental agents. Later on, in the 1990s and 2000s, the main direction of my work was epistemological, ontological and methodological towards second-order cybernetics and relationships. Only in recent decades the political transformations proposed by Cybersyn have captured the imagination of many commentators. The confluence of social and cultural changes with information technology, data models, artificial intelligence, algorithms and several additional technological developments have challenged the excesses of capitalism, particularly after the banking crisis of 2008–2009. The purpose in this paper is discussing this evolution in the light of those early days in Chile.

Исследование структуры и свойств металломатричных композиционных материалов, полученных методом прямого лазерного выращивания

Due to mechanical properties, Inconel family alloys are proven to be functional materials that are used at elevated temperatures in chemically aggressive environments and under high loads. Development of additive technologies has revealed a potential of these alloys as an initial powder raw material for additive manufacturing machines. In this work, the application of metal matrix composite materials in a direct laser growing technology is studied. The technology of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis is used to manufacture the composite material. The study results show that the application of metal matrix materials in the technology of direct laser growing allows one to increase wettability of ceramic particles by a matrix metal. As a result, the quality of particle-matrix borders is improved, the porosity is decreased, and the uniformity of the distribution of particles in the matrix is increased. The structure of the obtained materials is represented by Inconel 625 matrix alloy and inclusions of TiB2 ceramics. The average size of the ceramic particles is less than 300 nm. It is shown that adding to Inconel 625 powder of a composite metal matrix SHS powder of NiTi-TiB2 in an amount of 5 wt% leads to an increase in the microhardness of the material by 1.5 times relative to the materials obtained from pure Inconel 625. At the same time, there is an increase in the ultimate strength of the materials up to 920 MPa and a decrease in the ductility by 15% relative to the samples made of pure Inconel 625 alloy.

Formation and use of intellectual capital as a factor of the innovative development of Russian the transport complex enterprises

Intellectual capital is a key development factor and a competitive advantage of the national innovation economy. Global experience shows that the effectiveness of any process depends on how developed, demanded and implemented intellectual capital, taking into account its expanded reproduction, since the strategic importance of the latter is to ensure the competitiveness of both the individual in particular, and the company and society as a whole. Conceptual approaches to the formation and use of intellectual capital should contribute to the constant generation of intellectual assets in all business processes of Russian enterprises of the transport complex: production, marketing, finance, human resource management in order to fully and effectively use the advantages of their core competencies and transform them into increasing competitiveness in modern conditions. The paper defines an approach to the concept of “intellectual capital” as a structured set of intangible factors of production that form the core of modern economic relations, allow creating new surplus value, as well as use them as a long-term sustainable competitive advantage. The priority directions of the formation of intellectual capital in global practice and problems of its use in Russian companies are analyzed. Based on the structural approach, which includes the assessment of each individual component and the calculation of the integral indicator of the total level of intellectual capital, a methodology for assessing the intellectual capital of a research and production company in St. Petersburg, whose activities is aimed at the development and implementation of additive technologies in the production processes of industrial enterprises of the transport industry, are presented.

Ti-6Al-4V lattices obtained by SLM: characterisation of the heterogeneous high cycle fatigue behaviour of thin walls.

Architectured materials are attracting increasing interest since a few years, achieving numerous excellent specific properties compared to fully dense materials. The transport industry sector see periodic assemblies of elementary cells, called lattices, as a solution to lighten structures. This is made possible by the development of Additive Manufacturing technologies (AM). Among the numerous advantages of AM, these processes allow to create a wide range of porous cell topologies, and to tailor their complex geometry with the desired properties. However, understanding their fatigue properties is essential to validate their long-term use in load-bearing parts.The FA process plays an important role in fatigue life, as it generates residual stresses, heterogeneous microstructure, as well as surface and volume defects (roughness, gaz porosities, lack of fusion porosities), which are preferred sites for fatigue crack initiation. The fatigue life of these structures also depends strongly on their geometry, which, due to their complexity, induces scale and stress gradient effects.Recent studies have recognize thin-walls TPMS (Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces) structures as the most promising structures for fatigue resistance, especially the gyroid geometry, compared to conventional strut-lattices.The first aim of this work is to characterise the major parameters influencing fatigue life at the lattice scale. Roughness, microstructure will be discribed on a lattice specimen, and topology effect on stress distribution will be numerically quantified. In order to understand the influence of these parameters, and identify the critical region for fatigue life, this work focuses on the local thin-wall scale. Here, the aim is to characterise the high cycle (HCF) fatigue heterogeneous response of Ti-6Al-4V thin-walls manufactured, characterising localy the HCF behaviour of a TPMS lattice structure (R=0.1; uniaxial tension loading, N=1.106, f=40Hz).

СПОСОБ ОЦЕНКИ СОСТОЯНИЯ ПОДРАЗДЕЛЕНИЙ РАЗРАБОТКИ ЭКСТРУЗИОННЫХ 3D-ПРИНТЕРОВ

Many companies recognize the need to innovate their product portfolio. The use of traditional methods and approaches to assessing the activities of an enterprise does not allow to identify the contribution of innovative departments to the overall result of the company.The purpose of the study is to develop a method for evaluating individual units involved in the development of new products. The paper identifies key assessment parameters that contribute to the consideration of three key groups of indicators: general characteristics of the innovative activity of departments, the effectiveness of working with new products and the achievement of the goals of the company's functioning. Specific parameters for each group of indicators are proposed, which makes it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the development organizational structure. Based on the proposed metrics, an integral assessment was obtained and the procedure for its calculation was determined. In accordance with the strategy and priorities of the development of the enterprise, it is possible to determine weighting factors for each component and individual indicators. To adjust the activities of departments to achieve the goals set, the procedure for searching for control action is determined. Two control problems are considered with a sufficient amount of resources and their limitations. In the first case, the department has the opportunity to complete all the planned tasks with the available resources, respectively, the task becomes an optimization one with the search for the most effective way of implementation at the intersection of the sets of planned tasks and possible results. In the second case, it is required to ensure the minimum deviation at each point at the minimum step due to the distribution and use of resources. The possibility of using the developed method to dynamically assess changes in the efficiency of individual organizational structures is demonstrated using the example of three divisions of LLC "Kompaniya IMPRINTA" involved in the development of additive equipment and technologies, including extrusion 3D printers, materials and software. Based on the analysis of the dynamics of changes in the integral assessment of the divisions of LLC "Kompaniya IMPRINTA", the problems of their functioning were identified and directions for improving the efficiency of divisions were identified, such as the development of aemployee motivation system to increase the number of proposed development ideas by the product marketing department and the development of measures to reduce the share of work performed by the department operation of the product with the involvement of third-party companies.

Multi-scale Topology Optimization Using FFT-based Homogenization with Elasto-plastic Material

Thanks to the development of additive manufacturing technology, it is becoming possible to produce materials with desired mechanical properties defined by their periodic microstructures. Multi-scale topology optimization has been paid attention to in many engineering fields to design optimal microstructures. However, its high computational cost prevents practical use, such as high-resolution 3D analysis for precision modeling and non-linear analysis assuming actual materials. In this study, to solve this problem, we focus on the homogenization approach using fast Fourier transform and develop a new optimization method with fast computing speed and low memory requirement. By performing sample analyses, we demonstrate the validity and efficiency of the proposed method.

Development of Additive Manufacturing Technology and Industry in China

As an emerging manufacturing technology, additive manufacturing (AM) has become one of the fastest developing technologies in the advanced manufacturing field with the continuous expansion of its applications. The development of AM industry provides a valuable opportunity for the development of modern manufacturing and the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing. In this paper, developmental trends of the AM technology and industry in China and abroad are systematically summarized, and problems faced by China’s AM industry are analyzed, including inadequate research and development capabilities regarding common technologies and basic devices, lack of effective patent layout for the international market, and insufficient development of industrial scale and clusters. Focusing on a prospective layout of the AM industry, key development directions are proposed, including AM for biomedicine and medical devices, large-scale complex components, space, structural innovation, and new materials. Furthermore, several suggestions are put forward. First, an AM collaborative innovation mechanism should be established to support application innovation of enterprises. Second, special research plans on AM process reforms should be implemented to satisfy the demand for major high-end equipment. Third, the construction of regional AM industrial clusters should be promoted.

Application of Polymer Materials and Additive Technologies in Electrical Equipment of the Agro-Industrial Complex

Additive polymer technologies are widely used in the agro-industrial complex. Modeling by the method of layer-by-layer deposition is in demand today. The most popular polymer materials for FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) / FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) printing are acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polycarbonate, polymethylmethacrylate, polyamide PA-6 and polymer composites based on them. (Research purpose) The research purpose is in studying the prospects of using additive polymer technologies in agriculture, taking real cases as a basis. (Materials and methods). The article presents the analyze of open information sources. Author used methods of collecting, studying and comparative analysis of information, considered real cases carried out with the use of the material and technical base of the FNAC VIM. (Results and discussion) The domestic market of polymer materials and composites based on them for 3D printing using FDM/FFF technology is not as diverse as similar for traditional methods of processing plastics and composite materials (injection molding, extrusion, pressing and others). The reason for this is the lack of knowledge of 3D printing technologies, in particular, FDM/FFF technology, as a method of plastics processing. The main factor in the development of additive polymer technologies in the agro- industrial complex is the growing demand for the use of 3D printing. The article proves the effectiveness of the application with real cases made as a result of the close work of several research laboratories of FNAC VIM. (Conclusions) Additive manufacturing has great potential for further development, including within the agro-industrial complex. FDM/FFF technology and additive polymer technologies in general perfectly complement traditional production technologies.

Synthesis of Ni – Ti alloy from Elemental Powders by Direct Laser Deposition

The paper investigates current trends in the development of advanced additive manufacturing technology — laser cladding or direct laser deposition (DLD). This technology for the manufacture of metal parts is less known than selective laser melting (SLM) due to its low accuracy, but it has great opportunities for the manufacture of large single parts from functional alloys. The paper analyzes the prospects and economic efficiency of the DLD modification, which consists of the synthesis of an alloy with the simultaneous building of a product from elemental powders. The synthesis of the alloy is carried out using the example of the Ni – Ti system. The economic assessment of the cost of the initial components shows the average cost of raw materials for this alloy at 200 $/kg at the cost of an alloyed alloy from 250 $/kg. An experiment of building a thin-walled and multilayer sample of an equiatomic alloy from a 55Ni — 45Ti mechanical powder mixture in a protective chamber is presented in the practical part of the work. It is shown that the presence of a protective chamber for this alloy significantly affects the chemical composition and distribution of elements within the track but is not a prerequisite for the shaping of the part. The grown thin-walled bushing showed an excess of titanium in its composition relative to the initial mixture. On the other hand, the multilayer sample in the form of a cylinder was very close to the original composition with an accuracy of one hundredth of Ni and Ti (in mass %). The results showed that this method is promising for alloy formation and the simultaneous building of a functional material requiring high precision in chemical composition. This research was funded through a grant by the Russian Science Foundation; Project No. 19-79-30002.

Environmental Impact for 3D Bone Tissue Engineering Scaffolds Life Cycle: An Assessment

With the development of additive manufacturing technology, 3D bone tissue engineering scaffolds have evolved. Bone tissue engineering is one of the techniques for repairing bone abnormalities caused by a variety of circumstances, such as injuries or the need to support damaged sections. Many bits of research have gone towards developing 3D bone tissue engineering scaffolds all across the world. The assessment of the environmental impact, on the other hand, has received less attention. As a result, the focus of this study is on developing a life cycle assessment (LCA) model for 3D bone tissue engineering scaffolds and evaluating potential environmental impacts. One of the methodologies to evaluating a complete environmental impact assessment is life cycle assessment (LCA). The cradle-to-grave method will be used in this study, and GaBi software was used to create the analysis for this study. Previous research on 3D bone tissue engineering fabrication employing poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) soaked in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and diphenyl (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phosphine oxide (TPO) as a photoinitiator will be reviewed. Meanwhile, digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing is employed as the production technique. The GaBi program and the LCA model developed to highlight the potential environmental impact. This study shows how the input and output of LCA of 3D bone tissue engineering scaffolds might contribute to environmental issues such as air, freshwater, saltwater, and industrial soil emissions. The emission contributing to potential environmental impacts comes from life cycle input, electricity and transportation consumption, manufacturing process, and material resources. The results from this research can be used as an indicator for the researcher to take the impact of the development of 3D bone tissue engineering on the environment seriously.

A Numerical Study on 3D Printed Cementitious Composites Mixes Subjected to Axial Compression

Aptly enabled by recent developments in additive manufacturing technology, the concept of functionally grading some cementitious composites to improve structural compression forms is warranted. In this work, existing concrete models available in Abaqus Finite Element (FE) packages are utilized to simulate the performance of some cementitious composites numerically and apply them to functional grading using the multi-layer approach. If yielding good agreement with the experimental results, two-layer and three-layer models case combinations are developed to study the role of layer position and volume. The optimal and sub-optimal performance of the multi-layer concrete configurations based on compressive strength and sustained strains are assessed. The results of the models suggest that layer volume and position influence the performance of multi-layer concrete. It is observed that when there exists a substantial difference in material strengths between the concrete mixes that make up the various layers of a functionally graded structure, the influence of position and of material volume are significant in a two-layer configuration. In contrast, in a three-layer configuration, layer position is of minimal effect, and volume has a significant effect only if two of the three layers are made from the same material. Thus, a multilayered design approach to compression structures can significantly improve strength and strain performance. Finally, application scenarios on some structural compression forms are shown, and their future trajectory is discussed.

Cruciate-Ligament-Inspired Compliant Joints: Application to 3D-Printed Continuum Surgical Robots.

The rapid development of additive manufacturing technology makes it possible to fabricate a patient-specific surgical robot in a short time. To simplify the assembly process of the printed robotic system, compliant-joint-based monolithic structures are often used as substitutes for rigid-link mechanisms to realize flexible bending. In this paper, we introduce a cruciate-ligament-inspired compliant joint (CLCJ) to improve the bending stability of the 3D-printed continuum surgical robots. The basic structure of the tendon-driven CLCJ mechanism and its kinematic model were described in detail. The bending performance of CLCJ was also successfully evaluated by FEM simulation and experimental tests. Besides, a prototype of CLCJ-based surgical robotic system was presented to demonstrate its application in 3D-printed continuum surgical robots.

Fatigue life prediction model and entropy generation of 304L stainless steel fabricated by selective laser melting

Fatigue performance and reliability application have always been the key issues restricting the development of disruptive additive manufacturing technology due to intrinsic defects caused by the manufacturing process. In the present work, tensile tests and fatigue tests of 304 L stainless steel (SS) fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) with various laser power levels were carried out with in-situ monitoring of acoustic emission (AE) and thermal imager (TI). Microstructural characterizations were performed to measure the surface roughness, porosity, and residual stress of as-built SLMed 304 L SS. A fatigue life prediction model considering surface roughness, porosity, and residual stress was established based on experimental data. In addition, direct evidence is offered to show the strong correspondence between the temperature variable of material surface induced by energy dissipation caused by entropy generation during cyclic deformation and the degradation of material properties caused by fatigue micro-damage. This work indeed provides a novel fatigue life prediction model for SLMed 304 L SS, and advances our current understanding of underlying fatigue micro-damage mechanism of additively manufactured materials.

Custom Made Implant in Revision Knee Arthroplasty with AORI 3 Bone Defect: а Case Report

Background. Replacement of extensive bone defects during revision knee arthroplasty (RKA) is a certain problem. The development of additive technologies allows us to produce an individual titanium augment to restore the lost bone tissue. The aim of the study is to show the possibility of replacing extensive tibia defects with an custom made augment during revision knee artroplasty. Case presentation. The patient is 66 years old. At the age of 58, due to secondary knee osteoarthritis in 2 years interval, the patient underwent total knee arthroplasty: left in 2012, right in 2014. Subsequently, several revision interventions were required for early periprosthetic infection of the right knee joint. From 2015 to 2018, due to the infection remission, the function of the right knee joint was satisfactory. In 2018, the patient admitted to our clinic with the periprosthetic infection relapse. Due to the previous treatment, the patient had type 3 bone defect according to the AORI classification. A two-stage revision knee arthroplasty was performed. To compensate the extensive tibial defect, the individual tibial implant was manufactured using additive technologies, and a semiconstrained endoprosthesis was implanted. There was no relapse of infection during the observation. There is deficit of active extension, there are no radiological signs of the implant instability. Conclusion. In our case, we were able to achieve satisfactory results in patient with a complex anamnesis and extensive bone defects. The use of individual implant helped to avoid arthrodesis, preserve the weight-bearing of the lower limb and articulation in the knee joint. The use of implants made using 3D technologies is a promising solution for compensating defects of types 2B and 3 according to the AORI classification.

Big data in agriculture: Between opportunity and solution

CONTEXTBig data applications in agriculture evolve fast, as more experience, applications, good practices and computational power become available. Actual solutions to real-life problems are scarce. What characterizes the adoption of big data problems to solutions and to what extent is there a match between them? OBJECTIVEWe aim to assess the conditions of the adoption of big data technologies in agricultural applications, based on the investigation of twelve real-life practical use cases in the precision agriculture and livestock domain. METHODSWe use a mixed method approach: a case study research around the twelve use cases of Horizon 2020 project CYBELE, varying from precision arable and livestock farming to fishing and food security, and a stakeholder survey (n = 56). Our analysis focuses on four perspectives: (1) the drivers of change that initiated the use cases; (2) the big data characteristics of the problem; (3) the technological maturity level of the solution both at start and end of the project; (4) the stakeholder perspective. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSResults show that the use cases’ drivers of change are a combination of data-, technology, research- and commercial interests; most have at least a research drive. The big data characteristics (volume, velocity, variety, veracity) are well-represented, with most emphasis on velocity and variety. Technology readiness levels show that the majority of use cases started at experimental or lab environment stage and aims at a technical maturity of real-world small-scale deployment. Stakeholders’ main concern is cost, user friendliness and to embed the solution within their current work practice.The adoption of better-matching big data solutions is modest. Big data solutions do not work out-of-the-box when changing application domains. Additional technology development is needed for addressing the idiosyncrasies of agricultural applications. SIGNIFICANCEWe add a practical, empirical assessment of the current status of big data problems and solutions to the existing body of mainly theoretical knowledge. We considered the CYBELE research project as our laboratory for this. Our strength is that we interviewed the use case representatives in person, and that we included the stakeholders’ perspective in our results.Large-scale deployments need effective interdisciplinary approaches and long-term project horizons to address issues emerging from big data characteristics, and to avoid compartmentalization of agricultural sciences.We need both an engineering perspective – to make things work in practice – and a systems thinking perspective – to offer holistic, integrated solutions.