Integrated Process Chain Research Articles

Analysis of Deformation Dynamics in Guatemala City Metropolitan Area Using Persistent Scatterer Interferometry

The analysis of deformation dynamics in Guatemala city and its surrounding region presented in this paper holds significant relevance due to the high vulnerability of this area to natural disasters, combined with its rapid urbanization, similar to most Central American cities, contrasting with a lack of InSAR and deformation studies in the region. A total of 226 SAR images from Sentinel-1 A and B satellites in both ascending and descending geometries were processed with the Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) technique employing the SNAP-StaMPS integrated processing chain. The study area encompasses the Metropolitan Region of Guatemala, which is characterized by a diverse and active geological framework, with a historical record of earthquakes, intense groundwater extraction, and local subsidence phenomena, causing fissures and sinkholes. Four active areas were identified in the study area, each covering more than 50 hectares, with subsidence velocities greater than 10 mm/yr. This study provides valuable insights into fostering the sustainable development of this region by identifying deformation patterns, characterizing main active areas, and evaluating associated risks for disaster management and prevention. The results can also aid informed decision-making processes and guide urban planning and resource management strategies in other Central American countries. The application of InSAR studies is crucial for improving safety and sustainability in urban environments and natural resource management in vulnerable regions.

Dry-sliding wear and hardness of thick electrical discharge coatings and laser clads

Thick electrical discharge coatings (EDC) are a promising method of depositing wear resistant layers in complex shapes as part of an integrated process chain, utilising sacrificial tool electrodes. EDCs yielded superior dry sliding wear performance than laser clad equivalent material against alumina and Stellite counterbodies by a factor of 3–4 across all loads. Nanoindentation testing revealed higher maximum hardness and a higher hardness/elastic modulus ratio of dense regions of the EDCs, thought to explain the generally increased wear resistance of the coatings. EBSD analysis revealed a fine, generally randomised grain structure in the EDCs, compared to the large, columnar structure of the laser coatings, helping explain increased hardness of the EDCs.

An Industry 4.0 framework for tooling production using metal additive manufacturing-based first-time-right smart manufacturing system

This paper presents a concept for an integrated process chain for tooling production based on metal additive manufacturing. The proposed approach aims at taking advantage of a fully digitized production line, describing the main steps for the synergetic integration of the manufacturing assets. The production line entails digital infrastructure that collects and elaborate data from various monitoring sensors to execute corrective actions and continuously optimize the process. This line will bring breakthrough benefits, like flexibility and full traceability. Also challenges, as change management in the industry, skills gap, the requirement of new business models and product re-design have been addressed.

Integration of mining and metallurgical complex: factors of industrial and corporate policy

The article emphasizes the need and outlines the ways of corporate relations between the mining and metallurgical segments of the mineral complex of Russia. These segments are designed to ensure the smooth and competitive functioning of the integrated process chain for the extraction of iron ore, its enrichment and production of metal products. The strategic guidelines for the development of the mining and metallurgical complex (MMC) are characterized, suggesting an increase in its diversity and innovation. The proposed instruments of the state industrial policy that stimulate the development of integrated technological chains in MMC. Recommendations on improvement of regulations of corporate policy in mining and processing plants focused on improvement of quality of integration interaction with the metallurgical enterprises are given. The principles of improving the strategic planning of companies in MMC, involving the activation of joint activities of mining and metallurgical enterprises within the integrated business.

Local Energy Use of Biomass from Apple Orchards—An LCA Study

Generation of heat in small and medium-size energy systems using local sources of energy is one of the best solutions for sustainable regional development, from an economic, environmental, and social point of view. Depending on the local circumstances and preferences of the agricultural activity, different types and potentials of biomass are available for energy recovery. Poland is the third-largest producer of apples in the world. The large cumulative area of apple orchards in Poland and necessity of regular tree pruning creates a significant potential for agricultural biomass residues. In this paper, the LCA analysis of a new and integrated process chain focused on the conversion of cut branches coming from apple orchards into heat is conducted. Furthermore, the obtained results of the environmental indices have been compared to traditional mulching of pruned biomass in the orchard. It was shown that in terms of the LCA analysis, the biomass harvesting, baling, and transportation to the local heat producer leads to an overall environmental gain. The cumulative Climate Change Potential for pruning to energy scenario was 92.0 kg CO2 equivalent·ha−1. At the same time, the mulching and leaving of the pruned biomass in the orchard (pruning to soil scenario) was associated with a CO2 equivalent of 1690 kg·ha−1, although the soil effect itself amounted to −5.9 kg CO2 eq.·ha−1. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis of the LCA showed that in the case of the PtE chain, the transportation distance of the pruned bales should be limited to a local range to maintain the positive environmental and energy effects.

Development of an integrated design methodology model for quality and throughput of Additive Manufacturing processes

Additive manufacturing (AM) has risen to be a substantial part of modern manufacturing due to its unique capabilities and has already been fondly adopted in various fields especially in the aerospace. In order to fully harness the benefits of this revolutionary manufacturing technology, this article aims to develop a practical integrated design methodology that can be used to enhance quality and throughput of AM processes. In doing so, investigation were conducted to examine an AM aero-based component through design tools that allow designers to consider an integrated process chain, from component design to pre-processing, manufacturing (laser bed fusion building), post-processing and finished part. The developed design model integrated with decision tools will assist the design experts in developing new knowledge that looks beyond the familiar Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) rather to Design towards product Certification (DoC). In addition, this will serve as an effective design guidance that can inform proper design planning and optimization in aerospace industry production.

Artificial intelligence driven process optimization for cleaner production of biomass with co-valorization of wastewater and flue gas in an algal biorefinery

In the present study, an optimized process involving integrated events of flue gas CO2 sequestration and wastewater utilization was developed for improved microalgal biomass production in a cleaner fashion. An artificial neural network (ANN) combined with genetic algorithm (GA) optimization tool was employed for predicting optimal process conditions for enhancing the biomass of the green microalga, Scenedesmus sp., using domestic wastewater as culture medium and coal-fired flue gas as carbon source in an integrated process chain. A 24 central composite design involving four independent process parameters such as light intensity, photoperiod, temperature and initial pH as input variables with biomass productivity as the output was used to construct a non-linear ANN model followed by GA tool to predict optimal combinations of process conditions. Among the tested neural network architecture, 4-12-1 ANN topology was found to be the optimal network architecture in terms of maximum correlation coefficient (R = 0.9947) and minimum mean square error as the performance indexes. On employing the optimized ANN model as fitness function in GA tool, the optimum values of the process parameters for efficient biomass production were as follows: light intensity = 124 μmol m−2 s−1, photoperiod; L:D = 17:7 (h), temperature = 27.5 °C and initial pH = 9.5. These parameters improved the algal biomass productivity by about 57%, CO2 sequestration rate of 578.1 ± 23.1 mg L−1 d−1 and chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction of 95.9 ± 2.4% were achieved. The optimized process yielded biomass with lipid content and productivity of 34.6% and 106.4 mg L−1 d−1 respectively. The biofuel assessment from the fatty acid methyl ester profile obtained also conformed to the international standard specifications for biodiesel.

Development of a biogas production and purification process using promoted gas hydrate formation — A feasibility study

This work proves the feasibility of an integrated process chain, which combines a continuous biogas production unit and a pioneering gas hydrate separation technique to advance biogas utilization. First, a fermentation was launched and optimized to produce biogas. Therefore, a mixed microbiological culture from sewage sludge of a nearby waste water clarification plant was cultivated by feeding a nutrient solution based on saccharose. The second experimental series had the intention to find an optimal hydrate promoter system with a maximized separation factor. To guarantee moderate operating conditions and fast hydrate formation, thermodynamic and kinetic promoters were combined. Tetrahydrofuran was used as thermodynamic, sodium dodecyl sulfate as kinetic promoter. To effectuate higher separation factors, additional substances were tested. One approach deals with additional surfactants of varying HLB numbers. The alternative attempt takes advantage of the properties of physical absorbents. To find an optimal promoter and separation medium several systems were tested. Both experimental series were recombined in a continuous biogas production and upgrading process and separation efficiency was determined to show proof of concept. In a closing experimental series an adapted McCabe–Thiele-diagram was constructed to determine the necessary stage number with the aim to reach a purity within industrial specifications.

Lyocell fibers for textile processing derived from organically grown hemp

Because of world-wide persistent demand for cellulose man-made fibers suitable in textile processing and application and the predicted stagnation of cotton production, there is a strong need for innovative approaches to safeguard the future availability of dissolving pulps for cellulose fiber production. The paper will present the results of a national network project, which was focused on the development of an integrated process chain for the manufacturing of novel fabrics produced of man-made Lyocell fibers derived from organically grown hemp (OG hemp). The whole process line was established within the process studies starting from hemp cultivation, machine-aided harvesting and automatic peeling to isolate hemp bast stripes (HBS) from stems, pulp manufacturing and transfer into fibers by solution spinning up to processing to yarns and dyed and finished fabrics.More representative, the paper will specifically describe the transfer of almost free of shives extracted, retted hemp fibers and dried HBS into dissolving pulp by means of a specific adjusted pulp cooking process. The main challenges in that step were identification as well as practical development of suitable process approaches for degumming, DP adjustment and purification from contained light and heavy metal traces. Furthermore, the pulp had to be assessed for its usability in direct dissolution process. For that purpose dopes were prepared and characterized regarding optimal DP adjustment, the insoluble parts in dopes and the thermal dope stability at elevated temperatures. After identification and application of most favored process parameters the dissolved pulps could be converted into Lyocell fibers by solution spinning applying the most suitable dry-wet shaping procedure conditions. Manufactured fibers exhibit comparable properties in fineness, tensile strength, elongation and loop tenacity like common Lyocell fibers made of conventional wooden pulp. In project R&D activities obtained fibers had been further processed into yarns, fabrics and apparel demonstrators applying conventional processing parameter. The manufactured LyohempTM clothes offer excellent product qualities as well as wearing properties.

Integrated Optimization of Long-Range Underwater Signal Detection, Feature Extraction, and Classification for Nuclear Treaty Monitoring

We designed and jointly optimized an integrated signal processing chain for detection and classification of long-range passive-acoustic underwater signals recorded by the global geophysical monitoring network of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. Starting at the level of raw waveform data, a processing chain of signal detection, feature extraction, and signal classification was designed and jointly optimized to the task. Relevant waveform segments were in a first step identified by a generic, flexibly parameterized detection algorithm on a long- to short-term averages' ratio of the spectral energy. For representation, general-purpose sound processing features, with an added focus on spectral and cepstral features, were extracted from the detected segments. As classifiers, support vector machines with different kernel functions were employed alongside other baseline learning algorithms. The free parameters of the overall toolchain (i.e., trigger algorithm parameters and classifier hyperparameters) were jointly optimized in a cross-validation setting, either according to the cross-validation classification error or the cross-validation area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Experiments demonstrate that our method outperforms machine learning algorithms task-tailored to a previous, human-expert-designed preprocessing chain. The presented approach can be adapted to a wide range of problems that can benefit from jointly optimizing parameters of preprocessing and classification algorithm.

Increasing Cost and Eco Efficiency for Selective Tape Placement and Forming by Adaptive Process Design

The automated placement of continuous fiber-reinforced polymer prepregs (pre-impregnated) is a generative manufacturing technology for composites. Particularly laser-assisted tape placement of unidirectional continuous fiber-reinforced tapes provides potentials for highly flexible composite manufacturing. Whereas the single process of tape placement to generatively build up load carrying structures was already optimized in several research activities and projects, an integrated process chain approach promises further increases in cost and eco efficiency. An adaptive process design considering interdependencies between selective tape placement and a subsequent forming improves the entire process chain. Due to the knowledge of process interdependencies, the advantages of high speed placement on predetermined load carrying areas can be fully exploited. The system and process design for this adaptive manufacturing approach, the underlying assessment methodology as well as its application on a manufacturing process chain for structural composite parts are presented in this paper.

A Robust Approach for Object-Based Detection and Radiometric Characterization of Cloud Shadow Using Haze Optimized Transformation

Cloud shadows in satellite imagery hinder understanding of ground surface conditions due to reduced illumination and the potential for confusion with illuminated low-reflectance objects such as water bodies. This paper extends the application of the haze optimized transform (HOT) from haze mapping to include object-oriented detection of clouds and cloud shadows. An integrated processing chain encompassing these tasks has been implemented and successfully applied to Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus and Multispectral Scanner imagery covering a variety of land covers and landscapes. The results confirm that the HOT-based method for cloud shadow detection is robust and effective. Cloud shadows have been identified and extracted with overall accuracy of about 95.3%. Clear-sky dark pixels (e.g., small lakes) are well separated from cumulus cloud shadow pixels. The spatial distribution of HOT response in a given cloud patch can be used to estimate the extent and variation of incoming visible radiation reduction in its corresponding shadow patch. This information, in turn, has been used to apply a radiometric gain to compensate for the shadowing effect on the land. The HOT response has been tested for radiometric characterization of cloud shadows and subsequent shadow illumination compensation.

A Novel Concept of Integrated Process Chain for Surgical Splint Generation Based on Clinical Assessment in Orthognathic Surgery

A surgical splint with its individual negative dental impression defines a critical workflow-step in orthognathic surgery. It transfers the planning into a physical guide and in the same way also all the planning error and system deviation. Knowledge from our pioneer study with phantoms and ten clinic cases builds the fundament of this novel concept. It combines optimization in input modality, data preprocessing, GUI, user-interface, virtual planning and splint Generation. Our goal is to establish an integrated process chain that meets the need of the hectic clinical work. Future work is to realize this concept and a gradual adaption of this integrated process line for other patient specific implant planning application.

Surface finishing of intricate metal mould structures by large-area electron beam irradiation

The advancement of polymer moulding tools is increasingly focused on imparting not only form but also surface texture for functionality to the surfaces of parts that are created. Furthermore, the increasing demand for inexpensive and higher quality micro-components means that tools for replication processes must take advantage of advanced manufacturing techniques. Tools created by processes such as micro-investment casting, as in this case, may often suffer from excessive surface roughness, malformed edges and general deformation. This results in higher de-moulding forces and a reduction in fidelity of moulded parts to design intent. In this study, large-area electron beam irradiation (EB) is shown to be an effective technique for improving these metrics. For the first time, large population, high aspect ratio micro-features are subject to this process and the mechanisms of smoothing and key enhancement phenomena are demonstrated. The possibility of including EB irradiation in an integrated process chain for arriving at net shape is also discussed. Surfaces of protruding features are shown to have surface roughness reduced significantly from 126 to 22 nm Ra value, with bottom substrate also similarly improving from 150 to 27 nm Ra. Bottoms of recessed features are also observed to have much improved surface finishes. ‘Doming’ of tops of column features is also demonstrated, further enhancing form. These features would be far too fragile to be polished by any other mechanical method.

Design of an Integrated Process Chain for the Production of Compressor Parts

Bladed integrated disks are some of the most innovative and challenging components in modern gas turbine engines. Although, they reduce weight by 20% and improve efficiency compared with the conventional blade assembled disk, their main drawback is their high manufacturing cost. The aim of the present research is to design an integrated process chain for the production of compressor parts, in particular blisks, which will enable the reduction of costs. For this aim, the axiomatic design methodology will be applied. On the other hand, in order to retrieve, to structure and to share relevant engineering data, generated during the manufacturing process, a technology data catalogue (TDC) will be developed. While the axiomatic design methodology will provide the structure of the process chain, the TDC will provide manufacturing data needed for the design of the integrated process chain.

An approach for the offer specification process for customised products

In today's competitive environment, the customisation of products is often considered as a market opportunity. In this situation, processing the customer orders as fast as possible is important in order to avoid reducing a customer's specific benefit. The realisation of these requirements necessitates an integrated process chain for an efficient order processing. Furthermore, the customer integrated order processing for individualised products must be established as a regular business process defined by the main process steps offer specification, order specification and production. In this paper, the main focus of the order processing for individualised products lies upon the optimised generation of the offer. Therefore, a new business process model for an optimised offer specification for customised products is presented.

Software development for service oriented distributed systems

The standardisation of interfaces is an important step along the path to designing integrated process chains. Following the introduction of new, standardised technologies such as FlexRay and Autosar, the automotive industry will have to adjust their processesaccording to the new requirements. However, whereas in the past event-driven bus systems allowed a certain degree of flexibility when managing signal databases, the change to time-triggered systems requires a new way of thinking. In addition, driver assistance in modern cars further increase the number of network and signal connections. The information technology sector provides well known means for the development of distributed functions. Such an approach is known as service oriented communication. ESG describes a way to transfer this concept to the automotive sector and the impact on the development process.

Portable Propane Micro-Tubular SOFC System Development

NanoDynamics Energy Inc. is developing a family of compact, integrated micro-tubular SOFC systems with high volumetric power density and multiple fuel options including methane, propane, diesel and JP8. The development program aims to bring to the market highly efficient, clean, and cost competitive fuel cell systems with outputs above 50We for portable power generation applications. Balance-of-plant (BoP), electronic controls, and power management systems have been identified and integrated with a partial oxidation reformer and SOFC stack. A system test for the integrated process chain was performed with our proprietary cell and system technologies. The performance of a system developed using a micro-tubular SOFC stack is evaluated for different operating conditions. The results from these studies will be presented. System design, integration, and control methodologies are also discussed.

Performance Characteristics of an Integrated 50We Portable JP8 SOFC - Reformer System

NanoDynamics Energy Incorporated is developing a family of compact, integrated, partial oxidation reformer (POX) - SOFC systems suitable for methane, propane, diesel and JP8 fuels. The development program aims to bring to the market highly efficient, clean, and cost competitive fuel cell systems with outputs above 50We for portable power generation applications. The partial oxidation reformer was combined with a SOFC stack and a system test for the integrated process chain was performed. The necessary start up strategies and balance-of- plant (BoP) components including fuel and air supply, exhaust gas heat recovery, back-up power, power electronics and control system have been identified. The performance of the system is evaluated for different operating conditions. The results from these studies will be presented in this paper. Finally, the performance characteristics of the POX-SOFC unit have been compared to that of a steam reforming-SOFC system.

Research for a Flexible Production of Lightweight Space Frame Structures

This paper presents the focus of research and the structure of the Collaborative Research Centre SFB/TR10 „Integration of Forming, Cutting, and Joining for the Flexible Production of Lightweight Structures” funded in 2003 by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Driven by the demands of low volume production. The aim of the Research Centre is to investigate the scientific basis and methods to design integrated process chains for the flexible manufacture of space frame structures.