Joint Production Process Research Articles

Continuous Drive Friction Welded Al/Cu Joints Produced Using Short Welding Time, Elevated Rotational Speed, and High Welding Pressures.

The present study aimed to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of the Al/Cu joint production process implemented by the company VEMID Ltd., Jagodina, Serbia, by attaining sound joints within a very short welding time. For this purpose, the present study aimed at investigating the accuracy and the quality of the continuous drive friction welding (CDFW) process, as well as the optimum combination of CDFW parameters with highest joint efficiency in terms of investigated properties. The accuracy was estimated through an analysis of temperature-time curves recorded during CDFW using an infrared camera. The quality was evaluated through an investigation of the properties of Al/Cu joints produced using different friction (66.7, 88.9, and 133.3 MPa) and forging (88.9, 222.2, and 355.6 MPa) pressures and a constant total welding time (4 s) and rotational speed (2100 rpm). Thermal imaging with an infrared camera demonstrated that the actual total welding time was 15% longer compared to the nominal value. This was attributed to the slow pressure response of the pneumatic brake system. The relative changes in the maximum surface temperature (TMS) during the CDFW process corresponded to changes in welding pressures, indicating the potential of the thermal imaging method for monitoring and assessing this process. A preliminary investigation demonstrated that Al/Cu joints produced using welding pressures less than 88.9 MPa often displayed the presence of non-joined micro-regions at the Al/Cu interface and a significant thickness of interfacial Al2Cu (up to 1 µm). However, when friction pressure was set at 66.7 MPa, an increase in the forging pressure to 222.2 MPa eliminated the presence of non-joined micro-regions and reduced the thickness of Al2Cu to 0.5 µm on the average level. These Al/Cu joints achieved the highest joint efficiencies in terms of strength (100%) and ductility (61%). They exhibited an electrical conductivity higher than 92% of the theoretical value. A further increase in any welding pressure produced similar or deteriorated properties, accompanied by an increase in the consumption of raw materials and energy. Such turn of events was counterproductive to the original goal of increasing the efficiency and efficacy of the CDFW process.

Theoretical and empirical approach to how a professorship is organized in the German higher education system and how the organizational process works

In this article, we explore the question of how membership, hierarchy, rules, monitoring, and sanctions are used at German professorships to organize research. Using these five criteria of an organization from Ahrne and Brunsson (Organization, 18(1):83–104, 2011) as a theoretical pattern, we shed light on the meso-level of universities in the German higher education system—the professorship. It is at this level that the collaborative production of research is organized. We show which organizational mechanisms are necessary for this joint production process, how the practical implementation and interpretation of rules as an organizational process take place at the professorships, as well as various negotiations and sanctions. In the German higher education system, professors are the superiors of their academic staff. The professor decides on the hiring and renewal of employees and is the supervisor of doctoral candidates, who in the German higher education system are mostly employed as research assistants. To illustrate the characteristics of the criteria, we draw on empirical material from mixed-methods research, which made it possible to contrast and substantiate the special features of professorships in Germany from different perspectives and data.

Joint-production characteristics of typical marine composite reservoir with water-saturated methane hydrates and higher-pressure gas by depressurization

Marine natural gas hydrate is water-saturated and usually accompanied with higher pressure underlying gas, and this typical composite reservoir is greatly economical for production. Yet, the experimental simulation on the typical marine composite reservoir is hard, and its joint-production studies are quite rare. In this work, the same 7.5 MPa methane hydrate reservoirs with an approximately 20% saturation underlain with four different pressures (7.1, 8.0, 8.1 and 9.0 MPa) gas were remolded. During the depressurization process from the top of hydrate layer, the water-saturated hydrate layer can allow the overpressure of underlying gas as highest as 6.0 MPa because of the presence of the hydrate seal. The early production stage is independent and lasts for several minutes until the hydrate seal is broken due to the dissociation of some hydrates, and then the massive inflow of underlying gas into hydrate layer induces the dissociation pause or even reformation of hydrates in return. After that, the production of underlying gas become synchronous and in a same depressurization process with the hydrate reservoir. As a result, the joint-production process of water-saturated methane hydrate and higher-pressure gas can be divided into independent and synchronous stages. In addition, the decisive factors of underlying gas and hydrate production processes are gas seepage and hydrate dissociation, respectively, and the production rate of underlying gas is much faster than that of hydrate reservoir. It is therefore suggested that the key of improving joint-production efficiency of the composite reservoir is to accelerate the hydrate dissociation. This work is of great significance for the guidance of spot production of marine natural gas hydrate with higher-pressure underlying gas.

Cost-effectiveness analysis and joint public production of outputs for development: a preliminary framework

ABSTRACT The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals are highly interdependent. Lasting progress towards these goals requires collaboration among actors operating in diverse sectors and thematic domains. Yet, multi-sectoral collaboration is complicated by a variety of factors that tend to incentivise siloed action organised around individual interventions and budgets. This paper presents an analytical framework based on the concept of “economies of scope” for assessing and enhancing the efficiency of development projects for which there is a joint production process. We focus on the use of fair cost sharing methods such as the Shapley Value to dis-incentivise actors operating in inefficient siloes.

Bargaining over a jointly produced pie: The effect of the production function on bargaining outcomes

Using experimental data, we show that the characteristics of the joint production process have a notable impact on the distribution of bargaining agreements. The setting in which the jointly produced surplus is expressed to be proportional to individual inputs leads to significantly more proportional bargaining agreements. This is in contrast to the setting in which the surplus is expressed as an additive constant, where bargaining agreements are more in line with the Nash bargaining solution.

Purchased Power Dispatching Potential Evaluation of Steel Plant With Joint Multienergy System and Production Process Optimization

Iron and steel industry is the pillar industry of China, providing a solid foundation for China's industrialization. While steel plants are energy intensive mainly consuming coal and electricity, and their power consumption tends to be higher proportional in the near future, due to global confidence of peak and neutrality carbon dioxide emission, electrical substitution, and ongoing energy use right transaction. Thus, these plants will have larger potential to participate in the friendly interaction between power supply and demand. The adjustable potential of purchased power load exists in two aspects: one is the controllable resources of inner energy supply and use system, and the other is the energy schedule regulation accompanied by production process adjustment, which is rarely considered in current energy management research of steel plants. Based on the flexibility analysis of production process control without affecting productivity, the adjustment model of steel-rolling lines, air separation and electric arc furnaces on iron-making line is formulated here, as well as the corresponding energy consumed in these processes. Combined with the optimization of multienergy coupling system and production processes, a joint evaluation model of maximum dispatching potential and duration is proposed and solved by mixed-integer linear programming solver. Simulation result shows the feasibility of the proposed dispatching potential evaluation method and the effectiveness to take the production process adjustment with energy-systemscheduling.

Assessment of the mixed timber combination effect of finger-jointed timber species using flexural and tensile strength

Off-cut wood is one of the wastes dumped by sawmills, and inadequate length of sawn timber materials fail to fully utilize the wood supply. Finger joint, a method that connects two small pieces of timber, is identified as a sound technique to minimize wastage. Different timber species should be bonded at the finger joint production process for making finger-jointed mixed boards. When mixing the different timber species, timber pieces should be matched based on the mechanical strength. This study was, therefore, conducted to find the strength properties of mixed finger-jointed timber species of wood, namely, Grandis (Eucalyptus grandis), Jack (Aartocarpus heterophyllus), Kumbuk (Terminalia arjuna) and Pine (Pinus caribaea), commonly used in Sri Lanka in the manufacture of furniture. The tests were carried out on timber samples with 19 mm finger lengths made of two sections bonded with an adhesive containing polyvinyl acetate (PVAc). The tensile strength and variation of the flexural strength of the finger length of the samples were studied. BS 373: 1957 was the standard used for the flexural tests. A Universal Testing Machine (UTM 100 PC) was used for the mechanical tests. Timber combination categories are not significantly different for the MOR tests. Pine-Pine vs. Pine-Grandis combination category is significantly different for Bending tests. According to overall results, timber combination categories are significantly different for the tensile tests except for Pine and Kumbuk combinations. The findings of this study will directly benefit the finger joint manufacturers in Sri Lanka.

Dependence of Ukrainian economy on industrial import and prerequisites of forming effective industrial specialization

Актуальность темы исследования обусловлена углублением деиндустриализации украинской экономики и ее импортозависимости. Ключевым признаком высокой импортозависимости служит большой дефицит баланса внешней торговли товарами, который существует уже длительное время. В статье рассматриваются теоретические основы исследования импортозависимости экономики. Также представлен обзор современных реалий политики импортозамещения, применяемой в разных странах. Основным источником информации для исследования послужили статистические данные таблиц «затраты-выпуск». Уровень зависимости украинской экономики от импорта промышленных товаров оценивался по направлениям его использования - в промежуточном и конечном потреблении, валовом накоплении основного капитала. Расчеты показали, что значительную часть функций по обслуживанию потребительского и инвестиционного рынка выполняют иностранные производители, тогда как обрабатывающий сектор страны в основном занят производством промежуточной продукции, которая остается еще и основой его экспорта (металлы, сырьевые минеральные продукты, древесина и изделия из нее, неорганическая химия). Анализ уровня зависимости от импорта различных видов производства перерабатывающей промышленности показал, что на внутреннем рынке товаров промежуточного потребления с недавних пор закрепилось абсолютное преимущество импорта, особенно продукции химической отрасли, машиностроения, легкой промышленности. В результате исследования обоснован вывод, что приоритетными видами деятельности (в контексте эффективной производственной специализации) выступают те, которые имеют высокий уровень межотраслевых производственных связей. Такая роль подходит прежде всего машиностроению и химической промышленности. Другой предпосылкой удачного импортозамещения служит диверсификация экспорта на основе модернизации производства в отраслях перерабатывающей промышленности. Также необходимо создание инновационных промышленных кластеров сетевого типа, в которых производственные компании и исследовательские организации объединены в совместном научно-производственном процессе. Развитие сырьевой базы и добычи полезных ископаемых из украинских месторождений также будет способствовать самообеспечению экономики и переходу к эффективной производственной специализации.

Systematic classification of commonly used timber species for finger-joint mixed panels in Sri Lanka

Off-cut wood pieces are often dumped or used as fuel wood. A certain portion of timber has to be removed also due to inadequate length of sawn timber material. Finger joint, a method which connects two small pieces of timber is identified as a sound technique to minimize timber wastage. At the finger joint production process, different timber species are bonded together for making finger-jointed mixed panels. In this connection, the selection of the best possible combination of timber species is vital as the success largely depends on the mechanical and physical properties of the pieces. Workability, on the other hand, is another key factor which minimizes manufacturing defects. However, expansion of the finger joint industry is restricted due to the unavailability of a reliable timber classification system based on wood properties. Therefore, the present study focused on developing a classification system for selected 32 clear timber species based on physical, mechanical and anatomical properties of wood. Factor analysis was used in preparing the Total Wood Index (TWI) and timbers were grouped into four categories as low, medium, high and very high based on TWI. It is recommended for selecting suitable timber species from the TWI-based groups to ensure the best matching thereby the attractive aesthetic appearance in finger-joint manufacturing can be achieved.

Life cycle assessment of a geothermal combined heat and power plant based on high temperature utilization

This study applies life cycle assessment (LCA) to examine environmental impacts of generating 1 kW h of energy in a geothermal combined heat and power (CHP) plant based on high temperature geothermal utilization. The Hellisheidi geothermal CHP plant located in SW Iceland, producing 303 MWe and 133–267 MWth in a double flash cycle, is used as a case study for the LCA. The CML-IA baseline and Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) methods are used to perform the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), providing results for common environmental impact categories investigated in most LCA studies. The impacts associated with joint production processes for electricity and heat are allocated to the two products by energy allocation. The result show that the construction phase of the plant, mainly drilling and casing of geothermal wells along with construction of collection system for geothermal fluid, is largely responsible for most of the impact category results. However, the global warming potential (GWP100), acidification (AP) and the renewable cumulative energy demand from wind, solar and geothermal energy (CEDR,w,s,g) are mainly affected by the operational phase of the plant, due to direct emissions of gases (mainly CO2 and H2S) and the extraction of geothermal fluid from ground. To explore the effects of currently installed mitigation methods and operational improvements at the Hellisheidi plant, two operation scenarios are investigated within the study; the first based on a previously published dataset for operating conditions at year 2012 and the second, an updated dataset based on inclusion of implemented mitigation methods until the operating year 2017. Due to carbon capture and storage (CCS) by reinjection of CO2 using the CarbFix method developed at Hellisheidi, the GWP100 reduced from 15.9 g CO2eq/kWh to 11.4 g CO2eq/kWh for electricity and 15.8 g CO2eq/kWh to 11.2 CO2eq/kWh for heat over the 30-year operational time under investigation. Similarly, the SulFix method used for reinjection of H2S at Hellisheidi resulted in decreased AP from 9.7 g SO2eq/kWh to 3.6 and 3.5 g SO2eq/kWh and human toxicity (HTP) from 5.8 and 5.5 g 1,4-DB eq/kWh to 5.1 and 4.8 1,4-DB eq/kWh for electricity and heat respectively. The overall CED resulted in 5.2 kW h (18.7 MJ) of energy demand to produce 1 kW h of either electricity or heat, dominated by the use of geothermal energy as mentioned earlier. Non-renewable energy demand (CEDNR) decreased from 6.8 × 10−3 and 5.9 × 10−3 kWh (0.024 and 0.021 MJ) to 5.8 × 10−3 and 5.0 × 10−3 kWh (0.021 and 0.018 MJ), for electricity and heat respectively, by using electrical drills instead of diesel fueled drills for additional wells during the operational time of the power plant. In conclusion, these results indicate a very high environmental performance of the Hellisheidi plant compared to other energy conversion technologies and emphasizes the potential of geothermal energy as a clean energy source for producing electricity and heat.

A tale of two property rights: Knowledge, physical assets, and multinational firm boundaries

The theory of multinational firm boundaries has been shaped by two major paradigms: an earlier one, emphasizing the role of integration in preventing the dissipation of knowledge, and a more recent one, stressing the role of firm boundaries in mitigating underinvestments into relationship-specific assets in the face of contractual incompleteness. This paper develops a novel model encompassing both approaches in a unifying framework. The model predicts that the attractiveness of integration increases in the importance of the parent firm's knowledge capital and decreases in the importance of the affiliate's physical capital in a joint production process. Furthermore, stronger intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in the affiliate's country is predicted to mitigate the effect of knowledge intensity on the attractiveness of integration. I test these hypotheses using unique panel data on more than 100,000 firm pairs worldwide. In line with the model's predictions, knowledge-intensive parent firms choose higher ownership shares in their affiliates, yet this relationship is less pronounced the stronger the IPR protection in the affiliate's country. In addition, higher physical capital intensity of the affiliate is associated with lower ownership shares. These findings are robust to controlling for unobserved heterogeneity across countries, industries, and firms, providing strong support for the unifying theory of multinational firm boundaries.

Inferring scope economies from the input distance function

We show that a necessary and sufficient condition for scope economies is that the technical efficiency of the joint production process to be less than or equal to the weighted sum of the technical efficiencies of the individual activities.

Payments for forest-based environmental services: A close look

In this paper, I look at Payments for Environmental Services (PES) under property protection rules and in consideration of the marketability of these services. I then investigate the joint production process of timber and environmental services and identify a critical choice facing the buyers of forest environmental services—either incurring transaction costs by studying the opportunity costs of landowners and the environmental benefits their lands could provide, or losing efficiencies by paying some landowners free money and by not being able to induce socially desirable land use changes. Finally, I compare PES with other policy and market mechanisms that encourage the provisions of environmental services.

How to share it out: The value of information in teams

We study the role of information exchange, leadership, and coordination in team and partnership structures. For this purpose, we view individuals jointly engaging in productive processes—a “team”—as endowed with individual and privately held information on the joint production process. Once each team member decides on whether or not to share his private information truthfully, he chooses which effort to exert in the joint production process. This effort, however, is not contractible: only the realized output (or profit) of the team can be observed. Our central question is whether or not incentives can be provided to a team in this environment such that team members communicate their private information and exert efficient productive efforts on the basis of this communication. Our main result shows that there exists a simple ranking-based contract that implements both desiderata in a wide set of situations.

Fabrication and Characteristic Tests of a Novel Low-Resistance Joint Structure for YBCO Coated-Conductors

Joints play an important role in the application of YBaCuO-coated conductors. Given the limited length and various requirements of tapes, large numbers of joints are needed in some applications. Therefore, developing stable joints between tapes and achieving low joint resistance has become an important issue for the application of YBCO tapes. In this paper, we propose a novel superconducting joint production process and fabricate these joints with a lamination machine. A few meters or more than 10 m of joint overlapping length can be achieved, and the joint resistance can be as low as 2.25 nΩ when the overlapping length reaches 8 m. A series of experiments has been carried out to explore the joint resistance changing law, with overlap length increases, and the joint characteristics. The results show that joint resistance is inversely proportional to the overlap length. Although long bridge joints cost more, they have an incomparable advantage in that the joint resistance is distributed over the bridge joint, which allows for more stable operation and less liquid nitrogen boiloff. After joint lamination processing, the burnout current rises from 276 to 523 A. Critical current and joint resistance are not affected by the overcurrent before the joint burns out.

Foreign Market Entry Under Incomplete Contracts

AbstractThis paper shows that incomplete contracts serve as a determinant of the mode of foreign market entry – that is exports versus foreign direct investment (FDI). When contracts between two agents within a firm are too costly to be written, the share of multinational firms may be higher or lower compared with a world without contractual frictions. The direction of change depends on the technologically required relative contribution of headquarter services in the joint production process. For example, in industries that use more inputs from the management unit as compared to inputs from a component supplier, the share of firms engaging in foreign direct investment is higher than under complete contracts. This effect may be so strong that the share of multinational firms increases in trade freeness.

Analysing the provision of agricultural public goods: The case of irrigated olive groves in Southern Spain

Analysis of the joint production of private and public goods (PGs) by farming activities is a fertile research field. These joint production processes are typically characterised by a high level of complexity derived from the intense relationship between the production of both kinds of outputs. An integrated approach is strongly recommended for the study of the provision of agricultural PGs and the design of public intervention in this sector. Here, we propose a theoretical framework to apply an integrated approach using the analytic network process (ANP) to analyse the production of PGs by agricultural systems to support public decision-making concerning the design and implementation of agricultural policies. We introduce a novel approach in applying ANP along both directions of the influences among elements, allowing us to identify the most influenced PGs and the farmers’ most influential decisions. This methodological approach is empirically applied to a particular farming system: the irrigated olive groves (IOG) of Southern Spain. Results show that the PGs most influenced by olive growers’ decisions are soil fertility, the visual quality of agricultural landscapes and farmland biodiversity. In addition, the most influential factors affecting the provision of PGs are the structural ones, namely farm size and tree density, and, to a lesser extent, management factors dealing with fertilisation, soil and irrigation management. These results are useful for supporting agricultural policy decision-making to enhance adequate management of this farming system regarding PGs production.

Co-Creation with Production Externalities

Co-creation, the participation of customers in the design and production of goods and services, has been gaining popularity in recent years. In this research we incorporate firm pricing into the joint production process allowing us to study (1) production externalities between firm and customers, (2) production externalities among customers, and (3) optimal pricing by firms. We show that given a choice, a monopoly firm will opt for co-creation with customers rather than deal with passive price-taking consumers. Furthermore, the firm will increase the effort it devotes to co-creation as the number of potential co-creating customers increases. We show that the profit of a firm facing a centralized pattern of externalities among customers (with an expert, or lead user, in the center) can be higher than its profit when facing a decentralized pattern of externalities among customers and clearly dominates its profit when customers do not have any cross externalities. Thus, we provide a different justification for the use of lead users, one that depends on their network centrality and not on having lower cost, more information, or greater ability than the firm. Because the decentralized pattern has more links than the centralized pattern, our results demonstrate the importance of the pattern of links between customers, and not just their number, in determining the profitability of co-creation. Furthermore, we find that the lead user's externality spillover to other connected users, her neighbors, acts as a force multiplier on the efforts exerted by all participants in equilibrium. Specifically, a higher spillover from the lead user increases the efforts of the firm, the neighbors, and the lead user herself, and this may lead to beneficial outcomes for all. Finally, we show that in co-creation environments, a monopolist firm may benefit by committing to a single price rather than exercising price discrimination. This is because the pricing structure affects customers' incentive to invest effort in the innovation-production stage.

Optimizing the Refinery Operational Configuration: Case in Taxation at CO2 Emission

A refinery is essentially a joint production process system. Due to the complex nature of the process involved, while it converts heavier oils into high quality oil products, fuels and other high value products, it also provides a way to curb carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. As refineries are profit-seeking businesses, this paper used linear programming (LP) models to assess the impact of different taxation amounts on CO 2 emissions on a refinery's operational configuration, and energy using strategies for a refining expansion project in Taiwan, and to discover what the carbon price should be in order to justify the required changes. The result reveals the necessity of developing processes, such as the Delayed Coking (DCU) process combined with hydrotreating, to produce high-quality fuels and petrochemical products in the refinery. Our findings indicate that this anticipated expansion plan reduced CO 2 emissions by 4.92%, while obtaining an efficiency of 14.46 USD/ton-CO 2 at a cost of 30 USD/ton-CO 2 , and by 10.33% and 25.22% CO 2 emission with efficiency gains of 15.22 and 78.61 USD/ton-CO 2 at a cost of 90 and 180 USD/ton-CO 2, respectively. When emission costs are over 90 USD/ton-CO 2 , the refinery opts for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) instead of burning fuel oil, since using hydrogen as a makeup fuel only proves beneficial when the CO 2 emission costs are over 150 USD/ton-CO 2 .

Wood material features and technical defects that affect yield in a finger joint production process

A cost efficient process is the goal of all production, and each manufacturing step affects the material utilization and cost efficiency. There is high diversity in the inherent features of wood, and manufacturing steps must be able to handle this. The overall objective was to study the potential and problems in manufacturing production processes in terms of material utilization efficiency. The production of finger jointed bed sides was chosen as a study case, where the chain of production units are the sawmill, finger joint plant and furniture plant. This article describes the impact of raw material and wood defects that could affect the total yield. A total of 177 logs of three types were tested: butt, intermediate and fresh knot logs. The test material quality was detected and measured through all steps in the manufacturing chain. The results show differences between log types in down-grade causes, reject volume and final yield. Also, the test material showed high levels of defective components with process-related defects, which suggested the need for technical improvement in the manufacturing process. The intermediate log group showed the overall best result.