Mechanical Engineers Research Articles

Data Management Risks: A Bane of Construction Project Performance

The construction industry is a sector that creates employment opportunities for everybody from all backgrounds. A good performance achieved through managing data is one factor that enables the construction industry’s success and development. Unfortunately, data management encounters challenges regarding data safety, due to the implementation of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) (digitalisation). This study sets out to evaluate the effects of risks to data management on the performance of construction projects. This research work used a quantitative methodology and gathered information from different construction professionals in the South African construction industry via a well-structured questionnaire through online platforms. These professionals were quantity surveyors, architects, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers practising for a firm, company, organization, or institution within Gauteng province, South Africa. A random sampling technique was used in this research to ensure that each part and set of individuals had an equivalent possibility of being incorporated into the sample. Of 215 questionnaires sent out, 181 (84.19%) responses were received and used for data analysis. Mean item score (MIS), standard deviation (SD), a non-parametric test, and exploratory factor analysis were used to analyse the retrieved data. Findings revealed that loss of construction project data, loss of confidential information, company image and reputational harm are among the top three effects that risks to data have on people working in the construction sector. This study concluded that these data management risk effects could be prevented if construction project stakeholders were aware of the different data management risks.

Cyber attack risks to construction data management in the fourth industrial revolution era: a case of Gauteng province, South Africa

The 4IR or the digital revolution refers to a collective term for a value chain organizational concepts and technologies that together build the Internet of Things, Internet of people, Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Internet of Services and the Internet of Energy. While this digital revolution has helped the construction industry to prevent cost and time overruns and enable efficiency and good work’s quality, it also has disadvantages and risks such as cyberattacks and loss of jobs. This study set out to determine the risks associated with data management (cyberattacks) on construction projects in the fourth industrial revolution era. The research study will address the questions of “what are the cyberattacks risk attributed to construction data management in the fourth revolution era?” and “What are the differences in the opinion of respondents concerning the identified cyberattacks?”. This research work used a quantitative method and gathered information from different construction professionals in the South African construction industry precisely in Gauteng province via a well-structured questionnaire through online platforms. These professionals involve quantity surveyors, architects, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers practising under a firm, company, organisation, or institution within the Gauteng province, South Africa. Findings revealed that viruses, hacking, and password cracking are the most frequent risk to data management encountered in the construction industry. It was also indicated that construction project stakeholders need a strong knowledge of how attackers operate to address, avoid, and stop the different risks rising when executing a project. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by highlighting the various risks encountered in managing data in the construction industry which will assist professionals in the industry to pay attention to means of mitigating the identified risks. This will keep stakeholders abreast of how simple negligence from their side can deeply affect the project data thereby affecting project delivery. It was concluded based on findings that construction professionals need to avoid the occurrence of these risks to enhance satisfactory project delivery and protect their project information. The study recommended that all construction project parties require full training sessions on risks to data to prevent any types of intrusion into the company’s information system.

Design recommendation for thermal conductive plastic parts in automotive industry

In this paper we will present a mechanical study made on the design of thermal conductive plastic parts. Out of our study derived new design rules that are useful for mechanical design engineers that have to create parts built from this type of materials. We used Catia V6 software for modelling the parts and ANSYS Moldflow software to simulate the behaviour of real components. The solutions resulted from our trials are improving the quality of the parts built from thermal conductive plastics. The test and simulation results lead us to new rules for designing screw domes and rivets for thermal conductive plastic parts and reducing warpage effect with 75% on this kind of parts.

РОЛЬ ИМПОРТОЗАМЕЩЕНИЯ В ПРЕОДОЛЕНИИ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ ПОСЛЕДСТВИЙ САНКЦИЙ ПРОТИВ РОССИИ

The present article concentrates on revealing role of import substitution in overcoming various Russian economy problems caused by Western governments’ sanctions. Terms studied include foreign trade, diversification, stagnation, logistics, financial system. February 2022 is the beginning of the new period of barriers for Russian economy. It is enduring numerous difficulties despite different measures taken by the government. Import substitution can influence the situation positively with industry support, satisfying consumer demand and providing the national economic security. Saint-Petersburg as a major industrial city is one of the leaders of import substitution in Russia and is developing such important industries as machine building and pharmaceuticals.

PLACEMENT OPTIMIZATION OF THE POINTS OF THE CONDITIONAL REPER NETWORK FOR RAILWAY CURVES

Railway facilities are responsible and complex structures related to the safety ofpassenger traffic and cargo transportation. To ensure the reliability of all systems, the railway trackneeds continual control of its geometric parameters. Railways require high accuracy of survey andmonitoring both at the construction stage and at the operation stage. Such control can be carried outusing control points of the geodetic benchmark network. These control points must be located nearthe railway track to provide it in the design position and in proper working condition. That is whythe development of "own" railways benchmark network is topical.The purpose of this article is to create a mathematical basis for calculating the locations ofown repers near the railway. These benchmarks will be control points that will be used by track-operation stations, track machine stations, engineering and geodetic departments, track-surveyingstations, services and departments, as well as project and construction organizations duringresearch, design, operation, repair, reconstruction, or new construction. This will keep the track ingood condition and be used for leveling the track during repair work. The paper considers thecalculation method for the placement of control points of the conditional benchmark network on thecurved section of the railway. The novelty is the usage of the mean-value theorem of integral calculusto calculate the coordinates of the curve independently of the national geodetic network. The creationof "own" conditional benchmark network allows railways to perform the pegging of lines and curvesregardless of the presence or remoteness of control points of the local or state geodetic network. Afterchoosing a conditional benchmark, the coordinates of the railway curve, which is divided into 5 parts,were calculated. It is shown that the number of points does not affect the accuracy of determining thecoordinates. Thus, fewer rappers can be dispensed, and the speed of the pegging will increase. Thepolar coordinates for the two polar distances from the conventional benchmark have been determined. It is established that the use of the mean-value theorem of the integral calculus to findthe coordinates of a point gives more accurate data, since this method does not involve replacing thearc with a chord. The described method of determining polar coordinates from any point of one'sown network of conditional benchmarks is of practical importance. After deviating the axis of thetrack from the movement of trains, maintenance workers can put it back without additionalcalculation.

SOLAR ENERGY: RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

This article focused on the contribution of mechanical engineers towards sustainable development .Today, for development of society constant and stable growth is necessary. In India; solar energy has giant potential as renewable energy source. The benefits of renewable energy are numerous and affect the economy, environment and human health. This paper includes wide applied areas of solar energy, challenges and promotion of solar energy. This study further suggested contribution of the design of engineering systems and solar energy helps to improve sustainability.

A Structural Design Approach Tailored for the Rapid Preliminary Design of Microreactor Components

High-temperature microreactors can play a role in developing reliable, portable energy sources for off-grid remote locations, microgrid concepts, and industrial process heat. Portability and passive safety criteria tend to skew microreactor structural component designs toward complex geometries, high thermal stresses, and design bases with large numbers of startup/shutdown cycles. Current design rules, as typified by Section III of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code, are less than optimal for these conditions, particularly for preliminary component designs where developers need to rapidly consider a large number of potential component configurations. This paper presents a design method targeted toward rapid, efficient evaluation of preliminary component designs using modern finite element analysis. The new method retains key connections with the ASME Code rules and design data while streamlining the design approach. This paper presents the design method, several verification examples illustrating the similarities and differences between the new method and the current ASME rules, and the application of the new approach to the evaluation of a test article mimicking key features of a heat pipe–cooled microreactor.

Occupation-specific recruitment: An empirical investigation on job seekers' occupational (non-)fit, employer image, and employer attractiveness.

Organizations may need to attract occupational groups they did not recruit so far to implement strategic changes (e.g., digital transformation). Against the backdrop of this practical problem, this study introduces and explores an occupation-based measure of person-organization fit: occupational fit. I investigate its relationship with employer attractiveness based on human capital theory and explore the role of employer image as a moderator in this relationship. I surveyed 153 software engineers and mechanical engineers to analyze whether their occupational fit with software engineering and mechanical engineering firms is related to employer attractiveness. I find that occupational fit is only related to a firm’s employer attractiveness among software engineers. Employer image does not moderate this relationship. A qualitative follow-up study proposes first explanations for the unexpected differences between the two occupations by indicating that occupations may differ in the logic they apply to determine fit and their degree of professionalization. The study contributes to research by highlighting the neglected role of occupation in recruitment research and exploring potential boundary conditions of recruitment for fit. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Research on the optimized environment of large bridges based on multi-constraint coupling

To reduce the pollution emissions of bridges to the environment, researchers need to conduct more in-depth research and design the structure. Today's architectural, structural, and mechanical engineers pay more attention to funders' requirements and pursue the maximization of economic benefits. The research begins with establishing a theoretical model of the bridge's robustness under dead and dynamic loads: applying a Three-Dimensional (3D) solid finite element model, swarm intelligence optimization algorithm, and mathematical model of quadratic interpolation approximation solves the problems of multiple loads, discrete data, and convergence. Based on the establishment and analysis data of the research model, the research and analysis of the optimal topology bridge model are completed, and the optimal structure size is obtained. The carbon emissions from the bridge optimization decreased by 2242.92 t, accounting for 25% of the total emissions. This data is shocking, and it also gives investors and governments a painful reminder that they must pay more attention to the sustainable construction and development of the construction industry and achieve the goal of zero carbon emissions in the construction industry as soon as possible.

Scope for problem solving in industrial engineering and management subject curriculum reform for mechanical engineers to leverage the current and upcoming situations

The objective out from this paper is to extend the understanding of the role of Industrial engineering for Mechanical Engineers for the upcoming industrial revolution. Upcoming revolutions focus is to diverge the definition of the smart techniques which are capable of communicating and negotiation with others. And the fact is that the base of the revolution is syllabus of Indian universities. The development of this skill is still in progress and not many people are aware of its role in the industry and how it is going to bring a major change for Mechanical Engineers. This paper will be discussing on two major questions. One is how developing our syllabus of industrial engineering for mechanical engineering in Indian universities which can help in the new Industry reforms and the other will be focusing on to avoids the misunderstandings of people regarding these upcoming decisions which can improve the efficiency of System. Major outcome is to improve the relation and clarity between employee which are fresher and employer which will result into better production and working efficiency in upcoming future and advancement of industry.

A study into the FSI modelling of flat plate water entry and related uncertainties

This paper presents systematic comparisons of experiments against fluid structure interaction (FSI) simulations for flat water plate entry. Special focus is attributed on hydroelasticity and air trapping effects, quantification of the experimental and numerical uncertainties and the validity of modelling assumptions for the prediction of bottom slamming induced loads. Consequently, the American society of Mechanical Engineers standard for Verification and Validation is used to estimate the errors. Numerical and experimental results agree favourably. It is shown that pressures and strains may be prone to spatial effects that lead to minor deviations between experiments and simulations. High frequency vibration modes and model boundary conditions may also influence the results.

Qualification of Metallic Fuel Data for Advanced SFR Applications

Metallic fuel is proposed for use in various advanced sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) designs, including small modular reactors and microreactors. To support advanced SFR research and development, a metallic fuel database has been developed at Argonne National Laboratory. The database was built on extensive metallic fuel data collected during the Integral Fast Reactor Program, mainly from irradiation experiments in the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II). In order to manage the large amount of data and associated documents and to qualify the data, a Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) was established for the legacy metallic fuel data following the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Nuclear Quality Assurance (NQA-1) 2008/2009 Addenda Standard. Metallic fuel data qualification is being performed following the QAPP. The plan has been approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and can be referenced in licensing applications for nuclear power plants. The process for qualifying metallic fuel data is presented. The structure for implementing the QAPP and the qualification methods are introduced. The principle for prioritizing the metallic fuel data for quality assurance is summarized. An overview of the metallic fuel data available and considered for qualification is also provided.

Construction Information Management: Benefits to the Construction Industry

This paper aimed to unveil the outcome of an appraisal of the systematic approach to construction information management. This was performed with a view of creating awareness of how information management can be beneficial through the management of the large chunk of information emanating from construction processes. This will improve the gathering, sharing, and storage of information for construction activities. The study implemented a quantitative survey approach with the aid of a questionnaire as the mechanism for data gathering from architects, civil engineers, quantity surveyors, mechanical and electrical engineers, construction managers, and project managers. Data analysis ensued with the aid of SPSS in which applicable measure of dispersal and inferential statistics were implemented. The study unveiled that information management is a major aspect of the construction procedure, and that, to achieve in construction, there must be a well-structured information system. Further findings revealed that the benefits of information management include the firm’s growth, organizational performance, enhanced market value, employee’s motivation, and quality service. The prowess of this study depends on the appraisal of the benefits of systematic management of construction information and how identification of the benefits can help to motivate construction companies.

High-speed mode movement of solid particles in turbomachines with radial blades

The introduction substantiates the relevance of research. The purpose of the work is to create and approbate a methodology for calculating the speed mode for movement of coarse solid particles along the radial blades of turbomachines. In the methodological part an analysis of the forces acting on a solid particle when sliding along the radial blades of turbomachines is carried out. A differential equation for motion of solid particles has been compiled and options for its solution have been considered. Analytical dependencies have been obtained that make it possible to determine the values of the relative and total velocities, as well as the angle between the corresponding vectors for the velocities of the particle as a function of time when it moves along the radius of the blade. A calculated estimate of the change in these parameters for a wide range variation of the friction coefficient of a particle on the rotor blade is carried out. It is shown that the total sliding velocity of the particle as well as its radial and transport components intensively increasing in the initial time range, asymptotically approach the linear functions of the particle coordinate, practically independent of its initial position, but linearly dependent on the angular velocity of the rotor rotation and nonlinearly – on the coefficient of friction of the particle on the blade. In this case, the exit angle of the particle does not depend on the radius and rotor angular velocity, but depends on the friction coefficient of the particle against the rotor blade. With an increase in the friction coefficient the relative and total velocities of particle motion decrease which leads to a decrease in the kinetic energy accumulated by the particles. Conclusions are drawn from the results of the study. It is noted that the results obtained can be used by design engineers when designing turbomachines with radial blades, as well as in the educational process when training mechanical engineers and process engineers.

COMPONENTS OF GRAPHIC TRAINING CONCEPT FOR FUTURE MECHANICAL ENGINEERS

The article considers the components of graphic training concept for future mechanical engineers in institutions of higher and vocational education. The definition of «concept» is analyzed in various aspects of application. The essence of «didactic concept» is clarified and pedagogical theories that are embedded in the concept of the developed methodology are identified. It is determined that on the basis of the theory the methodology of learning at university is formed. It is proved that the implementation of this approach in training is based on both purely didactic principles and didactic principles of production training: polytechnic principle, the principle of combining learning with practical activities, the principle of modeling professional activity in the educational process, the principle of professional mobility, the principle of modularity, the principle of self-management in cognitive and production training, the principle of computerization of the pedagogical process, the principle of individuality, the principle of subjectivity, the principle of free choice, the principle of creative realization, the principle of developing potential. Principles of production training have their own characteristics, which are characterized in the article.
 It is determined that the detailed stage of the concept expresses the specific subject methodology and includes: the goals of teaching engineering graphics by means of computer modeling at the level of engineering and graphic training of future mechanical engineers, at the level of training of engineering and graphic disciplines (in particular, the educational discipline «Descriptive geometry, engineering and computer graphics»), at the level of organization of educational and cognitive subject activities training; didactic principles of structuring the content of engineering and graphic disciplines (including the discipline «Descriptive geometry, engineering and computer graphics»); interactive style of learning engineering graphics by means of computer modeling; criteria, indicators and levels of engineering and graphic training of students as a result of teaching engineering and graphic disciplines.

Energy landscapes of rotary DNA origami devices determined by fluorescence particle tracking

Biomolecular nanomechanical devices are of great interest as tools for the processing and manipulation of molecules, thereby mimicking the function of nature’s enzymes. DNA nanotechnology provides the capability to build molecular analogs of mechanical machine elements such as joints and hinges via sequence-programmable self-assembly, which are otherwise known from traditional mechanical engineering. Relative to their size, these molecular machine elements typically do not reach the same relative precision and reproducibility that we know from their macroscopic counterparts; however, as they are scaled down to molecular sizes, physical effects typically not considered by mechanical engineers such as Brownian motion, intramolecular forces, and the molecular roughness of the devices begin to dominate their behavior. In order to investigate the effect of different design choices on the roughness of the mechanical energy landscapes of DNA nanodevices in greater detail, we here study an exemplary DNA origami-based structure, a modularly designed rotor-stator arrangement, which resembles a rotatable nanorobotic arm. Using fluorescence tracking microscopy, we follow the motion of individual rotors and record their corresponding energy landscapes. We then utilize the modular construction of the device to exchange its constituent parts individually and systematically test the effect of different design variants on the movement patterns. This allows us to identify the design parameters that most strongly affect the shape of the energy landscapes of the systems. Taking into account these insights, we are able to create devices with significantly flatter energy landscapes, which translates to mechanical nanodevices with improved performance and behaviors more closely resembling those of their macroscopic counterparts.

Preface to the Special Issue on the 29th Annual International Conference of the Iranian Society of Mechanical Engineers (ISME2021)

Preface to the Special Issue on the 29th Annual International Conference of the Iranian Society of Mechanical Engineers (ISME2021)

Understanding the efficiency of roll lubrication when rolling AD33 aluminium alloy bands in industrial twin mill 175Ч300

This paper describes the results of a study that looked at the effect of contact conditions (including the use of industrial oil I40 (5%) for roll lubrication) on the deformation performance and power draw of a twin cold mill 175×300 operated by the machine building site in Dong Nai, Vietnam, when rolling 0.55 mm thick bands made of aluminium alloy AD33. The initial band size is 0.7×100×2,000 mm. The authors considered reological properties of the aluminium alloy, as well as the roll lubrication environment, to come up with a rational rolling process designed for 0.55×100 mm bands made from 0.7×100×2,000 mm rolled steel. Due to the use of industrial oil I40 (5%) in the mill 175×300, the number of passes could be reduced from three to two. The use of industrial oil I40 (5%) in the twin mill 175×300 ensured the specified precision and helped reduce the loads. Compared with dry rolling, due to the use of industrial oil I40 (5%), the rolling force could be lowered by 6 kN (8.3%) in the first pass and the power draw – by 0.025 kW (3.34%). At the same time, the second pass saved 2.96 kN (5.24%) of rolling force and 0,017 kW (3.95%) of power while ensuring the preset band thickness at the mill exit. Compared with dry rolling, when using I40 oil, the rolling force distribution efficiency along the band length rises by 22.7% in the first pass and by 14.64% in the second pass. When using I40 oil (5%), the strain distribution u nevenness along the band length drops by 39.15% — from 2.35 to 1.43% in the first pass and by 70.08% — from 3.81 to 1.14% in the second pass. When using I40 oil (5%), the thickness distribution along the length of aluminium band at the mill exit is more even than when the rolls are dry or use water. It also results in a minimized longitudinal thickness variation δh – i.e. 0.01 mm. These findings helped develop a rational rolling process for AD33 aluminium alloy bands that relies on the use of industrial oil I40 (5%) to lubricate the rolls of an industrial twin mill, while cutting the loads and saving power.

How artificial intelligence and machine learning assist in industry 4.0 for mechanical engineers

The aim of this paper is to extend understanding of the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for Mechanical Engineers for the upcoming revolution of Industry 4.0. And whenever we talk about this revolution, the main focus diverges to the definition of the smart machines which are capable of communicating with each other and we end up referring it to Internet of Things. In fact, the base of evolution is AI. The development of this technology is still in progress and not many people are aware of its role in the industry and how it is going to bring a major change for Mechanical Engineers. This paper will be discussing on two major questions. One is how AI, ML, and IoT can help in the Industry and the other will be focusing on the misunderstandings of people regarding this upcoming technology. This paper is a review based paper where we will be sharing about the information that we collected from various sources about the different uses of this new technology and how people are adapting to it. Starting from the history of it to its advantages and uses of this technology, there are also some challenges that we may face if the idea of this technology is not shared properly.

OPTIMIZATION OF PROCESS PARAMETERS FOR THE A-TIG WELDING OF INCONEL 617 USING PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION AND GENETIC ALGORITHM

Inconel 617 alloy has been included in the boiler and pressure vessel (BPV) code of the American society of mechanical engineers (ASME) for its effectiveness in nuclear applications due to its ability to maintain strength at elevated temperatures. This study is based on the optimization of process parameters for activated flux tungsten inert gas (A-TIG) welding of 10-mm thick Inconel 617 material. Process parameters considered in this study include weld current (A), weld torch travel speed (mm/min), arc gap (mm) and flux powder (silicon dioxide (SiO[Formula: see text] and titanium dioxide (TiO[Formula: see text] combination. The bead on plate welding experiment was carried out by varying the combination of process parameters in each experimental trial. The Taguchi L16 orthogonal array was the design matrix used for the design of experiments (DOE). In the bead on plate welding experiment, a total of 16 experimental trials, each having a different set of process parameters was conducted. The weld bead samples corresponding to each trial were prepared for measurement of the responses which were measured from each of the 16 weld bead samples and included depth of penetration (DOP), bead width (BW), depth to width ratio (DWR), weld cross-sectional area (WA), and bead height (BH). The objective of this work was to maximize DOP, DWR, WA, BH and minimize BW. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to identify the significance of process parameters. Optimization techniques including particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithm (GA) were used in the study. The optimized process parameters and optimal solutions attained from each optimization technique were compared. It was found from the study that weld current was the most significant process parameter for all responses followed by weld torch travel speed, flux powder combination and arc gap. Optimal process parameters to achieve maximum DOP, DWR and WA were found to be weld current of 290 A, weld torch travel speed of 50[Formula: see text]mm/min along with an arc gap of 1[Formula: see text]mm and 100% TiO2 as flux. The optimal solution for DOP, DWR and WA was found to be 7.04[Formula: see text]mm, 0.437 and 7.619[Formula: see text]mm2 respectively. The optimal solution for BW and BH was 6.302 and 0.677[Formula: see text]mm, respectively. A confirmation test was conducted to validate the optimal solution obtained from this study. The results from the confirmation test agreed with the solution obtained by optimization techniques.