Non-standard Equipment Research Articles

Current state and future perspectives of spinal navigation and robotics-an AO spine survey.

The use of robotics in spine surgery has gained popularity. This study aims to assess the current state of robotics and raise awareness of its educational implications. What are the current adoption trends and barriers to the implementation of robotic assistance in spine surgery? An online questionnaire comprising 27 questions was distributed to AO spine members between October 25th and November 13th, 2023, using the SurveyMonkey platform (https://www.surveymonkey.com; SurveyMonkey Inc., San Mateo, CA, USA). Statistical analyses (descriptive statistics, Pearson Chi-Square tests) and generation of all graphs were performed using SPSS Version 29.0.1.0 (IBM SPSS Statistic). We received 424 responses from AO Spine members (response rate=9.9 %). The participants were mostly board-certified orthopedic surgeons (46 %, n=195) and neurosurgeons (32%, n=136). While 49% (n=208) of the participants reported occasional or frequent use of navigation assistance, only 18 % (n=70) indicated the use of robotic assistance for spinal instrumentation. A significant difference based on the country's median income status (p<0.001) and the respondent's number of annual instrumentation procedures (p<0.001) has been observed. While 11 % (n=47) of all surgeons use a spinal robot frequently, 36 % (n=153) of the participants stated they don't need a robot from a current perspective. Most participants (77%, n=301) concluded that high acquisition costs are the primary barrier for the implementation of robotics. Although the hype for robotics in spine surgery increased recently, robotic systems remain non-standard equipment due to cost constraints and limited usability.

Development of a Modular Cryo-Transfer Station for the Side-Entry Transmission Electron Microscope†.

Cryo-transfer stations are essential tools in the field of cryo-electron microscopy, enabling the safe transfer of frozen vitreous samples between different stages of the workflow. However, existing cryo-transfer stations are typically configured for only the two most popular sample holder geometries and are not commercially available for all electron microscopes. Additionally, they are expensive and difficult to customize, which limits their accessibility and adaptability for research laboratories. Here, we present a new modular cryo-transfer station that addresses these limitations. The station is composed entirely of 3D-printed and off the shelf parts, allowing it to be reconfigured to a fit variety of microscopes and experimental protocols. We describe the design and construction of the station and report on the results of testing the cryo-transfer station, including its ability to maintain cryogenic temperatures and transfer frozen vitreous samples as demonstrated by vibrational spectroscopy. Our findings demonstrate that the cryo-transfer station performs comparably to existing commercial models, while offering greater accessibility and customizability. The design for the station is open source to encourage other groups to replicate and build on this development. We hope that this project will increase access to cryo-transfer stations for researchers in a variety of disciplines with nonstandard equipment.

The Soviet-Chinese cooperation in production of penicillin in the 1950s

The article considers, on the basis of analysis of archival documents, issue of Soviet-Chinese cooperation in field of production of penicillin in the 1950s. The main attention is paid to history of construction of penicillin plant in Shijiazhuang. It is demonstrated that it was carried out on preferential terms for China and it was under special control of the USSR government. The building of plant was bound by great difficulties conditioned by range of project, specifics of production conditions in China, special requests of customer, necessity to manufacture non-standard equipment. The implementation of this project of enormous humanitarian significance was at the same time manifestation of concurrence between the USSR and the USA for geopolitical and ideological influence in East Asia.

Development of a large-scale rapid LAMP diagnostic testing platform for pandemic preparedness and outbreak response.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic underscored the necessity for rapid and efficient diagnostic testing to mitigate outbreaks and control disease transmission. While real-time reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) has been the gold standard due to its high sensitivity and specificity, its logistical complexities and extended turnaround times highlighted the need for alternative molecular methods and non-standard equipment and consumables not subject to supply chain pressure. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) offers several advantages over RT-qPCR, including faster processing time, assay flexibility and cost-effectiveness. During the pandemic, LAMP was successfully demonstrated as a viable alternative to RT-qPCR for SARS-Related Coronavirus 2 detection. However, due to a 100 to 1,000-fold increase in testing volumes, there was an imminent need for automating and scaling up existing LAMP testing workflows leveraging a robotic infrastructure, while retaining analytical performance and cost-effectiveness. In 2020, the Foundation TOMi started the "TOMi corona initiative" to develop and validate a high-throughput, end-to-end, automated, scalable single-step RNA purification, and LAMP-based COVID-19 testing system called SMART-LAMP (Scalable Molecular Automation for Rapid Testing using LAMP) that can process up to 40,000 samples per day using existing laboratory equipment infrastructure with sensitivity comparable to RT-qPCR. This system provides a rapid and scalable diagnostic solution for future pandemics, capable of processing over 40,000 samples per day. In addition, the system is designed to minimize consumable costs and reduces the overall use of plastics to align with increasingly strict sustainability goals that will be imposed over the coming years. Importantly, this system and public-private partnerships in the TOMi corona initiative has the potential to serve as a baseline to enhance pandemic preparedness and response capabilities.

Varietal Differences in the Physical and Engineering Attributes of Underutilized Pigmented and Non-pigmented Paddy and Rice Landraces

Traditional rice landraces cannot be processed using standard machinery or unit operations. Traditional rice, on the other hand, is becoming more popular as its purported health benefits spread. Cracked rice grains, broken rice, and subpar milled rice kernels result from using non-standard equipment on landraces. So, studying the physical characteristics of rice and paddy is crucial for modifying milling equipment to lessen post-harvest losses. To preserve and familiarize the underutilized landraces, a comparative study of three pigmented and three non-pigmented landraces were assessed for their physical, gravimetric, and engineering traits using standard analytical protocols. The analysis demonstrated substantial variation among the evaluated properties. The majority of the traditional landraces were classified as long-bold and long-slender grains. The landraces exhibited variations in the equivalent diameter ranging from 0.29 to 0.46 mm and 2.54 to 3.38 mm for rice and paddy samples respectively. The major differences in other attributes like sphericity, aspect ratio, and surface area were also observed. Gravimetric properties of paddy and rice samples of Madumuzhungi (MMP) showed significantly lower values in contrast to other landraces. The highest porosity (51.43%), moisture content (14.97%) and water activity (0.88) was exhibited by the Madumuzhungi paddy sample. The non-pigmented rice samples displayed lower values for thousand kernal weight (TKW), grain volume and surface area. Almost all the variants except White mappillai samba paddy were under 30 g for TKW, indicating the differences between pigmented and non-pigmented landraces. Moisture content significantly affected the gravimetric and engineering properties of the landraces. The correlations between the dimensions and engineering qualities were investigated using principal component analysis (PCA). Five principal components, which account for 100% of the total variance, were used via PCA to reduce the dimensionality of the data.

Changes in the mode of transportation using active magnetic technology for non-standard equipment

A novel electro-permanent magnet transportation system is proposed in this article. The saddle is fixed to the transport vehicle and the cylindrical vessel is attracted and transported by magnetic force. Based on electro-permanent technology, this magnetic force is provided by the first and second magnets of its internal structure, so that the magnetic force is stable and strong. The loading and unloading of the magnetic force require only the application of pulse currents in opposite directions. According to the electro-permanent technology and transportation requirements, the initial structure of the electro-permanent chassis and saddle is constructed. Firstly, this study constructs the magnetic circuit of the magnetic module by theoretical derivation and magnetic field simulation, and then further calculates the parameters affecting the magnetic force of the magnetic module, determines the optimal number of ampere-turns, and verifies them by simulation. Next, we analyze the magnetization process of the magnetic module under continuous magnetization conditions. And the magnetic tensile experiment and the surface magnetic induction intensity measurement are performed on the magnetic module. The results show that the magnetic force is strong and evenly distributed. Finally, we perform preliminary calculations and verification of the transportation load during transport, the working area of 5.76–11.52 m2, and can meet the transportation demand to avoid danger.

Partial discharges detection in 1 MV power supplies in MITICA experiment, the ITER heating neutral beam injector prototype

MITICA (Megavolt ITER Injector & Concept Advancement), the full scale prototype of ITER Heating Neutral Beam, is under realization at the Neutral Beam Test Facility (Padova, Italy). It is designed to deliver 16.5 MW to ITER plasma, obtained by accelerating negative Deuterium ions up to 1 MeV for a total ion current of 40 A and then neutralized.MITICA Acceleration Power Supply is composed of several non-standard equipment, beyond industrial standard for insulation voltage level (-1 MVdc) and dimensions.Voltage withstand tests (up to 1.265 MVdc) have been performed in five subsequent steps (from 2018 to 2019), according to the installation progress, after connecting equipment belonging to different procurements.During integrated commissioning, started in 2021, two breakdowns occurred in a position of the HV plant not still identified, so they could be occurred either in air or in SF6. To identify the locations of possible weak insulation points, the existing diagnostics for partial discharge detection (the precursor of breakdowns) as a first step have been improved on air-insulated parts by consisting in a set of instrumentation, like capacitive probes and off-the-shelf instruments for AC application (acoustic and electromagnetic sensors).The paper deals with the instruments qualification to assess their suitability for DC usage and then with the investigation performed in MITICA, in particular:1) sensitivity assessment campaign, with artificially produced corona effect to identify the minimum threshold of each diagnostics2) voltage application to MITICA plant, moving the instrumentation around equipment and increasing progressively the voltage looking for corona phenomena to identify possible weak insulation points.

ІННОВАЦІЙНІ ТЕХНОЛОГІЇ В СИСТЕМІ ФІЗИЧНОГО ВИХОВАННЯ ШКОЛЯРІВ

The priority direction of the work of each educational institution is to improve the quality of education through the use of innovative technologies on the lessons and after-hours. A physical education teacher, using modern technologies, can improve not only physical qualities, form key competencies and also develop the creative potential of pupils. Innovative technologies in modern scientific literature are considered as a structured set of techniques and methods aimed at studying, actualizing and optimizing innovative activities, as a result of which innovations are created that cause qualitative changes.. Such innovative technologies associated with various forms of modern physical education classes can be: health-preserving technologies; use of multimedia equipment; implementation of intersubject connections, conducting integrated lessons; implementation of interactive learning technologies; project learning technologies; introduction and active involvement of schoolchildren in new sports; use of non-standard equipment; organization and holding of modern physical culture and health activities with an innovative approach, aimed at popularizing a healthy lifestyle and physical activity; use of information and communication technologies. The use of modern technologies is an effective method of improving the educational process of physical culture in an educational institution, it allows to increase the interest of schoolchildren in physical self-improvement, motivation for educational activities, accustoms to leadership healthy lifestyle. The implementation of innovations is impossible without a teacher-researcher who possesses systemic thinking, a developed ability to be creative, and readiness to develop and implement innovations. Prospects for further research are in the scientific substantiation of innovative technologies with elements of various fitness programs, which will contribute to increasing the level of motor activity of schoolchildren, interest in physical education and sports activities.

Rapid Optical Clearing for Semi-High-Throughput Analysis of Tumor Spheroids.

Tumor spheroids are fast becoming commonplace in basic cancer research and drug development. Obtaining data regarding protein expression within the spheroid at the cellular level is important for analysis, yet existing techniques are often expensive, laborious, use non-standard equipment, cause significant size distortion, or are limited to relatively small spheroids. This protocol presents a new method of mounting and clearing spheroids that address these issues while allowing for confocal analysis of the inner structure of spheroids. In contrast to existing approaches, this protocol provides for rapid mounting and clearing of a large number of spheroids using standard equipment and laboratory supplies. Mounting spheroids in a pH-neutral agarose-PBS gel solution before introducing a refractive-index-matched clearing solution minimizes size distortion common to other similar techniques. This allows for detailed quantitative and statistical analysis where the accuracy of size measurements is paramount. Furthermore, compared to liquid clearing solutions, the agarose gel technique keeps spheroids fixed in place, allowing for the collection of three-dimensional (3D) confocal images. The present article elaborates how the method yields high-quality two- and 3D images that provide information about inter-cell variability and inner spheroid structure.

COGENERATION DEVICE BASED ON INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATION OF ORGANIC WASTE

This work considers the issue of creating efficient and environmentally friendly energy systems based on cogeneration technology. In industrialized countries, work is underway to develop and implement innovative technology for supercritical hydrothermal destruction of industrial and household waste and highly toxic substances. An extremely important urgent task is the complex solution of the problems of creating an autonomous energy complex based on the technology of cogeneration and utilization of organic waste and their use as renewable energy sources. Theoretical and experimental studies have shown that the method of supercritical hydrothermal destruction has high environmental and economic efficiency and demonstrates versatility, providing complete one-stage disposal of any organic waste. It is established that the reaction of supercritical aqueous oxidation of organic matter is exothermic and in the presence of only 15-20% of organic matter the waste processing process becomes autothermal. Autothermal modes of destruction of organic waste at supercritical parameters of the aquatic environment lead to a high-enthalpy vapor-gas mixture, which can be used in the schemes of the autonomous energy complex. Cogeneration units are offered on the basis of a steam power plant operating on the Rankin cycle and on the basis of a heat engine with external heat supply, which operates on a closed thermodynamic Stirling cycle. A non-standard equipment of supercritical hydrothermal destruction technology is a quasi-flow reactor. The conducted research testifies to the possibility of further development of supercritical hydrothermal destruction technologies, both in terms of providing increased process parameters and in terms of developing increasingly reliable, productive and safe types of reactors. The development is based on the replacement of a single-pipe coaxial (two-pipe) reactor. This reactor design significantly expands the temperature and barometric performance characteristics, allows to increase the heat transfer surface and the temperature inside the reactor, bringing it closer to the external temperature of the reactor wall surface while maintaining performance. The cogeneration unit can be used to solve energy efficient and environmentally friendly disposal of organic waste. Allows to solve problems of autonomous electricity and heat supply of industrial and residential facilities and has significant market potential.

ENERGY SAVING BY REPLACING UNLOADED ENGINES OF NON-STANDARD EQUIPMENT FOR ROLLING STOCK REPAIR

It is established that at various technological processes at repair of a rolling stock of railways electric drives of the universal non-standard equipment can constantly work in essentially underloaded mode that leads to deterioration of their power indicators. The aim of the work is to quantify the reduction of active power losses when replacing constantly underloaded asynchronous motors of unregulated electric drives of universal non-standard technological equipment used in the repair of railway rolling stock with less powerful ones. In this work, the subject of research are the motors of electric drives of this equipment. The analysis of technological processes at repair of a rolling stock, technical characteristics of the specified equipment is carried out and the conclusion is accepted that first of all it is expedient to investigate efficiency of replacement on the equipment of the established engine on less powerful at carrying out at the specialized enterprises of such technological processes warehouse (wheel pairs, traction motors, auxiliary electric machines, frames of rolling stock carts, etc.). The load of the electric motors of transport trolleys of equipment is proposed to be defined as the ratio of the weight of a large unit of electric locomotive, diesel locomotive, electric train and other types of rolling stock to the carrying capacity of universal non-standard equipment of transport trolley. The term "universal" equipment is introduced in the work, which means equipment for performing a certain technological process in the repair of various large units of different types of rolling stock, as well as "specialized enterprise" specializing in the repair of rolling stock, large units which weigh significantly less, than the load-lifting capacity of the transport cart of the equipment. Therefore, the motors of electric drives of universal equipment at these enterprises are constantly operating underloaded. Also actions for quantitative assessment and reduction of active power losses in the electric drive motor are offered.

WATER PURIFICATION IN SPACE CONDITIONS

The life support system of the International Space Station must include the provision of drinking water to the crew and the treatment and disposal of wastewater. The cost of water delivery to the ISS is very high, so it is necessary to improve the technological schemes of wastewater treatment in space in order to reuse water in a complete closed cycle. The studies were performed based on the analysis of Ukrainian and foreign scientific sources and reporting data on the specifics of water use at space stations and the treatment methods of the used waters (wastewaters). In addition to international experience, our own research was used to develop a technology for wastewater treatment in space. The authors of the article analyzed the operation of existing wastewater treatment facilities in space and made recommendations for their use at the ISS. The developed technology for the treatment of wastewater and drinking water in zero-gravity (space) is based on the use of various reactors. They can be made of various materials (metal, plastic, etc.); they do not contain non-standard equipment that requires factory manufacturing. Compactness, complete tightness and small dimensions of bio- and physicochemical reactors allow them to be installed within the ISS. The cleaning process is easy to manage and can be fully automated. Water problems are central to the whole world, including in space. The ISS should have a system for the wastewater treatment and their closed use, since the supply of new water to stations significantly increases the cost of space exploration. Quality water is the health and well-being of people in space. Since there is no gravity in space, centrifugal forces (centrifuges) must be used to separate suspended particles from water. A comprehensive review of the issues related to wastewater treatment in space, allows us to conclude that it is necessary to regenerate water at International space stations (ISS). Indeed, to ensure the life support of the astronauts, a colossal amount of water is required, and its delivery to the ISS from the Earth is expensive.

FEATURES OF THE INFLUENCE OF FACTORS TYPE OF WORKPLACE ON THE CHOICE OF SCAFFOLDING FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROCESSES OF STRENGTHENING BUILDING STRUCTURES DURING RECONSTRUCTION

The article examines the issues of optimal planning of the working space for the implementation of work to restore the operational suitability of structural elements and the choice of the optimal type of scaffold for the implementation of technological processes of strengthening building structures during reconstruction. A very important problem is also the placement of special construction technical equipment and technological equipment, non-standard equipment including hydraulic, electrical and other reasons, as well as ensuring hygienic labor standards during work.&#x0D; During the reconstruction, the issues of small volumes of work performed become more actual. Work is always carried out in a confined space, which has a significant impact on the general scheme of the organization, as well as on the technology for performing work.&#x0D; The influence of factors such as workplaces on the choice of scaffolds for the implementation of the processes of strengthening building structures during reconstruction is a complex organizational and technological process that requires analysis, accounting for the dominant influence, preparation and verification of decisions. The article identifies the factors of influence determined by the production conditions, in which reconstruction work is envisaged, namely, structural, technological and organizational, the peculiarities of conditions and factors of influence on the choice of the type of workplaces and the type of scaffolds, in particular, space constraints due to the availability of equipment and manufactured products in industrial areas. It is also important to apply the criteria for classifying the type of workplaces and the required number and qualifications of performers during reconstruction.&#x0D; Based on the results of the study, a systematic approach to identifying and analyzing the factors influencing the choice of the type of workplaces for the implementation of the processes of strengthening building structures during reconstruction was proposed, using 3D laser scanning and creating a BIM model based on a point cloud to identify possible collisions. This makes it possible to comprehensively solve the problems of optimal organization of workplaces and the choice of scaffolds during implementation construction work for reconstruction, renovation or repair.

Simulation and Validation of CFD turbulent airflow at pedestrian level using 3D ultrasonic anemometer in the controlled urban area “Sense-City”

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is increasingly used to describe the airflow in urban environments. In this study, we aim to simulate and to validate the airflow in a full-scale urban area submitted to controlled climatic conditions through an impressive climatic chamber. This non-standard equipment named “Sense-City” is made up of a 400 m2 realistic district with buildings and street layout. The Sense-City urban area is highly instrumented, which allows notably the validation of physical models and simulations and the test of innovative urban solutions. Using a URANS model, with the k-omega SST model as the closure model, a CFD analysis is made on the turbulent airflow in Sense-City at a reasonable computational cost. The simulated velocities and turbulent kinetic energy are compared with measurements collected at a pedestrian level using a 3D ultrasonic anemometer. We show that the numerical simulations correctly predict the flow direction and flow characteristics such as regions of near-zero velocity. Geometry simplifications, uncertainties on the boundary conditions and the use of a coarse mesh and time discretization to fulfill operational purposes have led to a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) score of 0.26 m/s on the velocity magnitude.

WASTE WATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY IN SPACE

Problem statement. The life support system of the International Space Station must include the provision of drinking water to the crew and the treatment and disposal of wastewater. The cost of water delivery to the ISS is very high, so it is necessary to improve the technological schemes of wastewater treatment in space in order to reuse water in a complete closed cycle. Methods. The studies were performed based on the analysis of Ukrainian and foreign scientific sources and reporting data on the specifics of water use at space stations and the treatment methods of the used waters (wastewaters). In addition to international experience, our own research was used to develop a technology for wastewater treatment in space. Scientific novelty. The authors of the article analyzed the operation of existing wastewater treatment facilities in space and made recommendations for their use at the ISS. The developed technology for the treatment of wastewater and drinking water in zero-gravity (space) is based on the use of various reactors. They can be made of various materials (metal, plastic, etc.); they do not contain non-standard equipment that requires factory manufacturing. Compactness, complete tightness and small dimensions of bio- and physicochemical reactors allow them to be installed within the ISS. The cleaning process is easy to manage and can be fully automated. Practical significance. Water problems are central to the whole world, including in space. The ISS should have a system for the wastewater treatment and their closed use, since the supply of new water to stations significantly increases the cost of space exploration. Quality water is the health and well-being of people in space. Since there is no gravity in space, centrifugal forces (centrifuges) must be used to separate suspended particles from water. Results. A comprehensive review of the issues related to wastewater treatment in space, allows us to conclude that it is necessary to regenerate water at International space stations (ISS). Indeed, to ensure the life support of the astronauts, a colossal amount of water is required, and its delivery to the ISS from the Earth is expensive.

Phosphatase and Kinase Substrate Specificity Profiling with Pooled Synthetic Peptides and Mass Spectrometry.

Reversible phosphorylation is a pervasive regulatory event in cellular physiology controlled by reciprocal actions of protein kinases and phosphatases. Determining the inherent substrate specificity of kinases and phosphatases is essential for understanding their cellular roles. Synthetic peptides have long served as substrate proxies for defining intrinsic kinase and phosphatase specificities. Here, we describe a high throughput protocol to simultaneously measure specificity constants (kcat/KM) of many synthetic peptide substrates in a single pool using label-free quantitative mass spectrometry. The generation of specificity constants from a single pooled reaction provides a rigorous and rapid comparison of substrate variants to help define an enzyme's specificity. Equally applicable to kinases and phosphatases, as well as other enzyme classes, the protocol consists of three general steps: (1) reaction of enzyme with pooled peptide substrates, each ideally with a unique mass and at concentrations well below KM, (2) analysis of reaction products using liquid chromatography-coupled mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and (3) automated extraction and integration of elution peaks for each substrate/product pair. We incorporate an ionization correction strategy allowing direct calculation of reaction progress, and subsequently kcat/KM, from substrate and product peak areas in a single sample, obviating the need for stable isotope labeling. Peptide consumption is minimal, and high peptide purity and accurate concentrations are not required. Access to a high-resolution LC-MS system is the only nonstandard equipment need. We present an analysis pipeline consisting entirely of established open-source software tools, and demonstrate proof of principle with the highly selective cell cycle phosphatase Cdc14 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Исследование механического поведения эластомерных нанокомпозитов при больших циклических сдвиговых деформациях

The paper presents the results of experimental studies of viscoelastic properties of elastomeric nanocomposites based on styrene-butadiene rubber and various nanofillers: carbon black, detonation nanodiamonds, graphene nanoplates and single-walled graphene nanotubes. Corresponding tests were also carried out for pure unfilled rubber (as a basis for comparison and analysis of results). Non-standard samples and equipment specially designed for testing at finite shear strains (deformation by hundreds of percent) were used. In order to reveal the specific features of the viscoelastic behavior of the materials under consideration, test programs with complex loading trajectories were carried out — symmetric cyclic shear deformation with increasing amplitude and stops for relaxation when the direction of the tensile machine grips movement is changed. In addition, to evaluate the strength properties of these nanocomposites, they were all subjected to standard uniaxial tensile to rupture tests at a constant strain rate. The analysis of the obtained experimental data is carried out. It was found that the greatest enhancement effect is provided by the input of carbon nanotubes — several times in comparison with other samples. In this case, the largest increase in the hysteresis loop (i.e. dissipative loss) is also observed. This circumstance is very important when using such materials as damping elements. According to the authors, the effect of mechanical enhancement at large shear strains depends on the shape of the nanofiller particles. Nanotubes, due to their huge (compared to the transverse dimensions) length and flexibility, have a much stronger effect on the rearrangement of the composite microstructure compared to other types of fillers, thereby increasing dissipative losses

Methods of improving service quality and increasing the reliability of locomotives registered in operational locomotive depot Agryz in the locomotive service depot Agryz-South

The method for managing the technological processes of repairing diesel locomotives registered at the Agryz operational locomotive depot in the Agryz-Yuzhny service locomotive depot using network planning has been developed to monitor and adjust the performance of technological operations, taking indicators of technological preparation of repair into consideration. Using improved non-standard equipment in technological processes of current repairs of diesel locomotives with motor-axial rolling bearings allows mechanization of technological operations during the assembly of a wheel-motor unit to improve the quality of the technological process and reduces the time spent in repair. Assembly operations have a special place in mechanical engineering. It is at this stage that various connections of individual parts and assemblies arise and indicators of the reliability of a technical object are formed.

A Modified Genetic Algorithm With New Encoding and Decoding Methods for Integrated Process Planning and Scheduling Problem.

Due to the complementarity of the process planning and shop scheduling, their integration can greatly facilitate the development of the intelligent manufacturing system. In the last decade, the integrated process planning and scheduling (IPPS) problem has become a research hotspot in the manufacturing system area. It is an NP-hard problem and is more complicated than the job shop scheduling problem. Although some progress has been obtained in the IPPS field, there are still many unsolved open problems. In this article, the novel integrated encoding and decoding methods are proposed by considering the OR-node of the process network graph. Moreover, a modified genetic algorithm (MGA) is designed based on the proposed coding methods. The process planning and the scheduling parts can be represented simultaneously in one individual. As for the precedence constraints between operations, the specifically designed operators are able to guarantee the feasibility of the operation sequence during the searching procedure. Then, the superiority of MGA is verified by updating nine new records on 37 well-known open problems, four of them reach their lower bounds. In addition, the proposed algorithm is also tested on a real-world case from a nonstandard equipment workshop in a Chinese machine tool company, which produces a common module of a packaging machine. The results show that the proposed MGA can solve the real-world case better than the comparative algorithms.

Research and Development of Mathematical Models of Elements of a Gas-Air Flow for Improvement of Automatic Control System of Organic Waste Processing Plant

Recycling of organic wastes is an extremely important and challenging environmental task. One of the promising trends in this field is the creation of multi-mode (combustion, pyrolysis and gasification) plants for processing organic wastes with production of such useful products as thermal energy and energy carriers (biocoal, bio-oil, pyrolysis resins, synthesis gas, etc.) and fertilizers. When creating such plants, the main problems include instability of the properties of a source material, its high water and ash content. This drives the developers to use non-standard equipment and atypical control algorithms, the creating of which requires a lot of experimental work to be done. At the same time, conducting field experiments is an expensive, difficult and long process that highlights the need for extensive use of mathematical and computer modeling. In this paper, mathematical models of elements of the gas-air path of the organic waste processing plant are obtained. The characteristics of the gas-air path of the plant as of an object of regulation for pressure in the lower and vacuum in the upper part of the combustion chamber are determined. The gas-air flow consists of the flue and the air ducts and serves to remove flue gases from the combustion chamber and supply air needed to maintain fuel combustion. When developing new automation systems, modeling allows assessing the applied solutions accurately, simplifying and reducing the cost of their development, solving the problems of system stability, optimizing transient processes, etc. The nonlinearity of the obtained mathematical models on the "the pressure at the inlet to the n-th section air-gas flow path — the pressure at the outlet of the n-th section of the air-gas flow path" channels, the nonstationarity of objects of control and dependence of their dynamic characteristics on operating mode of the plant are determined. Due to developed models, the two-way relationship of the gas and air paths has been revealed. When modeling, the gas-air flow of the plant is divided into several sections for which the mathematical models are obtained. They are required to synthesize controllers of flue gases vacuum in the upper part and the air pressure in the lower part of the combustion chamber.