Taguchi Experimental Approach Research Articles

Investigation of Dunaliella salina microalgae as an effective dual-function material for hydrogen production and supercapacitor applications

Today, population growth, industrialization and economic growth increase the consumption of fossil fuels to meet the energy demand. The scarcity of fossil fuels and the harmful gases they generate increase the interest in renewable energy sources. One of these sources is hydrogen energy, which is plentiful in nature and has no negative environmental effects. Sodium borohydride (NaBH4) is a good source of hydrogen, but a catalyst must used for methanolysis. Besides producing energy, it is also important to store it. Supercapacitors are a good alternative to energy storage elements due to their outstanding advantages. In this work, Dunaliella salina (DS) microalgae were used as substrate to synthesize activated carbon for the first time to develop materials that can operate both as a catalyst and an electrode material for supercapacitors. The activated carbon was obtained by carbonization and activation and the taguchi experimental approach was used to minimize the number of experiments. The best hydrogen production rate (HPR) result for DS-9 catalyst with 0.10 g catalyst and 0.25 g NaBH4 at ambient temperature of 60 °C was determined to be 13,085 mL min−1gcat−1. The material with the best HPR value was then used as the electrode material for supercapacitor design. The specific capacitance value for 1 A/g was determined using galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) curves to be 216 F/g. In addition, the produced supercapacitor has an energy density of 13.80 W h/kg at a power density of 480 W/kg. The results indicate that the ecologically friendly and cost effective bifunctional materials produced can be used both in reuse of organic wastes and in catalyst and supercapacitor applications.

Design and Optimization of Friction Stir Welding of Al-Cu BUTT Joint Configuration using Taguchi Method

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state welding technique in which the joint quality was predominantly subjected to heat formation throughout the metal welding process. The weld joint produced from FSW was better than the other fusion welding process. In this research, the base plates AA6101 and C11000 of 5 mm thickness were joined using the hardened oil-hardened nonshrinkable steel(OHNS) tool by the FSW method. The design of experiment (DOE) was used to optimize the input parameters such as tool rotational speed (rpm), feed rate (mm/min), and tool pin offset (mm) on output parameter ultimate tensile strength (UTS). The design of experiment (DOE) was carried out by employing a Taguchi L9 orthogonal array, three factors, and three levels for obtaining a quality joint with good strength. The results of nine trial runs from the Taguchi experimental approach were formulated and analyzed using the statistical tool analysis of variance (ANOVA) using MINITAB 19 software. ANOVA analysis was employed to find the contribution of the input parameters toward the output. The optimized input process parameters will help to create effective weld joints. This study revealed that tool pin offset towards softer metal at medium tool rotational speed would create joints with the highest UTS. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was applied to investigate the structural changes in the FSW of Al-Cu joints.Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state welding technique in which the joint quality was predominantly subjected to heat formation throughout the metal welding process. The weld joint produced from FSW was better than the other fusion welding process. In this research, the base plates AA6101 and C11000 of 5 mm thickness were joined using the hardened oil-hardened nonshrinkable steel(OHNS) tool by the FSW method. The design of experiment (DOE) was used to optimize the input parameters such as tool rotational speed (rpm), feed rate (mm/min), and tool pin offset (mm) on output parameter ultimate tensile strength (UTS). The design of experiment (DOE) was carried out by employing a Taguchi L9 orthogonal array, three factors, and three levels for obtaining a quality joint with good strength. The results of nine trial runs from the Taguchi experimental approach were formulated and analyzed using the statistical tool analysis of variance (ANOVA) using MINITAB 19 software. ANOVA analysis was employed to find the contribution of the input parameters toward the output. The optimized input process parameters will help to create effective weld joints. This study revealed that tool pin offset towards softer metal at medium tool rotational speed would create joints with the highest UTS. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was applied to investigate the structural changes in the FSW of Al-Cu joints.

Ergonomic evaluation of workstation design using taguchi experimental approach: a case of an automotive industry

Ergonomic evaluation of workstation design using taguchi experimental approach: a case of an automotive industry

UV-irradiation effect on desulfurization of hydrocarbon fuels through an advanced oxidation-extraction process in presence of acid catalyst

An experimental investigation is performed for the desulfurization of model and real fuel oil samples through one-pot extraction combined with oxidation method with an acid catalyst under UV-irradiation. The kinetics of desulfurization process is obtained by fitting the data taken from a pilot-scale reactor. The effects of various operating parameters on the desulfurization efficiency and the optimal process condition were statistically analyzed using Taguchi experimental approach. The most important parameters affecting the desulfurization efficiency are temperature and the amount of acid catalyst. The obtained optimum conditions are applied to the three real fuel samples. The results of applying UV assisted and ultrasound assisted desulfurization are compared. Both methods have high desulfurization efficiencies about 90% for kerosene fuel. The desulfurization efficiency of about 75% for high sulfur diesel is obtained after a two-stage UV assisted desulfurization process. The results show that in the same conditions UV assisted process consumed ten times less energy than ultrasound assisted desulfurization.

Experimental Investigations and Effect Studies on Electrodeposited Nickel-Slag Powder Composite Coatings

Objectives: This paper presents an influences of process parameters on micro hardness of electrodeposited Nickel-slag powder composite coating based on Taguchi's experimental design, signal to noise ratio and analysis of variances. Methods: Nickel - slag powder composite coatings are produced by conventional type electro deposition on mild steel substrate. The primary parameters; current density, pH, bath temperature, particle concentration and agitation speed are considered for experimental investigations. The experimental design is framed by L 27 orthogonal array of Taguchi's model based on five parameters with three levels. The experiments are conducted in Watt's type nickel bath. Findings: The micro hardness values of coating were determined using Vickers micro hardness tester. The micro hardness of the Ni-Slag coating was obtained in the span of 190 to 358 Hv. The significances of process parameters on micro hardness of coating were investigated with signal to noise ratio and analysis of variances, and ranked by order. It is observed that bath concentration and agitation speed are the most influencing factors on micro hardness. Application: Taguchi's experimental approach reduces the experimental trails and contributing a greater advantage with reduced experimental time and cost of experimentation. Statistical investigations extend the reliability of an experimental work instead of conventional and randomized testing procedures.

Parameters optimization on surface roughness improvement of Zerodur optical glass using an innovative rotary abrasive fluid multi-jet polishing process

With the advance of contemporary technology, high precision surface finishing techniques for optical glasses are of great concern and developing to meet the requirements of the effective industrialized processes. Not only the used tools but also process parameters have great influence on the surface roughness improvements. In this paper, surface roughness improvement of Zerodur optical glass using an innovative rotary abrasive fluid multi-jet polishing process has been presented. For the same purpose, a tool for executing ultra precision polishing was designed and manufactured. Taguchi's experimental approach, an L18 orthogonal array was employed to obtain the optimal process parameters. ANOVA analysis has also been carried out to determine the significant factors. It was observed that about a 98.33% improvement on surface roughness from (Ra) 0.360μm to (Ra) 0.006μm has been achieved. The experimental results show that a surface finished achieved can satisfy the requirements for optical-quality surface (Ra<12nm). In addition, the influence of significant factors on surface roughness improvement has been discussed in this study.

Ultra-Precision Polishing of N-Bk7 Using an Innovative Self-Propelled Abrasive Fluid Multi-Jet Polishing Tool

As the demand for optical glasses has increased, precision requirements for specific shapes, forms, surface textures, and sizes (miniaturization) have also increased. The standards and surface finishes applied to the reference mirrors used in measuring appliances are crucial. Hence, enhancements in figuring and surface finishing are indispensable to manufacturing industries. In this article, a novel self-propelled multi-jet abrasive fluid polishing technique is proposed for an ultra-precision polishing process in which a blade-less Tesla turbine was used as a prime mover. The turbine was characterized by high swirling velocity at the outlet; therefore, high levels of kinetic energy moving away from the turbine were used as polishing energy. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was also used to simulate the flow on the turbine blades. With a newly designed and manufactured polishing tool, the optimal polishing parameters for improving the surface roughness of crown optical glasses (N-BK7) were investigated. Taguchi's experimental approach, an L18 orthogonal array, was employed to obtain the optimal process parameters. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also conducted to determine the significant factors. The surface roughness has been improved by approximately 94.44% from (Ra) 0.36 μm to (Ra) 0.02 μm. This study also presents a discussion on the influence of significant factors on improving surface roughness.

Obtaining desired surface roughness of castings produced using ZCast direct metal casting process through Taguchi's experimental approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate experimentally the effect of volume of casting, pouring temperature of different materials and shell mould wall thickness on the surface roughness of the castings obtained by using ZCast direct metal casting process.Design/methodology/approachTaguchi's design of experiment approach was used for this investigation. An L9 orthogonal array (OA) of Taguchi design which involves nine experiments for three factors with three levels was used. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was then performed on S/N (signal‐to‐noise) ratios to determine the statistical significance and contribution of each factor on the surface roughness of the castings. The castings were obtained using the shell moulds fabricated with the ZCast process and the surface roughness of castings was measured by using the surface roughness tester.FindingsTaguchi's analysis results showed that pouring temperature of materials was the most significant factor in deciding the surface roughness of the castings and the shell mould wall thickness was the next most significant factor, whereas volume of casting was found insignificant. Confirmation test was also carried out using the optimal values of factor levels to confirm the effectiveness of this approach. The predicted optimal value of surface roughness of castings produced by ZCast process was 6.47 microns.Originality/valueThe paper presents experimentally investigated data regarding the influence of various control factors on the surface roughness of castings produced by using ZCast process. The data may help to enhance the application of ZCast process in traditional foundry practice.

Investigating the Effects of Several Parameters on the Growth of Chlorella vulgaris Using Taguchi's Experimental Approach

Algae are part of photosynthetic organisms that play an important role in the aquatics nutrition. Like plants, algae need water, light and CO 2 to grow. Using Taguchi’s experimental approach (5 factors in four levels with 16 runs), effects of several parameters (NaCl, sodium bicarbonate and iron concentrations as well as light and temperature) on the growth of Chlorella vulgaris was studied. Increasing the concentrations of NaCl and sodium bicarbonate resulted in corresponding decreases in the growth of C. vulgaris . Media with 30.0g l -1 NaCl did not indicate any algal growth. Also, with 9.0 g l -1 sodium bicarbonate, biomass production was decreased. Chlorella vulgaris showed different growing behaviors at the various concentrations of iron (Fe +2 ) and at the different temperatures of this study . Maximum biomass production (approximately 3.56 g dry matter) was obtained at the 0.0 g l -1 sodium bicarbonate, 10.0g l -1 NaCl, 18.0 µmol l -1 iron and at 30±2 °C. Yellow and blue lights increased the algal growth. Analysis of variance showed that salinity (i.e., the NaCl concentration) had the highest impact on the biomass production.

Die-Casting Parameter Sizing for AZ91D in Notebook Computer Base Shell

This study investigates die-casting process parameter optimization for magnesium alloy AZ91D. The Taguchi experimental approach with the orthogonal array was employed. Furthermore, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to find the parameters, which most influence the AZ91D die-casting process in the base shell of notebook computers. Finally, the mechanical properties such as stress, elongation, and hardness were investigated, and the abruption surfaces of after tensile test were identified from scanning electron micrographs (SEM). A low fusion slurry velocity reduces both hardness and stress, and increases the number of pinholes on the cross surface.

PARAMETER DESIGN FOR A WAVE SOLDER PROCESS

Taguchi's experimental approach to off-line quality control was used to determine a set of optimum parameter settings for soldering a sparsely populated, single-sided, power supply board. Four main factors (preheat temperature, conveyor spee..