Changing the design of a factory in practice involves the change of a number of parallel and interdependent systems such as the machining resources and robot cells, the supply systems for electricity, water, air, heat and cooling, pneumatics and hydraulics, the systems for chip and waste handling, process fluid, communication networks, sprinkler systems, as well as the building construction. Thus the coordination of information and models, as well as of the design work activities, is of utmost importance to achieve a fast and flexible development process. This paper presents the results from a research project focusing on computer aided work processes and the communication of models between various stake holders in layout design. The primary objective was to provide methods for a coordinated factory development process with a facilitated information exchange and reuse of knowledge and models. Results concerning required layout and PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) functionalities, as well as modelling and communication principles, tested in an industrial case, are presented.

To realize the modular development of manufacturing system, this paper proposes a new structure of reconfigurable manufacturing modular structure by introducing OPC technology. According to the theory hierarchical control system, we add a new OPC standard interface layer to system structure. Then, detailed design of OPC standard interface layer is presented, including design principle, the algorithm to coding OPC server/client and prototype system. Finally, the new modular system is applied in a product line of Molded-low-voltage circuit breaker. The result shows that the new module runs stably to meet reconfiguration of manufacturing system rapidly.

A finite element analysis is performed to investigate the dynamic responses of canisters during the vibrational compaction of calcined radioactive waste. This study shows that the maximum internal stress consistently occurs in the canister wall, but its actual location varies and depends on the loading and boundary conditions. The mechanical properties of the granulated calcined nuclear waste have appreciable impact on the internal stress of the canister container at higher fill percentage. Finally, a set of loading parameters has been suggested for safe operation of the canister system. Calcine is a more desirable material to store than liquid radioactive waste because it reduces volume, is much less corrosive, less chemically reactive, less mobile under most conditions, easier to monitor and more protective of human health and the environment. This paper describes the technical issue involved in the development of a feasible solution for further volume reduction of calcined nuclear waste for transportation and long term storage. This will be accomplished by developing a process wherein the canister is transformed into a vibrational machine, for further volume reduction by about 35%. The random compaction experiments show that this volume reduction is achievable. The main goal of this paper is to demonstrate through computer modeling that it is feasible to use volume reduction vibrational machine without developing stress/strain forces that will weaken the canister integrity. In the study, a canister was simplified as a cylindrical container of uniform wall thickness. No damping factors were incorporated in the model. This significantly reduced the computational time without losing accuracy. However, this simplification was restricted to the vertical modes of oscillation only, and inapplicable to the horizontal shaking modes. In simulating the vertically modes, a vibrating harmonic displacement was applied along the axial direction at the bottom of the canister. The nonlinear dynamic analysis was performed by using the commercially available code ABAQUS/Explicit [1] through the explicit direct integration option. A full cycle of the sinusoidal load was simulated to capture the fundamental features of the problem. Stainless steel properties have been used for the canister container. The waste material is primarily composed of calcium fluoride. However, the effective elastic modulus and the density of particles are much different from those of continuous solid [2,3]. Here the modulus of CaF2 particles was assumed proportional to the mass density. Since the density of solid CaF2 is 3.18 g/cm 3 and the modulus is 75.8 GPa, and the

Prediction of residential natural gas consumption in 20 next years was performed in this paper. Artificial neural network (ANN) was used to predict the natural gas in the Kerman, the biggest province in the Iran. The Kerman is included with ten important cities where gas consumption was estimated in each city. The minimum temperature in each year, population growth rate and number of each year were considered as three input variables while the gas consumption in residential section was as an output. The ANN was trained and tested using the data from 2000 to 2008 and applied for prediction in 20 next years from 2008-2028. The predicted result show that the total gas consumption in residential section will increases approximately 1.8 time in 20 next years.

The aim of this paper is to improve vehicle crash worthiness using vehicle dynamics control systems (VDCS) integrated with an extendable front-end structure (extendable bumper). The work carried out in this paper includes developing and analyzing a new vehicle dynamics/crash mathematical model in case of vehicle-to-vehicle full frontal impact. This model integrates a vehicle dynamics model with the vehicle’s front-end structure to define the vehicle body crash kinematic parameters. In this model, the anti-lock braking system (ABS) and the active suspension control system (ASC) are co-simulated, and its associated equations of motion are developed and solved using Incremental Harmonic Balance Method (IHBM). An Under Pitch Control (UPC) technique is used to minimize the deformation zone, pitch angle and its acceleration. The simulations show considerable improvements using UPC along side ABS with and without the extendable bumper (EB), which produces additional significant improvements for both vehicle boy acceleration and intrusion.

The performance of a pulse suppressor, currently used to alleviate pump-induced noise in automotive power steering systems, was characterized in this research. A hydraulic test system was developed to evaluate the noise attenuation effects of a pulse suppressor as well as other devices. Four pressure transducers were used to measure the dynamic pressures in the pressure line at different locations (two before and two after the suppression device); thus it was possible to determine the transfer matrix elements relating line pressures to noise. The transmission loss (the criteria used to determine the noise isolation performance of a noise reduction device) for this device was also estimated. The test system was verified by using a 0.52-meter section of steel tubing. Good agreement was obtained between the experimental and theoretical matrix elements. The results show that the direction of a pulse suppressor plays a role in the attenuation of the pressure wave. Therefore, the symmetry of the suppressor cannot be assumed. Compared to other noise reduction devices (reinforced rubber hose, coaxial tuning cable and hose) the pulse suppressor provides good transmission loss. However, the overall system response is a function of frequency. It is suggested that various noise reduction devices be combined to achieve the greatest noise reduction. The methodology can be used to optimally reduce the pump-induced noise and vibration in hydraulic power steering systems during the design stage. With the experimentally determined transfer matrix for each device, the relationship between two ports can readily be obtained by matrix multiplication. The analysis presented in this investigation can be also applied to other fluid power systems (i.e., engine cooling systems and HVAC systems).