Should the fashion industry confront the sustainability challenge with 3D prototyping technology

Abstract

In this paper, coming out of a broader research project on how the digital prototype can be effectively integrated in the product development process of the clothing industry, the authors investigate the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Collective Actions on Sustainability and the environmental impact of the new model of fast and accelerating fashion. Extensive research was contacted with personal interviews and analysed primary data shows how new technology solutions like Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), 3D visualisation or 3D prototyping can work with and across supply chain partners to reduce the environmental footprint of their processes. The final phase of the paper involves the conceptualisation of a new apparel product development model, encompassing various digital tools which aim at addressing fit problems, extending the useful life of clothes and reducing the environmental impact of clothing in use through design and services.     

Study on the initial velocity distribution of exhaled air from coughing and speaking

Increasing concerns about the spread of airborne pathogens such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) have attracted public attention to bioaerosols and protection against them. The airborne pathogens are likely to be expelled from coughing or speaking, so the physical data of the exhaled particles plays a key role in analyzing the pathway of airborne viruses. The objective of this study was to analyze the initial velocity and the angle of the exhaled airflow from coughing and speaking of 17 males and 9 females using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and acrylic indoor chamber. The results showed that the average initial coughing velocity was 15.3 m/s for the males and 10.6 m/s for the females, while the average initial speaking velocity was 4.07 m/s and 2.31 m/s respectively. The angle of the exhaled air from coughing was around 38° for the males and 32° for the females, while that of the exhaled air from speaking was around 49° and 78° respectively. Also, the linear relation between the tested subject’s height and their coughing and speaking velocity was shown in this study.     

Integration of DFE and DFMA for the sustainable development of an automotive component

The recent developments in manufacturing organizations recognize sustainability as an important value addition for survival in the competitive scenario. The design engineers are in search of approaches for creating environmental conscious products. The purpose of this paper is to report a research carried out for ensuring sustainable product design by the integration of Design for Environment (DFE) and Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) methodologies. In this context, this paper reports a case study carried out in an automotive component. The candidate product is the charge alternator pulley. The existing pulley has been created using Computer Aided Design. Then sustainability analysis was conducted on the existing component for determining environmental impact. This is followed by the engineering analysis of the component using ANSYS. Then conceptual design changes were developed in the proposed product using DFMA concept. Then the environmental impact has been evaluated in terms of carbon footprint, energy consumption and air/water impacts on proposed product. It has been found that the optimized pulley design possesses minimal environmental impact. The result of the case study indicated that the integration of DFE and DFMA concept could initiate new developments in sustainable designs with minimal impact to the environment and it also reduces the product cost.     

What humanlike errors do autonomous vehicles need to avoid to maximize safety?

Introduction: The final failure in the causal chain of events in 94% of crashes is driver error. It is assumed most crashes will be prevented by autonomous vehicles (AVs), but AVs will still crash if they make the same mistakes as humans. By identifying the distribution of crashes among various contributing factors, this study provides guidance on the roles AVs must perform and errors they must avoid to realize their safety potential. Method: Using the NMVCCS database, five categories of driver-related contributing factors were assigned to crashes: (1) sensing/perceiving (i.e., not recognizing hazards); (2) predicting (i.e., misjudging behavior of other vehicles); (3) planning/deciding (i.e., poor decision-making behind traffic law adherence and defensive driving); (4) execution/performance (i.e., inappropriate vehicle control); and (5) incapacitation (i.e., alcohol-impaired or otherwise incapacitated driver). Assuming AVs would have superior perception and be incapable of incapacitation, we determined how many crashes would persist beyond those with incapacitation or exclusively sensing/perceiving factors. Results: Thirty-three percent of crashes involved only sensing/perceiving factors (23%) or incapacitation (10%). If they could be prevented by AVs, 67% could remain, many with planning/deciding (41%), execution/performance (23%), and predicting (17%) factors. Crashes with planning/deciding factors often involved speeding (23%) or illegal maneuvers (15%). Conclusions: Errors in choosing evasive maneuvers, predicting actions of other road users, and traveling at speeds suitable for conditions will persist if designers program AVs to make errors similar to those of today’s human drivers. Planning/deciding factors, such as speeding and disobeying traffic laws, reflect driver preferences, and AV design philosophies will need to be consistent with safety rather than occupant preferences when they conflict. Practical applications: This study illustrates the complex roles AVs will have to perform and the risks arising from occupant preferences that AV designers and regulators must address if AVs will realize their potential to eliminate most crashes.     

Mitigation of operational failures via an economic framework of reliability,availability, and maintainability (RAM) during conceptual design

Abnormal process situation may lead to tremendous negative impact on sustainability, wellbeing of workers and adjacent communities, company's profit, and stability of supply chains. Failure of equipment and process subsystems are among the primary causes of abnormal situations. The conventional approach in handling failure-based abnormal situations has usually focused on operational strategies. Such an approach overlooks the critical role of process design in mitigating failure, while simultaneously considering the effects of such failure on process economic performance. The aim of this work is to introduce a systematic methodology that accounts for failure early enough during the conceptual design stages. Once a base-case design is developed, the methodology starts by identifying the sources of failure that are caused by reliability issues including equipment, operational procedures, and human errors for a given process system or subsystem. This allows for the identification of critical process subsystem(s) that are more failure-prone or cause greater downtime than other subsystems. Bayesian updating and Monte Carlo techniques are utilized to determine the appropriate distributions for the failure and repair scenario(s), respectively, in question. Markov analysis is used to determine the system availability. Next, the process revenue is described as a function of inherent availability. The effects of failures are incorporated into profitability calculations to establish an economic framework for trading off failure and profitability. In the proposed framework, the economic potential of alternative design scenarios is evaluated and an optimization formulation with the objective of maximizing incremental return on investment (IROI) is utilized to make a design decision. A case study on an ethylene plant is solved to demonstrate the applicability and value of the proposed approach.     

城市综合交通枢纽内消防“准安全区”设置原则和评估流程研究

由于使用功能的需要,综合交通枢纽中的交通换乘大厅常设计为高大空间结构。在实际工程中,该类高大空间建筑部位超出了现行防火规范关于防火分区面积和安全疏散距离的要求,通常采用性能化方法进行评估,在性能化评估中一般采用"准安全区"的理念。目前,"准安全区"的火灾安全仅依靠性能参数的比较论证,没有较为统一的设计准则。从不同的净空高度出发,综合考虑自然排烟口面积占地板面积的比例、相邻自然排烟口的间距和单个自然排烟口的面积等多种因素影响下的综合交通枢纽换乘大厅作为"准安全区"的设计要求,提出了"准安全区"设计原则和评估流程,研究成果可直接用于综合交通枢纽换乘大厅的设计与评估中,并对类似建筑具有指导意义。     

化学法除油技术在轧钢含油水处理上的应用

介绍了化学法除油原理以及其在轧钢含油水处理上的应用,并对系统的运行情况及效果进行了分析.     

香港消防性能化设计的简略介绍

介绍了香港在消防工种领域性能化设计的应用和发展。简单地阐述了国际上的消防工程性能化设计的发展。概述目前的性能化设计现状并给出经验总结。     

钢质推制无缝弯头芯模形状曲线的设计

介绍铜质推制无缝弯头芯模形状曲线的设计方法,该方法成功地应用于制造325mm×10mm、219mm×8mm、168mm×5mm、159mm×10mm、108mm×6mm、73mm×4mm等多种规格的无缝弯头.     

角联风路的自动识别

分析风路的稳定性，是保障矿井安全的基础，而角联风路的识别是分析风路稳定性的基础，本文论述了角联风路的自动识别的数学模型以及在解决矿井安全方面的应用问题，用此自动识别的数学模型及其实用方法对辽宁铁法矿务局大明一矿的角联风路进行判别。