Design and development of auxiliary components for a new two-stroke, stratified-charge, lean-burn gasoline engine

A unique stepped-piston engine was developed by a group of research engineers at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), from 2003 to 2005. The development work undertaken by them engulfs design, prototyping and evaluation over a predetermined period of time which was iterative and challenging in nature. The main objective of the program is to demonstrate local R&D capabilities on small engine work that is able to produce mobile powerhouse of comparable output, having low-fuel consumption and acceptable emission than its crankcase counterpart of similar displacement. A two-stroke engine work was selected as it posses a number of technological challenges, increase in its thermal efficiency, which upon successful undertakings will be useful in assisting the group in future powertrain undertakings in UTM. In its carbureted version, the single-cylinder aircooled engine incorporates a three-port transfer system and a dedicated crankcase breather. These features will enable the prototype to have high induction efficiency and to behave very much a two-stroke engine but equipped with a four-stroke crankcase lubrication system. After a series of analytical work the engine was subjected to a series of laboratory trials. It was also tested on a small watercraft platform with promising indication of its flexibility of use as a prime mover in mobile platform. In an effort to further enhance its technology features, the researchers have also embarked on the development of an add-on auxiliary system. The system comprises of an engine control unit (ECU), a directinjector unit, a dedicated lubricant dispenser unit and an embedded common rail fuel unit. This support system was incorporated onto the engine to demonstrate the finer points of environmental-friendly and fuel economy features. The outcome of this complete package is described in the report, covering the methodology and the final characteristics of the mobile power plant

Platforms, scales and networks: meshing a local sustainable sharing economy

The “sharing economy” has promised more sustainable use of the world’s finite resources, exploiting latency and promoting renting rather than ownership through digital networks. But do the digital brokers that use networks at global scale offer the same care for the planet as more traditional forms of sharing? We contrast the sustainability of managing idle capacity with the merits of collective local agency bred by caring-based sharing in a locality. Drawing on two studies of neighbourhood sharing in London and analysis of the meshing of local sharing initiatives, we ask how ‘relational assets’ form and build up over time in a neighbourhood, and how a platform of platforms might act as local socio-technical infrastructure to sustain alternative economies and different models of trust to those found in the scaling sharing economy. We close by proposing digital networks of support for local solidarity and resourcefulness, showing how CSCW knowledge on coordination and collaboration has a role in achieving these ends

Linguistic, multimodal and cultural code-meshing: Exploring adolescents’ language and literacy practices in social networking sites

This thesis will explore language and literacy practices in social networking sites (SNSs) that both draw on and expand beyond traditional principles of composition. Particularly, it will examine how adolescent participants are engaging with SNSs in ways that extend their learning and life opportunities beyond what is typically accessible in their rural province of Chiang Rai. Despite considerable research on language and literacy, there remains a limited body of research focused on adolescent literacy in Thailand and in rural contexts, such as Chiang Rai. There is also limited research in this area that provides a combined framework to account for the social, cultural, multimodal and linguistic repertoires of adolescents as materialised in their SNS practices. This thesis will draw from sociolinguistic and sociocultural theories of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and intertextuality to analyse adolescent participants’ linguistic and multimodal texts and how they shape and are shaped by a range of discourses in SNSs. However, both of these theories cannot provide a systematic account of adolescent participants’ multimodal texts in depth. Therefore, this thesis will also draw from multimodality as an analytical framework to account for participants’ multimodal texts (e.g., images, colours and layout). As key findings will demonstrate, the complexity of participants’ language and literacy practices in SNSs involves the blending of not only different languages and modes but also cultural resources (e.g., textual conventions and genres) – or what I refer to as linguistic, multimodal and cultural code-meshing practices. This study will set out a critical perspective on how such practices on SNSs are shaped by Chiang Rai adolescents to make new kinds of meanings, negotiate identities and relationships, and establish belongingness within both local and transnational SNS communities. Evidence from empirical data collected will include surveys and online observations

Investigating the design workflow for designing a component for Additive Manufacturing: A case study of designing a Jet engine combustion chamber component for AM

The increasing integration of Additive Manufacturing (AM) in the Product Development and production phase has brought a need for developing a new design for manufacturing methodology which is distinct to AM. Commonly known as Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM), it aims to take complete advantage of the unique capabilities of AM by developing rules, guidelines, and design methodologies. The existing studies on DfAM do not address practical problems faced during the design stage which leads to dilemmas and uncertainties in decision making concerning the design elements. Therefore, a workflow for implementing the methodologies of DfAM is important. To solve this problem, this thesis develops and documents the workflow for modeling lattice structures and minimal structures using the best tools available. In addition to this, the study analyzes the workflow developed with the help of a case study. In this case study, a component is developed for heat management which makes the use of heat transfer between solid and fluid. The design process in the case study is developed with the integration of Design for Six Sigma methodology. The outcomes are documented, and best practices from the study are reported

3d Scanning And The Impact Of The Digital Thread On Manufacturing And Re-Manufacturing Applications

3D laser line scanners are becoming a powerful technology for capturing point cloud datasets and collecting dimensional information for many objects. However, the use of point cloud is limited due to many factors. These include the lack of on deep understanding of the effect of point cloud parameters on scan quality. This knowledge is critical to gaining an understanding of the measurement in point cloud. Currently, there are no adequate measurement procedures for 3D scanners. There is a need for standardized measurement procedures to evaluate 3D scanner accuracy due to uncertainties in 3D scanning, such as surface quality, surface orientation and scan depth [6]. The lack of standardized procedures does not allow the technology to be fully automated and used in manufacturing facilities that would allow 100% in-line inspection. In this dissertation I worked on accomplishing four tasks that will achieve the objective of having a standardized measurement procedure that is critical to develop an automated laser scanning system to avoid variations and have consistent data capable of identifying defects. The four tasks are: (1) linking the robot workspace with the scanner workspace; (2) studying the effect of the scanning speed and the resolution on point cloud quality by conducting an experiment with systematically varied scan parameters on scan quality; (3) studying the overall error of that is associated with the transformation of the point cloud in a remanufacturing facility using additive manufacturing. The parameters that were tested are the effect of view angle, standoff distance, speed, and resolution. Knowing the effect of these parameters is important in order to generate the scan path that provides the best coverage and quality of points collected. There is also a need to know the impact of all the scanning parameters especially the speed and the resolution; (4) modeling a machine learning tool to optimize the parameters of different scanning techniques after collecting the scanning results to select the optimal ones that provide the best scan quality. With the success of this work, the advancement and practice of automated quality monitoring in manufacturing will increase