3D FEM model development from 3D optical measurement technique applied to corroded steel bars

Understanding the mechanical effects of the corrosion pits on the steel surface requires an accurate definition of their geometry and distribution along the rebar. 3D optical measurement technique is used to obtain the outer geometry of artificially corroded bars tested under cyclic or monotonic loads. 3D FEM model development from the 3D scanning results were carried out in order to investigate the failure process and local effects on the pits, which are responsible of the variation of the mechanical properties in corroded steel reinforcement. In addition, a validation of a simplified model, which allows the mechanical steel properties determination given an estimated corrosion level, is presented. 3D models were convenient to observe and measure the local effects on the pits.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

IT support to product variety management

Offering to customers a high variety of products while guaranteeing competitive prices and reasonable delivery times is an ever-increasing necessity for companies. At the same time, the growing technological content of products contributes further to this complexity, introducing new challenges to management. As for any area of company activity, the creativity of software producers has brought about the development of information science systems, such as Product Configuration Systems, Product Data Management systems (PDM) and Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRM), which all promise to alleviate the problems caused by this complexity.Product Variety, Product Configuration Systems, Product Data Management Systems, Customer Relationship Management Systems

SLS Materials Development Method for Rapid Manufacturing

As soon as SFF technology development began to make Rapid Prototyping possible the interest in Rapid Manufacturing (RM) began to grow. The advantages in terms of functional integration, elimination of tooling and fixtures and mass customization make a compelling case for RM, leading some in the field to call it the next industrial revolution. Yet without the materials properties necessary to provide the function and variety currently available from mass production methods, the application of RM will remain limited. Developing new materials for the SLS process, one immediate step toward a larger portfolio of RM materials, is very challenging. The formation of high quality SLS parts relies on appropriate powder characteristics, thermal cycles and sintering behavior. Based on a brief examination of the key factors in SLS processing and a research project to develop a new binder material for Silicon Carbide composites, a systematic materials development method is proposed in this paper. The method provides guidance for introducing new SLS materials, support for educating new SLS users and researchers and direction for several future research projects.Mechanical Engineerin

Entrepreneurial learning in family business

This paper draws on a situated learning perspective to examine learning in the context of family business. It draws on the experience of two generations, the founders of a business and their successors from the next generation of the same family. In-depth interviews provide an insight into learning about business as articulated by families who own and manage a business spanning more than one generation. The study relies on their narratives as a way of knowing and as a form of communication. Narrative interpretation throws into relief aspects of learning in the context of a family business. A review of the entrepreneurial learning literature offers theoretical insights but it also highlights the existing research focus on the individual, predominately male, entrepreneur. This paper challenges that assumption and reveals the complex intergenerational dynamics of family and business. It contributes towards a re-conceptualisation of entrepreneurial learning as socially situated, embedded in participation in the social practices of the family and the business

Optimization as a design strategy. Considerations based on building simulation-assisted experiments about problem decomposition

In this article the most fundamental decomposition-based optimization method - block coordinate search, based on the sequential decomposition of problems in subproblems - and building performance simulation programs are used to reason about a building design process at micro-urban scale and strategies are defined to make the search more efficient. Cyclic overlapping block coordinate search is here considered in its double nature of optimization method and surrogate model (and metaphore) of a sequential design process. Heuristic indicators apt to support the design of search structures suited to that method are developed from building-simulation-assisted computational experiments, aimed to choose the form and position of a small building in a plot. Those indicators link the sharing of structure between subspaces ("commonality") to recursive recombination, measured as freshness of the search wake and novelty of the search moves. The aim of these indicators is to measure the relative effectiveness of decomposition-based design moves and create efficient block searches. Implications of a possible use of these indicators in genetic algorithms are also highlighted.Comment: 48 pages. 12 figures, 3 table

PROJECT GOVERNANCE – PHASES AND LIFE CYCLE

When talking about projects, the barrier is clear: successful and failed. Some fail due to different reasons, but lack of good project and risk management played a large part. Others succeed largely because of the rigorous and disciplined application of good project practices. But both groups illustrate many points that underline and demonstrate important concepts applicable to current projects. Systematic application of good methods leads to successful outcomes in projects of all types. All projects are fundamentally dependent on people, and human beings are not very different today than we were hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago. This paper uncovers main elements in projects area such as the concepts and governance of projects, with an underline of the main characteristics and the projects phases and life cycle that erase the uncertainty that joins all the projects built at any time.project management, project life-cycle

Technological agglomeration and the emergence of clusters and networks in nanotechnology

Based on the analysis of two clusters in nanotechnologies (MESA+ in the Netherlands and Minatec in Grenoble in France), the paper examines the emergence and effects of technological agglomeration. The social and technical arrangements of a regional centre for nanotechnology both enable and constrain the ongoing activities and research lines that can be followed. Technology platforms and their co-location are a pre-requisite for nanotechnology research and agglomeration of such platforms are both a means and outcome for institutional entrepreneurs to mobilise resources, build networks and construct regional centres of excellence in nanotechnology. Technological agglomeration shapes the networks that evolve and leads to the convergence of scientific disciplines.TECHNOLOGICAL AGGLOMERATION;TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM;CLUSTER;DISTRICT; CONVERGING TECHNOLOGY;MULTILEVEL ACTIVITIES