150,061 research outputs found
Reuse of tyre steel fibres as concrete reinforcement
To attain economically viable and environmentally friendly tyre recycling, it is necessary to develop new applications and products, which will use tyre by-products (especially the steel cord) as raw materials. The authors demonstrate that the steel fibres recovered from used tyres can be used to reinforce concrete elements. This application has a great potential, as it is estimated that more than 500000 t of high-quality steel fibres could be recovered annually from used tyres in the EU alone. This paper presents the work carried out as part of various ongoing projects on the use of steel fibres in concrete construction. The first part of the paper deals with waste management issues, the methods used to recover steel fibres from tyres, and existing applications of used tyres. The second part presents the mechanical behaviour of concrete elements reinforced with these steel fibres and discusses the relevant design and economic issues. It is concluded that the use of these steel fibres in concrete construction will benefit not only the construction industry, but also the producers and recyclers of used tyres
Marine Biotechnology: A New Vision and Strategy for Europe
Marine Board-ESF The Marine Board provides a pan-European platform for its member organisations to develop common priorities, to advance marine research, and to bridge the gap between science and policy in order to meet future marine science challenges and opportunities. The Marine Board was established in 1995 to facilitate enhanced cooperation between European marine science organisations (both research institutes and research funding agencies) towards the development of a common vision on the research priorities and strategies for marine science in Europe. In 2010, the Marine Board represents 30 Member Organisations from 19 countries. The Marine Board provides the essential components for transferring knowledge for leadership in marine research in Europe. Adopting a strategic role, the Marine Board serves its Member Organisations by providing a forum within which marine research policy advice to national agencies and to the European Commission is developed, with the objective of promoting the establishment of the European Marine Research Area
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UV-Photolithography Fabrication of Poly-Ethylene Glycol Hydrogels Encapsulated with Hepatocytes
The development of biomanufacturing technologies particularly, layered manufacturing has
advanced cell encapsulation processes in an effort to mimic the cellular microenvironment for invitro studies. This paper illustrates an inexpensive UV-photolithographic method for
encapsulation of human hepatocytes in three dimensional structures using poly-ethylene
diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogels as candidate substrates. In order to further develop this
technology for layered fabrication, we have quantified the long-term effects of the photo-initiator
concentration and UV light exposure on the metabolic rates of encapsulated human hepatocytes
under a 21 day study. The photoinitator toxicity was observed immediately after polymerization
with no significant cytotoxicity on a long term basis. A cellular viability is examined and
reported for the UV photopolymerization process. Cell phenotype maintenance was observed by
measuring the amount of urea produced over a 1 week time period. This photo encapsulation
process may find use in the fabrication of spatially complex 3D scaffolds for tissue engineering
applications, elucidation of the 3D structure-pharmacokinetic response relationship and the
fabrication of complex multi-compartment liver tissue analog devices for drug screening
applications.Mechanical Engineerin
Accelerators and Deterrents to the Coordinated and Balanced Development of the Regions
In the article, the hypothesis that the modern industrial-technological process causes complication of socio-economic space and conducts to amplification its integrity, which, in turn, causes the need for the coordinated and balanced development, is proved. The process of complication of economic space is revealed as a result of number growth of communications caused by creation of the enterprises and organizations, by the change of structure of manufacture and increase of an educational level of the population. The characteristics of a new quality of economic space are given. The factors of the coordinated and balanced development of territories are allocated. The contents «a commercial combination» is shown. The necessity of transition to the system innovation thinking in conditions of becoming complicated economic space is proved. The idea of use «rebalancing of the economy « as a new vision of equation in conditions of crisis situations is offered. The conclusion is made that the result of theoretical and practical searches should become formation vital stability of development of territories, which is provided with intelligence — technological and moral — ethical level of the population, living on it.This article has been prepared with the financial support of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Project No. 15-14-7-2
Failure is an option:an innovative engineering curriculum
PurposeAdvancements and innovation in engineering design are based on learning from previous failures but students are encouraged to ‘succeed’ first time and hence can avoid learning from failure in practice. The purpose of the study was to design and evaluate a curriculum to help engineering design students to learn from failure.Design/Methodology/ApproachA new curriculum design provided a case study for evaluating the effects of incorporating learning from failure within a civil engineering course. An analysis of the changes in course output was undertaken in relation to graduate destination data covering 2006 to 2016 and student satisfaction from 2012 to 2017 and a number of challenges and solutions for curriculum designers were identified.FindingsThe design and delivery of an innovative curriculum, within typical constraints, can provide opportunities for students to develop resilience to failure as an integral part of their learning in order to think creatively and develop novel engineering solutions. The key issues identified were: the selection of appropriate teaching methods, creating an environment for exploratory learning, group and team assessments with competitive elements where practicable, and providing students with many different pedagogical approaches to produce a quality learning experience.OriginalityThis case study demonstrates how to design and implement an innovative curriculum that can produce positive benefits of learning from failure. This model can be applied to other disciplines such as building surveying and construction management. This approach underpins the development of skills necessary in the educational experience to develop as a professional building pathologist
Innovation and failure in mechatronics design education
Innovative engineering design always has associated with it the risk of failure, and it is the role of the design engineer to mitigate the possibilities of failure in the final system. Education should however provide a safe space for students to both innovate and to learn about and from failures. However, pressures on course designers and students can result in their adopting a conservative, and risk averse, approach to problem solving. The paper therefore considers the nature of both innovation and failure, and looks at how these might be effectively combined within mechatronics design education
A comparison of processing techniques for producing prototype injection moulding inserts.
This project involves the investigation of processing techniques for producing low-cost moulding inserts used in the particulate injection moulding (PIM) process. Prototype moulds were made from both additive and subtractive processes as well as a combination of the two. The general motivation for this was to reduce the entry cost of users when considering PIM.
PIM cavity inserts were first made by conventional machining from a polymer block using the pocket NC desktop mill. PIM cavity inserts were also made by fused filament deposition modelling using the Tiertime UP plus 3D printer.
The injection moulding trials manifested in surface finish and part removal defects. The feedstock was a titanium metal blend which is brittle in comparison to commodity polymers. That in combination with the mesoscale features, small cross-sections and complex geometries were considered the main problems. For both processing methods, fixes were identified and made to test the theory. These consisted of a blended approach that saw a combination of both the additive and subtractive processes being used.
The parts produced from the three processing methods are investigated and their respective merits and issues are
discussed
Video Game Development in a Rush: A Survey of the Global Game Jam Participants
Video game development is a complex endeavor, often involving complex
software, large organizations, and aggressive release deadlines. Several
studies have reported that periods of "crunch time" are prevalent in the video
game industry, but there are few studies on the effects of time pressure. We
conducted a survey with participants of the Global Game Jam (GGJ), a 48-hour
hackathon. Based on 198 responses, the results suggest that: (1) iterative
brainstorming is the most popular method for conceptualizing initial
requirements; (2) continuous integration, minimum viable product, scope
management, version control, and stand-up meetings are frequently applied
development practices; (3) regular communication, internal playtesting, and
dynamic and proactive planning are the most common quality assurance
activities; and (4) familiarity with agile development has a weak correlation
with perception of success in GGJ. We conclude that GGJ teams rely on ad hoc
approaches to development and face-to-face communication, and recommend some
complementary practices with limited overhead. Furthermore, as our findings are
similar to recommendations for software startups, we posit that game jams and
the startup scene share contextual similarities. Finally, we discuss the
drawbacks of systemic "crunch time" and argue that game jam organizers are in a
good position to problematize the phenomenon.Comment: Accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Game
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