Aspects Regarding of a UGV Fire Fighting Thermal Shield

This article presents aspects related to the protection (with a double shield made of stainless steel) of a robot for emergency situations against the effect of flames due to a fire. The ground robot is semi-autonomous/autonomous, with a wheeled propeller (6 × 6). The robot, designed and built at the TRL 2 level, is intended for fire investigation, monitoring, and intervention (and, in particular, for petrochemical plants). The role of the shield is to protect the equipment that is part of the robot including its controllers, sensors, communications, power supply, etc. The need to mount a thermal protection shield on the intervention robot was given by the fact that fires at petrochemical plants generate very large thermal fields and gradients which are responsible for creating blind spots. These blind spots do not allow intervention crews to see what is happening in that area. These blind spots are characterized by very high temperatures. The dynamics of these fires can be unpredictable. Therefore, to analyze the performance of the heat shield in this study we perform a numerical-experimental analysis

Improving the Performance of Entities in the Mining Industry by Optimizing Green Business Processes and Emission Inventories

Due to environmental considerations, environmental sustainability has become the main target of contemporary organizations, which has a direct influence on increasing their performance. The purpose of this study was to present the efficiency of green business process optimization for the performances of mining entities. Quantitative research was carried out on a sample of 209 people in an economic entity in the mining industry. The results of the study indicated real possibilities to achieve the objectives set in the research undertaken. Using business process management, the authors examined how green business processes can be optimized in a Romanian mining entity. The main results determined the degree of pollution from suspended and sedimentary dust particles due to coal production from the mining entity that was studied. Moreover, the present research proved that certain key environmental indicators underlie the performance and optimization of green business processes. The practical implications of this study are to respect and continually improve the management of the processes of activities, to reduce the costs of depollution and increase the performances

Influence of the Stiffness of the Robotic Arm on the Position of the Effector of an EOD Robot

Terrestrial robots are being employed in a variety of sectors and for a variety of objectives. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and validate an analytical–numerical model of a robotic arm’s behavior. The proposed robot was designed to replace human personnel who remove ammunition or explosive devices. At the same time, the influence of the stiffness of the EOD robotic arm on the position of the effector in a variety of geometric task configurations was investigated. In order to obtain results relevant to the investigation, the angles of rotation under the load of each component of the arm’s composition and the vertical movement of the effector were measured. The main conclusions emphasize that a lower stiffness comes from the components of linear motors, which act on the elements of the robotic arm, and they substantially influence the elastic behavior of the arm. In addition, the constructive components of the arm have high rigidity compared to those of the linear actuators

Impact of early remote organ dysfunction on long-term survival after liver transplantation

International audienceBackground: Attention is focused on graft function although extrahepatic organ dysfunction often occurs. Renal failure, cardiovascular events and sepsis have individually shown a significant impact on short- and long-term outcomes. The aim of the study was to identify how extrahepatic organ dysfunction (EROD) and allograft dysfunction (EAD) may be associated and their relative impact on long-term survival.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in a unicentric cohort of 294 patients transplanted between 2009 and 2014. The composite endpoint EROD was defined as requirement during the hospitalization of de novo renal replacement therapy, reintubation/ventilation > 7 days or cardiovascular event. Donor and recipient characteristics were evaluated as predictive of EROD in uni- and multivariate analysis. Main endpoint was overall survival evaluated by Kaplan-Meier method.Results: EROD occurred in 91 patients (31%) among whom 42 also experienced EAD (46%). Predicting factors associated with EROD were IL6 level (P = 0.002) and lab-MELD (P < 0.001). Only patients experiencing both EAD and EROD had a worse survival (P = 0.001). In patients without EAD, time to normalization of bilirubin and INR were longer in patients with EROD compared to those without EROD (P = 0.002 and P = 0.008 respectively).Conclusions: The composite endpoint described as early remote organ dysfunction could be used as a predictive factor after transplantation and should be included in future studies together with early allograft dysfunction. Identifying patients in whom EROD and EAD occur together or one after the other could help to better predict long-term outcomes

The Impact of Big Data Analytics on Company Performance in Supply Chain Management

Big data analytics can add value and provide a new perspective by improving predictive analysis and modeling practices. This research is centered on supply-chain management and how big data analytics can help Romanian supply-chain companies assess their experience, strategies, and professional capabilities in successfully implementing big data analytics, as well as assessing the tools needed to achieve these goals, including the results of implementation and performance achievement based on them. The research method used in the quantitative study was a sampling survey, using a questionnaire as a data collection tool. It included closed questions, measured with nominal and ordinal scales. A total of 205 managers provided complete and useful answers for this research. The collected data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) package using frequency tables, contingency tables, and main component analysis. The major contributions of this research highlight the fact that companies are concerned with identifying new statistical methods, tools, and approaches, such as cloud computing and security technologies, that need to be rigorously explored

Influence of the Stiffness of the Robotic Arm on the Position of the Effector of an EOD Robot

Terrestrial robots are being employed in a variety of sectors and for a variety of objectives. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and validate an analytical&ndash;numerical model of a robotic arm&rsquo;s behavior. The proposed robot was designed to replace human personnel who remove ammunition or explosive devices. At the same time, the influence of the stiffness of the EOD robotic arm on the position of the effector in a variety of geometric task configurations was investigated. In order to obtain results relevant to the investigation, the angles of rotation under the load of each component of the arm&rsquo;s composition and the vertical movement of the effector were measured. The main conclusions emphasize that a lower stiffness comes from the components of linear motors, which act on the elements of the robotic arm, and they substantially influence the elastic behavior of the arm. In addition, the constructive components of the arm have high rigidity compared to those of the linear actuators

Research on Heat Transfer through a Double-Walled Heat Shield of a Firefighting Robot

Burning forests, petrochemical installations and material warehouses generate very large fields and thermal gradients, which means human intervention to extinguish the fire is greatly limited. For that reason, the use of robots is recommended, but because of high temperature, they have to be equipped with protective thermal shields. This article is an analytical, numerical, and experimental study on how a double-wall, stainless steel heat shield influenced the thermal gradients acting on a firefighting robot. Following the analytical analysis at a maximum temperature of 350 °C, it was possible to identify the parameters that must be measured to be correlated with those from finite element analysis (FEM) analysis. Experimental tests showed a decrease in temperature behind the shield due to the stainless steel and the double-walled. The main conclusions and contributions of this paper consist of the realization of a finite difference model with FEM that takes into account conduction, convection, and radiation. It also highlights the benefits of using a multilayer shield

The Sustainability of Romanian SMEs and Their Involvement in the Circular Economy

Sustainability involves extending the relational framework of SMEs outside the sphere of economic activity by justifying and legitimizing actions with a social impact on the environment. Links with the circular economy are achieved through the economic and environmental dimensions and through corporate social responsibility as a component of sustainable development. The main purpose of the paper was to determine the level of involvement of Romanian SMEs in activities related to the circular economy. The sample survey conducted among SME managers offered the advantage of collecting a large amount of direct information on the activities undertaken, the size of the investments and the nature of the funding sources used over the last five years. In this descriptive research, the process of setting up a representative sample of 384 enterprises was carried out by random sampling. The major contributions of the research project are to outline the contribution of Romanian SMEs to the development of a sustainable economy through their involvement in specific activities, the size of the investments made, and the level of participation of representatives of the enterprises in courses in order to identify new sources of financing and positive solutions in order to implement the principles of the circular economy