Research on selection of abrasive grain size and cutting parameters when grinding of interrupted surface using aluminum oxide grinding wheel with ceramic binder

In this article, a study on intermittent surface grinding using aluminum oxide grinding wheel with ceramic binder is presented. The testing material is 20XH3A steel (GOST standard – Russian Federation). The testing sample has been sawn 6 grooves, with the width of each groove of 10 mm, the grooves are evenly distributed on the circumference of sample. The testing sample resembles a splined shaft. An experimental matrix of nine experiments has been built by Taguchi method, in which abrasive grain size, workpiece speed, feed rate and depth of cut were selected as input variables. At each experiment, surface roughness (Ra) and roundness error (RE) have been measured. Experimental results show that the aluminum oxide and ceramic binder grinding wheels are perfectly suitable for grinding intermittent surface of 20XH3A steel. Data Envelopment Analysis based Ranking (DEAR) method has been used to solve the multi-objective optimization problem. The results also showed that in order to simultaneously ensure minimum surface roughness and RE, abrasive grain size is 80 mesh, workpiece speed is 910 rpm, feed rate is 0.05 mm/rev and depth of cut is 0.01 mm. If evaluating the grinding process through two criteria including surface roughness and RE, depth of cut is the parameter having the greatest effect on the grinding process, followed by the influence of feed rate, workpiece speed, and abrasive grain is the parameter having the least effect on the grinding process. In addition, the effect of each input parameter on each output parameter has also been analyzed, and orientations for further works have also been recommended in this articl

Natural disasters and household welfare : evidence from Vietnam

As natural disasters hit with increasing frequency, especially in coastal areas, it is imperative to better understand how much natural disasters affect economies and their people. This requires disaggregated measures of natural disasters that can be reliably linked to households, the first challenge this paper tackles. In particular, a methodology is illustrated to create natural disaster and hazard maps from first hand, geo-referenced meteorological data. In a second step, the repeated cross-sectional national living standard measurement surveys (2002, 2004, and 2006) from Vietnam are augmented with the natural disaster measures derived in the first phase, to estimate the welfare effects associated with natural disasters. The results indicate that short-run losses from natural disasters can be substantial, with riverine floods causing welfare losses of up to 23 percent and hurricanes reducing welfare by up to 52 percent inside cities with a population over 500,000. Households are better able to cope with the short-run effects of droughts, largely due to irrigation. There are also important long-run negative effects, in Vietnam mostly so for droughts, flash floods, and hurricanes. Geographical differentiation in the welfare effects across space and disaster appears partly linked to the functioning of the disaster relief system, which has so far largely eluded households in areas regularly affected by hurricane force winds.Natural Disasters,Hazard Risk Management,Disaster Management,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Adaptation to Climate Change

Testing for Food market integration: A study of the Vietnamese paddy market

With its increasing integration into the world economy, agricultural exports and rural incomes in Vietnam have increased substantially in recent years. At the sub-national level, however, there are concerns that not all regions and categories of agricultural producers have and will benefit from the ongoing liberalization of agricultural markets. Vietnam's elongated geography and lack of spatial market integration pose special problems in this regard. Accordingly, this study aims to answer three interrelated questions: (a) whether there is spatial integration between paddy markets in the North and South of Vietnam; (b) whether there is spatial integration in paddy markets within the North and within the South; and, (c) if within-region integration is stronger and faster than between-region integration. The empirical model we develop to answer these questions, uses estimates of transfer costs to generalize the well known model of spatial market integration due to Ravallion to allow for the possibility of threshold effects. A sequential testing strategy is developed which progressively tests for market segmentation, the number of thresholds, long-run market integration, common dynamics/informational efficiency, and (a strict version of) the 'Law' of One Price within an error-correction framework. When the unrestricted version of this model is estimated using monthly paddy prices for eight markets between 1993 and 2006, we find weak evidence of market integration between paddy markets in the North and South of Vietnam with an absence of threshold effects. However, there is evidence of both threshold effects and stronger forms of spatial market integration for paddy markets within the North and within the South, with at least 60% percent of price changes being transmitted between markets within one month whenever price spreads exceeds their upper or lower thresholds. The extent and speed of price transmission within regional paddy markets is generally faster in the South than the North of Vietnam. However, the instantaneous version of the 'Law' of One Price, which requires full price adjustment to occur within a month, only holds for a few regimes and market pairs. Three main policy implications flow from these results. First, since there is limited evidence of integration between paddy markets in the North and South of Vietnam, national level policies cannot be relied upon to stabilize or support paddy prices.Second, since there is evidence of spatial market integration within the Red River and Mekong River deltas, paddy markets within these regions can be relied upon to transmit price signals between deficit and surplus areas relatively well. Third, since the speed and extent of price transmission is relatively rapid within the North and within the South of Vietnam, the private sector trade can be relied upon to transfer rice and paddy between markets in an efficient manner. Problems might, however, emerge if large demand-supply imbalances were to emerge between the North and South, as transfer costs would prevent private sector trade taking place. In these circumstances, the public sector might need to intervene, in a consistent and market friendly way, to ensure adequate food supplies in the short-term.Market integration; Paddy market; Error-correction; Spatial integration; Vietnam

Optimization of Rough Self-Propelled Rotary Turning Parameters in terms of Total Energy Consumption and Surface Roughness

The self-propelled rotary tool turning (SPRT) process is an economic and effective solution for machining difficult-to-cut materials. This work optimized SPRT parameters, including the inclination angle (A), depth of cut (D), feed rate (f), and turning speed (V) to decrease the total energy consumption (TE) and surface roughness (SR). The turning experiments of the hardened AISI 4150 steel were executed to obtain the experimental data, while the regression method was applied to develop the TE and SR correlations. The entropy method and quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO) were utilized to select the weights and optimal factors. The results indicated that the optimal A, D, f, and V were 34 deg., 0.40 mm, 0.47 mm/rev., and 177 m/min, respectively, while the TE and SR were saved by 9.7% and 35.4%, respectively. The f and V were found to be the most effective parameters, followed by the D and A. The outcomes provide valuable data to determine optimal SPRT factors for minimizing energy consumption and maximizing machining quality.The optimizing technique could be applied to solve other issues for different SPRT operations

Multi-Response Optimization of the Flat Burnishing Process with a High-Stiffness Tool in terms of Surface Characteristics

In this work, the surface roughness (SR), surface hardness (SH), and the thickness of the affected layer (TL) of the multi-roller flat burnishing process are optimized.The parameter inputs are the tool rotational speed (S), burnishing depth (D), and feed rate (f). The flat burnishing tool having three rollers was utilized to facilitate burnishing trials. The Kriging models of performances are proposed regarding inputs.The CRITIC method and Crow Search Algorithm (CSA) were employed to select weights and optimality. The optimizing outcomes indicated that the optimal values of the S, f, and D were 912 rpm, 150 mm/min, and 0.12 mm, respectively. The improvements in the SR, SH, and TL were 33.3%, 26.9%, and 48.6%, respectively. The SR was primarily influenced by the f, followed by the D and S, respectively. The SH and TL were primarily influenced by the D, followed by the S and f, respectively. The optimal data could be applied to the practical multi-roller burnishing process to improve surface properties for flat surfaces. The Kriging models and CSA could be efficiently utilized to solve complex issues for burnishing operations and other machining processes

Extractive spectrophotometric methods for determination of ciprofloxacin in pharmaceutical formulations using sulfonephthalein acid dyes

Three simple, rapid, sensitive and accurate extractive-spectrophotometric method for the determination of ciprofloxacin in pharmaceutical preparation has been developed. These methods are based on the formation of yellow ion-pair complexes between the examined drug and three sulfonephthalein  acid dyes, namely; bromophenol blue (BPB), bromocresol green (BCG),  and bromothymol blue (BTB) in  acidic medium. The formed complexes were extracted with chloroform and measured at 420, the colored chromogen was stable for twenty four hours. The effect of optimum conditions via pH, dye concentration, time and solvent are studied. Beer’s law is obeyed in the concentration ranges 0.50-25.0 μg/mL with  molar absorptivity of 1.46´104, 1.83´104 and 2.07´104 L. mol-1. cm-1 and limit of detection (LOD) of 0.105, 0.101, 0.084 for BPB, BCG and BTB methods, respectively. No interference was observed from common excipients present in pharmaceutical formulations. The proposed method has been applied successfully to determine ciprofloxacin in pharmaceutical preparation (tablets, infusion and eye drops). Keywords. Ciprofloxacin, extraction-spectrophotometry, ion pair complex; sulfonephthalein  dyes