Energy performance certification in mechanical manufacturing industry: a review and analysis

The energy performance certification has been recognized as an effective assessment methodology and tool to systematically manage energy consumption and improve energy performance. In the process manufacturing industry and building industry, a large number of energy performance certifications have been applied worldwide with remarkable results achieved in energy saving and emissions mitigation. Mechanical manufacturing industry, which is characterised as a typical discrete manufacturing having a wide distribution in operations with large consumption of energy and low efficiency, has a considerable potential of benefiting from energy saving and emissions mitigation. The objective of this paper is to perform a review and analysis of energy performance certification in the mechanical manufacturing industry for evaluating its potentials and applicability for performance enhancement. We begin with analyzing energy performance certification and research gaps to develop an operational definition of energy performance certification. The scope of energy performance certification and the method for data acquisition are reviewed. Next, we establish the classification of energy performance certification from perspectives of the energy benchmarking, rating and labelling to lay a foundation for its implementation framework and evaluating its practicability. Through the systemic review and analysis, the current state of researching energy performance certification is provided with the methods for developing energy performance certification summarized and analyzed. These findings are useful references for managers to strengthen energy management and monitoring and improve energy performance in the mechanical manufacturing industry.- This work was supported by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (SWU118068), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51875480 and 51805479) and Humanities and Social Science Research of Ministry of Education (No. 17YJC630082)

Minimising the machining energy consumption of a machine tool by sequencing the features of a part

Increasing energy price and emission reduction requirements are new challenges faced by modernmanufacturers. A cons iderable amount of their energy consumption is attributed to the machining en-ergy consumption of machine tools (MTE), including cutting and non-cutting energy consumption (CEand NCE). The value of MTE is affected by the processing sequence of the features within a specific partbecause both the cutting and non-cutting plans vary based on different feature sequences. This articleaims to understand and characterise the MTE while machining a part. A CE model is developed to bridgethe knowledge gap, and two sub-models for specific energy consumption and actual cutting volume aredeveloped. Then, a single objective optimisation problem, minimising the MTE, is introduced. Twooptimisation approaches, Depth-First Search (DFS) and Genetic Algorithm (GA), are employed togenerate the optimal processing sequence. A case study is conducted, where five parts with 11e15features are processed on a machining centre. By comparing the experiment results of the two algo-rithms, GA is recommended for the MTE model. The accuracy of our model achieved 96.25%. 14.13% and14.00% MTE can be saved using DFS and GA, respectively. Moreover, the case study demonstrated a20.69% machining time reduction

Influence of the Chemical Composition of Asphalt and the 3D Morphology of the Aggregate on Contact Surface Adhesion

The influence of the chemical composition of asphalt, the aggregate lithology, and the morphological characteristics of the aggregate on the level of adhesion between the asphalt and the aggregate is investigated. A contactless three-dimensional (3D) white-light scanning technique is used to obtain point cloud data of the aggregate particles. Six independent feature parameters are used as evaluation indices to quantitatively describe the multilevel features of the 3D morphology of road aggregates. Methods for analyzing the feature parameters based on the point cloud data of the aggregate are presented. Subsequently, the process and evaluation standard of the adhesion test are improved to quantify the spalling degree of the asphalt film on the aggregate surface under boiling conditions. The influences of the chemical composition of the asphalt and the aggregate morphology on the level of adhesion between the asphalt and aggregate are analyzed, and the compatibility between aggregates with different lithologies and the asphalt is assessed. The results show that the shape factor (SF) can be used to characterize the needle-flake shape of the particles, the ellipsoid index (E) is suitable to determine the angularity of the aggregate particles, and the 3D joint roughness coefficient (JRC3D) describes the roughness of the particle surface. The type of adhesion between the aggregate and the asphalt includes chemical and physical adsorption; chemical bonding is relatively strong, and the physical orientation force and mechanical interlocking force are relatively weak. Alkaline limestone aggregates should be used with asphalt with a high aggregate content of colloid and asphaltenes. Basalt aggregate with weak alkalinity should be used with asphalt with a high colloid content, and the use of angular aggregates should be avoided. Acidic aggregates with compact shapes, few edges and corners, and rough surfaces should be used prudently

Study on the Accurate Measurement and Quantitative Evaluation Methods of Aggregate Surface Roughness

In this work, to quantitatively analyze the roughness of the surfaces of road aggregates, the contact measurement technique and contactless scanning technique were, respectively, used to capture the coordinate data of point clouds on the aggregate surface, which were then used to reconstruct the digital elevation models of aggregate particles. Then, the joint roughness coefficient (JRC) was used as an evaluation index, and the quantitative calculation methods of the two-dimensional (2D) contour line roughness and three-dimensional (3D) contour surface roughness of aggregate particles were, respectively, studied. Finally, the anisotropic characteristics and size effect of the roughness coefficients of aggregates with different lithologies were, respectively, investigated, based on which the practicability of the 3D roughness coefficient index was proven. The results demonstrate that the roughness of a road aggregate surface can be quantitatively described by the point cloud data. The 2D roughness of aggregate profile lines exhibits anisotropy, while the 3D roughness of the aggregate contour surface indicates the size effect. The subtle morphological changes of the surface textures of aggregates can be accurately described by the 3D joint roughness coefficient (JRC3D) calculated by the feature parameter method

Application of Fly Ash and Slag Generated by Incineration of Municipal Solid Waste in Concrete

As landfill space for the disposal of products of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) such as fly ash and slag becomes increasingly scarce, a reduction of disposed material is urgently required. The method of using incineration products in concrete production is explored in this paper through a feasibility study of utilizing fly ash and slag to replace cement and coarse aggregate in appropriate proportions. Results show that C30 concrete optimum replacement rates of fly ash and slag are 30% and 20%, which can meet the minimum strength requirement. The leaching concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Cd in MSWI concrete samples are determined to be less than the identification value of solid waste leaching toxicity. Based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, MSWI fly ash has certain dispersion. The particle size of MSWI fly ash is determined to be close to that of the coal fly ash, and the surface morphology is irregular. The main components include SiO2, CaCO3, and Ca2SiO4, and they are similar to those present in the coal fly ash. The slag structure is loose as well as irregular, and its main component is SiO2. The SiO2 and Al2O3 in fly ash and slag participate in the hydration reaction of cement and can increase concrete strength. It is thus confirmed that fly ash and slag generated by waste incineration can be used to replace cement and coarse aggregate in appropriate proportions, and it is an effective method to solve the problem of scarcity of solid waste landfill space