Flywheel energy storage system with homopolar electrodynamic magnetic bearing

The goal of this research was to evaluate the potential of homopolar electrodynamic magnetic bearings for flywheel energy storage systems (FESSs). The primary target was a FESS for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites; however, the design can also be easily adapted for Earth-based applications. The main advantage of Homopolar Electrodynamic Bearings compared to more conventional Active Magnetic Bearings (AMB) is simplicity and very low power rating of its electronics, resulting in higher system reliability - a critical factor for space applications. For commercial applications this technologies may also be found very attractive due to a potentially lower cost compared to AMB.Center for Electromechanic

Consumer Preference, Attitude, and Acceptance of Pork

Consumer preference, attitude and acceptance of pork will be the driving influences on how the pork industry responds to consumer demand. From this study, it would appear that consumers are uncertain in understanding the color and marbling qualities that will translate into pork of excellent eating qualities. Slightly over one half of the consumers in this study were able to identify the proper color and marbling needed to achieve the eating quality desired in a pork product. 85% of the consumers in this study indicated that they would be willing to pay more for a pork product that would give them increased satisfaction in taste, tenderness, and juiciness. 83 % of the participants in this study indicated that they were willing to pay more per pound for pork that came from a certain breed or method of production and 71 % would pay more for pork from a “pork certified program” similar to the Certified Angus program in beef . The per cent of participating consumers were willing to pay extra per pound for pork that was: a) naturally grown 63 %, b) from a SWAP certified herd 54 %, and c) traceable back to the producer (43%). Less than one third were willing to pay extra for organically grown pork. Responses in this study indicated that when a certain type of pork product was desired, consumers were willing to pay only a modest addition in the price per pound. This additional willingness to pay extra for the desired product ranged from $0.05 to$0.75 per pound. Even though the survey generally indicated that consumers were willing to pay extra per pound for certain types of pork products, when they were specifically asked to answer, “I generally shop for the most economical pork product rather than paying more per pound for a brand name and/or for a higher quality product”, slightly over one half indicated they did shop for the most economical pork. From this study, it would suggest that an aggressive educational and marketing program will be needed for niche markets to achieve additional pork premiums. And in order to increase consumer demand for traditionally produced commodity pork, producers must be willing to improve pork quality traits. Finally, consumer education on selecting pork must be provided by educational institutions and the pork industry

Berkshire Swine Production and Marketing

This report includes the history of the Berkshire breed, its characteristics, and information for production and marketing. It was developed for the Pork Niche Market Working Group. See also the Berkshire Production Decision Aids

Web-based CBR (case-based reasoning) as a tool with the application to tooling selection

Over the past few years, manufacturing companies have had to deal with an increasing demand for feature-rich products at low costs. The pressures exerted on their existing manufacturing processes have lead manufacturers to investigate internet-based solutions, in order to cope with growing competition. The decentralisation phenomenon also came up as a reason to implement networked-application, which has been the starting point for internet/intranet–based systems. Today, the availability of powerful and low cost 3D tools, database backend systems, along with web-based technologies, provides interesting opportunities to the manufacturing community, with solutions directly implementable at the core of their businesses and organisations. In this paper a web-based engineering approach is presented to developing a design support system using case-based reasoning (CBR) technology for helping in the decision-making process when choosing cutting tools. The system aims to provide on-line intelligent support for determining the most suitable configuration for turning operations, based on initial parameters and requirements for the cutting operation. The system also features a user-driven 3D turning simulator which allows testing the chosen insert for several turning operations. The system aims to be a useful e-manufacturing tool being able to quickly and responsively provide tooling data in a highly interactive way