EXISTING TRENDS IN FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES OF KENYA’S MAIN TRADING CURRENCIES

Performance of a security market reflects the economic situation of a country as it is affected by both a country’s domestic and foreign economic events. Given the current increased level of cross borders transactions with the value of total exports growing by 25.6% between 2007 and 2008 and imports increasing by 27.4% between the same periods, it was likely that fluctuations in foreign exchange rate market continued to fuel changes in financial markets like Nairobi Securities Exchange market. Since securities markets trade on assets with varying degree of risks, foreign exchange rates fluctuations was believed to be a factor that affect the performance of financial markets. The purpose of this study was to determine the trend of foreign exchange rates fluctuation of Kenya’s main trading currencies, the US Dollar, the Euro and the UK Pound. The study used secondary data collected between the periods January, 2006 to December, 2010 from the Central Bank of Kenya website in establishing the existing trend of foreign exchange rates fluctuation in Kenya. Descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Trend Analysis were used in the study. The findings revealed the existence of positive trends in US dollar and the Euro exchange rates and negative trends in UK pound exchange rates. Therefore the study recommended that market players like corporate investors and investment mangers should closely monitor these trends as they are useful in predicting future financial market outcomes

Biomimetic knee design to improve joint torque and life for bipedal robotics

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018. This paper details the design, construction, and performance analysis of a biologically inspired knee joint for use in bipedal robotics. The design copies the condylar surfaces of the distal end of the femur and utilizes the same crossed four-bar linkage design the human knee uses. The joint includes a changing center of rotation, a screw-home mechanism, and patella; these are characteristics of the knee that are desirable to copy for bipedal robotics. The design was calculated to have an average sliding to rolling ratio of 0.079, a maximum moment arm of 2.7 in and a range of motion of 151°. This should reduce wear and perform similar to the human knee. Prototypes of the joint have been created to test these predicted properties

A review of friction models in interacting joints for durability design.

This paper presents a comprehensive review of friction modelling to provide an understanding of design for durability within interacting systems. Friction is a complex phenomenon and occurs at the interface of two components in relative motion. Over the last several decades, the effects of friction and its modelling techniques have been of significant interests in terms of industrial applications. There is however a need to develop a unified mathematical model for friction to inform design for durability within the context of varying operational conditions. Classical dynamic mechanisms model for the design of control systems has not incorporated friction phenomena due to non-linearity behaviour. Therefore, the tribological performance concurrently with the joint dynamics of a manipulator joint applied in hazardous environments needs to be fully analysed. Previously the dynamics and impact models used in mechanical joints with clearance have also been examined. The inclusion of reliability and durability during the design phase is very important for manipulators which are deployed in harsh environmental and operational conditions. The revolute joint is susceptible to failures such as in heavy manipulators these revolute joints can be represented by lubricated conformal sliding surfaces. The presence of pollutants such as debris and corrosive constituents has the potential to alter the contacting surfaces, would in turn affect the performance of revolute joints, and puts both reliability and durability of the systems at greater risks of failure. Key literature is identified and a review on the latest developments of the science of friction modelling is presented here. This review is based on a large volume of knowledge. Gaps in the relevant field have been identified to capitalise on for future developments. Therefore, this review will bring significant benefits to researchers, academics and industrial professionals

Experimental-Based Optimization of Injection Molding Process Parameters for Short Product Cycle Time

This paper presents a framework for optimizing injection molding process parameters for minimum product cycle time subjected to constraints on the product defects. Two product defects, namely, volumetric shrinkage and warpage, as well as seven process parameters including injection speed, injection pressure, cooling time, packing pressure, mold temperature, packing time, and melt temperature, were considered. Injection molding experiments were conducted on specifically chosen test points and results were used to compute the volumetric shrinkage and warpage (at each test point). Thereafter, three relationships between the product cycle time (one relationship), the two product defects (two relationships), and the injection molding parameters were constructed using the kriging technique. An optimization problem to minimize the product cycle time (described by the first relationship) subject to constraints on the product defects (described by the latter two relationships) was then formulated. A combination set of points between the lower and upper extreme values of acceptable product defect was generated to serve as constraints for the two product defects. The optimization problem was then solved using the Fmincon function, available in the Matlab optimization toolbox. A plot of the optimization results revealed an appreciable tradeoff between the cycle time and the two product defects. To validate the optimization, an additional injection molding experiment was conducted for one of the optimization results. Results from the additional experiment showed reasonably close agreement with simulation optimization results differing in the cycle time, the warpage and volumetric shrinkage by 6.7%, 3.2%, and 8%, respectively

Computer Simulation/Prediction of Wear in Mechanical Components

In this paper, a state of the art on computer simulation and prediction of wear in mechanical components is reviewed. Past and recent developments as well as approaches employed in the simulation and prediction of wear are reviewed. In particular, the wear models, contact analysis schemes, and wear evolution prediction procedures as well as their application to the mechanical components (including cam-follower, gears, bearings, and cylinder/piston/piston ring wear) are reviewed. Recommendations and suggestions on possible directions for further research studies are also presented

Numerical and experimental investigation on multibody systems with revolute clearance joints

A comprehensive combined numerical and experimental study on the dynamic response of a slider-crank mechanism with revolute clearance joints is presented and discussed in this paper to provide an experimental verification and validation of the predictive capabilities of the multibody clearance joint models. This study is supported in an experimental work in a test rig, which consists of a slider-crank mechanism with an adjustable radial clearance at the revolute joint between the slider and the connecting rod. The motion of the slider is measured with a linear transducer and an accelerometer. Dynamic tests at different operating crank speeds and with several clearance sizes are performed. The maximum slider acceleration, associated with the impact acceleration, is used as a measure of the impact severity. The obtained results demonstrate the dynamical behavior of a multibody mechanical system with a clearance joint. Finally, the correlation between the numerical and experimental results is presented and discussed leading to validated models of clearance revolute joints.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT