238 research outputs found

    A design framework for the mass customisation of custom-fit bicycle helmet models

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    Mass customisation (MC) can provide significant benefits to the customers. For example, custom-fit design approaches can improve the users’ perceived comfort of products where the fit is an important feature. MC can also bring major value to the producers, where for instance, premium prices can be implemented to the products. Research show that MC can bring competitive advantages especially when the system is new. It is therefore surprising that MC of helmets has not been studied more extensively, especially given the advances in 3D scanning, computational analyses, parametric design, and additive manufacturing techniques. The purpose of this study was to present a novel MC framework for the design of custom-fit bicycle helmet models. In the proposed design framework, we first categorized a subset of the Australian population into four groups of individuals based on their similar head shapes. New customers were then classified inside one of these groups. The customisation took place inside these groups to ensure that only small variations of the helmet liner were implemented. During the design process, the inside surfaces of a generic helmet model was modified to match the customer's head shape. We demonstrated that all the customized models created complied with the relevant drop impact test standard if their liner thickness was between the worst and best case helmets of each group. Fit accuracy was verified using an objective evaluation method. Future work should include detailed description of the manufacturing methods engaged in our MC framework

    Energy recovery from waste in India:an evidence-based analysis

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    The uptake of Waste-to-Energy (WtE) in India has not been successful and the majority of plants have failed to sustain operations. There is a lack of detailed on-the-ground research examining the causes of plant failures and the issues regarding the WtE supply chain. Thus, this study set out to identify how WtE practices in India can be improved by gathering and evaluating empirical evidence. Local government officers, industry practitioners and academics involved in waste management in India were consulted. Quantitative data were collected on three case study plants: an incinerator, a gasification plant and a plant co-firing waste with coal. The gathered information was evaluated by making a comparison with two European waste incinerators. The major problem with WtE in India has typically been perceived to be poor source segregation; however, the case study plants highlight that severe contamination has been occurring during transport and storage. In comparison to the European incinerators, the WtE plants in India had a low capital cost (around 1–2 million €/MW), but total particulate matter emissions were a hundred times higher, ranging from 65 to 75 mg/Nm3. We conclude with recommendations for delivery contracts, financial incentives and regulations on dumpsites, ash disposal and stack emission measurements

    Bridging the gap between academia and standard setters

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    Purpose This commissioned paper reviews literature outlining reasons for a perceived gap between academics and standard setters as policy makers. The aim of this paper is to emphasise how academics and standard setters can collaborate on accounting and audit research and assist standard setters to act in the public interest. Design/methodology/approach The approach is primarily a literature and document review of relevant issues, summarising New Zealand’s standard setting arrangements, providing examples of successful policy-changing research, and making recommendations on future research topics. Findings Despite the long-held views of a gap between academic researchers and standard setters, increasingly standard setters utilise research and request input from academics in their deliberations. Standard setters can increase the likelihood of relevant research by promoting critical issues for research and connecting their practitioner networks with academics. Academics can bridge the gap by selecting topics..

    A numerical investigation on the fire response of a steel girder bridge

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    The response of bridges subject to fire is an under researched topic despite the number of bridge failures caused by fire. Since available data shows that steel girder bridges are especially vulnerable to fire, this paper delves into their fire response by analyzing with a 3D numerical model the response of a typical bridge of 12.20 m span length. A parametric study is performed considering: (1) two possibilities for the axial restraint of the bridge deck, (2) four types of structural steel for the girders (carbon steel and stainless steel grades 1.4301, 1.4401, and 1.4462), (3) three different constitutive models for carbon steel, (4) four live loads, and (5) two alternative fire loads (the hydrocarbon fire defined by Eurocode 1 and a fire corresponding to a real fire event). Results show that restraint to deck expansion coming from an adjacent span or abutment should be considered in the numerical model. In addition, times to collapse are very small when the bridge girders are built with carbon steel (between 8.5 and 18 min) but they can almost double if stainless steel is used for the girders. Therefore, stainless steel is a material to consider for steel girder bridges in a high fire risk situation, especially if the bridge is located in a corrosive environment and its aesthetics deserves special attention. The methodology developed in this paper and the results obtained are useful for researchers and practitioners interested in developing and applying a performance-based approach for the design of bridges against fire. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Funding for this research has been provided to Dr. Paya-Zaforteza by the Spanish Ministry of Education (contract number EX-2008-0669 of the Program for Postdoctoral Stays), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (research project BIA 2011-27104) and the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (Research and Development Support Program PAID-06-11). Funding has also been provided to Dr. Maria Garlock by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under award number CMMI-1068252. All opinions expressed in this paper are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect the policies and views of the sponsors.Paya-Zaforteza, I.; Garlock, ME. (2012). A numerical investigation on the fire response of a steel girder bridge. Journal of Constructional Steel Research. 75:93-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2012.03.012S931037

    Assessment of web crippling design provisions for application to proprietary soldier beams

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    Structures used for temporary works are lightweight so that they are easy to transport, erect and dismantle. Particular care should be taken in their design as local instabilities could arise due to their thin-walled nature. This article presents 12 tests on proprietary soldier beams subjected to two concentrate opposing loads applied simultaneously. The geometry of the proprietary beams feature cold-formed C-shaped sections with web holes connected back to back with internal spacers. In the absence of design rules for application to such members, the experimental results are used in the present investigation to assess the suitability of the provisions for the web crippling design of coldformed steel members as well as existing design methods from the literature, which account for the effect of perforations in the web. Experimental and predicted resistances are compared and design recommendations are provided.Leada Acro

    Comment letters to the National Commission on Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting, 1987 (Treadway Commission) Vol. 2

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    https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_sop/1662/thumbnail.jp

    Originator of Basketball to see it Played at Olympics, April 5, 1936

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    A newspaper article Published by the Sunday Standar-Times (New Bedford, Ma.) on April 5, 1936 and titled "Originator of Basketball To see it Played at Olympics." The article talks about the movement to make Basketball an Olympic Sport, how the game was invented, who Dr. James Naismith was, and how the game has florished. It also talks about the National Basketball Coaches and their drive to finance the trip to Berlin for both Dr. and Mrs. Naismith that was observed from Feb. 7 to 13th where 1 cent of each admissions was donated to a fund to send them.James A. Naismith (November 6, 1861 – November 28, 1939), known as "The Father of Basketball" was born in Almonte, Ontario. When he was nine, both of his parents died of typhoid fever and he was raised by his uncle, who later financed Naismith's way through college. He earned his theological degree from McGill University and graduated from Springfield College, then the YMCA Training School, in 1891. After graduation, he was hired as a faculty member, where he taught for five years. It is in his first year as a faculty member at Springfield College that he created the game of Basketball as an activity for an unruly class. In 1895, Naismith enrolled at the Gross Medical School in Denver and received his M.D. in 1898. In that same year, Naismith took the position of department head of physical education at the University of Kansas, where he remained until his death
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