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Topic Review

International Council of Societies of Industrial Design

The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) was founded in 1957 from a group of international organizations focused on industrial design. Today Icsid is a worldwide society that promotes better design around the world, and has since been renamed the World Design Organization in January 2017. Today, WDO includes over 140 member organizations in more than 40 nations, representing an estimated 150,000 designers. The primary aim of the association is to advance the discipline of industrial design at an international level. To do this, WDO undertakes a number of initiatives of global appeal to support the effectiveness of industrial design in an attempt to address the needs and aspirations of people around the world, to improve the quality of life, as well as help to improve the economy of nations throughout the world. WDO holds United Nations Special Consultative Status which empowers them to make change, and works towards addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

2.9K
29 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Proposed Melbourne Rail Extensions

Several proposals have been put forward by various groups to expand the Melbourne rail network—proposals for additional rail lines, extensions to existing lines, as well as electrification to existing lines and new stations on existing lines. Some of these plans were so seriously considered at various times that they appeared in the Melway street directory, and on suburban train destination rolls.

2.9K
31 Oct 2022

Biography

James Heppelmann

James E. Heppelmann (born September 4, 1964) [1] is an American engineer and businessman. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of PTC (software company) (formerly Parametric Technology) a multinational software company he joined in January of 1998 as Senior Vice President Windchill, Parametric Technology Corp. Heppelmann grew up in rural Minnesota on a small dairy farm with his seven sibli

2.9K
29 Dec 2022

Topic Review

Dynamic Positioning

Dynamic positioning (DP) is a computer-controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters. Position reference sensors, combined with wind sensors, motion sensors and gyrocompasses, provide information to the computer pertaining to the vessel's position and the magnitude and direction of environmental forces affecting its position. Examples of vessel types that employ DP include, but are not limited to, ships and semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling units (MODU), oceanographic research vessels, cable layer ships and cruise ships. The computer program contains a mathematical model of the vessel that includes information pertaining to the wind and current drag of the vessel and the location of the thrusters. This knowledge, combined with the sensor information, allows the computer to calculate the required steering angle and thruster output for each thruster. This allows operations at sea where mooring or anchoring is not feasible due to deep water, congestion on the sea bottom (pipelines, templates) or other problems. Dynamic positioning may either be absolute in that the position is locked to a fixed point over the bottom, or relative to a moving object like another ship or an underwater vehicle. One may also position the ship at a favorable angle towards wind, waves and current, called weathervaning. Dynamic positioning is used by much of the offshore oil industry, for example in the North Sea, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, and off the coast of Brazil . There are currently more than 1800 DP ships.

2.9K
04 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Electromigration

Electromigration is the transport of material caused by the gradual movement of the ions in a conductor due to the momentum transfer between conducting electrons and diffusing metal atoms. The effect is important in applications where high direct current densities are used, such as in microelectronics and related structures. As the structure size in electronics such as integrated circuits (ICs) decreases, the practical significance of this effect increases.

2.9K
24 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Blue Gene is an IBM project aimed at designing supercomputers that can reach operating speeds in the PFLOPS (petaFLOPS) range, with low power consumption. The project created three generations of supercomputers, Blue Gene/L, Blue Gene/P, and Blue Gene/Q. Blue Gene systems have often led the TOP500 and Green500 rankings of the most powerful and most power efficient supercomputers, respectively. Blue Gene systems have also consistently scored top positions in the Graph500 list. The project was awarded the 2009 National Medal of Technology and Innovation. As of 2015, IBM seems to have ended the development of the Blue Gene family though no public announcement has been made. IBM's continuing efforts of the supercomputer scene seems to be concentrated around OpenPower, using accelerators such as FPGAs and GPUs to battle the end of Moore's law.

2.9K
29 Sep 2022

Topic Review

Drone Architecture for Crowd Monitoring and Analysis

Crowd monitoring and analysis is an important evolving applications of unmanned aerial vehicle or drones. From preventing stampede in high concentration crowds to estimating crowd density and to surveilling crowd movements, crowd monitoring and analysis have long been employed in the past by authorities and regulatory bodies to tackle challenges posed by large crowds.

2.9K
03 Mar 2022

Topic Review

A meat analogue is a food industry term for a meat-like substance made from vegetarian ingredients. More common terms are plant-based meat, vegan meat, meat substitute, mock meat, meat alternative, imitation meat, or vegetarian meat, or, sometimes more pejoratively, fake meat or faux meat. Meat analogues typically approximate certain aesthetic qualities (such as texture, flavor, appearance) or chemical characteristics of specific types of meat. Many analogues are soy-based (e.g., tofu, tempeh) or gluten-based but now may also be made from pea protein. Other less common analogues include cottage cheese and mycoprotein. Because of their similarity to meats, they are frequently used in dishes and food practices similar to meat. The target market for meat analogues includes vegetarians, vegans, non-vegetarians seeking to reduce their meat consumption, and people following religious dietary laws in Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Christian vegetarianism, and Buddhism. Increasingly, the global demand for sustainable diets in response to the outsized role animal products play in global warming and other environmental impacts has seen an increase in industries focused on finding substitutes similar to meat. However, the motivation for seeking out mock meats tends to vary depending on consumer group. The market for meat alternatives is highly dependent on "meat-reducers" — a consumer group who is primarily motivated by health consciousness and weight management. Consumers who identify as vegan, vegetarian or pescetarian are more likely to endorse concerns regarding animal welfare and/or environmentalism as primary motivators. Meat substitution has a long history. Tofu, a popular meat analogue made from soybeans, was known in China during the period of the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE – 9 CE). A document written by Tao Gu (903–970) describes how tofu was called "small mutton" and valued as an imitation meat. Meat analogues such as tofu and wheat gluten are associated with Buddhist cuisine in China and other parts of East Asia. In Medieval Europe, meat analogues were popular during the Christian observance of Lent, when the consumption of meat from warm-blooded animals is forbidden. In the 2010s, owing to concern over global warming, demand for meat from a growing middle class, and major investments by companies such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, there was an increase in awareness and the market size for meat analogues in Western and Westernized markets.

2.9K
24 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Dragon 2 is a class of reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by U.S. aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, intended as the successor to the Dragon cargo spacecraft. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and returns via ocean splashdown. When compared to Dragon, Crew Dragon has larger windows, new flight computers and avionics, redesigned solar arrays, and a modified outer mold line. The spacecraft has two planned variants – Crew Dragon, a human-rated capsule capable of carrying up to seven astronauts, and Cargo Dragon, an updated replacement for the original Dragon. Crew Dragon is equipped with an integrated launch escape system in a set of four side-mounted thruster pods with two SuperDraco engines each. Crew Dragon has been contracted to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with crew under the Commercial Crew Program, with the initial award occurring in October 2014 alongside Boeing CST-100 Starliner. Crew Dragon's first non-piloted test flight to the ISS launched in March 2019. Cargo Dragon will supply the ISS with cargo under the Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) after a January 2016 selection alongside Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems' Cygnus and Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser. SpaceX's first CRS-2 mission with the Cargo Dragon is slated to occur in August 2020 after SpaceX's final CRS-20 mission with the original Dragon spacecraft. The Crew Dragon capsule that flew in the first test flight was scheduled to be used in a flight abort test before it unexpectedly exploded during a test of its SuperDraco engines on 20 April 2019. An investigation into the explosion was completed on 15 July 2019 and resulted in changes to vehicle plumbing. The in-flight abort test was conducted on 19 January 2020 at 15:30 UTC. The first crewed launch is scheduled for April 2020.

2.9K
29 Nov 2022

Topic Review

A biofuel is a fuel that is produced through contemporary processes from biomass, rather than a fuel produced by the very slow geological processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. Since biomass technically can be used as a fuel directly (e.g. wood logs), some people use the terms biomass and biofuel interchangeably. More often than not, however, the word biomass simply denotes the biological raw material the fuel is made of, or some form of thermally/chemically altered solid end product, like torrefied pellets or briquettes. The word biofuel is usually reserved for liquid or gaseous fuels, used for transportation. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) follows this naming practice. If the biomass used in the production of biofuel can regrow quickly, the fuel is generally considered to be a form of renewable energy. Biofuels can be produced from plants (i.e. energy crops), or from agricultural, commercial, domestic, and/or industrial wastes (if the waste has a biological origin). Renewable biofuels generally involve contemporary carbon fixation, such as those that occur in plants or microalgae through the process of photosynthesis. Some argue that biofuel can be carbon-neutral because all biomass crops sequester carbon to a certain extent – basically all crops move CO2 from above-ground circulation to below-ground storage in the roots and the surrounding soil. For instance, McCalmont et al. found below-ground carbon accumulation ranging from 0.42 to 3.8 tonnes per hectare per year for soils below Miscanthus x giganteus energy crops, with a mean accumulation rate of 1.84 tonne (0.74 tonnes per acre per year), or 20% of total harvested carbon per year. However, the simple proposal that biofuel is carbon-neutral almost by definition has been superseded by the more nuanced proposal that for a particular biofuel project to be carbon neutral, the total carbon sequestered by the energy crop's root system must compensate for all the above-ground emissions (related to this particular biofuel project). This includes any emissions caused by direct or indirect land use change. Many first generation biofuel projects are not carbon neutral given these demands. Some have even higher total GHG emissions than some fossil based alternatives. Some are carbon neutral or even negative, though, especially perennial crops. The amount of carbon sequestrated and the amount of GHG (greenhouse gases) emitted will determine if the total GHG life cycle cost of a biofuel project is positive, neutral or negative. A carbon negative life cycle is possible if the total below-ground carbon accumulation more than compensates for the total life-cycle GHG emissions above ground. In other words, to achieve carbon neutrality yields should be high and emissions should be low. High-yielding energy crops are thus prime candidates for carbon neutrality. The graphic on the right displays two CO2 negative Miscanthus x giganteus production pathways, represented in gram CO2-equivalents per megajoule. The yellow diamonds represent mean values. Further, successful sequestration is dependent on planting sites, as the best soils for sequestration are those that are currently low in carbon. The varied results displayed in the graph highlights this fact. For the UK, successful sequestration is expected for arable land over most of England and Wales, with unsuccessful sequestration expected in parts of Scotland, due to already carbon rich soils (existing woodland) plus lower yields. Soils already rich in carbon includes peatland and mature forest. Grassland can also be carbon rich, and Milner et al. argue that the most successful carbon sequestration in the UK takes place below improved grasslands. The bottom graphic displays the estimated yield necessary to compensate for related lifecycle GHG-emissions. The higher the yield, the more likely CO2 negativity becomes. The two most common types of biofuel are bioethanol and biodiesel. Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermentation, mostly from carbohydrates produced in sugar or starch crops such as corn, sugarcane, or sweet sorghum. Cellulosic biomass, derived from non-food sources, such as trees and grasses, is also being developed as a feedstock for ethanol production. Ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form (E100), but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to increase octane and improve vehicle emissions. Bioethanol is widely used in the United States and in Brazil. Biodiesel is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is the most common biofuel in Europe. It can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form (B100), but it is usually used as a diesel additive to reduce levels of particulates, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles. In 2018, worldwide biofuel production reached 152 billion liters (40 billion gallons US), up 7% from 2017, and biofuels provided 3% of the world's fuels for road transport. The International Energy Agency want biofuels to meet more than a quarter of world demand for transportation fuels by 2050, in order to reduce dependency on petroleum. However, the production and consumption of biofuels are not on track to meet the IEA's sustainable development scenario. From 2020 to 2030 global biofuel output has to increase by 10% each year to reach IEA's goal. Only 3% growth annually is expected. Here are some various social, economic, environmental and technical issues relating to biofuels production and use, which have been debated in the popular media and scientific journals.

2.8K
12 Oct 2022

Topic Review

The self-loading Ruby pistol is best known as a French World War I sidearm, the Pistolet Automatique de 7 millim.65 genre "Ruby". A very international piece of weaponry, it was closely modeled after John Browning's M1903 design produced by the Belgian Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, and was produced by over 50 Spanish companies, but primarily by the Spanish Gabilondo y Urresti firm (the official "Gabilondo Ruby"). It was decommissioned in 1958, more than a decade after World War II was brought to an end, and was subsequently replaced.

2.8K
20 Oct 2022

Biography

Gustav Otto (12 January 1883 – 28 February 1926) was a German aircraft and aircraft engine designer and manufacturer. Gustav was born in Cologne to Nikolaus August Otto, the founder of N. A. Otto & Cie. and inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine. It is therefore regarded that his interest in engines, specifically aircraft and the manufacture thereof, was something he inherited

2.8K
22 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Bioglass 45S5, commonly referred to by its commercial name Bioglass, is a glass specifically composed of 45 wt% SiO2, 24.5 wt% CaO, 24.5 wt% Na2O, and 6.0 wt% P2O5. Glasses are non-crystalline amorphous solids that are commonly composed of silica-based materials with other minor additives. Compared to soda-lime glass (commonly used, as in windows or bottles), Bioglass 45S5 contains less silica and higher amounts of calcium and phosphorus. The 45S5 name signifies glass with 45 weight % of SiO2 and 5:1 molar ratio of calcium to phosphorus. This high ratio of calcium to phosphorus promotes formation of apatite crystals; calcium and silica ions can act as crystallization nuclei. Lower Ca:P ratios do not bond to bone. Bioglass 45S5's specific composition is optimal in biomedical applications because of its similar composition to that of hydroxyapatite, the mineral component of bone. This similarity provides Bioglass' ability to be integrated with living bone. This composition of bioactive glass is comparatively soft in comparison to other glasses. It can be machined, preferably with diamond tools, or ground to powder. Bioglass has to be stored in a dry environment, as it readily absorbs moisture and reacts with it. Bioglass 45S5 is the first formulation of an artificial material that was found to chemically bond with bone. One of its main medical advantages is its biocompatibility, seen in its ability to avoid an immune reaction and fibrous encapsulation. Its primary application is the repair of bone injuries or defects too large to be regenerated by the natural process. The first successful surgical use of Bioglass 45S5 was in replacement of ossicles in the middle ear, as a treatment of conductive hearing loss. Other uses include cones for implantation into the jaw following a tooth extraction. Composite materials made of Bioglass 45S5 and patient's own bone can be used for bone reconstruction. Further research is being conducted for the development of new processing techniques to allow for more applications of Bioglass.

2.8K
01 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Grand Power K100

The K100 is a 9×19mm semi-automatic pistol designed and built by Grand Power s.r.o. in Slovenská Ľupča, Slovakia located approximately 11 kilometers east of Banská Bystrica, Slovakia which is the region's major city.

2.8K
03 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Mechanochemical Machines for Biorefining

Grinding and mechanical pretreatment are very popular methods utilized to enhance the reactivity of polymers and plant raw materials; however, the choice of devices and their modes of action is often performed through trial and error. An inadequate choice of equipment often results in inefficient grinding, low reactivity of the product, excess energy expenditure, and significant wear of the equipment.

2.8K
03 Dec 2020

Biography

Nikolay Yegorovich Zhukovsky

Nikolay Yegorovich Zhukovsky[1] (Russian: Никола́й Его́рович Жуко́вский; January 17 [O.S. January 5] 1847 – March 17, 1921) was a Russia n scientist, mathematician and engineer, and a founding father of modern aero- and hydrodynamics. Whereas contemporary scientists scoffed at the idea of human flight, Zhukovsky was the first to undertake the study of airflow. He

2.8K
01 Dec 2022

Topic Review

Murano glass is made on the Venetian island of Murano, which has been a glassmaking center for over 700 years. It is also sometimes referred to as Venetian glass. Today Murano is known for its art glass, but it has a long history of innovations in glassmaking in addition to its artistic fame—and was Europe's first major glassmaking center. During the 1400s, Murano glassmakers created cristallo—which was almost transparent and considered the finest glass in the world. Murano glassmakers also developed a white-colored glass (milk glass called lattimo) that looked like porcelain. They later became Europe's finest makers of mirrors. Originally, Venice was controlled by the Eastern Roman Empire, but it eventually became an independent city state. It flourished as a trading center and seaport. Its connections with the Middle East helped its glassmakers gain additional skills, as glassmaking was more advanced in countries such as Syria and Egypt. Although Venetian glassmaking existed as far back as the 8th Century, it became concentrated in Murano by law beginning 1291. Since glass factories often caught fire, this removed much of the possibility of a major fire disaster for the city. Murano glassmakers developed secret recipes and methods for making glass, and the concentration of Venice's glassmaking on the island of Murano enabled better control of those secrets. Murano became Europe's elite glassmaking center, peaking in popularity in the 15th and 16th centuries. Venice's dominance in trade along the Mediterranean Sea created a wealthy merchant class that was a strong connoisseur of the arts. This helped establish demand for art glass and more innovations. The spread of glassmaking talent in Europe eventually diminished the importance of Venice and its Murano glassmakers. A defeat by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797, and occupation, caused more hardship for Murano's glassmaking industry. Murano glassmaking began a revival in the 1920s. Today, Murano and Venice are tourist attractions, and Murano is home to numerous glass factories and a few individual artists' studios. Its Museo del Vetro (Glass Museum) in the Palazzo Giustinian contains displays on the history of glassmaking as well as glass samples ranging from Egyptian times through the present day.

2.8K
14 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Waste or Scrap tires, also known as End-of-Life Tires (ELT), are used rubber tires that because of their abrasion state ("tire wear") are not safe for public traffic. Waste tires can go into tire recycling or will be dumped, either in legal landfills or illegally; another portion may be pyrolysed to produce tire-derived fuel or heat energy.

2.8K
09 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Multiple Attribute-based Decision-making Models

Sustainability of agricultural practices depends on economic, environmental, and social conditions. The Rajasthan state of India has arid climatic conditions where kharif crops are commonly grown. In this work, the four major criteria are considered such as the farm area, crop yield per unit area, the cost prices, and the market sales price. Merged analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy techniques have been employed to give reasonable weight coefficients for the objective and subjective weights to each criterion. Multiple attribute-based decision-making models (MADM) have been developed using three proven techniques, namely the Exprom2, the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), and the VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I KompromisnoResenje (VIKOR). The crop Pennisetum glaucum emerged as the most productive kharif crop in the arid climatic conditions of Rajasthan, India under the given criteria. The sensitivity analysis of the three methods identifies the most significant criteria and validates that Pennisetum glaucum is the first ranked crop despite the interchange of the weights. The methodology used in this study may be applied across the globe to select appropriate crops for maximizing the profit, optimizing the natural resources, and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. This study may be used to enhance the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) to make the agriculturalists self-sufficient and to help the state policymakers in making elective regional policies.

2.8K
05 Nov 2020

Topic Review

Humanitarian Logistics

Although logistics has been mostly utilized in commercial supply chains, it is also an important tool in disaster relief operations. Humanitarian logistics is a branch of logistics which specializes in organizing the delivery and warehousing of supplies during natural disasters or complex emergencies to the affected area and people. However, this definition focuses only on the physical flow of goods to final destinations, and in reality, humanitarian logistics is far more complicated and includes forecasting and optimizing resources, managing inventory, and exchanging information. Thus, a good broader definition of humanitarian logistics is the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of goods and materials, as well as related information, from the point of origin to the point of consumption for the purpose of alleviating the suffering of vulnerable people. This figure presents numerous important aspects in humanitarian logistics, including transport, inventory management, infrastructure, and communications.

2.8K
04 Nov 2022

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