Topic Review
Graph Modeling of Shop Schedulings
Graphs are powerful tools to model manufacturing systems and scheduling problems. The complexity of these systems and their scheduling problems has been substantially increased by the ongoing technological development. Thus, it is essential to generate sustainable graph-based modeling approaches to deal with these excessive complexities. Graphs employ nodes and edges to represent the relationships between jobs, machines, operations, etc. Despite the significant volume of publications applying graphs to shop scheduling problems, the literature lacks a comprehensive survey study. We proposed the first comprehensive review paper which 1) systematically studies the overview and the perspective of this field, 2) highlights the gaps and potential hotspots of the literature, and 3) suggests future research directions towards sustainable graphs modeling the new intelligent/complex systems. We carefully examined 143 peer-reviewed journal papers published from 2015 to 2020. About 70% of our dataset were published in top-ranked journals which confirms the validity of our data and can imply the importance of this field. After discussing our generic data collection methodology, we proposed categorizations over the properties of the scheduling problems and their solutions. Then, we discussed our novel categorization over the variety of graphs modeling scheduling problems. Finally, as the most important contribution, we generated a creative graph-based model from scratch to represent the gaps and hotspots of the literature accompanied with statistical analysis on our dataset. Our analysis showed a significant attention towards job shop systems (56%) and Un/Directed Graphs (52%) where edges can be either directed, or undirected, or both. Whereas 14% of our dataset applied only Undirected Graphs, and 11% targeted hybrid systems, e.g., mixed shop, flexible and cellular manufacturing systems which shows potential future research directions.
  • 1.5K
  • 25 May 2021
Topic Review
4D Printing
4D printing is the fabrication process of 3D objects that can change their shape over time or in response to an environmental stimulus. This process demonstrates a radical shift in additive manufacturing.
  • 1.5K
  • 20 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Room Temperature Sodium Sulfur Batteries
Lithium metal batteries have achieved large-scale application, but still have limitations such as poor safety performance and high cost, and limited lithium resources limit the production of lithium batteries. The construction of these devices is also hampered by limited lithium supplies. Therefore, it is particularly important to find alternative metals for lithium replacement. Sodium has the properties of rich in content, low cost and ability to provide high voltage, which makes it an ideal substitute for lithium. Sulfur-based materials have attributes of high energy density, high theoretical specific capacity and are easily oxidized. They may be used as cathodes matched with sodium anodes to form a sodium-sulfur battery. Traditional sodium-sulfur batteries are used at a temperature of about 300 °C. In order to solve problems associated with flammability, explosiveness and energy loss caused by high-temperature use conditions, most research is now focused on the development of room temperature sodium-sulfur batteries. Regardless of safety performance or energy storage performance, room temperature sodium-sulfur batteries have great potential as next-generation secondary batteries. This article summarizes the working principle and existing problems for room temperature sodium-sulfur battery, and summarizes the methods necessary to solve key scientific problems to improve the comprehensive energy storage performance of sodium-sulfur battery from four aspects: cathode, anode, electrolyte and separator.
  • 1.5K
  • 06 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Intermediate Strain Rate Testing Devices
The existing experimental tests are mainly designed to study the mechanical response of materials at various strain rates. Many researchers performed the experimental test in tension, compression, and shear (with torsion test) over a wide range of strain rates. They found out that material exhibits an increase in yield stress as well as flows stress with an increase in strain rate. It illustrates that there is a need for experimental data to study the material behaviour over the full range of strain rates, from quasi-static to high strain rate test. Many special techniques have been developed to bridge the strain rate gap between quasi-static and high strain rate testing to provide a method for an intermediate strain rate test for engineering materials. Some researchers have tried to conduct intermediate strain rate tests with standard servo-hydraulic load frames. However, the results of such tests are not accurate. The problem is that during the experiment, the whole machine is not in static equilibrium. The inertial effect influences the experimental data. The records obtained from these machines are often noisy with large oscillation. therefore, the comprehensive review is given to describes the development and evolution of the existing intermediate strain rate testing devices which includes the working principles, some critical theories, technological innovation in load measurement techniques, components of the device, basic technical assumption, and measuring techniques. In addition, some research direction on future implementation and development of an intermediate strain rate apparatus is also discussed in detail.
  • 1.5K
  • 18 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Sulfur-Based Hydrogen Production Thermochemical Cycles
Thermochemical processes based on sulfur compounds are among the most developed systems to produce hydrogen through water splitting. Due to their operating conditions, sulfur cycles are suited to be coupled with either nuclear or solar plants for renewable hydrogen production. A description of the most promising sulfur cycles, namely the Hybrid Sulfur, the Sulfur Iodine, the Sulfur Bromine and the Sulfur Ammonia processes, is given, including the work being performed for each cycle and discussing their maturity and performance for nuclear and solar applications. 
  • 1.5K
  • 09 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Spare Parts with Additive Manufacturing of Aviation Industry
Additive manufacturing (AM) is a digital technology of layered fabrication by adding material where no cutting tool is required as in the case of a subtractive manufacturing process. AM is bridging the digital and physical world as a 3D computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) method. The usage of AM has made the supply chain of the aviation spare parts industry simpler, more effective, and efficient.
  • 1.4K
  • 12 May 2022
Topic Review
KPI Selection for Tooling and Die Industry
In the last few decades, the fast technological development has caused high competitiveness among companies, encouraging a pursuit for strategies that allow them to gain competitive advantage, such as the monitoring of performance by using key performance indicators (KPIs).
  • 1.4K
  • 17 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Robotic Psychology
Although the contribution that social robots have made to healthcare is recognized, much less attention has been given to the role that social robots can play in a specific healthcare application domain, namely psychology-based interventions. Robotic psychology, or robopsychology, is a research field not yet fully exploited in regards to the study of compatibility between people and robotic creatures on multiple levels (i.e., sensory–motor, emotional, cognitive, and social). The proper use of social robots in the psychological field would exploit their potential even more, since relationality is a fundamental aspect for any intervention aimed at affecting people’s psychological dimensions.
  • 1.4K
  • 05 Nov 2021
Topic Review
State-of-the-Art of the Wire Harness Assembly Process
The wire harness assembly process is a complicated manufacturing activity, which is becoming more complex because of the evolving nature of mechatronic and electronic products that require more connectors, sensors, controllers, communication networking, etc.
  • 1.4K
  • 21 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Sensor-Based Smart Factory
Smart factories have modern sensor technology, intelligent analytical programs, and networking components of production (machines, supplies, components, final products, equipment, etc.). Smart factories are a new way of organizing production. Their goal is to better serve customers through greater production flexibility and resource optimisation.
  • 1.4K
  • 16 Mar 2021
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