In this paper, we present a framework to define, visualise, analyse and manage a design factory in a complex engineering environment. Design engineering is the core of product development and provides high leverage in cost, quality and time to market. Lean principles can be applied to gain these improvements to the design management system. However, unlike manufacturing and operations, design processes are inherently non-linear and iterative in nature. In addition, design outputs, queues and work in progress are not visible and tangible. This creates challenges in applying lean principles in the design environment. To alleviate these issues design engineering is treated as a factory and its key steps are mapped by using the gated review process. The inputs and outputs of the design factory system are identified and employed to create an effective productivity improvement dashboard. The gated review process steps are used to understand the flow of design solutions. Lean principles and structured root-cause analysis is used to create a system to visualise, analyse and manage the design factory.

The focus of this paper is on the development of a high-fidelity electro-mechanical Control Loading System (CLS) for a rotary wing aircraft simulator. CLS is one of the major components of a flight simulator. It is used for providing realistic force feedback to pilots. The pilot in a real aircraft feels the forces acting on control surfaces through cockpit controls. During simulation, these forces are produced by CLS actuators. For this reason, CLS must behave exactly like the aircraft control hardware, statically and dynamically. The fidelity of the force feel simulation is a key criterion for flight simulation certification. It is also important that a CLS design is reconfigurable and modular such that it conforms easily to different simulator models and simulations of different aircrafts. The work also includes system integration of a research simulator for testing purposes. Design and selection of hardware and software components of the CLS and the simulator are presented along with the overall system architecture.

This work focuses on the development of a methodology for the complete reconstruction of the 3D geometry of a concrete bridge. 3D scanning technology was selected as the most apt to the task as it provides very detailed geometrical informations. A dedicated carriage system for a compact and lightweight laser scanner has been designed and built as a first prototype to be used on laboratory as well as future on-field tests. A first assessment of the design constraints has been carried out, based on the general goal of implementing a system able to be used with existing inspection vehicles with minimal modifications. The specific electronic system for management and control of the carriage system and the management of the associated tracking system has been also designed and realized. Some preliminary tests have been performed at Politecnico di Milano University campus to assess the viability and analyze the performance of the early design choices.

Sensor nodes are innovative devices that can perform measurements on a large scale and communicate over a network. One of the most significant problems regarding the sensor nodes is how to supply power to a large number of devices. For this reason, they greatly benefit from energy harvesting techniques which can provide energy recovered directly from the environment. A study of the design and the modeling of an autonomous sensor node, powered by a vibrational piezoelectric harvester, is reported here. Subject of the first part of the analysis is a piezoelectric bimorph: an analytical model is proposed in order to estimate the performance, giving particular attention to the optimal mechanical and electrical parameters. The model is then validated through experimental tests, assuming different kinds of real scenarios. Then the results are used to design a device that can benefit from this harvester. In particular a wireless sensor node is developed, for which the energy scavenging ensures energy autonomy and long-term operability. Thanks to a particular harvesting circuit and opportune algorithms for energy management, this system is able to extract energy from vibrations and store it into capacitors. The embedded accelerometer and a wireless module make this device ideal for Structure Health Monitoring purposes.

The repeated failure of Agitator in the Phosphoric acid Reactor in MPC was a major incident causing high downtime and production loss. While doing the root cause analysis of this “Class A” incident many causes not considered in normal agitator design were considered and analyzed. This paper lists such special cases and the proposed solutions and calculations to be incorporated in design of critical systems with varying process fluid parameters for different applications. Agitators constitute almost 20% of rotating equipment in a fertilizer and similar plants but are given less priority compared to others until a severe failure happens. There are no standard analytical design criteria for agitator design due to large variations and uncertainties in the process conditions in the reactor or tank. Most designs are left to the EPC companies using preformatted design models based on experimental results, on the combination of few variables. (Like Power Number, Pumping Number, Geometrical ratios etc.) However, none these models considers the fluid flow conditions which changes inside the reactor which affects the agitator design in many ways like Localized flow, non-homogenous fluid, solid contents, Liquid additives or recycling etc. which can cause much higher alternating forces and bending stresses at the joints holding the blades causing fatigue and other failures. This paper gives more quantitative design calculations to determine the forces acting on the agitator and blades as listed above which can be used in similar application even with different fluids.

The paper proposes a brief overview of the commonly adopted approaches for the experimental study of scuffing on gears for advanced applications and suggests a new methodology for the design of an experimental campaign aimed at determining the scuffing resistance of an innovative aerospace gear material. The present study has been carried out by AM Testing srl in collaboration with Avio Aero within the VHLGM ( Validation of High Load Capacity Gear Material ) project of the Clean Sky Sustainable and Green Engines framework.

Compared to a conventional vapor compression refrigeration system, a magnetocaloric refrigerator has many advantages, such as potentially high efficiency, low vibration and avoidance of refrigerants that deplete the ozone layer and cause the greenhouse effect. As a main component of the active magnetic regenerative refrigerator, the regenerator plays an important role in the cooling performance and efficiency of the whole system. However, the regenerator design is constrained by several external factors, such as the geometry of the magnetic field source and flow resistance. In this work, novel regenerators with complex flow arrangements, providing high performance at lower pressure drop, are investigated. Correspondingly a one dimensional model is presented and comparative studies between novel and conventional regenerators are carried out by simulation. The effect of regenerator geometries and different flow arrangements on the cooling performance, pressure drop and efficiency are investigated. In particular, the effect of so-called dead volume on the performance of a regenerator is researched.

Generally product lifecycle management (PLM) is characterized as an integrated management process of product information and related processes across the product lifecycle. PLM affects development time of product and optimize the cooperation of all components of the development process of products. Therefore attention has to be paid to this fact in production and research. Processes across the entire product lifecycle management are complex and it is difficult to support various levels of cooperation. It is necessary to identify technological solutions to facilitate the implementation of PLM systems into processes of product life cycle. In the paper is presented derivation of technology solutions for PLM (product lifecycle information modeling and management, product lifecycle knowledge management, design chain management, product lifecycle process management, product trade exchange, collaborative product service and product lifecycle portal for stakeholder, developer, customer, manufacturer and supplier) and applications of advanced information technologies for implementation of PLM. In the paper is also described the technological solution which was developed to meet industrial requirements and obtain long term sustainability in today’s highly competitive market. Currently, still only a few small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) uses real benefits that PLM offers. The small and medium-sized enterprises also try to implement those technologies but, despite their flexibility, they have difficulties in structuring and exchanging information. Enterprises also have problems in creating data models for structuring and sharing product information, especially in the context of extended enterprises. It is caused by several factors that may have information, technical and financial character. Article refers and highlights the benefits that PLM brings by extension of PLM into so called “Closed-Loop Lifecycle Management (CL2M)”. It also describes the major barriers to the implementation of PLM in SME and propose possible solutions.

Heat advection by groundwater flow is known to improve the performance of ground heat exchangers (GHEs), but the effect of groundwater advection on performance is not yet fully understood. This study examined how parameters related to groundwater flow, such as aquifer thickness, porosity, lithology, and groundwater flow velocity, affect the performance of a borehole GHE. Under the thin-aquifer condition (10 m, or 10% of the entire GHE length in this study), groundwater flow velocity had the greatest effect on heat flux. With a groundwater flow velocity of at least 10 −4 m/s through a low-porosity aquifer filled with gravel with high thermal conductivity, the heat flux of a GHE was as much as 60% higher than that of a non-aquifer GHE. If the aquifer is as thick as 50 m (50% of the entire GHE length), the high thermal conductivity of gravel doubled the heat flux of the GHE with a groundwater flow velocity of at least 10 −5 m/s. Thus, not only groundwater flow velocity, but also aquifer thickness and thermal conductivity were important factors. However, groundwater seldom flows at such high velocities, and porosity, gravel size, and aquifer thickness vary regionally. Thus, in the design of ground source heat pump systems, it is not appropriate to assume a large groundwater effect.

In this paper, a new methodology for the development of the dynamic formulation for a hybrid parallel robot is introduced. The robot includes a tripod that is serially connected on top of a hexapod in order to increase its overall workspace, while maintaining sufficient accuracy and stiffness in motion. The robot will have applications involving gripping and manipulation of large aerospace components such as a wingbox structures and panels. The dynamic formulation of the system, based on Newton-Euler and inverse kinematic equations, is presented by identifying the position vector of the actuators during motion when the system follows certain point and orientation in space. Based on the velocity and acceleration, calculated by taking derivative of the motion equation, the force on the actuator is identified. Since the position vectors of all tripod joints can change through motion, the above methodology offers less complex calculations compared with the existing methods such as using forward dynamics. A MATLAB software was developed to create a set of comprehensive dynamic equations for the overall control system design. An experimental physical hybrid robot was built in order to verify the theoretical formulations. Force sensors, connected at each actuator joint, were used to obtain the applied force on each actuator through a number of given motions. The applied forces subsequently assist to calculate the acceleration of the moving platform. The experimental actuators’ force results compare well with the proposed theoretical formulation.

The study deals with the compensation of gravity loads in closed-loop mechanisms as a possible strategy for enhancing their working performance. This work focuses on the Orthoglide 5-axis , a prototypal parallel robot for milling operation, characterized by linear-delta architecture with two further serial DOFs. Starting from a general theory formerly proposed by the authors, gravity compensation of the mechanism is analytically carried out. The statically balanced Orthoglide 5-axis can be obtained by installing on one leg a proper set of extension springs and a simple additional linkage. A feasible design solution for developing the device in practice is presented. The proposed balancing device can be implemented with minor modifications of the original robot design, thus appearing a profitable solution to be possibly extended to other machinery with similar architecture.

This article presents an optimization framework that is used to optimize a hydro-pneumatic balancing cylinder for industrial robots. A balancing cylinder is a device that is used to balance the gravitational torque of one of the main axes of a high-loaded serial industrial robot. The design of components for an industrial robot is multi-disciplinary, since disciplines such as multi-body dynamics, drive train design and robot control are needed. The design process is also multi-objective since the functionality of the balancing cylinder should be optimal, while its size and cost should be minimal. The article therefore also contains a discussion about multi-disciplinary and multi-objective optimization of complex products.

There has been increased interest in using problem-based pedagogies to enable design engineering undergraduates obtain a more relevant learning experience. Furthermore organizations, such as Engineers Ireland, are calling for graduate engineers to have more rounded skills in the areas of presentation, communication and team-work. However some scholars argue that design “is hard to learn and harder still to teach”. This paper provides an example of using student-industry collaboration in the teaching of product design to Mechanical Engineering final year students at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) based in Ireland. The work proposes to make an original contribution by directly interfacing with industry in order to simulate a real-life client-designer interaction for students. Finally we argue that this work contributes new insights to the debate on “pedagogies of engagement”.

This paper deals with the design and testing of a miniature CVT prototype. The CVT under study is a special toroidal-type, which is able to maintain a quasi-constant power at the output element by automatically changing the transmission ratio function of the torque applied to the output element. The power-transmitting elements of the device have been built by modifying rolling element bearings.

Welding is used in fabrication of structures ranging from small components to large and important structures. One of the important problems associated with welded structures is development of residual stresses and deformations due to welding temperature. In fact when structures are manufactured by welding, a non-uniform temperature distribution is produced. This distribution initially causes a rapid thermal expansion followed by a thermal contraction in the weld and surrounding areas, thus generating inhomogeneous plastic deformation and residual stresses in the weldment when it is cooled. High residual stresses in regions close to the weld may promote brittle fracture, fatigue, or stress corrosion cracking. Meanwhile, distortion in base plate may reduce the buckling strength of structural members. Therefore estimating the magnitude and distribution of welding residual stresses and distortion are necessary for achieving the safest design. In the present work an elastic-plastic finite element model considering temperature dependent mechanical properties is used to evaluate residual stresses. In this study a parametric model is adopted and the elements birth and death are used in single-pass butt welded joint to simulate the weld filler variation with time. Then numerical results are compared with experimental data.

The process of conceptualizing innovative designs is multifaceted and inherently difficult to perform successfully. It is largely characterized by the designer’s capability to find solutions to design problems beyond existing norms. General agreement suggests this process should entail a holistic approach for conceiving new ideas, which are expanded, assessed, developed, refined, and implemented as part of an iterative problem solving cycle. Suitable design procedures and skills are therefore vital as most of the final cost of a product or system is committed within the early conceptualization stage. This paper builds on engineering design techniques previously developed by the author, namely the Design Process Framework in conjunction with the Concept Assessment Taxonomy (CAT) at the heart of concept development [1]. The main emphasis of the work presented herein is the application of said framework to a new design challenge in order to further test and demonstrate its practicality in a real world context: the conceptual development of an innovative, modular, hybrid-electric powertrain for two-wheelers.

Although it is well known that the flow entering a turbine of a turbocharger engine is highly unsteady, engine manufacturers prefer to use turbine performance predictions that are based on steady-state performance maps, which inherently lead to inaccuracies in the turbine’s behavior and mismatches between turbocharger turbines and engines. The reason for this preference is due to the turbocharger turbine design software that are generally available to engine manufacturers being based on and compatible with steady-state performance maps and this fact led researchers to investigate how the inaccuracies of this steady-state treatment of the turbine can be alleviated. To this effect, this paper investigates how modelling techniques on Ricardo Wave, a 1D gas dynamics engine simulation software, gives rise to more accurate turbine swallowing curve predictions using steady-state maps. In particular, the turbine being investigated is that of Szymko [1], which is a twin nozzleless mixed-flow turbine that is being powered by a 10 litre, 6 cylinder 4 stroke diesel engine with an operating range from 800–2000 RPM for which 800, 1200 and 1600 engine RPM relate to 40, 60 and 80Hz exhaust gas pulse frequencies at the turbine. The main investigation in this paper is to demonstrate the capability of the engine simulation software to deal with unsteady flows and specifically to show the significant effect of accounting for the volute design in the single turbine wheel entry model. The data obtained in this investigation were compared with those of Szymko [1], which offered a validated set of data to compare against.

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies has brought unprecedented freedom to the fabrication of functional parts with high complex, multi-material and gradient density structure. However, currently only traditional design methods are available for AM design process, which do not take full advantage of AM capabilities. Therefore, a new design method with the consideration of all aspects of AM advantages is urgently in need. A detailed literature review on traditional design methods is presented with focused attention on the potential of using these methods to design functional parts for additive manufacturing processes. Based on thorough understanding and comparison of current structure design methods, a new design approach that integrates topological and functional optimizations for AM products is presented. With this method, an essential link is established between topological optimization result and various functional parameters of complex structure. Parts can be designed in multi levels for multi functions simultaneously. This design method provides an important foundation for future research on designing AM products with improved multiple functions and optimized topology.

Suppressing or limiting the differential action of the differential mechanism is the mostly adopted technique to avoid the skidding of a driving wheel of a vehicle riding on a poorly adherent surface. The devices carrying out this function unbalance the traction force distribution in the differential, generating a yaw torque acting on the vehicle as a secondary effect. If the unbalancing action is electronically controlled, this yaw torque can be used to affect the attitude of car as a torque vectoring technique. In this paper, a purpose built differential is presented and its technical features are highlighted, including the electrohydraulic actuation. Moreover, its torque vectoring capabilities are discussed, basing on the numerical simulation campaign performed deploying this device in a 7 DOFs model of a race car with low ground effect. The results of these simulations are compared with the behavior of the same vehicle equipped with a common passive locking differential, to show that the proposed one and its control logic (which relies on only measurable inputs) are able of improving the handling of the vehicle, in terms of both vehicle stability and linearity with the driver’s inputs. Therefore, this system could be considered as a completion of the common ESC (“Electronic Stability Control) systems to control the vehicle attitude when using the brake system is an inefficient solution.

The research project presented in this paper investigates the architectonic and constructive potential of computational design and digital fabrication in steel construction. The original contribution of this project is the development of a digital design system that solves reciprocal interlinked structures through algorithmic design and iterative processes. The system is implemented with parametric definitions that optimize the mass-customization process for laser tube technology. In order to validate the assumptions, a mock-up has been realized out of stainless steel elements. The tubes are cut by a laser-tube robotic system, then manually assembled.