Papers by Keyword: Productivity

Abstract: The article investigates energy consumption during the drying stage of iron ore pellets, a critical process in ensuring energy efficiency in mining and metallurgical production. Particular attention is given to the influence of charge material moisture content and the application of SAS (SAS) on the specific consumption of energy resources, namely electricity and natural gas. Industrial trials were conducted at one of the leading mining and processing enterprises in the Kryvyi Rih region, focusing on the transition from the baseline (in-house) concentrate to raw material from another regional enterprise, pre-treated with non-ionic SAS. It was established that the increased dispersity and hydrophilicity of the new raw material concentrate necessitate additional moistening of the charge, significantly affecting thermal regimes and energy expenditures during drying. Based on collected experimental data, regression models were developed to quantitatively predict the specific consumption of electricity and gas as a function of technological parameters. The primary factors influencing energy consumption were identified as the moisture content of the charge and the daily throughput of the drying unit. An increase in specific electricity consumption by 17.73% and natural gas consumption by 33.25% was recorded, accompanied by a simultaneous reduction in productivity by 9.55%. The findings are relevant for specialists in energy management, electrical engineering, and thermal analysis in metallurgy, particularly in the development of strategies for optimizing energy consumption under industrial conditions.

Abstract: The domestic construction industry continues to face persistent productivity challenges, often leading to increased project costs and schedule delays. Despite considerable advances in digital technologies, the practical implementation of digital solutions at construction sites remains limited, due to insufficient consideration of realistic working conditions and user needs. In this study, a digital supervision system optimized for mobile devices was developed to digitize core supervision processes, including inspection request confirmation, inspection execution, result notification, and access to supervision records. Investigation was adopted, involving experts with over 15 years of field experience, to systematically evaluate the usability and field applicability of the system. The assessment focused on four key domains: physical accessibility and usability, improvement of work efficiency, ease of learning and accessibility, and reflection of existing work practices. Both importance and performance were rated for each domain, and the gaps were analyzed to identify priority areas for improvement. The results revealed that the integration with existing workflows was the most critical factor for successful adoption, yet also exhibited the greatest performance gap. While the system excelled in data management and retrieval, there remained a strong need for further automation and enhanced user guidance, particularly in inspection execution. All participants expressed a high intention to use the system in the future, underscoring its potential value despite current limitations. This study highlights the necessity of user-centered approaches in digital system development and provides practical recommendations for advancing the digital transformation of construction supervision. Future research should expand the sample size and construction types to validate and refine these findings.

Abstract: Considering the dearth and limited supply of potable water for daily consumption globally, developing a desalination technique to produce water sufficient for the need has become imperative. This study examines the improvement of freshwater productivity in a single-slope solar still by incorporating a solar preheating system. The proposed design utilizes solar still distillation to preheat the feed water before it enters the distillation basin. This approach aims to increase the temperature gradient between the water surface and the glass cover, thereby accelerating the evaporation and condensation process. Experimental evaluations were conducted under varying climatic conditions and flow rates, with and without the preheater. We note that the productivity has improved at each flow rate as follows: at a flow rate of 1 L/min, the improvement percentage reached 96% (CLISS:130 g/hr and CLIPSS:170 g/hr), at a flow rate of 2 L/min, the improvement percentage reached 73% (CLISS:180 g/hr and CLIPSS: 220 g/hr), while the improvement percentage at 3 L/min became 61% (CLISS:240 g/hr and CLIPSS:290 g/hr.), and at a flow rate of 4 L/min, it reached 64% (CLISS:280 g/hr. and CLIPSS: 320 g/hr.), and up to a flow rate of 8 liters/minute, the productivity improvement percentage between the two systems reached 31% (CLISS:310 g/hr. and CLIPSS:340 g/hr.). The results showed that the preheated system significantly improved solar thermal performance and daily production, especially during the early morning and late afternoon hours. Compared to a conventional design, the preheated system achieved an overall productivity increase of 25% to 35%.

Abstract: It is common practice for cooling water systems in power plants to include a sludge tank to collect sludge and slurry. This research focuses on the development of a model that can be used as an aid in the design, operation, and modification of a settling tank, and the simulation of a sludge tank design in flow-through mode as a settling tank for suspended solids from cooling water systems. The purpose of this study is to investigate and understand the use of a sedimentation tank for cooling water system treatment to minimize SS through simulation. The research methodology was to determine, under laboratory conditions, the particle settling capacity and clarification performance in a settling tank: settling time, sedimentation rate, settleability, and productivity for a settling tank. The granulometric composition of the suspended solids was investigated to determine the circularity factor, the sphericity of the different types of particles, and the solidity of the suspended solids. Thus, the introduction of water treatment with a sedimentation tank with the geometric parameters used in this study will make it possible to remove up to 560m³ of suspended solids per quarter from the cooling water system.

Abstract: Currently, one of the most used electrodes are brass wire electrodes, which, thanks to their good electrical conductivity, suitable mechanical properties and acceptable performance, can meet the high demands placed on the cutting tool. A special type are coated wire electrodes, which include a range of specifics regarding machining efficiency and the quality of the machined surface. Therefore, the aim of the research was to identify these parameters based on the experiments carried out in connection with the quality of the machined surface and the productivity of the electro-erosive process in the machining of high-speed steels. The influence of a standard brass multipurpose wire electrode and two brass wire electrodes coated with a double layer of gamma diffuse zinc and zinc alloy on the quality of the machined surface and the productivity of the EDM process was investigated.

Abstract: Hormonal regulation of plant physiological processes, including use of phytohormone-based drugs and modifiers of their activity, offers a sustainable approach to enhancing plant productivity. The aim of our work was to reveal the features of amaranth ontogenesis under the influence of auxin growth stimulants. We assessed the effects of indoleacetic, indolylbutyric, and naphthylacetic acids on germination processes, development, and productivity of amaranth plants. It was established that the use of growth stimulants increased the germination energy by 7-17%, seed germination of amaranth by 5-9%, and also promoted the development of more vigorous plants, 3-10% taller compared to the control, depending on the variety. The use of growth regulators contributed to the optimization of crop productivity, manifested in changes in the crop structure. These results demonstrate the efficacy of synthetic auxin analogs in enhancing the growth and yield of research amaranth varieties.

Abstract: The technological advancements in laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/ L-PBF) processing has led to the potential in utilizing larger powder bed layer thicknesses aimed at increasing the productivity. Moreover, by increasing the layer thickness, coarser powder particle size distribution (PSD) may be employed, further improving cost-effectiveness of the process. This drives the shift towards a more sustainable process chain, while reinforcing the business cases in additive manufacturing (AM). In this study, the effect of larger layer thickness (i.e., 90 µm) using recommended PSD of 15 to 45 µm, as well as feedstock powder with a coarser PSD (i.e., 45 to 90 µm) on the surface characteristics, heat treated microstructure, and mechanical properties of Ti64 components is evaluated. The results were then compared with that of 30 and 60 µm layer thicknesses, using a standard PSD of 15 to 45 µm.

Abstract: High productivity and product quality are sought after by manufacturers due to the increasing demand for and use of plastic items. Injection molding is the most famous method used to make majority of the plastic items. Injection molding is however known for its lengthy production durations and poor product quality. This study shows the optimization of multiple design characteristics of circular cross-sectioned conformal cooling channels in response to reducing production time while improving product quality, at the same time, using Taguchi design-of-experiments approach. Diameter, depth, and pitch were the three main design variables examined. A Computer Aided Design software was used to create three dimensional designs and to conduct simulations. The responses obtained from simulations were time for cooling to ejection temperature, overall product shrinkage, extents of warpage and dimensions of sink marks. These output parameters were taken as input variables for multi-response optimization utilizing the method of Taguchi Grey Relational evaluation. The outcome obtained revealed that the minimum design variables resulted in the concurrent minimization of all responses for the particular geometry studied. Study of variance showed that the diameter to be the design factor that most significantly influenced all the responses simultaneously. Additionally, it was shown that conformal cooling channels yield better production outcomes than straight cooling channels whereby they gave the minimum cooling time and product defects. The optimized conformal cooling channels, when compared with straight cooling channels, reduced the time to cool the product, product shrinkage, dimension of warpage, and extent of sink marks by 29.35%, 5.99%, 19.77%, and 38.85% respectively.

Abstract: Automated design of operations performed on turning machines is difficult due to the lack of digital twins that allow to digitally represent tool parameters and variants of their placement on the positions of the machine. The aim of the work is to develop digital twins for the automated design of operations performed on lathes based on the performance criterion. On the basis of application of digital twins, algorithms of automated design of operations performed on turning machines for different types of production have been developed. The results of the research have been realized in CAD of operations performed on lathe multi-spindle horizontal automatic machines and are used at the South Ural State University and Azerbaijan Technical University.

Abstract: In the work, the design of the tool – boring bar for parallel machining of conical surfaces and threads in coupling-type parts with opposite directions, same inclination, coaxial conical surfaces and threads is given, and their generalized design features are presented for the machining of couplings of different types and sizes. With the application of the designed tool - boring bar to machining of inner surfaces of couplings, their machining accuracy, especially accuracy of coaxiality of threads, thus the load-carrying capacity of the couplings increases, the technological cost of their production is reduced, and the efficiency of their use is ensured.