Measured Insulation Improvement Potential for Ten U.S. Army Buildings

2008 ◽  
pp. 202-202-19
Author(s):  
SN Flanders
Keyword(s):  
Improvement Potential

Industrial benchmarking for competitive advantage

1999 ◽  
Vol 18 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 287-296
Author(s):  
Bjørn Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Improvement Potential ◽  
Basic Understanding ◽  
Different Types

This paper deals with several different aspects of the concept of benchmarking in order to give the audience a basic understanding of what benchmarking is, how it is done, and what it can give in terms of improvement results. The main issues covered are definitions of benchmarking and explanations of the different types of benchmarking that exist and what implications these have, both in terms of improvement potential, difficulties, and suitability. Furthermore, ethical and legal aspects linked to benchmarking and the benchmarking wheel, a benchmarking process model explaining the phases and steps of the benchmarking study. A relatively large portion of the paper will be devoted to explaining how to carry out a benchmarking study and various pitfalls that might be encountered. The remainder of the paper will discuss the improvement results that companies that have used benchmarking actually have achieved. These range from phenomenal successes to downright failures, and the paper will explore conclusions derived from research on the topic.

scholarly journals Fuzzy Evaluation Model of Process Improvement Capability with Costs Consideration

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 4344
Author(s):  
Kuen-Suan Chen ◽  
Shui-Chuan Chen ◽  
Ting-Hsin Hsu ◽  
Min-Yi Lin ◽  
Chih-Feng Wu
Keyword(s):  
Process Improvement ◽  
Quality Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Fuzzy Evaluation ◽  
Sampling Errors ◽  
Capability Index ◽  
Testing Method ◽  
Improvement Potential ◽  
Testing Accuracy

The Taguchi capability index, which reflects the expected loss and the yield of a process, is a useful index for evaluating the quality of a process. Several scholars have proposed a process improvement capability index based on the expected value of the Taguchi loss function as well as the corresponding cost of process improvement. There have been a number of studies using the Taguchi capability index to develop suppliers’ process quality evaluation models, whereas models for evaluating suppliers’ process improvement potential have been relatively lacking. Thus, this study applies the process improvement capability index to develop an evaluation model of the supplier’s process improvement capability, which can be provided to the industry for application. Besides, owing to the current need to respond quickly, coupled with cost considerations and the limits of technical capabilities, the sample size for sampling testing is usually not large. Consequently, the evaluation model of the process improvement capability developed in this study adopts a fuzzy testing method based on the confidence interval. This method reduces the risk of misjudgment due to sampling errors and improves the testing accuracy because it can incorporate experts and their accumulated experiences.

Lignin-based foams as insulation materials: a review

Holzforschung ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vebi Mimini ◽  
Vasken Kabrelian ◽  
Karin Fackler ◽  
Hubert Hettegger ◽  
Antje Potthast ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Terrestrial Plants ◽  
Insulation Materials ◽  
Improvement Potential ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Application Potential ◽  
Large Application ◽  
Low Performance ◽  
Technical Lignins

AbstractThe bulk use of renewable polymers is currently largely limited to cellulose and, less significantly, hemicelluloses. Technical lignins are only applied in novel materials to a rather limited extent, although bulk lignin utilization is a worldwide research object. Native lignins, which belong to the second or third most abundant biopolymers of terrestrial plants, are mostly used in the form of technical lignins from wood pulping processes; they are employed in low-performance sectors or simply burnt for the generation of energy. Technical lignins are available in huge quantities and have a large application potential, mainly in areas where their aromatic nature is of relevance. This review presents the state of the art of foamed lignin-based polymers (lignofoams) as high-performance insulation materials. In the focus of this presentation are the fundamental foaming principles and influential agents that have an improvement potential concerning the matrix interactions between technical lignins (including lignosulfonates) and a copolymer in foam composites. The different approaches for foam preparation are critically compared. In general, the reviewed papers disclose that the lignin part in foams should be less than 37%. There are significant difficulties to improve the properties of lignofoams, and thus intensive research is needed to find better formulations and new technologies.

Exergy and Energy Analysis, Drying Kinetics and Mathematical Modeling of White Mulberry Drying Process

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hosain Darvishi ◽  
Mohammad Zarein ◽  
Saied Minaei ◽  
Hamid Khafajeh
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Modeling ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Specific Energy ◽  
Microwave Power ◽  
Specific Energy Consumption ◽  
Drying Kinetics ◽  
Improvement Potential ◽  
White Mulberry

Abstract The energy and exergy analysis, drying characteristics and mathematical modeling of the thin-layer drying kinetics of white mulberry using microwave drying were investigated. Results indicated that values of exergy efficiency (33.63–57.08%) were higher than energy efficiency (31.85–55.56%). Specific energy consumption increased with increasing microwave power while improvement potential decreased. The specific energy consumption and improvement potential varied from 3.97 to 6.73 MJ/kg water and 0.71 to 2.97 MJ/kg water, respectively. Also, energy efficiency decreased with decrease in moisture content and microwave power level. The best exergy and energy aspect was obtained by drying at 100 W microwave power. Drying took place mainly in warming up, constant rate and falling rate periods. The Page model showed the best fit to experimental drying data. Effective diffusivity increased with decreasing moisture content and increasing microwave power. It varied from 1.06 × 10−8 to 3.45 × 10−8 m2/s, with an energy activation of 3.986 W/g.

Study on the performance of gas foil journal bearings with bump-type shim foil

2020 ◽  
pp. 135065012096900
Author(s):  
Hongyang Hu ◽  
Ming Feng ◽  
Tianming Ren
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Stability ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Practical Interest ◽  
Journal Bearings ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Foil Thickness ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Improvement Potential ◽  
Stiffness Model ◽  
The Stability

The upscaling of turbomachinery using gas foil journal bearings (GFJBs) is limited because of their limited load capacity and dynamic stability. The improvement potential of shim foil inserted under the bump foil of such bearings is investigated in terms of better bearing performance. The arch height difference Δ hb between the shim foil and bump foil can be zero or not to attain the different effect. By considering the local hardening structural stiffness and an Initial installation clearance due to the shim foil, the static and dynamic characteristics of the novel bearing were calculated through the finite difference method (FDM) and perturbation method, respectively. In the analysis, a modified bump stiffness model considering the variable foil thickness was established, and a 2 D thick plate model was adopted for the top foil. The characteristics of novel GFJB with and without preload were compared with the traditional bearing. The results indicate that the load capacity and direct stiffness of the novel GFJB with shim foil can be increased largely, especially when there is a preload (Δ hb≠0). And the improvement is reinforced as the increment of Δ hb. Moreover, the stability threshold speed ( STS) of rotor supported by the novel GFJBs is enhanced by the preload, which means better stability. In addition, an air compressor test has also been conducted to verify the improved supporting performance of novel bearings. Based on this study it is convinced that the addition of shim foil under a GFJB's bump foil can be of practical interest in the quest of enhanced load capacity and dynamic stability. Moreover, the installation of shim foil is not affected by the working environment and could even be retrofited on the existing GFJBs.

scholarly journals Investigation of the Impact Factors on the Optimal Intermediate Temperature in a Dual Transcritical CO2 System with a Dedicated Transcritical CO2 Subcooler

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulong Song ◽  
Haidan Wang ◽  
Feng Cao
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Models ◽  
Intermediate Temperature ◽  
Impact Factors ◽  
Outlet Temperature ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Pinch Point ◽  
Improvement Potential ◽  
Water Feed ◽  
Performance Deterioration ◽  
The Impact

As a natural fluid with superior environment advantages, CO2 is used to constitute a dual transcritical system to reduce performance deterioration under high gas-cooler outlet temperature. Aiming at the system configuration, improvement potential, and optimization, the proposed system is deeply analyzed, and corresponding coupling models are presented in detail. First, the veracity of simulation models is completely verified by comparing with previous measurements. Then, the existence of the optimal intermediate temperature is validated, while the optimal values are found to increase with the augmentation in ambient and water-feed temperatures. Moreover, the negative effects of the pinch point on the heat transfer inside the gas cooler could be greatly reduced by using the dual gas cooler. Finally, a predictive correlation for optimal intermediate temperature determination with ambient and water-feed temperature as independent variables is proposed, which provides a theoretical basis for the proposed system to realize efficient control in the industrialization process.

How can our cars become less polluting? An assessment of the environmental improvement potential of cars

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 409-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Leduc ◽  
Ignazio Mongelli ◽  
Andreas Uihlein ◽  
Françoise Nemry
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Improvement ◽  
Improvement Potential
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