State of the Art in Separation Processes for Alternative Working Fluids in Clean and Efficient Power Generation

Gas turbines must now comply with much stricter emission control regulations. In fact, to combat the greenhouse effect, regulatory authorities have drastically reduced allowable emission levels. For example, in less than 12 years, the United States’ Clean Air Act issued the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), which tightened the NOx emission margin of natural gas combustion (from 75 ppm to 10 ppm). On the other hand, despite those efforts, the high demand for energy produced by fossil-fueled gas turbines in power plants has resulted in dramatic increases in anthropogenic CO2 and NOx emitted by gas combustors. Most systems responsible for these undesirable emissions are directly linked to power generation, with gas turbines playing a pivotal role. Yet, gas turbines are still widely used in power plants and will continue to meet the growing demand. Therefore, sequestration and separation techniques such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Air Separation Units (ASU) are essential to reduce CO2 and NOx emissions while allowing large amounts of power to be generated from these systems. This paper provides an in-depth examination of the current state of the art in alternative working fluids utilized in the power generation industry (i.e., gas turbines, combustion). In addition, this paper highlights the recent contribution of integrating separation techniques, such as air separation, steam methane reforming, and water-gas shifting, to the power generation industry to facilitate a continuous and adequate supply of alternative working fluids.

Impact of Physical Factors of Workplace Environment on Workers Performance in Industry

Workers’ performance and efficiency are dependent on their workplace facilities. The present study attempts to identify the six physical factors of the workplace environment: furniture and equipment design, air quality, temperature, sanitation, lighting and noise. Workers' feedback is evaluated by using 5 scale Likert method and it is found that found workplace temperature is most critical for workers' performance. The purpose of this study is to identify workers' impressions about their workplace environment and provide a better understanding to the managers about improvement. Industry-level emphasis on these factors can improve workers' performance standards and production quality. Previous work performance studies are not focused on hygiene and sanitation facility but due to the corona pandemic situation sanitation concern has been raised. This study aims to explore the relationship of these factors with gender and work experience of the workers. Variation in each group has provided an understanding of the basic demand of each type of worker. Journal of Engineering Science 12(3), 2021, 57-66

Railway Infrastructure Asset Management Modelling

Railway infrastructure comprises a large collection of diverse and complex systems and structures. Many of them are aging assets and require a significant budget to deliver the maintenance to ensure the required safety and service performance standards. With such a large amount of money spent each year to maintain and renew the network assets, small percentage savings can amount to substantial sums of money. There is therefore a huge incentive to better understand the degradation that assets experience and how these can be effectively managed through the implementation of efficient maintenance strategies. Track and bridges are the most expensive assets to keep in the required condition, and this chapter provides a method to analyse their degradation and build Petri net models to predict the future state of the asset, the number of each maintenance activity which are expected to be undertaken, and their costs experienced by following a particular strategy. Utilising these models enables the quality of the asset management decisions made to be improved and optimised.

Exploring the Black Box of Managing Total Rewards for Older Professionals in the Canadian Financial Services Sector

This study extends our knowledge about the management of older employees in the sector of financial services, which faces enormous transformational pressures (e.g., emergence of artificial intelligence, digital services). Based on the black box model of human resource management, we investigate how executives at 16 major financial institutions manage their total rewards to motivate their older professionals to stay at work longer. Top management’s views towards older professionals underlie a firm’s culture or climate, and more precisely, the extent of the perception that they are a strategic resource that needs focused management. Across firms, such adaptation (or lack thereof) is made through the following total rewards components: (1) flexibility in working time and place of work, (2) hiring of retirees, (3) hiring or promotion of older professionals, (4) role adjustment, (5) responsibilities and performance standards, (6) monetary rewards, benefits, and (7) recognition, succession planning, and support for retirement planning or preparation. The black box model should be used in future research to understand which reward components work best in which contextsto motivate older workers to stay at work longer.

Factory 5G: A Review of Industrial-Centric Features and Deployment Options

<p>Fine-grained and wide-scale connectivity is a precondition to fully digitalize the manufacturing industry. Driven by this need, new technologies such as time-sensitive networking (TSN), fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks, and industrial Internet-of-things (IIoT) are being applied to industrial communication networks to reach the desired connectivity spectrum. With TSN emerging as a wired networking solution, converging information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) data streams, 5G is upscaling its access and core networks to function as an independent or a transparent TSN carrier in demanding OT use-cases. In this article, we discuss the drivers for future industrial wireless systems and review the role of 5G and its industrial-centric evolution towards meeting the strict performance standards of factories. We also elaborate on the 5G deployment options, including frequency spectrum allocation and private networks, to help the factory owners discern various dimensions of solution space and concerns to integrate 5G in industrial networks.</p><br>

Factory 5G: A Review of Industrial-Centric Features and Deployment Options

<p>Fine-grained and wide-scale connectivity is a precondition to fully digitalize the manufacturing industry. Driven by this need, new technologies such as time-sensitive networking (TSN), fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks, and industrial Internet-of-things (IIoT) are being applied to industrial communication networks to reach the desired connectivity spectrum. With TSN emerging as a wired networking solution, converging information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) data streams, 5G is upscaling its access and core networks to function as an independent or a transparent TSN carrier in demanding OT use-cases. In this article, we discuss the drivers for future industrial wireless systems and review the role of 5G and its industrial-centric evolution towards meeting the strict performance standards of factories. We also elaborate on the 5G deployment options, including frequency spectrum allocation and private networks, to help the factory owners discern various dimensions of solution space and concerns to integrate 5G in industrial networks.</p><br>

O-BN03 Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration – Delivered within UK NHS Healthcare Framework

Background Cholelithiasis is a common problem in the UK affecting approximately 15% of the population. The incidence of synchronous choledocholithiasis is approximately 10-18%. The approach to bile duct stones is variable. Single stage bile duct exploration and cholecystectomy (LC) vs two stage ERCP followed by LC has been shown to be equally safe and as effective with reduced length of stay and number of procedures. We describe the results of a single, high volume centre performing laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) as an alternative to ERCP. Methods All patients undergoing LCBDE at our institution from November 2013 – July 2021 were included in the study. Data were collected from a prospectively maintained institutional database and data points corroborated by electronic patient data on hospital systems. Results 304 patients underwent LCBDE. Median age was 68 (range 21-94). Most cases were performed as urgent/emergency (n = 204, 67% vs n = 100, 33% elective). Bile duct stones were diagnosed pre-operatively in 32.8% cases (n = 100). Intra-operative diagnosis was made using laparoscopic ultrasound (n = 221, 73%), cholangiogram (n = 44, 15%) or combination of both (n = 31, 10%). Laparoscopic completion rate was 92%. Successful stone clearance rate was 98%. 56% were via choledochotomy and 44% trans-cystic. Incidence of bile leak was 4.9% (n = 15). Median length of stay was 2 days post-operatively (range 0–62). The rate of all complications was 13.2%. The rate of mortality was 0.66%. Conclusions This is the largest single case series of LCBDE published. This study has demonstrated that a safe and effective LCBDE service can be delivered within the NHS, with outcome data comparable to defined performance standards. With the evolution of specialist training, intra-operative imaging +/- LCBDE is likely to be the preferred modality of treatment.

Significance and Analysis of Time and Cost Overrun in the Construction Industry of Mumbai

The occurrence of time and cost overrun has become quite significant in a majority of construction projects in India, which is negatively affecting the GDP and potential development of nation. As per the statistics of project cost and duration in March 2012, 179 projects out of 555 projects of worth 150 Crore INR have been facing cost and time overrun and others are at the very high risk, with the total construction cost overrun of 1.23 Lakh Crore INR. (Times, 2013) The time and cost overrun of the construction projects results in overextension of the time and finance of the client which may lead to entire failure of the project, unfinished project, abandoned project or reduction in the performance standards of the project. This condition depicts the requirement of the study and analysis of the causes or risk factors for time and cost overrun, and solutions and strategies for mitigation of cost and time overrun. The present research involves the study and analysis of the various risk factors related to time and cost overrun; assessment of the overruns in the construction projects of Mumbai, India and other parts of the world; identification and analysis of the leading causes for time and cost overrun in the construction projects of Mumbai; identification of potential solutions; and preparation of an effective mitigation model for overruns in construction projects of Mumbai

Experimental Study of the Impact of Glass Beads on Adhesive Joint Strength and Its Failure Mechanism

The use of modern structural adhesives provides a lightweight, practical, and high strength joining methodology, which is increasingly being adopted in the automotive and aeronautical sectors, among many others. However, the strict mechanical performance standards that must be met in these applications require a constant search for ways of improving the adhesives’ behavior, which has led to the growing use of reinforcements as a way of improving the capabilities of bonded joints. The aim of this work was, thus, to analyze how the addition of inorganic fillers to the adhesive layer affects a joint’s strength and its failure mechanism. To this end, single lap joint specimens with mild steel and high strength steel substrates were tested, at quasi-static speeds, and with different amounts of glass microspheres reinforcing two different structural adhesives. The experimental results indicated that the addition of glass particles reduced the joint performance for both substrates under study. Furthermore, the failure pattern was found to evolve from adhesive failure to a cohesive type of failure as the amount of glass particles present in the adhesive was increased.

Path Planning Generator with Metadata through a Domain Change by GAN between Physical and Virtual Environments

Increasingly, robotic systems require a level of perception of the scenario to interact in real-time, but they also require specialized equipment such as sensors to reach high performance standards adequately. Therefore, it is essential to explore alternatives to reduce the costs for these systems. For example, a common problem attempted by intelligent robotic systems is path planning. This problem contains different subsystems such as perception, location, control, and planning, and demands a quick response time. Consequently, the design of the solutions is limited and requires specialized elements, increasing the cost and time development. Secondly, virtual reality is employed to train and evaluate algorithms, generating virtual data. For this reason, the virtual dataset can be connected with the authentic world through Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), reducing time development and employing limited samples of the physical world. To describe the performance, metadata information details the properties of the agents in an environment. The metadata approach is tested with an augmented reality system and a micro aerial vehicle (MAV), where both systems are executed in an authentic environment and implemented in embedded devices. This development helps to guide alternatives to reduce resources and costs, but external factors limit these implementations, such as the illumination variation, because the system depends on only a conventional camera.