Fundamental Study on Underwater Cutting of 50 mm-Thick Stainless Steel Plates Using a Fiber Laser for Nuclear Decommissioning

With nuclear power plants worldwide approaching their design lifespans, plans for decommissioning nuclear power plants are increasing, and interest in decommissioning technology is growing. Laser cutting, which is suitable for high-speed cutting in underwater environments and is amenable to remote control and automation, has attracted considerable interest. In this study, the effects of laser cutting were analyzed with respect to relevant parameters to achieve high-quality underwater laser cutting for the decommissioning of nuclear power plants. The kerf width, drag line, and roughness of the specimens during the high-power laser cutting of 50 mm-thick stainless steel in an underwater environment were analyzed based on key parameters (focal position, laser power, and cutting speed) to determine the conditions for satisfactory cutting surface quality. The results indicated that underwater laser cutting with a speed of up to 130 mm/min was possible at a focal position of 30 mm and a laser power of 9 kW; however, the best-quality cutting surface was obtained at a cutting speed of 30 mm/min.

Assessment of a Heterogeneous Environment

An approach to the assessment of a heterogeneous environment in accordance with the proposed concept of a heterogeneous environment is described. The classification of industrial heterogeneous media by technological feature is proposed. The processes described by the proposed approach include the process of metal cutting, surface plastic deformation, chemical-thermal treatment, formation of coatings, welding, most of the processes that change the level and gradient of hardness and internal stresses in the surface layer of the material. Application of the proposed principles makes it possible to find new directions in the study of such processes.

INNOVATIVE THREAD METHOD THROUGH CYLINDRICAL HOLES

Innovative activity in the field of engineering and technology, based on the use of best practices, contributes to scientific and technological progress in production. The latest projects in the field of technology significantly increase the technical and economic performance of enterprises. Innovative technical solutions of production nature significantly improve the structure and quality of production. Given the level of the proposed technological changes in the manufacture of threads in through holes, these innovations cover the field of combinatorial and partial. Today mechanical engineering is characterized by mechanization and automation of technological processes, a wide range of products of various parts. Among the non-detachable and detachable joints of parts, the threaded connection is the most common. Simplicity, reliability, the ability to adjust the force with which the conjugate surfaces come into contact, the possibility of repeated cycles of disassembly and assembly, etc., make this type of connection the most commonly used in mechanisms and machines of modern engineering. With the simplicity of the contact pair of threaded joints, where one of them contains the outer and the other the inner screw surface, during their manufacture there are problems that significantly inhibit production. The subject of research of this article is the solution of difficulties of manufacturing of an internal cut in through openings of small diameter by means of a tap. According to various sources, up to 80% of marriage is due to breaking taps. Studies by a group of scientists has found that more than 75% of taps break when the reverse (reverse) stroke of the tap, when the torque reaches its maximum value. The reverse scheme of production of a screw profile of a cutting surface by means of the mechanized devices and their alternative analogs, and also machines of drilling group, is offered.

Influence of TiN Inclusions and Segregation on the Delayed Cracking in NM450 Wear-Resistant Steel

High-strength, wear-resistant steel often suffers from delayed cracking after flame cutting. Delayed cracking can lead to extremely harmful sudden brittle fracture; therefore, it is necessary to study the formation of delayed cracking in high-strength steel. This work investigated the influence of TiN inclusions and segregation on the delayed cracking in NM450 wear-resistant steel by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and electron backscattered diffractometer methods. The results indicated that the delayed cracks originated from the segregation zones (SZs) containing multiple high-hardness segregation bands. The tensile strength of the SZ specimens was higher than that of non-segregation zone (NSZ) specimens, while the total elongation and reduction of area of the SZ specimens were relatively lower compared with the NSZ specimens. Therefore, the delayed cracking on the flame cutting surface of the NM450 steel plate was attributed to the existence of SZs that contain a high density of dislocations and considerable micro-sized TiN inclusions.

A Novel Force Variation Fine Blanking Process for the High-strength and Low-plasticity Material

Fine blanking is a kind of metal forming process with the advantages of high precision, good surface quality and low cost. Influenced by the concept of lightweight, a large number of metal materials with high strength are widely used in various fields. High strength materials are prone to be cracked during plastic deformation due to their poor plasticity, which limits the application range of them. This paper proposed a force variation fine blanking process for high-strength and low-plasticity materials. At the same time, a method to find the curve of forming force for this novel process was presented. A 2D finite element fine blanking model was established for the TC4 material. Combining genetic algorithm and neural network methods, a model was built up to find the optimal forming force loading curve. The parts fabricated by force variation loading and constant loading fine blanking process were compared through experiments. The mechanism of force variation fine blanking is also revealed. The forming force mainly affects the length of clean cutting surface by affecting hydrostatic stress. According to the ultimate optimal loading curve, the forming force should be kept at a low level in the early stage of blanking stroke, and increased gradually in the ending stage. In the application of force variation fine blanking, the part with long length of clean cutting surface can be obtained with lower die load.

Luxmeter Design with Proximity Sensor to Efficiently Test Light Intensity and Distance on Lamp Operation in Hospitals

The lighting of the operating/surgical site depends on the quality of the lighting from the overhead light source and the reflection from the curtain. Light measurement on the operating table is very necessary because it generates light that is irradiated into the cutting wound without dazzling the cutting surface so that pathological conditions can be recognized and must provide depth contrast and anatomical relationships, to ensure this proper calibration method is needed. Long-term use of medical devices can cause changes in accuracy. Therefore, the author makes a tool to measure the intensity of light which is equipped with a distance meter. The purpose of this study was to develop a measuring instrument for measuring the intensity of light in operating lamps, namely a luxmeter by making Luxmeter equipped with a TFT Display Distance Sensor. This tool uses an ultrasonic sensor HC-SR04 to measure the distance between the light source and the sensor module and the MAX44009 sensor to measure the light intensity of the operating lamp displayed on the TFT screen. Based on the module distance setting to the roll meter, the distance error value for the measurement of the Surabaya electromedical engineering workshop lamp at the 75 cm roll meter distance setting is 0.0127% for the 100 cm roll meter distance setting is 0.0045%. The error rate of the light intensity module on the results of the measurement of light intensity on the luxmeter by setting the roll meter distance of 75 cm between the tool and the lamp of the electromedical engineering workshop is getting an error value of 0.082% lux and for the light intensity on the results of the measurement of light intensity on the luxmeter with a roll meter distance setting of 100 cm between the tool and the lamp in the electromedical engineering workshop, that is, the error value of lux is 0.055%. The design of a luxmeter equipped with a proximity sensor can measure the intensity of light and the distance between the tool and the light source and can assist in the learning process with a more effective Luxmeter design that will assist electromedics in testing operating lamps in hospitals to be more efficient.

Prediction Modeling and Sensitivity Analysis of Robot Bone Milling Temperature Operated by a Doctor

Bone milling is a common method in robot orthopedic surgery. However, excessive milling temperature will cause thermal necrosis of bone cells and tissues. It is necessary to carry out further research and analysis on the robot bone milling process considering the lamina milling skills of spinal surgeons and clinical practice to reduce the damage to bone cells and nearby tissues and obtain good cutting surface quality. Considering the randomness of milling parameters during operation, a prediction method of milling temperature model for ball milling cutter considering the doctor’s surgical skills was proposed based on response surface method. Because of material anisotropy and microstructure difference between the cortical bone and cancellous bone, this paper would analyze the influencing factors in different bone layers to establish the prediction model of milling temperature in the segments of cortical bone and cancellous bone. Also, the influence and distribution of milling parameters on temperature in three cutting modes such as parallel cutting mode, cross cutting mode, and vertical cutting mode in the cortical bone region were analyzed. The parameter sensitivity of the milling temperature prediction model was analyzed by the Sobol method, and the influence of the input parameters on the output milling temperature was analyzed quantitatively.

Optical inline monitoring of the burnish surface in the punching process

Punching is a wide-spread production process, applied when massive amounts of the ever-same cheap parts are needed. The punching process is sensitive to a multitude of parameters. Unfortunately, the precise dependencies are often unknown. A prerequisite for optimal, reproducible and transparent process alignment is the knowledge of how exactly parameters influence the quality of a punching part, which in turn requires a quantitative description of the quality of a part. We developed an optical inline monitoring system, which consists of a combined imaging and triangulation sensor as well as subsequent image processing. We show that it is possible to capture images of the cutting surface for every part within production. We automatically derive quality parameters using the example of the burnish height from 2D images. In addition, the 3D parameters are calculated and verified from the triangulation images. As an application, we show that the status of tool wear can be inferred by monitoring the burnish height, with immediate consequences for predictive maintenance. Although limited by slow images processing in our prototype, we conclude that connecting machine and process parameters with quality metrics in real time for every single part enables data-driven process modelling and ultimately the implementation of intelligent punching machines.