Evaluating the Sustainable Operating Performance of Electronics Industry Groups: Taiwanese Firms in Mainland China

Mainland China’s economy is growing rapidly, with China-made electronic products selling around the world. Taiwan's electronics groups running operations or production locations in Mainland China have performed strongly in recent years. At one time more than 90% of the world's laptops were manufactured by Taiwanese makers, largely in China. This study assessed the sustainability operating performance of the top 20 Taiwanese electronic groups (including 272 companies) with an average of 38 years of sustained operation in China, using the Data Envelopment Analysis Method (DEA) to measure the performance and operating efficiency of the group as a whole, with net operating revenue and pre-tax profit margin as the output elements, and total assets, capital, and total expenses as input elements, to assess whether changes in operating performance and productivity over the three-year period (2018–2020) are significant. The results showed that two Taiwanese electronics groups (Quanta Computer and Catcher Technology) were relatively efficient during the study period and that the overall productivity of the electronics groups was in a state of sustainability. This study uses the industrial cluster viewpoint to evaluate the sustainability operating performance of the groups. Results show that using DEA for performance evaluation is both comprehensive and practical. The findings of this study may be used as a reference in creating sustainable operations and improving a firm’s production efficiency through the evaluation of firm resource allocation.

Small Hall Effect Thruster with 3D Printed Discharge Channel: Design and Thrust Measurements

This paper presents the design and performance of the UAH-78AM, a low-power small Hall effect thruster. The goal of this work is to assess the feasibility of using low-cost 3D printing to create functioning Hall thrusters, and study how 3D printing can expand the design space. The thruster features a 3D printed discharge channel with embedded propellant distributor. Multiple materials were tested including ABS, ULTEM, and glazed ceramic. Thrust measurements were obtained at the NASA Glenn Research Center. Measured thrust ranged from 17.2–30.4 mN over a discharge power of 280 W to 520 W with an anode ISP range of 870–1450 s. The thruster has a similar performance range to conventional thrusters at the same power levels. However, the polymer ABS and ULTEM materials have low temperature limits which made sustained operation difficult.

Holonic System Model for Resilient Energy Grid Operation

The transformation of energy grids towards smart grids is driven by numerous political, economic, and ecological goals. As part of this process, the centralized top-down architecture of energy grids changes towards increasingly decentralized structures. It is widely accepted that the challenges emerging from this transition threaten the resilient operation of energy grids. For instance, the volatility of renewable energy sources challenges the required balance between demand and supply; their distribution in the energy grid likewise complicates their coordination. Holarchies are a promising (systems-of-systems) architectural pattern for smart grids fostering fast isolation and self-sustained operation of subparts (so-called holons), as well as supporting dynamic reconfigurations of the grid’s structure. To leverage these properties to increase the resilience of smart grids, we propose a system model that combines a holonic architecture and locally available resources offered by prosumers. Our model organizes the participants in the grid as holarchy and enables the application of fine-grained control mechanisms. We show the capabilities of the model by resolving an overproduction situation and a situation of severe electricity scarcity using a modified binary ant colony optimization approach. Our evaluation with the simulation environment HOLEG shows that the system model and the proposed algorithm can quickly mitigate balancing problems in holonic energy grids.

Identification of care tasks for the use of wearable transfer support robots – an observational study at nursing facilities using robots on a daily basis

Background To reduce the physical burden of caregivers, wearable transfer support robots are highly desirable. Although these robots are reportedly effective for specific tasks in experimental environments, there is little information about their effectiveness at nursing care facilities. The aim of this study was to identify care tasks and operations suitable for the use of these robots among caregivers in nursing facilities where these robots have been in use on a daily basis. Methods A 1-min observational time-motion analysis was conducted to examine care tasks and operations in two nursing facilities where wearable transfer support robots, namely Muscle Suit or HAL® Lumbar Type for Care Support, have been used routinely on a daily basis for more than 24 months. Results Analysis of the care tasks and their time ratio while wearing the equipment revealed that both robots were used conspicuously for direct care in over 70% of transits, especially during transfer assistance and toileting care. Furthermore, these robots were used intensively in the morning along with wake-up calls to care recipients, where pre-assigned wearers used them as part of their “routine work.” Conclusions We found that these wearable transfer support robots enabled effective performance of care tasks and operations in nursing facilities where these robots have been used on a daily basis for an extended period of time. These results may lead to the effective implementation and sustained operation of other types of care robots in the future. Trial registration UMIN Clinical Trials Registry no. UMIN000039204. Trial registration date: January 21, 2020. Interventional study. Parallel, non-randomized, single blinded.

Computational and Experimental Analysis of a Compact Combustor Integrated into a JetCat P90 RXi

Ultra Compact Combustors (UCC) look to reduce the overall combustor length and weight in modern gas turbine engines. Previously, a UCC achieved self-sustained operation at sub-idle speeds in a JetCat P90 RXi turbine engine with a length savings of 33% relative to the stock combustor. However, that combustor experienced flameout as reactions were pushed out of the primary zone before achieving mass flow rates at the engine's idle condition. A new combustor that utilized a bluff body flame stabilization with a larger combustor volume looked to keep reactions in the primary zone within the same axial dimensions. This design was investigated computationally for generalized flow patterns, pressure losses, exit temperature profiles, and reaction distributions at three engine power conditions. The computational results showed the validity of this new Ultra Compact Combustor, with a turbine inlet temperature of 1080 K and a pattern factor of 0.67 at the cruise condition. The combustor was then built and tested in the JetCat P90 RXi with rotating turbomachinery and gaseous propane fuel. The combustor maintained a stable flame from ignition through the 36,000 RPM idle condition. The engine ran self-sustained from 25,000 to 36,000 RPM with an average exit gas temperature of 980 K, which is comparable to the stock engine.

Silica-copper catalyst interfaces enable carbon-carbon coupling towards ethylene electrosynthesis

Membrane electrode assembly (MEA) electrolyzers offer a means to scale up CO2-to-ethylene electroconversion using renewable electricity and close the anthropogenic carbon cycle. To date, excessive CO2 coverage at the catalyst surface with limited active sites in MEA systems interferes with the carbon-carbon coupling reaction, diminishing ethylene production. With the aid of density functional theory calculations and spectroscopic analysis, here we report an oxide modulation strategy in which we introduce silica on Cu to create active Cu-SiOx interface sites, decreasing the formation energies of OCOH* and OCCOH*—key intermediates along the pathway to ethylene formation. We then synthesize the Cu-SiOx catalysts using one-pot coprecipitation and integrate the catalyst in a MEA electrolyzer. By tuning the CO2 concentration, the Cu-SiOx catalyst based MEA electrolyzer shows high ethylene Faradaic efficiencies of up to 65% at high ethylene current densities of up to 215 mA cm−2; and features sustained operation over 50 h.

CrOx-mediated Performance Enhancement of Ni/NiO-Mg:SrTiO3 in Photocatalytic Water Splitting

By photodeposition of small quantities of CrOx on SrTiO3-based semiconductors, doped with aliovalent Mg(II) and functionalized with Ni/NiO catalytic nanoparticles (economically significantly more viable than commonly used Rh catalysts), an increase in Apparent Quantum Efficiency (AQEs) from ~10% to 26% in overall water splitting was obtained. Deposition of CrOx also significantly enhances the stability of Ni/NiO nanoparticles in production of hydrogen, allowing sustained operation, even in intermittent cycles of illumination. In situ elemental analysis of the water constituents during, or after photocatalysis, shows that after CrOx deposition, dissolution of Ni-ions from Ni/NiO-Mg:SrTiO3 is significantly suppressed, explaining the stabilizing effect of CrOx on water splitting performance. State-of-the-art electron microscopy and EDX and EELS analyses demonstrate that upon preparation, CrOx is photodeposited in the vicinity of several, but not all, Ni/NiO particles. This implies the formation of a Ni-Cr mixed metal oxide, which is highly effective in water reduction. Inhomogeneities in the interfacial contact, evident from differences in contact angles between Ni/NiO particles and the Mg:SrTiO3 semiconductor, likely affect the probability of reduction of Cr(VI)-species during synthesis by photodeposition, explaining the observed inhomogeneity in the spatial CrOx distribution. Furthermore, by comparison with undoped SrTiO3, Mg-doping appears essential in providing such favorable interfacial contact and to establish the beneficial effect of CrOx. This study suggests that the performance of semiconductors can be significantly improved if inhomogeneities in interfacial contact between semiconductors and highly effective catalytic nanoparticles can be resolved by (surface) doping and improved synthesis protocols.

Identification of Care Tasks for the Use of Wearable Transfer Support Robots – An Observational Study at Nursing Facilities Using Robots on A Daily Basis

Background: To reduce the physical burden of caregivers, wearable transfer support robots are highly desirable. Although these robots are reportedly effective for specific tasks in experimental environments, there is little information about their effectiveness at nursing care facilities. The aim of this study was to identify care tasks and operations suitable for the use of these robots among caregivers in nursing facilities where these robots have been in use on a daily basis.Methods: A 1-min observational time-motion analysis was conducted to examine care tasks and operations in two nursing facilities where wearable transfer support robots, namely Muscle Suit or HAL®, Lumbar Type for Care Support, have routinely been used on a daily basis for more than 24 months.Results: Analysis of the care tasks and their time ratio while wearing the equipment revealed that both robots were conspicuously used for direct care in over 70% of transits, especially during transfer assistance and toileting care. Furthermore, these robots were used intensively in the morning along with wake-up calls to care recipients, where pre-assigned wearers used them as part of their “routine work.”Conclusions: We found that these wearable transfer support robots enabled effective performance of care tasks and operations in nursing facilities where these robots have been used on a daily basis for an extended period of time. These results may lead to the effective implementation and sustained operation of other types of care robots in the future.Trial registration: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry no. UMIN000039204. Trial registration date: January 21, 2020. Interventional study. Parallel, non-randomized, single blinded.

Assessment of fatigue in personnel during sustained operations using ‘SOAP’ – Sustained Operational Assessment Profile

Introduction: Sustained operations are the future of any advanced Air Force, which involve round the clock flying operations over a prolonged period. Such operations have the potential of disrupting normal sleep cycle and may cause fatigue among aircrew and ground duty personnel. It is well known that fatigue among crew member is a significant risk to aerospace safety. The present study was hence undertaken to quantify the subjective fatigue and its effects, among the personnel involved in a simulated exercise using Sustained Operations Assessment Profile (SOAP). Material and Methods: SOAP questionnaire, a validated tool, was used for data collection. In the first phase, 1521 personnel involved in the exercise, including aircrew as well as ground duty tradesmen completed the SOAP questionnaires twice during the simulated sustained military operation. The subjective ratings were statistically analyzed using the Wilcoxon matched paired test. The two levels of repeated measures being mean SOAP scores on day 2 and that on day 5. In the second phase, to ascertain differences in the subjective ratings of SOAP among different streams of pilots, data were recorded during another simulated sustained operation after 6 months. A total of 140 aircrew responded to the SOAP questionnaire during 6 days of sustained operations. SOAP score was acquired on day 1 and day 6 of the operations in the second phase. Results: A total of 3042 completed SOAP responses were analyzed. There was a significant increase in ratings of the three cardinal dimensions of SOAP among all personnel. The aircrew rated the subjective effects higher than maintenance or administrative support group. Among the aircrew, the fighter pilots rated significantly higher as compared to transport or helicopter aircrew. Conclusion: The study revealed significant changes in the cardinal dimensions of SOAP among the aircrew who were routinely not involved in shift work (especially fighter pilots). Scientifically designed “shift work” may be an effective strategy to mitigate effects of fatigue during sustained operations, hence, needs to be practiced as a routine by combat Air Force units.