Development of HTU-model variable chipping clearance cassava chipper

The objective of this research was to design, construct and evaluate a variable chipping clearance cassava chipper for processors which will produce uniform and varying cassava chip geometry for multipurpose usage. It consists of a drive shaft with varying chipping clearances (6, 18, and 28 mm) to produce varied chip geometry. The average throughput capacity of the chipper was found to be 475.5 kg·h^–1 at a speed range of 460–800 rpm with a chipping clearance of 6–28 mm. The average chipping efficiency ranges from a minimum–maximum of 76.6–99.4% for the selected operational speeds and chipping clearances. The chipping capacity and the output to input ratio is dependent on the operational speeds and chipping clearances of the machine.

A compact simple microstrip lowpass filter based on elliptical analyzed resonator

In this article, a compact microstrip lowpass filter (LPF) using elliptical shaped resonators with ultra-wide stopband is rendered. In this respect, LC equal structures of the elliptical shaped resonators are calculated based on the formula of circumference. In addition, to calculate transmission zeros of the presented elliptical shaped resonator, the LC equal structure and its output to input ratio are employed. The proposed LPF has a −3 dB cut-off frequency at 1.50 GHz and the stopband bandwidth of the designed filter is about 13fc, which refers to its ultra-wide stopband. The occupied circuit size of the presented filter is 0.151λ g × 0.044λ g (λ g is the guided wavelength at 1.50 GHz). The designed filter is fabricated on RT/Duroid 5880 substrate. The results of the fabricated and designed filter have clearly demonstrated that not only has the proposed LPF shown a suitable agreement between measured and simulated S-parameters, but also an appropriate stopband bandwidth.

Lifecycle Assessment of a Non-Phase-Transition Drying Pyrolysis and Mass Conversion Technology

A lifecycle model was established to explore the efficiency, economy, and greenhouse gas emissions of a non-phase-transition drying pyrolysis and mass conversion technology, based on the principle of lifecycle assessment. The evaluation scope included straw collection and transportation, drying and crushing, biomass pyrolysis, charcoal processing, and waste heat utilization. The results show that the energy output/input ratio for non-phase-transition drying pyrolysis was 20.43, and the energy efficiency was high. The pure profit from treating wet straw was USD 45.32 per ton, the profit margin of sales was 52.11%, and the economic benefit was high. The equivalent emission of CO2 was 34.10 g·MJ−1, demonstrating high environmental benefits. Therefore, non-phase-transition drying pyrolysis and mass conversion technology is a potential biomass utilization technology with energy, economic, and ecological benefits.

Bio-energetics of black gram (Phaseolus mungo) as influenced by different weed control practices

A field investigation was carried out during kharif season in 2010 at Agronomy Department Farm,Dr.Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, to evaluate the energy inputs, energy output, net energy gain and output input ratio of different weed control practices in black gram. It is observed that in herbicidal treatments, pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @ 1.5 kg/ha followed by cultural treatment of two hand weedings at 15 and 30 days after sowing recorded more energy inputs, while weedy check treatment incurred minimum energy input among all the treatments. Whereas, weed free treatment computed maximum energy output and energy balance followed by pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @ 1.5 kg/ha treatment. Similarly weed free and post emergence application (15 DAS) of fenoxyprop-p-ethyl @ 0.125 kg/ha were resulted in higher energy balance per unit input and output-input ratio than weedy check treatment.

An Economic Analysis of Apple Cultivation in High Hills of Himachal Pradesh

The study was undertaken with the aim to work out the economics of apple cultivation in Himachal Pradesh. The blocks namely Rohru, Chopal, Nankhari and Anni from Shimla and Kullu districts were selected randomly and a sample of 144 units were chosen from the selected areas. Analysis of the results indicated that on an average, initial cost per hundred plants was ` 48097 and establishment cost ranged between ` 41323 and ` 64,530 for 2 to 6 years plants. Maintenance cost per hundred fruit-bearing plants was observed to be ` 106109 between 12 to 16 years in the high hills during the year 2019-2020. The net revenue calculated as ` 1.73 lakh and output-input ratio implied that each rupee spent would yield a profit of ` 1.63 in the study area.

Fuel Ratio and Additives Influence on the Combustion Parameters of Novel Polyurethane-based Flares

Pyrotechnic compositions using polyurethane as binder were designed to maximize the temperature of combustion and the burn rate. The flares consisted in mixtures of potassium perchlorate/Mg-Al alloy/polyurethane/additives. In order to determine the optimum input ratio that conducts to the most appropriate solution in terms of theoretical amount of heat released, specific volume of gaseous products and chemical composition, Explo5� thermochemical software runs were executed. Further, the temperature of combustion and the burn rate were determined by infrared thermography, while the heat of combustion and the specific volume of gases were obtained using an adiabatic calorimeter coupled with a Julius-Peters volumeter. The fuel ratio was varied in the compositions in order to optimize the combustion, and the addition of chlorinated rubber confirmed a significant enhancement in both parameters.

Impact of ERP Implementation on Productivity and Profitability: An Empirical Study on the Largest Bangladeshi Steels Manufacturer

The research aims to evaluate the impact of Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) implementation on the productivity and profitability of BSRM Steels Limited. The study focuses on addressing the gap in technology adoption literature by undertaking an empirical comparison of the impact of ERP implementation. Five productivity variables called service time, lead time, inventory turnover, output-input ratio, and warehouse cost are evaluated. Gross Profit Margin represents profitability as ERP is mainly implemented in the inventory management system of BSRM. Paired sample t-tests between the pre and post ERP performances have been used to evaluate the impact of ERP. Ten years' data ranging from 2010 to 2019 have been considered for the study. Five years' data (2010-2014) consist of before ERP period, and the other five years' data (2015-2019) represent after ERP implementation period. The study reveals that both the productivity and profitability of BSRM have significantly improved after ERP implementation. This paper will have an impactful contribution to the academic literature of technology adoption in the manufacturing sector, particularly for ERP implementation in the steel industry of Bangladesh, which could be supportive for further study on the topic.

A DEA-Based Complexity of Needs Approach for Hospital Beds Evacuation during the COVID-19 Outbreak

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a powerful nonparametric engineering tool for estimating technical efficiency and production capacity of service units. Assuming an equally proportional change in the output/input ratio, we can estimate how many additional medical resource health service units would be required if the number of hospitalizations was expected to increase during an epidemic outbreak. This assessment proposes a two-step methodology for hospital beds vacancy and reallocation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The framework determines the production capacity of hospitals through data envelopment analysis and incorporates the complexity of needs in two categories for the reallocation of beds throughout the medical specialties. As a result, we have a set of inefficient healthcare units presenting less complex bed slacks to be reduced, that is, to be allocated for patients presenting with more severe conditions. The first results in this work, in collaboration with state and municipal administrations in Brazil, report 3772 beds feasible to be evacuated by 64% of the analyzed health units, of which more than 82% are moderate complexity evacuations. The proposed assessment and methodology can provide a direction for governments and policymakers to develop strategies based on a robust quantitative production capacity measure.