Asem Majed Othman

The practical applications of integrated maintenance policies and quality for a multi-component system are more complicated, still rare, and incomplete to meet the requirements of Industry 4.0. Therefore, this work aims to extend the integration economic model for optimizing maintenance policies and quality control parameters by incorporating the Taguchi loss function for a multi-component system. An optimization model is developed based on preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance policies, and quality control parameters with the CUSUM (Cumulative Sum) chart, which is widely used for detecting small shifts in the process mean. The model was developed to minimize the expected total cost per unit of time and to obtain the optimal values of decision variables: the size of samples, sample frequency, decision interval, coefficient of the CUSUM chart, and preventive and corrective maintenance intervals. The solution steps were employed by selecting a case study in the Alahlia Mineral Water Company (AMWC). Then, the design of experiments based on one-factor-at-a-time was used to evaluate the effect of selected decision variables on the expected total cost. Finally, sensitivity analysis was performed on the selected decision variables to demonstrate the robustness of the developed model. A predictive maintenance plan was developed based on the optimal value of preventive maintenance interval, and the results showed that the performance of the maintenance plan realizes the full potential of the integrated model. In addition, the case study results indicate that the extended integrated model for multicomponent is the new standard for the quality production of multi-component systems in future works.

The potential of quantifying the variations in IR active bands was explored while using the chemometric analysis of FTIR spectra for selecting orthopedic biomaterial of industrial scale i.e., ultra-high molecular weight PE (UHMWPE). The nano composites UHMWPE with multi-walled carbon nano-tubes (MWCNTs) and Mg-silicate were prepared and irradiated with 25 kGy and 50 kGy of gamma dose. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that first three principal components (PCs) are responsible for explaining the >99% of variance in FTIR data of UHMWPE on addition of fillers and/or irradiation. The factor loadings plots revealed that PC-1 was responsible for explaining the variance in polyethylene characteristics bands and the IR active region induced by fillers i.e., 440 cm⁻¹, 456 cm⁻¹, from 900–1200 cm⁻¹, 1210 cm⁻¹, 1596 cm⁻¹, PC-2 was responsible for explaining the variance in spectra due to radiation-induced oxidation and cross linking, while the PC-3 is responsible for explaining the variance induced because of IR active bands of MWCNTs. Hierarchy cluster analysis (HCA) was employed to classify the samples into four clusters with respect to similarity in their IR active bands which is further confirmed by PCA. According to multi attribute analysis with PCA and HCA, 65 kGy irradiated sample is optimum choice from the existing alternatives in the group of irradiated pristine UHMWPE, UHMWPE/Mg-silicate irradiated with 25 kGy of gamma dose was the optimum choice for UHWMPE/Mg-silicate nano composites, and UHMWPE/γMWCNTs composites containing 1.0% dof γ MWCNTs for UHMWPE/MWCNTs nanocomposites, respectively. The results show the effectiveness of quantifying the variance for decision as far as optimization of biomaterials in orthopedic industrial applications is concerned.

A Posidonia oceanica waste marine plant was used to produce a wet-laid nonwoven web for multifunction applications. To study the effect of some parameters related to the web characteristics (sheet weight, binder ratio, and pulp ratio) on the mechanical and physical properties of the web, we used a Box–Behnken design plan with three levels. The diagram of the superposed contours graphic method was used to find the optimum parameters of the process for the application of the Posidonia nonwoven fiber on an insulation field. With the measurement of the thermal conductivity properties using the box method, the results demonstrated that the nonwoven fiber from Posidonia oceanica marine waste had good insulation properties in comparison with other classical natural fibers (hemp, flax) used in the field of insulation with the big advantage of being a natural product.

This research aims to assess the impact of campus culture on the satisfaction level of engineering students. Five latent variables, namely, respect, creativity, support, extracurricular activity, and individual responsibility, were used to examine the impact of campus culture. The data were collected with the help of an online questionnaire, which was distributed among male and female students. Subsequently, 304 responses were collected, which were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multicollinearity, and structural equation modeling (SEM) via AMOS 23 software. Internal consistency and reliability of each construct were done through Cronbach’s alpha, while confirmatory factor analysis was used for the validation of results. The findings of the metaheuristics-based research indicate that the campus culture has a positive impact on the satisfaction level of students (r = 0.774, ). Improving these factors reciprocally increases the satisfaction level, besides raising the education quality. This research can provide a gateway for educational leaders in focusing their resources for the best satisfaction of their students.

In order to solve the problems of data acquisition, quantitative analysis and model solving in the field of construction schedule optimization, a construction schedule optimization system based on genetic algorithm was constructed. On this basis, the construction schedule two-stage multi-objective optimization models of “duration-cost” and “fixed duration-resource equilibrium” are established, which aim at the lowest cost and resource equilibrium. Through the investigation and analysis of the project contract documents, the energy consumption and cost of the normal construction and emergency construction state of the contract plan of the basic project part (from the beginning of precipitation activities to the end of +0) are obtained. This section was optimized for the analysis. The genetic algorithm is used to solve the model, and the optimal duration of each process and the optimal start time of non-critical process are determined. The feasibility and effectiveness of the system and model are verified by practical application in the actual project, which provides support for determining the construction schedule scientifically and reasonably and helps to improve the construction schedule technical application effect and construction schedule management level.

To study the nonlinear characteristics of the modal recognition of civil engineering parameters, a method of nonlinear recognition of the parameters of characteristics based on LMD is proposed. The LMD method is applied to decompose the acceleration response signals of the disturbing structure of the building, to obtain the PF components, the instantaneous frequency, and the instantaneous amplitude of each PF component, to determine the modal natural frequency and damping coefficient. To determine the modal parameter based on the LMD, the calculation and analysis results are presented as follows: the frequency of the components fluctuates between the fifth and sixth models, which shows that the components contain the reaction of the fifth and sixth design modes. This is because these two modes (3.101 Hz and 3.147 Hz) are very close to each other, which makes it difficult to distinguish between the responses of these two modes by the LMD method. The frequency of the components is always stable (the first 2.5 s), which indicates that during this period the responses of modes 5e and 6e do not dampen, and the ratio between them in the PF1 components does not differ much. The component frequency curve shows an interesting phenomenon. Starting from about 3.8 s, the frequency curve gradually approaches the first mode, and only the frequency of the first mode is about 6 s, which indicates that the response of the first mode still exists and makes up a significant proportion. Modular response, caused by the damping, is only detected in the first half of the 10 s response, after which it is verified from the nonlinear characteristics of the LMD parameter recognition method that half of the third-order modal response on the scale is very low and almost equal to zero, and despite problems with dense frequency separation mode in the LMD method, the frequency responses of its PF components may reflect the mode combination phenomenon and reflect the duration of each mode throughout the response.