Browse Topic: Financial management

Items (551)

5/20/2025

The emergence of electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) air vehicles is transforming how people and freight are moved in short distances. This transformation has a profound impact on surrounding infrastructure necessary to provide Aircraft On Ground support for eVTOLs. The hover capabilities of eVTOLs have similar operating characteristics within terminal and uncontrolled airspace. However, the need to conserve battery energy via rapid approaches and departures affects terminal airspace management. To attract eVTOL operators, existing airports, landing zones, and vertiports are modifying their infrastructure to include fixed electric charging stations, additional taxiways, upgraded fire suppression systems, separate hangers, and capable MRO facilities. Augusta Regional Airport (KAGS) is the base airport for the annual Masters Golf Tournament which experiences five times the normal airport traffic and some 40,000 commuting patrons. eVTOLs can offset land traffic issues associated with commuters and supplies. Since KAGS is centroid to 32,000 square miles of territory void of major highways, basing eVTOLs can offer expedited transit services for people and goods which will have a profound impact on the economic viability and quality of life in the area.

Stanzione, Kaydon, Johnston, Diane

Gross Weight, CG Position, and Rotor Flapping Prediction for a Compound Helicopter using Machine Learning

F-0080-2024-1328

5/7/2024

This study investigates the use of machine learning (ML) models to estimate the gross weight (GW), the longitudinal position of the center of gravity (CGx), and 1/rev cyclic flapping angles (Δ1c and Δ1s) of a compound helicopter with three redundant controls - main rotor RPM, collective propeller thrust, and stabilator angle. Neural Network (NN), Gaussian Process for Regression (GPR), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithms are employed to develop estimation models using supervised training. The airspeed, redundant controls, main rotor controls, aircraft attitudes, and main rotor torque are selected as input variables (predictors) to the models due to their accessibility through the aircraft Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS). The dataset is split into low-speed and high-speed regimes to compare the prediction accuracy and training cost of separate regime models against a combined full-regime model. Separate airspeed regime GPR models showed superior performance in GW estimation, with higher accuracy and cost-effectiveness compared to a single full-regime model. For CG estimation, GPR again outperformed NN and SVM, although the maximum outlier errors increase significantly if a 95% confidence interval is considered. Finally, for 1/rev cyclic flapping angle predictions, SVM estimations, though not superior to GPR or NN, were acceptable and had a significantly lower computational cost. The study also examined the importance of predictors, highlighting that, on average, certain predictors like rotor RPM and rotor torque are less influential, but their removal degraded performance and had no cost benefit.

Halder, Anubhav, Makkar, Gaurav, Gandhi, Farhan

A Novel Approach for the Frequency Shift of a Single Component Eigenmode through Mass Addition in the Context of Brake Squeal Reduction

15-16-01-0004

9/23/2022

Abstract Brake squeal reduces comfort for the vehicle occupants, damages the reputation of the respective manufacturer, and can lead to financial losses due to cost-intensive repair measures. Mode coupling is mainly held responsible for brake squeal today. Two adjacent eigenfrequencies converge and coalesce due to a changing bifurcation parameter. Several approaches have been developed to suppress brake squeal through structural changes. The main objective is to increase the distance of coupling eigenfrequencies. This work proposes a novel approach to structural modifications and sizing optimization aiming for a start at shifting a single component eigenfrequency. Locations suitable for structural changes are derived such that surrounding modes do not significantly change under the modifications. The positions of modifications are determined through a novel sensitivity calculation of the eigenmode to be shifted in frequency. In the present work, the structural changes are carried out on a beam and a brake caliper. Selected eigenfrequencies are shifted while the frequencies of the other eigenmodes are simultaneously fixed. Experimental investigations for the brake caliper validate the numerical findings and the applicability as well as efficiency of the proposed methods.

Deutzer, Marcel, Stender, Merten, Tüpker, Nicolas, Hoffmann, Norbert

682 Guidance for Air Transport Service Bulletins (TEST POPST CT and APPSEARCH)

ARINC682 (Current)9/21/2022

This document provides industry guidance to supplement ATA standards and airframe requirements, addressing gaps and vague areas to move suppliers/vendors and airframers toward a common standard for format and wording in Vendor Service Bulletins (VSB) for Air Transport components. This document supplements the VSB guidance of iSpec 2200, providing clarity of requirements and resulting in a common standard wording and format of VSBs from all suppliers on all aircraft types. The guidance in this document is intended to be applied to VSBs created and released subsequent to the release of the guidance document and will not require the retroactive update of VSBs released prior to the creation and release of the guidance.

Implementation of Lean Operation User Manual

J4001_202109 (Current)

9/21/2021

SAE J4001 provides instruction for evaluating levels of compliance to SAE J4000. Component text (Sections 4 to 9) from SAE J4000 is included for convenience during the evaluation process. Applicable definitions and references are contained in SAE J4000. SAE J4000 tests lean implementation within a manufacturing organization and includes those areas of direct overlap with the organization’s suppliers and customers. If applied to each consecutive organizational link, an enterprise level evaluation can be made. SAE J4001 relates the following approximate topic percentages to the implementation process as a whole: SAE J4001 is to be applied on a specific component basis. Each of the 52 components tests part of, one, or multiples of the specific requirements of lean implementation. Implementation throughout an organization may be measured by evaluating all of the components. The level of compliance for each component relative to best practice may be used as a reference by an organization to compare itself to current best practice in establishing lean operation. Examples of current best practice are available in SAE publication RR003. An organization may evaluate only selected components without affecting validity of results.

Automotive Quality and Process Improvement Committee

Standard Practice for Habitability

SAE1007 (Historical)

9/14/2021

This Standard specifies the Habitability processes throughout planning, design, development, test, production, use and disposal of a system. Depending on contract phase and/or complexity of the program, tailoring of this standard may be applied. The primary goals of a contractor Habitability program include: Ensuring that the system design complies with the customer Habitability requirements and that discrepancies are reported to management and the customer. Identifying, coordinating, tracking, prioritizing, and resolving Habitability risks and issues and ensuring that they are: ○ Reflected in the contractor proposal, budgets, and plans ○ Raised at design, management, and program reviews ○ Debated in Working Group meetings ○ Coordinated with Training, Logistics, and the other HSI disciplines ○ Included appropriately in documentation and deliverable data items Ensuring that Habitability requirements are applied to all personnel environments, including operators, maintainers, trainers, and support personnnel. Identifying and pursuing opportunities to reduce Habitability costs. Ensuring that Habitability considerations are addressed in analyses, design decisions, trade-offs, and design changes (e.g., Engineering Change Proposals (ECP)). Conducting Habitability analysis activities and supporting human factors analyses (e.g., workload analysis) and other HSI domain analyses to provide evidence to support design decisions and trade-offs and to coordinate shared data. Ensuring that Habitability analyses, results and recommendations are timely, technically competent/complete, and included in design decisions, tradeoffs, and changes. Ensuring that environments experienced by subjects in experiments, simulations, tests, evaluations, and demonstrations are consistent with the customer’s Habitability requirements and meet the U.S. Government and DoD policies for protecton of human subjects. Ensuring that Habitability issues discovered in test, evaluation, demonstration, Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E), and operations are resolved in a technically competent/complete and timely manner.

G-45 Human Systems Integration

Assessment of the Operational Costs and the Passengers' Willingness-to-Pay to Evaluate the Financial Viability of an Air Taxi Service

F-0077-2021-16820

5/10/2021

ABSTRACT

Fischer, Maximilian, Heckmann, Denis, Nase, Alexander

Identification and Measurement of Best Practice in Implementation of Lean Operation

J4000_202104 (Current)

4/6/2021

SAE J4000 is a tool to identify and measure best practice in the implementation of lean operation in a manufacturing organization. Implementation of lean operation is defined as the process of eliminating waste exhibited in an organization’s value stream. Best practice in this process is Level 3 conduct as described in the standard’s component statements. A description of the levels of implementation is: A procedure for evaluation and scoring of each component will be included in the SAE J4001 Implementation of Lean Operation User Manual.

Automotive Quality and Process Improvement Committee

Reducing Risk in 3D Printed Composite Tooling

F-0076-2020-16280

10/5/2020

For high end composite manufacturing in a rapid development environment, the long lead item is often the hard tooling, in particular the cure mold. A traditional metal mold takes in the neighborhood of four to nine months to design, fabricate and validate. With high temperature capable print materials, and larger and faster printers, Additive Manufacturing (AM) appears to have high potential in this area of advanced composites manufacturing. Sikorsky has used AM very successfully on a scale up to approximately 3'x3' and cure temperatures of 350°F. Though long-term durability is still to be determined; the materials, technologies, and techniques Sikorsky has employed for AM autoclave cure molds on this scale have consistently exceeded expectations. AM tools along the scale of main rotor blades could be leveraged to realize even more significant cost and schedule gains from AM autoclave tooling, and in this area, there are still more questions than answers when it comes to a dependable tooling solution. Rotorcraft development, in particular Future Vertical Lift (FVL), programs offer an opportunity to realize the significant schedule and cost benefits AM can provide for composite tooling.

Dunn, Eric

On Modeling the Total Cost of Ownership of Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles

2020-01-14354/14/2020

Sales of plug-in vehicles (PEVs), which include battery-only electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), have steadily grown in the past years amidst various incentive programs. While incentives are important, or perhaps essential during early phases of market introduction, they may not be feasibly sustainable when/if PEV sales ramp up to mass-market levels. As such, much interest and speculation exist on how soon could PEVs become cost-competitive without incentives. Research in this paper adopts a bottom-up approach for estimating sale price and total cost of ownership (TCO) for new vehicles. A critical review is also conducted for various publicly available sources of information pertaining to PEVs and conventional internal combustion-engine (CICE) vehicles. Due to the existence of some uncertainty about current costs, let alone future costs, a sensitivity analysis is conducted. In the various scenarios considered in the sensitivity analysis, a combination of cost predictions being better than the baseline case may allow some of the PEVs to have better TCO than a CICE within the 2030 timeframe. However, even the most optimistic scenarios considered did not show PEVs reaching purchase price parity by 2030 compared to a CICE.

Hamza, Karim, Laberteaux, Ken, Chu, Kang-Ching

JLR tackles weight with structural electronics

20AUTP03_103/1/2020

Ashutosh Tomar, electrical research technical manager at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said he has absolute confidence in the potential of structural electronics (SE) now being pioneered by the company. Dubbed LESA (Lightweight Electronics in Simplified Architecture), the technology is expected in upcoming JLR models, though its use in the next-generation Jaguar XJ to be launched in 2020 has not been confirmed. JLR is completing a successful R&D program into printed SE, initially to introduce curved dashboard screens. The company claims an industry first that has the potential to radically alter vehicle interiors, with other applications forthcoming. SE is not a new technology. Decades ago the aerospace industry was considering it as part of aircraft-surface morphing capability to adapt to varying flight conditions.

Birch, Stuart

Understanding the Implications of 5G Cellular

TBMG-361523/1/2020

The hype machine is in full swing with the latest standard in mobile telephony — 5G. This is the fifth generation of wireless, mobile broadband communications. It should not be confused with 5 GHz Wi-Fi, which is sometimes erroneously referenced as 5G. This 5G is a whole new ballgame and promises to be a revolution in how we live our daily lives — not merely an evolution of versions past.

The Future of Connected Health

TBMG-357781/1/2020

The three main global goals of healthcare continue to be: improving the quality of care, universal access to care, and keeping costs under control. Technologies and remote connected healthcare are touted as the means to achieve the above goals, but the road may be long and winding. The encouraging news is that many innovators and start-ups are determined to make that happen.

Reducing the High Cost Of Titanium

TBMG-3566712/1/2019

Titanium is neither a precious metal nor rare, yet among industrial metals it has the reputation for being very expensive. It's the fourth most abundant metallic element and the ninth most abundant of all the elements in the earth's crust. Its commercially useful oxide ore occurs in the minerals rutile and ilmenite and numerous iron ores, and exploitable ore deposits are liberally scattered around the world in Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia, Norway, Russia, South Africa and the U.S. But due to its properties and high cost it has often been referred to as unobtanium.

Reducing the High Cost Of Titanium

19AERP12_0312/1/2019

Technology Impact Forecasting for Multi-Functional Composites

19AERP12_0912/1/2019

Multi-functional composites offer a possible solution to the conflicting design goals of making new aircraft lighter, stronger, faster, and more environmentally sustainable. Air Force Research Laboratory, Arlington, Virginia To survive within today's stringent economic environment, aircraft design, particularly military aircraft design, has been experiencing a paradigm shift from an emphasis on design for optimum performance to design for system effectiveness. As a consequence, designers and manufacturers are increasingly considering the addition of new technologies to aircraft design to reduce their cost, increase their operating capacities, and optimize new capabilities. For next generation aircraft design, there are many innovative technologies to be developed that are financially constrained. However, infusion of a new technology (or technologies) are leading to another challenge: how does this new technology affect the aircraft system both in capability and economically?

Technology Impact Forecasting for Multi-Functional Composites

TBMG-3567912/1/2019

To survive within today's stringent economic environment, aircraft design, particularly military aircraft design, has been experiencing a paradigm shift from an emphasis on design for optimum performance to design for system effectiveness. As a consequence, designers and manufacturers are increasingly considering the addition of new technologies to aircraft design to reduce their cost, increase their operating capacities, and optimize new capabilities.

Maximizing Biomanufacturing Productivity in Single-Use Applications

TBMG-3551811/1/2019

Biologics and personalized medicine are increasingly becoming more popular — causing the biomanufacturing industry to change. Instead of sticking to large-scale production processes, manufacturers are looking for new ways to be agile. To reduce product changeover times and improve efficiency, many are turning to single-use technologies, which use disposable bioprocessing equipment instead of stainless steel. Because they avoid time-consuming clean-in-place (CIP) and steam-in-place (SIP) processes between batches, single-use products lower labor, material, and utility costs and improve time to market.

Low Cost Reconfigurable Jig Tooling and In-Process Metrology for High Accuracy Prototype Rotorcraft Wing Assembly

2019-01-18779/16/2019

Reconfigurable tooling frames consisting of steel box sections and bolted friction clamps offer an opportunity to replace traditional expensive welded steel tooling. This well publicized reconfigurable reusable jig tooling has been investigated for use in the assembly of a prototype compound helicopter wing. Due to the aircraft configuration, the wing design is pinned at both ends and therefore requires a higher degree of end to end accuracy, over the 4m length, than conventional wings. During the investigation some fundamental issues are approached, including: Potential cost savings and variables which effect the business case. Achievable Jig accuracy. Potential sources of instability that may affect accuracy over time. Repeatability of measurements with various features and methods. Typical jig stability over 24hrs including effects of small temperature fluctuations. Deflections that occur due to loading. The cost benefit of reusable tooling in a low volume prototype scenario is examined followed by the design of the jig and location features to enable the accurate build and certification documentation to be completed. A prototype 4m test jig comprising of commercially available components and bespoke machined ‘pick-ups’ is presented. Hardware and measurement process cost modelling is documented along with results for the positional and center-line concentricity setting accuracy that was achieved using a Leica AT901 laser tracking system. Subsequent measurements over a 24hr period are also discussed along with potential sources of deviation in jig accuracy over time and with an applied load.

Crossley, Richard J., Ratchev, Svetan

3 Areas of Innovation for Combination Medical Products

TBMG-350839/1/2019

The combination of drugs with medical devices has the potential to take patient care in an entirely new direction. The power of these products is that they can deliver a precise amount of a drug to a precise location at a precise time — ensuring better patient compliance and potentially helping other therapies to be more effective.

How Patent Landscape Studies Can Guide Medical Device Innovation

TBMG-350989/1/2019

By design, the patent system generates a wealth of technical know-how with respect to new technologies. It chronicles the technical challenges others have faced in the past and how they solved those problems. This information is commonly referred to as the patent landscape and includes issued patents, pending and abandoned patent applications, and the prosecution history of such documents.

Application of Multi-Attribute Weighted Gray Target Decision in Automobile Noise Reduction Scheme Evaluation

02-12-03-00147/3/2019

In the selection of automobile noise reduction schemes, the lack of comprehensive quantitative index system and objective evaluation method is a serious problem. In this article, the methods of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and gray target decision were used to solve the problem. Firstly, AHP and gray target decision method were introduced respectively in detail. Secondly, three automobile noise reduction schemes were illustrated. Four types of data were selected as the decision indexes, and the weight coefficients of all the decision indexes were calculated using the AHP. Then multi-attribute mixed weighted gray target decision model was established. The optimum scheme was obtained by the calculation of the off-target distance and the sorting of the calculation results. The proposed method can quantify the evaluation process and overcome the disadvantages of the traditional analogy method. The example shows that the method is feasible.

Zhao, Zhendong

Development and Application of an Objective Metric for Transient Engine Clatter Noise

2019-01-15196/5/2019

Several powertrain noise phenomena have been studied over the years. Sound quality metrics, like loudness, sharpness, modulation, and tonality, among others, have been developed to characterize powertrain noises. While these readily available metrics work well on steady state and some transient noises, they do not correlate directly with subjective impressions. Moreover, it is difficult to assign a meaningful single rating for time varying noises that may also be associated with simultaneous variations in frequency content. This paper summarizes the process of creating a vehicle level objective metric and its application to blind noise samples to verify correlation with subjective impressions, particularly in association with clatter noise at moderate engine speeds (2000-3500 rpm) with light to moderate throttle tip-ins. The main results include a single number rating and a rating curve as a function of engine speed useful for comparative NVH assessments of multiple vehicles or of multiple hardware iterations on a development vehicle with objectionable clatter content. The latter application is particularly useful since it gives correct feedback to an uninitiated engineer about the hardware changes he or she is proposing. Further this could help in data driven decision making during cost versus benefit assessments.

Parbat, Aniket, Charan, Anil

New design for 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport as brand awaits alliance's new platforms, products

19AUTP06_166/1/2019

The 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport carries over with no mechanical changes compared to the 2019 model. But its new face-part of a front/rear styling redo plus new interior trims/tech for the 5-seat, 2-row SUV-signals a new start for the brand in the U.S. Having pared its product lineup to all-SUV plus the economy minded B-segment Mirage, the triple-diamond brand is saucing up its styling while it awaits a bevy of new platforms and products from its alliance with Nissan/Renault. Mitsubishi sold over 100,000 vehicles in the U.S. for the last two years running. Compared to the nearly 350,000 vehicles it sold in 2002 (or the 800K pickups Ford delivers in a year), this might not sound spectacular. But compared to the sub-54K year it had in 2009, the steady growth over the last 10 years (including a 14% jump last year in a flat-overall market) shows that life is returning to the brand.

Seredynski, Paul

CVT, Promising Solutions for Electrification

2019-01-03594/2/2019

A single speed transmission for electric vehicles (EV) puts specific requirements on the electric motor and battery to enable the full characteristics as offered by the internal combustion engine such as driving large distances at higher speed or towing a trailer. EV developers are facing several challenges in extending driving range, reducing recharge times and finding a performance and efficiency compromise between low and high-speed conditions. This study proposes a combination of a dedicated electric machine and a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) that offers a chance to overcome these challenges. The result is an efficient and cost effective solution where the surplus cost of the CVT is recovered within the powertrain by lowering cost of the electric components, cooling system and battery. A CVT reduces the maximum torque and speed requirement of the electric machine which enables a reduced size and cost of the active parts. The combination of a downsized electric machine and a pushbelt CVT can deliver the good performance that consumers expect from their EV. This paper combines the results of research into various topics to support these statements. A simulation based comparative study of various EV powertrain configurations shows that with respect to the single speed EV, efficiency benefits around 13% on WLTC are possible. A cost study based on the bill of materials furthermore concludes that a 6% cost benefit is achievable.

Van der Sluis, Francis, Romers, Luc, Van Spijk, Gert-Jan, Hupkes, Ingmar

Enabling Expanded Aerospace Automation Using Tactile Cognition Analytics

2019-01-13603/19/2019

Aerospace assembly operations are still highly dependent on human labor and processes. This paper will describe and illustrate the transformational technologies that will enable replication of the human cognitive (in context) textural ability to assemble airplane and space structure. The paper will also provide use case examples where these innovative technologies have been applied successfully. Without context, data are just dots, floating around without meaning. With context data becomes an enlightened component of knowledge that brings value to information. In-context enlightened knowledge provides manufacturing visibility within factory operations. Visibility is a key component of the Smart, Brilliant, or Intelligent Factory.

Bullen, George Nicholas

Collaboration in a Hybrid Team of Human and Robot for Improving Working Conditions in an Aircraft Riveting Process

2019-01-13723/19/2019

Aircraft production is facing various technical challenges, such as large product dimensions, complex joining processes, and organization of assembly tasks. Overcoming such challenges, as well as maintaining low tolerances and small batch sizes, is often difficult to achieve whilst retaining economic viability. ZeMA believes that a semi-automated approach is the most effective way to optimize aircraft section assembly. This can be achieved with a semi-automated riveting process for solid rivets, using Human-Robot-Collaboration in combination with an intuitive Human-Machine-Interaction operating concept. In the assembly of aircraft structures - in this scenario the aircraft aft section - the pressure bulk head is mounted to the section barrel. Two operators work collaboratively in uncomfortable, non-ergonomic positions, yet of course have to maintain exacting quality standards. In order to improve this process, a dynamic task sharing strategy between human and robot according to their respective skills, with due consideration given to ergonomic factors is proposed. The ideal solution involves placing a robot inside the section barrel. The robot’s workspace is expanded by mounting it on top of a lifting unit so that it can position the anvil properly. In the meantime, the human performs the more complex tasks of inserting the solid rivets and operating the riveting hammer from outside the section barrel. In order to carry out the assembly tasks efficiently, the following components must be implemented: Human-Robot-Collaboration based on natural and intuitive interaction possibilities, and smart mixed reality devices for communication between human and robot in the hybrid team. By implementing a modular control system for configuration and operation of the assembly station with a variety of interaction possibilities, human and robot can perform the collaborative riveting process more efficiently than human operators alone. Additionally, due to the high forces and vibrations applied by the riveting hammer, a process-specific tool has been developed to prevent damage to the robot system. The implementation of natural and intuitive interaction within the Human-Robot-Collaboration achieves operator acceptance, improves ergonomics and therefore effectively optimizes aircraft production. The results are part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, and present semi-automation as shown in the HRC riveting process.

Mueller, Rainer, Vette-Steinkamp, Matthias, Kanso, Ali, Masiak, Tobias

Cost Controlling Methodology: Design to Cost

2019-26-00771/9/2019

Current Global Economic scenario is driven by high quality and innovative products and services available at lower cost. With the volatility in the cost drivers market of 3M’s (man, material and manufacturing), Industry needs a methodology which can control cost and assists in increasing research and development efficiencies, robust quality, shared volumes for lower cost and investment, aligned manufacturing sequences and a consistent customer experiences across Global market. This Paper uses the ideology of design to cost as its basis, since a substantial portion of the product’s cost is dictated by decisions with regards to its design. Design to cost is a management strategy and supporting methodologies to achieve an affordable product by focusing on target cost as an independent design parameter that needs to be achieved with the development of a product. The approach emphasizes on Customer Affordability and Competitive Pricing with balance in Product Features. It is a trade-off between cost and performance for competing product alternative at the early stage of the design process. The process/approach aids in evaluation of how the ‘cost of product’ likely to alter with changes to the system design, product components and processes. Product Cost can be optimized, keeping in focus different parameters likes material utilization, design for manufacturing, reduction in Scrap, complexity in system and sharing volumes across portfolio of Products. The Paper includes illustration of Design to Cost methodology applied to structural cost reduction in Agriculture Industry to achieve cost optimization.

Sharma, Himanshu

Manufacturing of Transmission Quill Gear by Sinter Hardening

2019-26-01651/9/2019

Transmission quill gears are hot forged steel parts often used in constant mesh manual transmissions. The quill gear, which helps to transmit the power from input drive shaft to output shaft through driving gears. It’s having external teeth which is positively engaged with driving gear and sleeve. During gear selection sleeve take load from input shaft and transmit to driven gear. Quill gear directly engaged with driving gears on outer surface and bearing in inner surface which needs to have high strength and durability. These properties can be improved by carburization heat treatment in existing design such processes can lead to increased costs. We have developed quill gear through powder metallurgical process and then cooled rapidly in the furnace to get high strength and wear properties. Material composition are optimized to suit for sinter hardening process conditions. Thus, we have succeeded in the development of quill gears via sinter hardening, thus eliminating the forging and second hardening process. This paper will have detailed discussion on material chemical composition, sinter hardening process, mechanical and metallurgical properties comparison and validation results.

Gunalan, Magendran, Deshmukh, Rahul, Bane, Uttam

SUPPLIER EYE

19AUTP01_071/1/2019

Welcome to 2019, a new year that's already brimming with challenges for mobility-industry suppliers. As they deal with escalating technology investments, unpredictable product-launch cadences, an influx of non-traditional competitors, extreme U.S. import tariffs, and other factors, most suppliers (and their OEM customers) are in a reactive mode to stabilize the bottom line. The tariffs-25% on steel and 10% on aluminum-have been a thorny issue since March 2018. According to IHS Markit, the Steel Producer Price Index in September 2018 was up over 22% year over year, significantly impacting material economics for this metals-intensive industry. Exposure to such unplanned economic price hikes depends upon who is the importer of record, as well as whether or not they're participating in OEM material resale programs.

Robinet, Michael

Design Considerations for Enclosed Turboshaft Engine Test Cells

AIR4989A (Current)11/21/2018

This SAE Aerospace Information Report (AIR) developed by a broad cross section of personnel from the aviation industry and government agencies is offered to provide state-of-the-art information for the use of individuals and organizations designing new or upgraded turboshaft engine test facilities.

EG-1E Gas Turbine Test Facilities and Equipment

Why is Silicone the Material of Choice for Healthcare Tubing?

TBMG-3324411/1/2018

Improving Cancer Screening by Design

TBMG-3307510/1/2018

Every year, 50,000 Americans die from colorectal cancer, a common cancer that is easy to detect and can be effectively treated if caught in its earliest stages. Unfortunately, 38 percent of Americans eligible for screening are not being screened. This article explores how one company addressed this need by designing a home sample collection kit that would increase colorectal cancer screening rates.

Miniature Connections Drive Advances in Emerging Neuro Technologies

TBMG-3306110/1/2018

The value of neuromodulation devices is that they offer a “third option” in the treatment of neurological disorders — one that can provide drug-free relief from symptoms while doctors work to assess the underlying cause. According to the International Modulation Society (IMS), “conventional medicine often uses the biomedical model of disease management whereby the underlying cause is searched for and treated to relieve symptoms. Neuromodulation involves directly treating the nervous system itself, often through small implanted devices that target a specific area, to rebalance the activity of neural circuits and manage symptoms as varied as severe unremitting neuropathic pain to severe movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, or urinary or fecal incontinence due to overactive bladder or pelvic floor injury.” IMS notes that another area of interest — and a goal of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke — is the development of totally implantable systems for restoring motor control and sensory feedback for paralyzed individuals.

An Integrated Methodology for 0D Map-Based Powertrain Modelling Applied to a 48 V Mild-Hybrid Diesel Passenger Car

2018-01-16599/10/2018

Nowadays, the 48 V vehicle architecture seems to be the perfect bridge between the 12 V system and the costly High Voltage (HV) electrification towards the crucial goal of CO2 and pollutants emissions reduction in combination with enhanced performance. However, this approach leads to an increased complexity in the interaction between different sub-systems targeting the optimization of the Energy Management System (EMS). Therefore, it becomes essential to perform a preliminary hardware assessment, exploring the interactions between the different components and quantifying the cost vs benefit trade-off. To this purpose, an integrated experimental/numerical methodology has been adopted: a comprehensive map-based Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) model has been built, allowing the simulation of a variety of hybrid architectures, including both HV and 48 V systems. It comprises an embedded EMS model, calibrated by means of dedicated test campaigns carried out on benchmarking vehicles, under both steady-state and transient conditions. Furthermore, the main electrical subsystems have been characterized during the same experimental campaigns with a minimum and non-invasive instrumentation effort. Specifically, this activity investigates the features and performance of a 48 V mild-hybrid Diesel P0 architecture. The aim of this activity is to achieve an accurate determination of the energy and fuel consumption, as well as of the CO2 emissions, over standard driving cycles, by means of a 0D model calibrated with a dedicated test campaign. The obtained results indicate that the developed 0D model can be used to predict the powertrain behavior for different vehicle mission profiles such as extended Real Driving Emissions (RDE) tests. Furthermore, it enables the possibility to assess, on a virtual test rig, the impact of modifications of the components specifications in order to evaluate alternative and feasible designs that can fit customer needs.

DiPierro, Giuseppe, Millo, Federico, Scassa, Mauro, Perazzo, Alessandro

Design Parameters for Small Engines Based on Market Research

2018-01-17179/10/2018

Small internal combustion engines outperform batteries and fuel cells in regards to weight for a range of applications, including consumer products, marine vehicles, small manned ground vehicles, unmanned vehicles, and generators. The power ranges for these applications are typically between 1 kW and 10 kW. There are numerous technical challenges associated with engines producing power in this range resulting in low power density and high specific fuel consumption. As such, there is a large range of engine design solutions that are commercially available in this power range to overcome these technical challenges. A market survey was conducted of commercially available engines with power outputs less than 10 kW. The subsequent analysis highlights the trade-offs between power output, engine weight, and specific fuel consumption. These engines are analyzed to show the benefits and disadvantages of different engine design parameters including fuel type, number of strokes per cycle, number of cylinders, intake pressure, and cooling strategy. A Pareto frontier analysis is conducted to identify the top performing engines based on the output power and the total power system weight. Recommended designs are presented for different ranges of output powers.

Mittal, Vikram

A Paper-Like LCD — Thin, Flexible, Tough, and Cheap

TBMG-328809/1/2018

Optoelectronic engineers in China and Hong Kong have manufactured a special type of liquid crystal display (LCD) that is paper-thin, flexible, light, and tough. With this, a daily newspaper could be uploaded onto a flexible paper-like display that could be updated as fast as the news cycles. It sounds like something from the future, but scientists estimate it will be cheap to produce, perhaps only costing $5 for a 5-inch screen.

Orthopedic Replacement Implants Market: Drivers and Developments

TBMG-324568/1/2018

The global market for minor orthopedic replacement implants exceeded $1.5 billion in 2017. Analysts from The Business Research Company forecast the market value to grow at a rate of over 7 percent and to reach $2.2 billion in 2021 in their report “Minor Orthopedic Replacement Implants.”1 According to the report, the primary reason for this growth is the high incidence of arthritis and fractures. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are the major causes for joint replacement surgery, including minor orthopedic joints. The other cause for joint replacement surgery is failed previous joint replacement surgery. This article examines the trends that are driving this market, including a look at materials, regions, procedures, and regulatory developments that are shaping the future of orthopedic implants.

Disposables Lead the Way to Fighting HAIs, Preventing Errors

TBMG-297507/1/2018

A key driver of the medical disposables market is the desire to minimize the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Healthcare providers are turning to disposable products as a safer alternative than reusable devices, which even if decontaminated properly, can still lead to infection. According to Grand View Research, “the emergence of this sector is attributed to the increased focus toward the use of single-use disposable products to prevent cross-contamination and infection in healthcare settings.” In addition to the growing awareness of the benefits of infection control, another key factor driving the market expansion is the growing need for healthcare assistance for an aging population.

Digital Manufacturing Helps Revolutionize Surgical Stapler

TBMG-297487/1/2018

Modern science has allowed surgeons to fix the human body amazingly fast yet leave behind only small traces where repairs were performed. One of the more commonly used methods to achieve this is by a minimally invasive technique called laparoscopic surgery, where small incisions are made into a patient's skin, a laparoscope is inserted to provide a magnified view of the patient's organs, the procedure is performed, and the incision is closed by stitching or surgical staples. You can have your gallbladder removed before breakfast and be binge-watching Netflix from the comfort of your couch by dinner.

Thermoeconomic, Sustainability and Environmental Damage Cost Analysis of Air Cooled CT7-7A Turboprop Engine

2018-01-07744/3/2018

The aim of this study is to investigate the overall performance (exergetic, exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental) of CT7-7A turboprop engine manufactured by General Electric Aviation (GE Aviation) and currently used to power CN-235, a medium range transport aircraft. The investigation has been carried out using the thermoeconomic, sustainability and environmental damage cost analysis methods. The adopted turboprop engine has been investigated to observe the behaviour of various performance parameters, sustainability, emission parameters as well as cost parameters of engine. Due to ever increasing demand in air transport systems, focus has been on developing efficient and sustainable systems with lowest possible cost. In order to reduce cost & environmental effects of engine and at same time to acquire higher performance, it is necessary to understand the mechanism that can offer improvements in the engine operating and design parameters so that higher performance can be obtained. Exergetic sustainability parameters such as exergetic efficiency, exergy loss and destruction ratio, environmental damage cost, sustainability index and sustainability cost index play an important role on choice of suitable aircraft engine for operation. The methodology includes working with energy, exergy and cost balance equations and sustainability index for component-wise modelling of the whole system. The presented work analyses CT7-7A engine from all three (thermoeconomic, sustainability and environmental analysis) perspectives.

Sahu, Mithilesh Kumar, Choudhary, Tushar, Kumari, Anupam, R, Sanjay

Range Extension Opportunities While Heating a Battery Electric Vehicle

2018-01-0066

4/3/2018

The Kia Soul battery electric vehicle (BEV) is available with either a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater or an R134a heat pump (HP) with PTC heater combination [1]. The HP uses both ambient air and waste heat from the motor, inverter, and on-board-charger (OBC) for its heat source. Hanon Systems, Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. (HATCI) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory jointly, with financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy, developed and proved-out technologies that extend the driving range of a Kia Soul BEV while maintaining thermal comfort in cold climates. Improved system configuration concepts that use thermal storage and waste heat more effectively were developed and evaluated. Range extensions of 5%-22% at ambient temperatures ranging from 5 °C to −18 °C were demonstrated. This paper reviews the three-year effort, including test data of the baseline and modified vehicles, resulting range extension, and recommendations for future actions.