Bast fibers are promising natural materials known for their biodegradability, affordability, and eco-friendliness, making them an alternative to synthetic options. Extensive research has been conducted to examine the effects of integrating various bast fiber reinforcements into epoxy and polystyrene matrices to boost the properties of the composite materials. However, there is limited research on ensete fiber and its utilization as a reinforcement that needs more in-depth research to be used as an alternative bast fiber. This paper aimed to predict and compare the performance of ensete fiber composites with six other bast fiber-reinforced polystyrene and epoxy composites. In this study, flax, hemp, jute, ramie, banana and kenaf were selected bast fibers for comparison purposes. This article employed various micromechanics models and finite element method (FEM), varying the fiber volume fraction. Our findings revealed that hemp fiber-reinforced composites exhibited the best predicted elastic properties, while banana fiber-reinforced composites showed the weakest performance. Notably, composites made with ensete fibers outperformed those made with jute and banana fibers in both epoxy and polystyrene matrices. Comparisons were made between results from the micromechanics models and FEM for all bast fiber-reinforced epoxy and polystyrene composites and there was an agreement between the effective elastic properties and fiber volume fraction (FVF). Further, bast-fiber reinforced epoxy composites showed higher values than polystyrene for strain analysis while for stress analysis, polystyrene composites showed higher stress loads than epoxy composites.

The permanence and durability of mechanical and structural elements with discontinuities such as cracks and voids require the calculation of SIF (stress intensity factors) with reasonable fidelity. SIF is a crucial parameter that predicts crack growth and failure behavior by quantifying the stress field neighboring the crack tip. Therefore, understanding the sophisticated characteristics of the stress fields in the vicinity of discontinuity requires an effective way of calculating SIFs. Currently, there are numerous methods to calculate SIF, such as FVM (Finite Volume Method), FEM (Finite Element Method), BEM (Boundary Element Method), XFEM (Extended Finite Element Method), Phase field method and Meshfree methods. For an extended period, FEM is one of the leading methods in solving fracture mechanics problems. Though FEM is quite robust in dealing with several engineering problems, it has got its inherent drawbacks to deal with singular fields like discontinuities. Hence to reasonably capture moving discontinuities, finer meshes near the discontinuous field are required that demand more computation effort and time. To alleviate the above drawback of FEM, this study employed Extended Isogeometric Analysis (XIGA) to efficiently and effectively determine the SIFs in the case of fissured plates as benchmarking fissure problems. In this study SIFs in relation to crack length were examined for edge and center cracked plates and results were compared with the theoretical values.

The effect of the chemical composition of geopolymer pastes on compressive strength was investigated in high-calcium fly ash and copper slag blends. In synthesizing the pastes, soda ash at activator to binder ratio of 0.4 was used. The characterization of material samples and the hardened fly ash-copper slag pastes was conducted through X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for the major oxide and phase composition. The hardened paste cubes which were cured at 80 °C were tested for compressive strength at ages 3, 7, and 28 days to obtain the mechanical performance property of each respective mix. The findings establish the impact of variation in the individual material and paste composition on the compressive strength of fly ash-copper slag geopolymer. The result shows that increase in the SiO₂/Al₂O₃ and Na₂O/Al₂O₃ ratios of paste products of samples corresponded to an increase in compressive strength. Whilst Fe₂O₃ wt.% increase in products from slag addition and positively influenced the compressive strength as fillers. However, CaO had no positive influence on the matrix of the activated product. The optimal blend mix design was 40 wt.% of copper slag which achieved a 28-day compressive strength of 24.66 MPa.

One of the major successes in the field of Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) is the groundwork of the stress intensity factor (SIF) computation. The approaches used to carry out SIF values may be analytical, semi-analytical, experimental or numerical. Each one of the above methods has its own benefits however the use of numerical solutions has become the most frequent and popular. Numerous schemes for the numerical computation of SIF have been developed, the J-integral method being the most popular one. In this article we examine the SIFs of an edge cracked two dimensional (2-D) steel plate subjected to tensile loading. Extended finite element (XFEM) computational scheme has been employed to estimate the values of SIF. The SIF values of cracks with different lengths and inclination angles (different configurations) have been examined by utilizing the domain based interaction integral approach. The effect of crack inclination and crack position on SIFs (KI and KII) has also been studied. The results obtained in this study were compared with those from literature and theoretical values and observed that they are in close agreement.

The efficacy of stainless-steel micro-particles on friction stir processed aluminium-based matrix composite (ABMC) was studied using tribological, mechanical and structural analysis tools. The stainless-steel powder (17-4PH) of average size 45 – 90 µm was used as the reinforcement particle. The parametric values employed during the fabrication of ABMC- AA7075-T651/17-4PH were the rotational speed of 1500 rpm and travel speed of 20 mm/min while the plunge depth and tilt angles used were respectively 0.3 mm and 3 degrees. Tribological study was carried out under the influence of dry sliding condition with varying loads of 20 N and 50 N using tribometer while the scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to capture the wear track. Structural analysis was examined with the aid of x-ray diffraction (XRD). The tensile strengths of the fabricated ABMC were also tested and the fracture surfaces were studied using SEM analysis. The results from the study revealed that at higher loading of 50 N, the wear performance was significantly improved for the fabricated aluminium composite- AA7075-T651/17-4PH when compare with lower loading of 20 N. The tensile properties for the ABMC were also improved under the influence of the stainless steel microparticles. There was structural improvement in ABMC wherein the value for crystallite size was lowest while micro-strain, dislocation density, as well as full width at half maximum (FWHM), had the highest values over the FSPed AA7075-T651 and the parent material. The examined fractured surface of the fabricated composite was dominated with fine, network and equiaxed dimples with cup and cone attributes confirming superb interfacial bonding and that the failure mode was ductile.

Integrated cell formation and layout (CFLP) is an extended application of the group technology philosophy in which machine cells and cell layout are addressed simultaneously. The aim of this technological innovation is to improve both productivity and flexibility in modern manufacturing industry. However, due to its combinatorial complexity, the cell formation and layout problem is best solved by heuristic and metaheuristic approaches. As CFLP is prevalent in manufacturing industry, developing robust and efficient solution methods for the problem is imperative. This study seeks to develop a fuzzy simulated evolution algorithm (FSEA) that integrates fuzzy-set theoretic concepts and the philosophy of constructive perturbation and evolution. Deriving from the classical simulated evolution algorithm, the search efficiency of the major phases of the algorithm is enhanced, including initialization, evaluation, selection and reconstruction. Illustrative computational experiments based on existing problem instances from the literature demonstrate the utility and the strength of the FSEA algorithm developed in this study. It is anticipated in this study that the application of the algorithm can be extended to other complex combinatorial problems in industry.

The development of human resources recruitment and training strategies in a dynamic environment poses a challenge to many policy makers in various organisations. The goal of every human resource manager is to recruit, train and deploy the right personnel at the right place and at the right time in order to meet organizational requirements. We develop a system dynamics simulation model that captures the dynamic behaviour of a typical corporate manpower system. Three major strategies are indentified and simulated under different manpower demand scenarios. Based on a set of performance indices, the impact of the strategies is simulated under assumed demand scenarios including steady increasing, fluctuating, and s-shaped demand. Useful managerial insights are derived from the study. The model is a decision support tool for developing reliable dynamic manpower policies in terms of recruitment, training capacity, available skills, and attrition. This approach can assist organizations to design effective manpower strategies.

Renewable energy technologies (RET) have faced a number of constraints that have affected their rate of adoption. This can be attributed to the presence of complex dynamic factors associated with the technology adoption process. This paper simulates the dynamic behaviour of the RET adoption process, from a systems dynamics point of view. Complex dynamic interactions between technology adopters, policy makers and policies are captured based on systems thinking concepts. Based on a set of input policy parameters and variables, the behaviour of RET adoption is investigated and analyzed. Sensitivity experiments and further “what-if” experiments are carried out to obtain in-depth understanding of RET adoption process. Useful managerial insights are drawn from the simulation results, relevant to decision makers concerned with renewable energy technology innovations and their adoption.