Quality profiles representing the quality of a process or product as the functional relationship between one or more dependent variables and one or more explanatory variables are nowadays widely recognized in statistical process control (SPC) applications by both researchers and practitioners. On the other hand, in many real-world cases, evaluation of process or product characteristics is carried out with ambiguity or conducted using linguistic values. The theory of fuzzy sets provides an appropriate approach to deal with uncertainty due to ambiguity in human subjective evaluations or vagueness in linguistic variables. The purpose of this study is to introduce two novel methods based on fuzzy regression modeling for monitoring fuzzy linear profiles in phase II of SPC. To accomplish this, fuzzified Hoteling’s T2 statistic and fuzzy hypothesis testing are used. Moreover, a simulation study is used to compare the performance of the proposed methods compared with previous methods, based on the average run length (ARL) criterion in order to assess the detectability of charts with regard to the step shifts in profile parameters. Finally, the results of a real-world example in the tile and ceramic industry are presented.

In this article, the application of the Multi-Skilled Resource-Constrained Flow Shop Scheduling Problem (MSRC-FSSP) in preventive maintenance as a case study has been investigated. In other words, to complete each maintenance order at each stage, in addition to the machine, a set of required human resources with different skills must be available. According to human resources skills, each of them can perform at least one order or at most N orders, and each maintenance order must be done by a set of human resources with different skills. To carry out a maintenance order, different human resources must be in communication and cooperation so that a preventive maintenance order can be completed. In this article, these resources are considered as technical supervisors, repairmen and maintenance managers who complete all maintenance orders in a flow shop environment as a job. For this problem, a new Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model has been formulated with the two-objective functions, minimizing total orders completion time and the human resources idle time. To solve the model on a small scale, CPLEX is used, and to solve it on a large scale, due to the fact that this problem is NP-Hard, a meta-heuristic algorithm named Genetic Algorithm (GA) is presented. Finally, the computational results have been done to validate the model, along with the analysis of the human resources idle time.

In this paper, a memory-based simulated annealing algorithm called the Dual Memory Simulated Annealing Algorithm (DMSA) is presented to solve multi-line facility layout problems. The objective is to minimize the total material handling cost. Two memory buffers and a restart mechanism are considered. Two benchmark problems were selected from the literature review papers and solved using the standard simulated annealing (SA) algorithm and the DMSA. The obtained results show that solutions provided by the DMSA algorithm are cost-effective compared to the standard SA algorithm and the other algorithms used for solving these test cases. Moreover, to further evaluate the performance of the DMSA algorithm in large scale problems, eleven test cases were selected from the benchmark library of the quadratic assignment problem (QAP). According to the results, the performance of the algorithm in finding solutions to complex problems is exemplary.

In this research, a maximal covering location problem (MCLP) with real-world constraints such as multiple types of facilities and vehicles with different setup costs is taken into account. An original mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is constructed in order to find the optimal solution. Since the problem at hand is shown to be NP-hard, a constructive heuristic method and a meta-heuristic approach based on genetic algorithm (GA) are developed to solve the problem. To find the most effective solution technique, a set of problems of different sizes is randomly generated and solved by the proposed solution methods. Computational results demonstrate that the heuristic method is capable of producing optimal or near-optimal solutions in a rational execution time.

Micro/mesopore composite catalysts containing platinum with HZSM-5 zeolite and three different silicate mesopores (SBA-3, KIT-6, and KCC-1) were prepared to investigate the influence of different silicate mesopores in the isomerization reaction of n-heptane at the temperature of 200-350 °C The structural characteristics and morphology of the prepared catalysts were studied by various methods such as XRD, FT-IR, N2 adsorption-desorption, XRF, and SEM. The obtained results indicate that the prepared catalysts have high conversion and high selectivity of multi-branched isomers compared to mono-branched isomers and low development of aromatic compounds. The most suitable results and selectivity were obtained in the n-heptane isomerization reaction related to the Pt/HZSM-5-SBA-3 catalyst.

The push-off phase is a critical part of initiating movement during walking, and it requires a significant amount of energy. Recent research has shown that the passive use of springs in parallel with the leg can harvest the push-off energy and reduce the total metabolic energy of walking for healthy subjects. In this study, we present the design of a prosthetic leg with a passive-based mechanism to reduce walking energy consumption for above-knee amputees. The mechanism stores energy during the stance phase of the gait cycle and releases it to support the prosthetic leg during locomotion. The known polycentric knee joint 3R36 and the ankle-foot joint ESAR were chosen and adopted for this study. We also utilized a ratchet clutch that connects with a spring and rope from the pylon to the foot which regulates movement and saves energy. Our simulations demonstrate that the spring stores elastic energy from approximately 22% of the gait cycle and reaches its maximum energy storage at approximately 50% of the walking cycle. The energy is then released at approximately 58% of the stride cycle during the push-off phase. The motion of the proposed prosthetic leg for individuals with transfemoral amputations mimics the normal walking pattern of healthy individuals well.

Laminated glass is a composite structure consisting of a polymeric interlayer (e.g., polyvinyl butyral PVB) sandwiched between two glass plies. Due to the increasing use of laminated glass (LG) in advanced industries such as automotive sectors, it is of much importance to investigate the fracture behavior of such structures. One of the most critical steps in outlining the fracture behavior of laminated glass is the accurate determination of the fracture energy of the interlayer, usually, polyvinyl butyral (PVB), which is obtained from experimental methods. So far, various laboratory samples have been presented to measure the fracture energy of laminated glass, each of which has its advantages and limitations. In this paper, a new loading setup is proposed for the determination of mixed-mode I/II fracture energy in a rectangular-shape laboratory sample of laminated glass. The loading setup consists of a rectangular beam under a four-point bending which has been analyzed by the commercial ABAQUS software package. By utilizing this specimen, the fracture energy of the combined modes from pure mode I to pure mode II in the PVB interlayer can be measured. The proposed geometry here is simpler than other available geometries in the literature and also it does not require a complex loading mechanism. The effects of crack length ratio and also the support distance on fracture parameters such as and are well investigated.

This paper describes an experimental program developed to investigate non-bearing spliced composite short column connections made of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) that are subjected to axial loading. This study provides aspects such as the load-bearing capacity of the connection, failure modes, load distribution in the connection, displacement in the joint, stiffness, and compressive strength. The design of the joint in this study that connects two 350mm GFRP H-sections to form a short column connection is based on euro codes BS EN 1990 and BS EN 1991, which are used to design steel splicing connections for beams and columns. Four design specifications models are made depending on the positioning of the cover plates in the inner flange, outer flange, and web region of the H-sections to examine the requirement of a specific cover plate, and the H-sections are bolted to each other using M8 8.8 grade steel bolts. The samples tested in this study indicated a dominant failure in the flange region, with model-4 providing 92.83% compressive strength when compared to an uncut GFRP short column.

The set covering problem is to find the minimum cardinality set of locations to site the facilities which cover all of the demand points in the network. In this classical problem, it is assumed that the potential facility locations and the demand points are limited to the set of vertices. Although this problem has some applications, there are some covering problems in which the facilities can be located along the edges and the demand exists on the edges, too. For instance, in the public service environment the demand (population) is distributed along the streets. In addition, in many applications (like bus stops), the facilities are not limited to be located at the vertices (intersections), rather they are allowed to be located along the edges (streets). For the first time, this paper develops a novel integer programming formulation for the set covering problem wherein the demand and facility locations lie continuously along the edges. In order to find good solutions in a reasonable time, a matheuristic algorithm is developed which iteratively adds dummy vertices along the edges and solves a simpler problem which does not allow non-nodal facility locations. Finally, a Benders decomposition reformulation of the problem is developed and the lower bounds generated by the Benders algorithm are used to evaluate the quality of the heuristic solutions. Numerical results show that the Benders lower bounds are tight and the matheuristic algorithm generates good quality solutions in short time.

Recently, due to their extraordinary strength-to-weight ratio and multi-functional applications, three-dimensional woven fiberglass sandwich structures have become a well-received topic by researchers and manufacturers. Nevertheless, using light and foam absorber materials as injected fillers within sandwich cores can improve their overall mechanical performance and, in particular, their fracture toughness behavior. This study evaluates the fracture toughness of three-dimensional woven fiberglass sandwich panels filled with natural nano-structured zeolite/polyurethane foams injected between their parallel panels. The Single-Edge Notched Bend test was carried out to understand the effect of the injected foam on the mode-I fracture toughness response. It is demonstrated that the polyurethane foam reinforced with natural nano-structured zeolite particles highly improved the fracture toughness of sandwich core panels. It was found that the presence of vertical glass yarns within the sandwich panel gallery resulted in a significantly higher toughness compared with typical sandwich panels of no reinforcing vertical columns confirmed by the crack propagation and observed failure mode. The SEM and EDX analyses were used to better understand the correlations amongst the specimen morphology, the cracks behavior, and the toughness exhibited by the fabricated specimens.