Most of the world s redundant ships are scrapped on the beaches of the Indian sub-continent, largely by hand. As well as cargo residues and wastes, ships contain high levels of hazardous materials that are released into the surrounding ecology when scrapped. The scrapping process is labour-intensive and largely manual; injuries and death are commonplace.

Ship breaking was a relatively obscure industry until the late 1990s. In just 12 years, action by environmental NGOs has led to the ratification of an international treaty targeting the extensive harm to human and environmental health arising from this heavy, polluting industry; it has also produced important case law.

Attempts to regulate the industry via the "Basel Convention" have resulted in a strong polarization of opinion as to its applicability and various international guidelines have also failed because of their voluntary nature. The adoption of the "Hong Kong Convention" in 2009 was a serious attempt to introduce international controls to this industry."

This book provides comprehensive and integrated approaches for rigid and flexible object assembly. It presents comparison studies with the available force-guided robotic processes and covers contact-state modeling, scheme control strategies, and position searching algorithms. Further, it includes experimental validations for different assembly situations, including those for the assembly of industrial parts taken from the automotive industry.

This work illustrates research conducted over a ten-year timespan and addresses a fundamental issue in reliability theory. This still appears to be an empirically disorganized field and the book suggests employing a deductive base in order to evolve reliability as a science. The study is in line with the fundamental work by Gnedenko. Boris Vladimirovich Gnedenko (1912 - 1995) was a Soviet mathematician who made significant contributions in various scientific areas. His name is especially associated with studies of dependability, for which he is often recognized as the 'father' of reliability theory. In the last few decades, this area has expanded in new directions such as safety, security, risk analysis and other fields, yet the book 'Mathematical Methods in Reliability Theory' written by Gnedenko with Alexander Soloviev and Yuri Belyaev still towers as a pillar of the reliability sector's configuration and identity. The present book proceeds in the direction opened by the cultural project of the Russian authors; in particular it identifies different trends in the hazard rate functions by means of deductive logic and demonstrations. Further, it arrives at multiple results by means of the entropy function, an original mathematical tool in the reliability domain. As such, it will greatly benefit all specialists in the field who are interested in unconventional solutions.

Although maintaining assets is now recognized as a significant engineering function, attention has usually been focused, particularly in the developing countries, on the acquisition of assets. "Maintenance Standardization for Capital AssetS" explores maintenance management systems, stressing the need for manufacturers and maintenance engineers to develop a maintenance policy and systems as early as the design stage, and suggests ways to approach this need. Also included are strategies for developing countries and their donors to organize systems which can minimize failures and predict maintenance problems.

The fuel consumption of a modern combustion engine is one of the most important purchase criteria in contemporary society. Increasing oil prices and exhaust emissions taxes force the automotive industry to continuously improve the vehicle engines. The fuel consumption is closely related to the frictional losses of an engine. New material pairings or constructive modifications of the piston group can reduce such losses. Another innovative concept to lower the frictional forces is the micro-structuring of thermo-mechanically highly stressed surfaces. Within an interdisciplinary research group sponsored by the German Research Foundation, scientists at the Leibniz Universitat Hannover and Universitat Kassel have been working together to investigate this research topic. This final report presents their findings and offers scope for further discussion.

Industrial Applications of Affective Engineering introduces new analytical methods such as fluctuation, fuzzy logic, fractals, and complex systems, and pursuing interdisciplinary research that traverses a wide range of fields, including information engineering, human engineering, cognitive science, psychology, and design studies. The book is split into two parts: theory and applications. The book is a collection of the best papers from ISAE2013 (International Symposium of Affective Engineering) held at Kitakyushu, Japan and Japan Kansei Engineering Meeting on March 6-8, 2013.

This book analyses the importance of consumer behaviour in sustainable fashion and consumption. Consumer behaviour plays a major role in sustainability, and when it comes to textile products, a number of studies have shown that for certain product categories, consumer behaviour during use and disposal stages influences the entire life cycle impacts of the product more than the raw material and manufacturing stages. However green the production, the overall sustainability of a product depends on the consumers who use and dispose of it.

This book uses case studies to discuss consumer awareness of and education on sustainable fashion. It highlights how some textile brands have started using consumer awareness tags to educate consumers on the use of their products (e.g. which machine cycle and temperature they should use to wash their products, as well as the best drying conditions in terms of environmental sustainability). Consumer awareness of and knowledge on sustainable fashion is the crux of customer-centric sustainability, and several NGOs and even brands have started taking essential steps to promote this.

Featuring selected contributions from the 2nd International Conference on Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering, held in Nice, France, February 18-19, 2016, this book introduces recent advances and state-of-the-art technologies in the field of advanced intelligent manufacturing. This systematic and carefully detailed collection provides a valuable reference source for mechanical engineering researchers who want to learn about the latest developments in advanced manufacturing and automation, readers from industry seeking potential solutions for their own applications, and those involved in the robotics and mechatronics industry.

This book presents original studies describing the latest research and developments in the area of reliability and systems engineering. It helps the reader identifying gaps in the current knowledge and presents fruitful areas for further research in the field. Among others, this book covers reliability measures, reliability assessment of multi-state systems, optimization of multi-state systems, continuous multi-state systems, new computational techniques applied to multi-state systems and probabilistic and non-probabilistic safety assessment.

This book presents a comprehensive study on microextrusion-based 3D bioprinting technologies for bioinks with various crosslinking mechanisms, chiefly focusing on the bioprinting process and bioink properties to provide readers with a better understanding of this state-of-the-art technology. Further, it summarizes a number of general criteria and research routes for microextrusion-based 3D bioprinting using three experimental studies based on shear-thinning, thermo-sensitive and non-viscous hydrogel bioinks. The book also presents sample applications in the areas of stem cells and cell matrix interaction. The book highlights pioneering results in the development of bioprinting technologies and bioinks, which were published in high-quality journals such as Advanced Materials, Biofabrication and ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. These include an in-situ crosslinking strategy that overcomes the viscosity limits for bioinks, which is virtually impossible using conventional strategies, and can be generalized for other bioink formulations.

This book presents a systematic approach in performing reliability assessment of solder joints using Finite Element (FE) simulation. Essential requirements for FE modelling of an electronic package or a single reflowed solder joint subjected to reliability test conditions are elaborated. These cover assumptions considered for a simplified physical model, FE model geometry development, constitutive models for solder joints and aspects of FE model validation. Fundamentals of the mechanics of solder material are adequately reviewed in relation to FE formulations. Concept of damage is introduced along with deliberation of cohesive zone model and continuum damage model for simulation of solder/IMC interface and bulk solder joint failure, respectively. Applications of the deliberated methodology to selected problems in assessing reliability of solder joints are demonstrated. These industry-defined research-based problems include solder reflow cooling, temperature cycling and mechanical fatigue of a BGA package, JEDEC board-level drop test and mechanisms of solder joint fatigue. Emphasis is placed on accurate quantitative assessment of solder joint reliability through basic understanding of the mechanics of materials as interpreted from results of FE simulations. The FE simulation methodology is readily applicable to numerous other problems in mechanics of materials and structures.

Written specifically for the oil and gas industry, Reliable Maintenance Planning, Estimating, and Scheduling provides maintenance managers and engineers with the tools and techniques to create a manageable maintenance program that will save money and prevent costly facility shutdowns. The ABCs of work identification, planning, prioritization, scheduling, and execution are explained. The objective is to provide the capacity to identify, select and apply maintenance interventions that assure an effective maintenance management, while maximizing equipment performance, value creation and opportune and effective decision making. The book provides a pre- and post- self-assessment that will allow for measure competency improvement. Maintenance Managers and Engineers receive an expert guide for developing detailed actions including repairs, alterations, and preventative maintenance.

Safe and high-efficiency operation are two main issues in rail transportation. This book focuses on these two key issues, bringing together a wealth of research to offer theoretical and technical support for rail operations and maintenance. In addition, it presents a comprehensive active safety assurance system for rail transportation, which includes the quantitative state identification and prediction of train components; rail transportation safety and reliability assessment methods; and rail transportation risk assessment at the rail networks level, which achieves the quantitative and high-precision monitoring of complex systems in real-time. In addition, it extends active safety based theory to safety prognostic analysis in the traffic system. Lastly, representative case studies verify that the theory is suitable for the actual traffic system.

This volume contains the Proceedings of the First International Conference of IFToMM Italy (IFIT2016), held at the University of Padova, Vicenza, Italy, on December 1-2, 2016. The book contains contributions on the latest advances on Mechanism and Machine Science. The fifty-nine papers deal with such topics as biomechanical engineering, history of mechanism and machine science, linkages and mechanical controls, multi-body dynamics, reliability, robotics and mechatronics, transportation machinery, tribology, and vibrations.

This book discusses the connection between fast fashion brands and customer-centric sustainability. It highlights what consumers can do with fast fashion and the important aspects that need to be addressed to make fast fashion sustainable. Fast fashion is an inevitable element in today's fashion business cycle and its adverse impacts on sustainable fashion are a major issue.

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are characterized as a combination of physical (physical plant, process, network) and cyber (software, algorithm, computation) components whose operations are monitored, controlled, coordinated, and integrated by a computing and communicating core. The interaction between both physical and cyber components requires tools allowing analyzing and modeling both the discrete and continuous dynamics. Therefore, many CPS can be modeled as hybrid dynamic systems in order to take into account both discrete and continuous behaviors as well as the interactions between them. Guaranteeing the security and safety of CPS is a challenging task because of the inherent interconnected and heterogeneous combination of behaviors (cyber/physical, discrete/continuous) in these systems. This book presents recent and advanced approaches and tech-niques that address the complex problem of analyzing the diagnosability property of cyber physical systems and ensuring their security and safety against faults and attacks. The CPS are modeled as hybrid dynamic systems using different model-based and data-driven approaches in different application domains (electric transmission networks, wireless communication networks, intrusions in industrial control systems, intrusions in production systems, wind farms etc.). These approaches handle the problem of ensuring the security of CPS in presence of attacks and verifying their diagnosability in presence of different kinds of uncertainty (uncertainty related to the event occurrences, to their order of occurrence, to their value etc.).

This book presents a systemic view of nanophenomena in terms of disordered condensed media with characteristics arising at various hierarchical levels from nanoagents/nanoparticles through multiple technological interfaces to the creation of micro- or mesostructures with essential nanodimensional effects. These properties can be seen in various schemes for the functionalization of nanocarbon systems, namely, CNTs, GNRs, GNFs, carbon-based nanoaerogels, nanofoams, and so on, where nonregularities characterize surface nanointeractions and various nanointerconnects, resulting in both predictable and unpredictable effects. Beginning with nanosensing and finishing with other forms of functionalized nanomaterials, these effects will define the prospective qualities of future consumer nanoproducts and nanodevices. This book covers all aspects of nonregular nanosystems arising from the fundamental properties of disordered nanosized media, from electronic structure, surface nanophysics, and allotropic forms of carbon such as graphene and fullerenes including defect characterization, to spintronics and 3D device principles. Nonregular Nanosystems will be of interest to students and specialists in various fields of nanotechnology and nanoscience, experts on surface nanophysics and nanochemistry, as well as managers dealing with marketing of nanoproducts and consumer behavior research.

"Reliability of Large and Complex Systems," previously titled "Reliability of Large Systems," is an innovative guide to the current state and reliability of large and complex systems.

In addition to revised and updated content on the complexity and safety of large and complex mechanisms, this new edition looks at the reliability of nanosystems, a key research topic in nanotechnology science. The author discusses the importance of safety investigation of critical infrastructures that have aged or have been exposed to varying operational conditions. This reference provides an asymptotic approach to reliability; its methodology, whilst largely mathematical, is designed to help the reader understand and construct general models of large and systems in a wide range of engineering fields.
A complete and innovative guide to the reliability of large and complex systemsProvides the reader with a strong foundational knowledge of safety investigation into critical infrastructures; the main research area in the world of safety scienceExplains how to construct large, reliable and safe systems in variable operation conditions

This handbook compiles state-of-the-art empirical studies and applications using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). It includes a collection of 18 chapters written by DEA experts. Chapter 1 examines the performance of CEOs of U.S. banks and thrifts. Chapter 2 describes the network operational structure of transportation organizations and the relative network data envelopment analysis model. Chapter 3 demonstrates how to use different types of DEA models to compute total-factor energy efficiency scores with an application to energy efficiency. In chapter 4, the authors explore the impact of incorporating customers' willingness to pay for service quality in benchmarking models on cost efficiency of distribution networks, and chapter 5 provides a brief review of previous applications of DEA to the professional baseball industry, followed by two detailed applications to Major League Baseball. Chapter 6 examines efficiency and productivity of U.S. property-liability (P-L) insurers using DEA, while chapter 7 presents a two-stage network DEA model that decomposes the overall efficiency of a decision-making unit into two components. Chapter 8 presents a review of the literature of DEA models for the perfoemance assessment of mutual funds, and chapter 9 discusses the management strategies formulation of the international tourist hotel industry in Taiwan. Chapter 10 presents a novel use of the two-stage network DEA to evaluate sustainable product design performances. In chapter 11 authors highlight limitations of some DEA environmental efficiency models, and chapter 12 reviews applications of DEA in secondary and tertiary education. Chapter 13 measures the relative performance of New York State school districts in the 2011-2012 academic year. Chapter 14 provides an introductory prelude to chapters 15 and 16, which both provide detailed applications of DEA in marketing. Chapter 17 then shows how to decompose a new total factor productivity index that satisfies all economically-relevant axioms from index theory with an application to U.S. agriculture. Finally, chapter 18 presents a unique study that conducts a DEA research front analysis, applying a network clustering method to group the DEA literature over the period 2000 to 2014.

This book disseminates the current trends among innovative and high-quality research regarding the implementation of conceptual frameworks, strategies, techniques, methodologies, informatics platforms and models for developing advanced industrial tools and techniques and their application in different fields. It presents a collection of theoretical, real-world and original research works in the field of applied industrial tools and techniques. The text goes beyond the state-of-the-art in the field of industrial and software engineering, listing successful applications and use cases of studies of new approaches, applications, methods, techniques for developing advanced industrial tools, methodologies and techniques and their application in different fields. The topics covered in this book are of interest to academics, researchers, students, stakeholders and consultants.

Aligning the latest practices, innovations and case studies with academic frameworks and theories, the broad area of multi-criteria and game theory applications in manufacturing and logistics is covered in comprehensive detail.

Divided into two parts, part I is dedicated to multi-criteria applications and includes chapters on logistics with a focus on vehicle routing problems, a multi-objective decision making approach to select the best storage policy and an exploratory study to predict the most important factors that can lead to successful mobile supply chain management adoption for manufacturing firms. Part II covers game theory applications and encompasses the process of forming a coalition within a corporate network to the problem of integrating inventory and distribution optimization together with game theory to effectively manage supply networks.

Providing a forum to investigate, exchange novel ideas and disseminate knowledge covering the broad area of multi-criteria and game theory applications in manufacturing and logistics, "Applications of Multi-Criteria and Game Theory Approaches" is an excellent reference for students, researchers but also managers and industry professionals working with manufacturing and logistics issues."

Digital Hardware Testing presents realistic transistor-level fault models and testing methods for all types of circuits. The discussion details design-for-testability and built-in self-test methods, with coverage of boundary scan and emerging technologies such as partial scan, cross check, and circular self-test-path.