The theory of stochastic processes, for science and engineering, can be considered as an extension of probability theory allowing modeling of the evolution of systems over time. The modern theory of Markov processes has its origins in the studies of A.A. Markov (1856-1922) on sequences of experiments "connected in a chain" and in the attempts to describe mathematically the physical phenomenon Brownian motion. The theory of stochastic processes entered in a period of intensive development when the idea of Markov property was brought in. This book is a modern overall view of semi-Markov processes and its applications in reliability. It is accessible to readers with a first course in Probability theory (including the basic notions of Markov chain). The text contains many examples which aid in the understanding of the theoretical notions and shows how to apply them to concrete physical situations including algorithmic simulations. Many examples of the concrete applications in reliability are given. Features: * Processes associated to semi-Markov kernel for general and discrete state spaces * Asymptotic theory of processes and of additive functionals * Statistical estimation of semi-Markov kernel and of reliability function * Monte Carlo simulation * Applications in reliability and maintenance The book is a valuable resource for understanding the latest developments in Semi-Markov Processes and reliability. Practitioners, researchers and professionals in applied mathematics, control and engineering who work in areas of reliability, lifetime data analysis, statistics, probability, and engineering will find this book an up-to-date overview of the field.

Safety is a paradoxical system property. It remains immaterial, intangible and invisible until a failure, an accident or a catastrophy occurs and, too late, reveals its absence. And yet, a system cannot be relied upon unless its safety can be explained, demonstrated and certified. The practical and difficult questions which motivate this study concern the evidence and the arguments needed to justify the safety of a computer based system, or more generally its dependability. Dependability is a broad concept integrating properties such as safety, reliability, availability, maintainability and other related characteristics of the behaviour of a system in operation. How can we give the users the assurance that the system enjoys the required dependability? How should evidence be presented to certification bodies or regulatory authorities? What best practices should be applied? How should we decide whether there is enough evidence to justify the release of the system? To help answer these daunting questions, a method and a framework are proposed for the justification of the dependability of a computer-based system. The approach specifically aims at dealing with the difficulties raised by the validation of software. Hence, it should be of wide applicability despite being mainly based on the experience of assessing Nuclear Power Plant instrumentation and control systems important to safety. To be viable, a method must rest on a sound theoretical background.

CMOS Test and Evaluation: A Physical Perspective is a single source for an integrated view of test and data analysis methodology for CMOS products, covering circuit sensitivities to MOSFET characteristics, impact of silicon technology process variability, applications of embedded test structures and sensors, product yield, and reliability over the lifetime of the product. This book also covers statistical data analysis and visualization techniques, test equipment and CMOS product specifications, and examines product behavior over its full voltage, temperature and frequency range.

This edited book offers further advances, new perspectives, and developments from world leaders in the field of through-life engineering services (TES). It builds up on the earlier book by the same authors entitled: "Through-life Engineering Services: Motivation, Theory and Practice." This compendium introduces and discusses further, the developments in workshop-based and 'in situ' maintenance and support of high-value engineering products, as well as the application of drone technology for autonomous and self-healing product support. The links between 'integrated planning' and planned obsolescence, risk and cost modelling are also examined. The role of data, information, and knowledge management relative to component and system degradation and failure is also presented. This is supported by consideration of the effects upon the maintenance and support decision by the presence of 'No Fault Found' error signals within system data. Further to this the role of diagnostics and prognostics is also discussed. In addition, this text presents the fundamental information required to deliver an effective TES solution/strategy and identification of core technologies. The book contains reference and discussion relative to automotive. rail, and several other industrial case studies to highlight the potential of TES to redefine the product creation and development process. Additionally the role of warranty and service data in the product creation and delivery system is also introduced. This book offers a valuable reference resource for academics, practitioners and students of TES and the associated supporting technologies and business models that underpin whole-life product creation and delivery systems through the harvesting and application of condition and use based data.

The underlying principles invented and developed by Dr. Genichi Taguchi (1924 - 2012), for the design of experiments or simulation calculations in multi-parameter systems, are today known as Taguchi Method. Due to the great success, it was extended to many other areas. The book explains the basics of this method in as much detail as necessary and as simply and graphically as possible. The author shows how broad the current application spectrum is and for which different tasks it can be used. The application examples range from optimizing a fermentation process in biotechnology to minimizing costs in mechanical production and maintaining and improving competitiveness in industrial production. The processes described are ideally suited to finding reliable and precise solutions for a wide variety of problems relatively quickly. A real competitive advantage not only in research but also for companies that want to remain competitive in international business competition. Contents Part 1: Analysis of Variables Part 2: Pattern Recognition and Diagnosis Part 3: Prognosis Target groups Students, scientists, engineers or those responsible for development and products learn to use the Taguchi Method with this book - even without any previous mathematical-statistical knowledge. The author Herbert Ruefer studied physics and obtained his doctorate at the Technical University Karlsruhe, Germany. After a research stay at IBM, San Jose, California, he taught at the San Marcos National University in Lima, Peru. He then took on research, development, and training tasks in the chemical industry in Germany. During this time, the first personal contacts with Dr. Genichi Taguchi and Dr. Yuin Wu took place. After his active professional life, he dedicated himself to special optical methods for astronomical observations. He also lectures at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos which awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2017.

Concurrent engineering is well-established as an approach to engineer product parts. However, the concept has much broader application. Complex Systems Concurrent Engineering: Collaboration, Technology Innovation and Sustainability demonstrates how concurrent engineering can be used to benefit the development of complex systems, to produce results that sustain balanced stakeholder satisfaction over time. Gathered from the 14th ISPE International Conference on Concurrent Engineering, the collected papers cover all aspects of the sustainable and integrated development of complex systems, such as airplanes, satellites, space vehicles, automobiles and ships. Complex Systems Concurrent Engineering: Collaboration, Technology Innovation and Sustainability focuses on five major areas: Knowledge and collaboration engineering and management; Systems engineering, analysis, modelling, simulation and optimisation (including value, cost, risk, and schedule issues); Product realisation processes, methods, technologies and techniques; Business, management and organisation issues (product life cycle processes other than development and manufacturing); and Information modelling, technology and systems.

Covers the entire process of risk management by providing methodologies for determining the sources of engineering project risk, and once threats have been identified, managing them through: identification and assessment (probability, relative importance, variables, risk breakdown structure, etc.); implementation of measures for their prevention, reduction or mitigation; evaluation of impacts and quantification of risks and establishment of control measures. It also considers sensitivity analysis to determine the influence of uncertain parameters values on different project results, such as completion time, total costs, etc. Case studies and examples across a wide spectrum of engineering projects discuss such diverse factors as: safety; environmental impacts; societal reactions; time and cost overruns; quality control; legal issues; financial considerations; and political risk, making this suitable for undergraduates and graduates in grasping the fundamentals of risk management.

This book brings together some of the most influential pieces of research undertaken around the world in design synthesis. It is the first comprehensive work of this kind and covers all three aspects of research in design synthesis:- understanding what constitutes and influences synthesis;- the major approaches to synthesis;- the diverse range of tools that are created to support this crucial design task.The chapters are comprised of cutting edge research and established methods, written by the originators of this growing field of research. They cover all major generic synthesis approaches i.e., composition, retrieval, change and repair, and tackle problems that come from a wide variety of domains within architecture and engineering as well as areas of application including clocks, sensors and medical devices. The book contains an editorial introduction to the chapters and the broader context of research they represent. With its range of tools and methods covered, it is an ideal introduction to design synthesis for those intending to research in this area as well as being a valuable source of ideas for educators and practitioners of engineering design.

This book represents the first ever scientific monograph including an in-depth analysis of all major field-assisted sintering techniques. Until now, the electromagnetic field-assisted technologies of materials processing were lacking a systematic and generalized description in one fundamental publication; this work promotes the development of generalized concepts and of comparative analyses in this emerging area of materials fabrication. This book describes modern technologies for the powder processing-based fabrication of advanced materials. New approaches for the development of well-tailored and stable structures are thoroughly discussed. Since the potential of traditional thermo-mechanical methods of material treatment is limited due to inadequate control during processing, the book addresses ways to more accurately control the resultant material's structure and properties by an assisting application of electro-magnetic fields. The book describes resistance sintering, high-voltage consolidation, sintering by low-voltage electric pulses (including spark plasma sintering), flash sintering, microwave sintering, induction heating sintering, magnetic pulse compaction and other field-assisted sintering techniques. Includes an in-depth analysis of all major field-assisted sintering techniques; Explains new techniques and approaches for material treatment; Provides detailed descriptions of spark plasma sintering, microwave sintering, high-voltage consolidation, magnetic pulse compaction, and various other approaches when field-assisted treatment is applied.

This book describes systematically the theory and technology of the precision forming of large, complex and thin-walled superalloy castings for aircraft engines, covering all the important basic aspects of the manufacturing process, including process design, wax pattern, ceramic molds, casting and solidification, heat treatment, repair casting and dimension precision control. The correlation of casting defects, structural characteristics and performance of castings is revealed through a range of tests. It also discusses the latest technologies and advances in this field - such as imaging the solidification process by means of synchrotron radiography, 3D computerized tomography and reconstruction of microporosity defects, analysis and diagnosis of error sources for dimension over-tolerance and adjusted pressure casting technology - which are of particular interest. Providing essential insights, the book offers a valuable guide to the design and manufacture of superalloy casting parts for aircraft engines.

The 6th International Asia Conference on Industrial Engineering and Management Innovation is sponsored by the Chinese Industrial Engineering Institution and organized by Tianjin University. The conference aims to share and disseminate information on the most recent and relevant researches, theories and practices in industrial and system engineering to promote their development and application in university and enterprises.

The direct generation of physical objects based on three dimensional computer aided design (3D-CAD) data is currently a manufacturing process of major importance. The dynamic development in this new high tech area is characterized by the different kinds of equipment commercially available at present, as well as the many new procedures that have been patented or are under development.
This book provides a major contribution to progress in industrial applications through its in-depth descriptions of the new technological methodologies and their implications in the planning and shaping of design.
All the essential commercially available systems are discussed in detail, and some important systems currently in development are also reviewed. Starting with the necessary 3D-Geometrical Modelling the general tasks for process realization are explained.
Further essential main points covered in the volume are:
Characteristics of the most suitable areas of application in the manufacturing industry.
Systematic approaches for decision-making for the most suitable equipment and usages (whether to invest or job out).
Methodical support for proper utilization of selected equipment.
Efficient combination with current manufacturing technologies.
Technological and economical aspects for evaluation and comparison of other traditional procedures.
The book will be of particular interest to workers and researchers in the fields of manufacturing (especially tool making), engineering, marketing, and CAD/CAM; CIM. The book is also suitable for students of engineering, management and economic disciplines.

This book presents some definitions and concepts applied in Latin America on lean manufacturing (LM), the LM tools most widely used and human and cultural aspects that most matter in this field. The book contains a total of 14 tools used and reported by authors from different countries in Latin America, with definition, timeline with related research, benefits that have been reported in literature and case studies implemented in Latin American companies. Finally, the book presents a list of softwares available to facilitate the tools' implementation, monitoring and improvement.

This book provides a detailed overview of the theory of analytical and experimental modal analysis and its applications. Modal Analysis is the processes of determining the inherent dynamic characteristics of any system and using them to formulate a mathematical model of the dynamic behavior of the system. In the past two decades it has become a major technological tool in the quest for determining, improving and optimizing dynamic characteristics of engineering structures.
Its main application is in mechanical and aeronautical engineering, but it is also gaining widespread use in civil and structural engineering, biomechanical problems, space structures, acoustic instruments and nuclear engineering.

The only book to focus on the theory of modal analysis before discussing applications
A relatively new technique being utilized more and more in recent years which is now filtering through to undergraduate courses
Leading expert in the field

This book covers the topic of eddy current nondestructive evaluation, the most commonly practiced method of electromagnetic nondestructive evaluation (NDE). It emphasizes a clear presentation of the concepts, laws and relationships of electricity and magnetism upon which eddy current inspection methods are founded. The chapters include material on signals obtained using many common eddy current probe types in various testing environments. Introductory mathematical and physical concepts in electromagnetism are introduced in sufficient detail and summarized in the Appendices for easy reference. Worked examples and simple calculations that can be done by hand are distributed throughout the text. These and more complex end-of-chapter examples and assignments are designed to impart a working knowledge of the connection between electromagnetic theory and the practical measurements described. The book is intended to equip readers with sufficient knowledge to optimize routine eddy current NDE inspections, or design new ones. It is useful for graduate engineers and scientists seeking a deeper understanding of electromagnetic methods of NDE than can be found in a guide for practitioners.

This book is a practical guide to downhole rock sampling and coring concepts, methods, systems, and procedures for practitioners and researchers. Its chapters are based upon years of extensive studies and research about the coring methods and via direct and continuous communication and consultation obtained from various service and operator companies such as Baker Hughes GE, NOV, OMV, and Sandvik. The contributors discuss the state-of-the-art coring methods and systems (mainly used in the petroleum industry), which include: * conventional coring; * wireline continuous coring; * invasion mitigation coring (low invasion, gel coring, sponge coring); * jam-detection, anti-jamming, full closure; * safe-coring and tripping; * oriented-coring; * pressure/in-situ coring; * logging-while-coring; * motor coring; * mini-coring; * coiled Tubing Coring; and * underbalanced coring. The contributors provide practical and applicable understanding of the procedures of these coring methods and systems, as well as the specific core barrel components, working mechanisms, and schematics of the tools and processes used. Because Coring Methods and Systems analyses and compares the core barrels used in both petroleum and mining industries, it enhances the communication and may allow knowledge transfer between the two industries. As core damage is a serious issue during coring and handling jeopardizing correct calibration of exploration data, Coring Methods and Systems has greatly focused on its identification and its mitigation. Therefore, it can be used as an ideal source for geologists, core analysts, and reservoir engineers, to ensure the retrieval of high-quality cores.

The aim of this book is to summarize probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) of nuclear power plants (NPPs), and to demonstrate that NPPs can be considered a safe method of producing energy, even in light of the Fukushima accident. The book examines level 1 and 2 full power, low power and shutdown probabilistic safety assessment of WWER440 reactors, and summarizes the author s experience gained during the last 35 years. It provides useful examples taken from PSA training courses delivered by the author and organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Such training courses were organised in Argonne National Laboratory (Chicago, IL, USA), Abdus Salaam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (Trieste, Italy) in Malaysia, Vietnam and Jordan to support experts from developing countries.

The role of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) for NPPs (nuclear power plants) is an estimation of the risks in absolute terms and in comparison with other risks of the technical and the natural world. Plant-specific PSAs are being prepared for the NPPs and being applied for detection of weaknesses, design improvement and backfitting, incident analysis, accident management, emergency preparedness, prioritization of research & development and support of regulatory activities.

There are three levels of PSA, being performed for full power and low power operation and shutdown operating modes of the plant: Level 1 PSA, Level 2 PSA and Level 3 PSA. The nuclear regulatory authorities do not require the level 3 PSA for NPPs in the member countries of the European Union. So, only limited number of NPPs has available the level 3 PSA in Europe. However, in the light of the Fukushima accident the performance of such analyses is strongly recommended in the future. This book is intended for professionals working in the nuclear industry, and researchers and students interested in nuclear research.

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Observations of uncertainty in measured data with time improves forecasting capability in a wide range of fields in engineering. This book provides an introduction to uncertainty forecasting based on fuzzy time series. It details descriptive, modeling, and forecasting methods for fuzzy time series. Coverage places emphasis on forecasting based on fuzzy random processes as well as forecasting involving fuzzy neuronal networks.

This book provides readers with extensive information on path planning optimization for both single and multiple Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGVs), and discusses practical issues involved in advanced industrial applications of AGVs. After discussing previously published research in the field and highlighting the current gaps, it introduces new models developed by the authors with the goal of reducing costs and increasing productivity and effectiveness in the manufacturing industry. The new models address the increasing complexity of manufacturing networks, due for example to the adoption of flexible manufacturing systems that involve automated material handling systems, robots, numerically controlled machine tools, and automated inspection stations, while also considering the uncertainty and stochastic nature of automated equipment such as AGVs. The book discusses and provides solutions to important issues concerning the use of AGVs in the manufacturing industry, including material flow optimization with AGVs, programming manufacturing systems equipped with AGVs, reliability models, the reliability of AGVs, routing under uncertainty, and risks involved in AGV-based transportation. The clear style and straightforward descriptions of problems and their solutions make the book an excellent resource for graduate students. Moreover, thanks to its practice-oriented approach, the novelty of the findings and the contemporary topic it reports on, the book offers new stimulus for researchers and practitioners in the broad field of production engineering.

Industrial production is one of the most basic human activities indispensable to the economic activity. Due to its complexity, production is not very well understood and modeled as opposed to traditional fields of inquiry such as physics. This book aims at enhancing rigorous understanding of a particular area of production, that of analysis and optimization of production lines and networks using discrete event models and simulation. To our knowledge, this is the first book treating this subject from the point of view mentioned above. We have arrived at the realization that discrete event models and simulation provide perhaps the best tools to model production lines and networks for a number of reasons. Analysis is precise but demands enormous computational resources, usually unavailable in practical situations. Brute force simulation is also precise but slow when quick decisions are to be made. Approximate analytical models are fast but often unreliable as far as accuracy is concerned. The approach of the book, on the other hand, combines speed and accuracy to an exceptional degree in most practical applications.

This book provides a Management Science approach to quality management in food production. Aspects of food quality, product conformance and reliability/food safety are examined, starting with wheat and ending with its value chain transformation into bread. Protein qualities that influence glycemic index levels in bread are used to compare the value chains of France and the US. With Kaizen models the book shows how changes in these characteristics are the result of management decisions made by the wheat growers in response to government policy and industry strategy. Lately, it provides step-by-step instructions on how to apply kaizen methodology and Deming's work on quality improvement to make the HACCPs (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) in food safety systems more robust.

This book comprises the select proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Future Learning Aspects of Mechanical Engineering (FLAME) 2020. In particular, this volume discusses different topics of industrial and production engineering such as sustainable manufacturing processes, logistics, Industry 4.0 practices, circular economy, lean six sigma, agile manufacturing, additive manufacturing, IoT and Big Data in manufacturing, 3D printing, simulation, manufacturing management and automation, surface roughness, multi-objective optimization and modelling for production processes, developments in casting, welding, machining, and machine tools. The contents of this book will be useful for researchers as well as industry professionals.

The primary aim of this volume is to provide researchers and engineers from both academic and industry with up-to-date coverage of new results in the field of robotic welding, intelligent systems and automation. The book is mainly based on papers selected from the 2020 International Conference on Robotic Welding, Intelligence and Automation (RWIA'2020) in Shanghai and Lanzhou, China. The articles show that the intelligentized welding manufacturing (IWM) is becoming an inevitable trend with the intelligentized robotic welding as the key technology. The volume is divided into four logical parts: Intelligent Techniques for Robotic Welding, Sensing of Arc Welding Processing, Modeling and Intelligent Control of Welding Processing, as well as Intelligent Control and its Applications in Engineering.

The author is one of the prominent researchers in the field of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a powerful data analysis tool that can be used in performance evaluation and benchmarking. This book is based upon the author's years of research and teaching experiences. It is difficult to evaluate an organization's performance when multiple performance metrics are present. The difficulties are further enhanced when the relationships among the performance metrics are complex and involve unknown tradeoffs. This book introduces Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as a multiple-measure performance evaluation and benchmarking tool. The focus of performance evaluation and benchmarking is shifted from characterizing performance in terms of single measures to evaluating performance as a multidimensional systems perspective. Conventional and new DEA approaches are presented and discussed using Excel spreadsheets - one of the most effective ways to analyze and evaluate decision alternatives. The user can easily develop and customize new DEA models based upon these spreadsheets. DEA models and approaches are presented to deal with performance evaluation problems in a variety of contexts. For example, a context-dependent DEA measures the relative attractiveness of similar operations/processes/products. Sensitivity analysis techniques can be easily applied, and used to identify critical performance measures. Two-stage network efficiency models can be utilized to study performance of supply chain. DEA benchmarking models extend DEA's ability in performance evaluation. Various cross efficiency approaches are presented to provide peer evaluation scores. This book also provides an easy-to-use DEA software - DEAFrontier. This DEAFrontier is an Add-In for Microsoft (R) Excel and provides a custom menu of DEA approaches. This version of DEAFrontier is for use with Excel 97-2013 under Windows and can solve up to 50 DMUs, subject to the capacity of Excel Solver. It is an extremely powerful tool that can assist decision-makers in benchmarking and analyzing complex operational performance issues in manufacturing organizations as well as evaluating processes in banking, retail, franchising, health care, public services and many other industries.

Agile manufacturing is defined as the capability of surviving and prospering in a competitive environment of continuous and unpredictable change by reacting quickly and effectively to changing markets, driven by customer-designed products and services. Critical to successfully accomplishing AM are a few enabling technologies such as the standard for the exchange of products (STEP), concurrent engineering, virtual manufacturing, component-based hierarchical shop floor control system, information and communication infrastructure, etc.

The scope of the book is to present the undergraduate and graduate students, senior managers and researchers in manufacturing systems design and management, industrial engineering and information technology with the conceptual and theoretical basis for the design and implementation of AMS. Also, the book focuses on broad policy directives and plans of agile manufacturing that guide the monitoring and evaluating the manufacturing strategies and their performance. A problem solving approach is taken throughout the book, emphasizing the context of agile manufacturing and the complexities to be addressed.