Search results for "Engineering design process"
showing 10 items of 85 documents
Start-up and shutdown thermomechanical transient analyses of the IFMIF European lithium target system
2014
In the framework of the current IFMIF Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activities (IFMIF/EVEDA) phase, ENEA is responsible for the design of the European concept of the IFMIF lithium target system which foresees the possibility to periodically replace only the most irradiated and thus critical component (i.e., the backplate) while continuing to operate the rest of the target for a longer period (bayonet backplate concept). With the objective of evaluating the performances of the system in terms of temperature, stress and displacement fields evolution during start-up and shutdown phases, an uncoupled thermomechanical transient analysis has been performed in close collaboration w…
Sensitivity analysis for optimal shape design problems
1989
Various methods for performing the sensitivity analysis in solving optimal shape design problems are outlined. The methods are illustrated in detail in the finite setting of a unilateral boundary value problem of the Dirichlet-Signorini type. The methods are compared in several numerical examples.
A survey on handling computationally expensive multiobjective optimization problems using surrogates: non-nature inspired methods
2015
Computationally expensive multiobjective optimization problems arise, e.g. in many engineering applications, where several conflicting objectives are to be optimized simultaneously while satisfying constraints. In many cases, the lack of explicit mathematical formulas of the objectives and constraints may necessitate conducting computationally expensive and time-consuming experiments and/or simulations. As another challenge, these problems may have either convex or nonconvex or even disconnected Pareto frontier consisting of Pareto optimal solutions. Because of the existence of many such solutions, typically, a decision maker is required to select the most preferred one. In order to deal wi…
Design of sheet stamping operations to control springback and thinning: a multi-objective stochastic optimization approach
2010
Abstract The aim of this paper is to develop a design tool for stamping processes, which is able to deal with the scattering of the final part quality due to the inner variability of such operations. Such variability is one of the main drawbacks for a robust process design. It results in a scattering of the most significant process results and depends on several parameters. The so called noise factors greatly influence final result variability, which often means rejecting parts and anyway achieving final properties different from the specified ones. The process investigated in the paper is an S-shaped U-channel stamping operation carried out on a lightweight aluminum alloy of automotive int…
A NEW PROGRESSIVE DESIGN METHODOLOGY FOR COMPLEX SHEET METAL STAMPING OPERATIONS: COUPLING SPATIALLY DIFFERENTIATED RESTRAINING FORCES APPROACH AND M…
2010
The growing interest in sheet metal stamping processes, particularly in the automotive industry has led to three main issues in this field:*request of very complex shapes; *growing interest in springback control; *solution of multi-objective problems. These issues make a sheet metal stamping processes design very difficult and proper design methodologies to reduce times and costs are highly required. In this paper, a computer aided approach aiming to satisfy the mentioned issues is proposed. In particular, a progressive design approach based on the integration between numerical simulations, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Pareto optimal solutions search techniques was applied in orde…
A cooperative mobile robot and manipulator system (Co-MRMS) for transport and lay-up of fibre plies in modern composite material manufacture
2021
AbstractComposite materials are widely used in industry due to their light weight and specific performance. Currently, composite manufacturing mainly relies on manual labour and individual skills, especially in transport and lay-up processes, which are time consuming and prone to errors. As part of a preliminary investigation into the feasibility of deploying autonomous robotics for composite manufacturing, this paper presents a case study that investigates a cooperative mobile robot and manipulator system (Co-MRMS) for material transport and composite lay-up, which mainly comprises a mobile robot, a fixed-base manipulator and a machine vision sub-system. In the proposed system, marker-base…
A methodology for the reduction of imprecision in the engineering process
1997
Abstract Engineering design is characterized by a high level of imprecision, vague parameters, and ill-defined relationships. In design, imprecision reduction must occur to arrive at a final product specification. Few design systems exist for adequately representing design imprecision, and formally reducing it to precise values. Fuzzy set theory has considerable potential for addressing the imprecision in design. However, it lacks a formal methodology for system development and operation. One repercussion of this is that imprecision reduction is, at present, implemented in a relatively ad-hoc manner. The main contribution of this paper is to introduce a methodology called precision converge…
The European contribution to the development and validation activities for the design of IFMIF lithium facility
2013
The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) is an accelerator-driven intense neutron source where candidate materials for fusion reactors will be tested and validated. The high energy neutron flux is produced by means of two deuteron beams (total current of 250 mA, energy of 40 MeV) that strikes a liquid lithium target circulating in a lithium loop of IFMIF plant. The European (EU) contribution to the development of the lithium facility comprises five procurement packages, as follow: (1) participation to the experimental activities of the EVEDA lithium test loop in Oarai (Japan); (2) study aimed at evaluating the corrosion and erosion phenomena, promoted by lithium, for …
Explaining failures in innovative thought processes in engineering design
2012
Abstract The aim of this study is to explore factors causing failures in innovative thought processes in engineering design. An innovation process is here understood as a complex and multi-phased thinking and problem solving process generating new and mostly unforeseeable solutions. The phases are partly overlapping and simultaneous. This complicated nature of innovation process demands a lot from innovation management, and thus it is not unusual that innovation processes fail. Identifying problems and shortcomings is important because it helps organizations to eliminate them in the future. This study focus on thought processes of individual participants in an innovation process, which is r…
Optimization of structures with unrestricted dynamic shakedown constraints
2015
The unrestricted dynamic shakedown theory is here utilized with the aim to formulate different optimal design problems for structures mainly subjected to seismic loads. In particular, reference is made to plane frame structures constituted by elastic perfectly plastic material subjected to load combinations characterized by the presence of simultaneous fixed and seismic actions. The design problems, formulated on the ground of a statical approach, are devoted to structures with and without seismic protection devices, with special emphasis to seismic isolators. For the proposed design problem formulations different constraints are utilized; actually, for structures without protection devices…