The art of the leading 20th century still-life painter Giorgio Morandi (1898–1960) drew inspiration from various sources. One of the most important points of reference was Jean Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, an older master of still life active in the 18th century. In this article, the dialogue with Chardin will thus be considered in the context of important inter-pictorial associations leading to the reflection on the approach of both masters to the studied objects. Formal similarities between their paintings allow us to question their relationships in terms of the ways of representing objects, with a particular emphasis on the difference in their materialization in the field of vision.

An analysis of their works shows that in Chardin’s case the pictorial status and living texture of objects is an extension of the interior in which they are located, while in Morandi’s they are isolated from it and their earlier functions. The objects appearing in the paintings of the Bolognese painter are largely ‘eviscerated’ of any references to the rhythm of everyday life. Instead of a free gaze, characteristic of the domesticated atmosphere evoked by Chardin’s paintings, Morandi’s compositions force the viewer to an intense and focused contemplation, which corresponds to the painter’s own intense observation of the objects in his studio. An important aspect of the comparison will be an analysis of the temporality of the perception of objects implied by the works of both artists. Chardin’s still lifes aim to bring together the temporality of seeing objects and the time of seeing an image. They play their game by simulating in the pictures the natural process of looking – they allow the viewers to freely immerse themselves in the temporal development of the image. In their expression, Chardin’s paintings thus encourage the viewers to come to terms with the material reality of the surrounding world. If the 18th century artist stages in his still lifes the man’s time of looking at objects, Morandi activates the distinct temporality of the image itself. Looking at the latter’s works we experience pictorial fluctuations, in connection with which objects appear like actors leaving their everyday lives behind them. In this register, they become participants in the drama taking place in the act of observation, which touches upon the foundations of their existence. In Morandi’s paintings, the viewer is prompted to reflect on the distance between one object and another; to experience the threshold between oneself and things.

This article, however, is not limited to the identification of analogies and differences, but also aims to show a special relationship in which Chardin’s work stages elements of a still-life painter’s practice. From this point of view, Morandi’s reception of Chardin’s Boy Building a House of Cards is important. An analysis of the testimony of the Italian artist’s encounter with this painting during his stay in Winterthur shows that the art of the 18th century painter was for Morandi an object of a unique self-reflexive and existential identification.

The presented method is constructed for optimum scheduling in production lines with parallel

machines and without intermediate buffers. The production system simultaneously

performs operations on various types of products. Multi-option products were taken into

account – products of a given type may differ in terms of details. This allows providing for

individual requirements of the customers. The one-level approach to scheduling for multioption

products is presented. The integer programming is used in the method – optimum

solutions are determined: the shortest schedules for multi-option products. Due to the lack

of the intermediate buffers, two possibilities are taken into account: no-wait scheduling,

possibility of the machines being blocked by products awaiting further operations. These two

types of organizing the flow through the production line were compared using computational

experiments, the results of which are presented in the paper.

This study demonstrates application of Lean techniques to improve working process in

a sewing machine factory, focusing on the raw material picking process. The value stream

mapping and flow process chart techniques were utilized to identify the value added activities,

non-value activities and necessary but non-value added activities in the current

process. The ECRS (Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange and Simplify) in waste reduction was

subsequently applied to improve the working process by (i) adjusting the raw material picking

procedures and pre-packing raw material as per demand, (ii) adding symbols onto the

containers to reduce time spent in picking material based on visual control principle, and

(iii) developing and zoning storage area, identifying level location for each row and also

applying algorithms generated from a solver program and linear programming to appropriately

define the location of raw material storage. Improvement in the raw material picking

process was realized, cutting down six out of 11 procedures in material picking or by 55%,

reducing material picking time from 24 to 4 min or by 83%. The distance to handle material

in the warehouse can be shortened by 120 m per time or 2,400 m per day, equal to 86%

reduction. Lean techniques

Technological assurance and improvement of the economic efficiency of production are the

first-priority issues for the modern manufacturing engineering area. It is possible to achieve

a higher value of economic efficiency in multiproduct manufacturing by multicriteria optimization.

A set of optimality criteria based on technological and economic indicators was

defined with the aim of selecting the optimal manufacturing process. Competitive variants

and a system of optimization were developed and investigated. A comparative analysis of

the optimality criteria and their influence on the choice of optimal machining processes was

carried out. It was determine

Low cost manufacturing of quality products remains an essential part of present economy

and technological advances made it possible. Advances and amalgamation of information

technology bring the production systems at newer level. Industry 4.0, factory for future,

smart factory, digital manufacturing, and industrial automation are the new buzz words of

industry stalwarts and academicians. These new technological revolutions bound to change

not only the complete manufacturing scenarios but many other sectors of the society. In this

paper an attempt has been made to capture the essence of Industry 4.0 by redefining it in

simple words, further its complex, disruptive nature and inevitability along with technologies

backing it has been discussed. Its enabling role in manufacturing philosophies like Lean

Manufacturing, and Flexible Manufacturing are also

This paper presents a new welding quality evaluation approach depending on the analysis

by the fuzzy logic and controlling the process capability of the friction stir welding of

pipes (FSWoP). This technique has been applied in an experimental work developed by

alternating the FSW of pipes process major parameters: rotation speed, pipe wall thickness

and travel speed. variable samples were friction stir welded of pipes using from 485 to 1800

rpm, 4–10 mm/min and 2–4 mm for the rotation speed, the travel speed, and the pipe wall

thickness respectively. DMAIC methodology (Defining, Measuring, Analyzing, Improving,

Control) has been used as an approach to analyze the FSW of pipes, it depends on the

attachment potency and technical commonplace demand of the FSW of pipes process.

The analysis controlled the Al 6061 friction stir welded joints’ tensile strength. To obtain

the best tensile strength, the study determined the optimum values for the parameters from

the corresponding range.

The paper proposes three multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods for the selection

of an industrial robot for a universal, flexible assembly station, taking into consideration the

technical and performance parameters of the robot. Fuzzy versions of AHP and TOPSIS

methods as well as SMART were chosen from the variety of MCDM methods as they represent

different attitudes to analysis. In order to minimise the impact of the method applied on

the final decision, a list of results of the analyses has been developed and a final classification

has been made based on decision makers’ preferences concerning selected parameters of the

robot.

Up to date, workload and worker performance in Small Medium-sized Enterprise (SMEs)

was assessed manually. KESAN (Kansei Engineering-based Sensor for Agroindustry) was

developed as a tool to assess worker workload and performance. The latest prototype of

KESAN was established. As the final step prior to the full-scale mass production, an industrial

design was required and must be designed based on the validation to user needs. This

research proposed an industrial design for mass production of KESAN using Kano model

and Quality Function Deployment (QFD). The user needs was extracted from attributive

analysis of Kano model. The matrix of House of Quality (HOQ) was utilized to connect

the user needs and technical requirement. The research result validated Thirteen (13) user

need attributes. The most important attribute was desktop application as an integrated

decision support system. Fourteen (14) technical requirement attributes were identified to

fulfil the user needs. Finally, a prototype was developed based on product final specification

and prioritized technical requirements.

Labor absenteeism is a factor that affects the good performance of organizations in any

part of the world, from the instability that is generated in the functioning of the system.

This is evident in the effects on quality, productivity, reaction time, among other aspects.

The direct causes by which it occurs are generally known and with greater reinforcement

the diseases are located, without distinguishing possible classifications. However, behind

these or other causes can be found other possible factors of incidence, such as age or sex.

This research seeks to explore, through the application of neural networks, the possible

relationship between different variables and their incidence in the levels of absenteeism. To

this end, a neural networks model is constructed from the use of a population of more than

12,000 employees, representative of various classification categories. The study allowed the

characterization of the influence of the different variables studied, supported in addition to

the performance of an ANOVA analysis that allowed to corroborate and clarify the results

of the neural network analysis.

Seasonality is a function of a time series in which the data experiences regular and predictable

changes that repeat each calendar year. Two-stage stochastic programming model

for real industrial systems at the case of a seasonal demand is presented. Sampling average

approximation (SAA) method was applied to solve a stochastic model which gave a productive

structure for distinguishing and statistically testing a different production plan. Lingo

tool is developed to obtain the optimal solution for the proposed model which is validated

by Math works Matlab. The actual data of the industrial system; from the General Manufacturing

Company, was applied to examine the proposed model. Seasonal future demand

is then estimated using the multiplicative seasonal method, the effect of seasonality was

presented and discussed. One might say that the proposed model is viewed as a moderately

accurate tool for industrial systems in case of seasonal demand. The current research may

be considered a significant tool in case of seasonal demand. To illustrate the applicability of

the proposed model a numerical example is solved using the proposed technique. ANOVA

analysis is applied using MINITAB 17 statistical software to validate the obtained results.

The operation of thermal devices and installations, in particular heat exchangers, is associated

with the formation of various deposits of sediments, forming the boiler scale. The

amount of precipitate depends on the quality of the flowing liquids treatment, as well as

the intensity of the use of devices. There are both mechanical and chemical treatment methods

to remove these deposits. The chemical methods of boiler scale treatment include the

cleaning method consisting in dissolving boiler scale inside heat devices. Worked out descaling

concentrate contains phosphoric acid (V) and the components that inhibit corrosion,

anti-foam substances, as well as anti-microbial substances as formalin, ammonium chloride,

copper sulphate and zinc sulfate. Dissolution of the boiler scale results in the formation of

wastewater which can be totally utilized as raw materials in phosphoric fertilizer produc

The article presents an assessment of the value of the post-industrial landscape in the town of Rydułtowy using a comprehensive approach. It includes: 1) Defining the scope of the study taking into account regional context; 2) Inventory of mining facilities; 3) Desk study; 4) Field research and interviews; 5) Value assessment and guidelines. For assessing the value of the post-mining landscape the Architectural-Landscape Units & Interiors method was selected. The usefulness of the proposed method for the post-industrial landscape assessment was demonstrated using the case of Rydułtowy, a mining town. This article also describes the history of the mining activities in the town of Rydułtowy. The significance of the more than 200 years of mining on the growth and expansion of the town as well as its identity is reviewed. Special attention is given to the history and the present state of the most prominent element of the landscape, namely the cone-shaped landfill – Szarlota. The guidelines resulting from applying the proposed landscape value assessment are useful for a number of stakeholders and future activities planned for both the cone heaps and the mining plant.

The structural system of a multiple strip-shaped pillar-roof is common in underground mine exploitation, and research on its mechanics and micro/macroeconomics is meaningful for utilizing strip-shaped pillar resources. A general model of the structural system of a multiple strip-shaped pillar-roof was established, the deformation mechanism of the model was analysed by material mechanics, and the deflection curve equations of the model were obtained. Based on the stress strain constitutive relation of the strip pillar and cusp catastrophe theory, the nonlinear dynamic instability mechanism of the structural system of a multiple strip-shaped pillar-roof was analysed, and the expressions of the pillar width for maintaining the stability of different types of structural systems were derived. The benefits of different structural systems were calculated using micro/macroeconomic theory, the type of the structural system was determined, and different recovery schemes were obtained. Theoretical application research was applied to a large manganese mine, and the results demonstrate that no pillar recovery was needed in 2016, a 9-m wide artificial pillar could be built to replace a pillar in 2017, and the construction of 14-m wide artificial pillars can be conducted in 2018.

The aim of the study was to develop an assessment methodology for the temperature of the surface of the friction pair during the braking for mine hoists. During the braking process, the work of friction is transformed into heat at the level of friction surfaces, and in case high temperatures are reached, the friction coefficient is influenced negatively, thus the risk of braking failure exists. In the first part of the study we measured the temperature of the friction surfaces for a particular case of hoist in real braking conditions. In the second part of the study is presented a theoretical model for the calculation of the temperatures resulted in the braking process for the hoist equipped with shoe brakes. The theoretical model for calculation was simulated numerically for a particular case in real braking conditions. Based on the conclusions resulted after the study, a series of hypotheses and recommendations for adjusting the control of the process parameters have been given out, in order to avoid the excessive heating of the brakes of the hoists and, respectively, their improved safety, maintenance and availability.

Subnetwork with two nodes shared with entire ventilation network can be separated as its part. For the network under common ventilation conditions, one of these nodes will become the subnetwork starting node, while the other will be the subnetwork end node. According to the graphs theory, such a piece of the network can be considered as a subgraph of the graph representing the entire ventilation network. A special feature of that subgraph is lack of predecessors of the subnetwork starting node and lack of successors of the subnetwork end node. Ventilation district of a mine may be often treated as a subnetwork. Vicinity is a part of the network which is not separated as subnetwork. In the case of a ventilation district its vicinity forces air flow through the district. The alternative characteristic curve of the vicinity can therefore be compared to the characteristics curve of a fictional fan that forces the airflow in the district.

The alternative characteristics (later in the text: the characteristics) of the vicinity of the ventilation district in an underground mine strongly influence air quantity and therefore play a crucial role in the reduction of methane, fire and thermal hazards. The role of these characteristics and proper selection of their approximating function were presented in the article.

The reduction of resistance of an intake stopping (having influence on entire resistance of a ventilation district) produces increased airflow in the district. This changes of airflow in the district caused by a variation in internal resistance (e.g. by opening an internal regulation stopping) depends on the characteristic of the vicinity of the district. Proper selection of its approximating function is also important for this matter.

The methods of determination of the alternative characteristic curve of the district vicinity are presented. From these procedures it was possible to obtain the results of air quantities and differences in isentropic potentials between an inlet and an outlet to/from the ventilation district. Following this, the characteristics were determined by graphic and analytic methods. It was proved that, in contrast to flat vicinity characteristics, steep ones have a smaller influence on the airflow modification in the district (which are caused by a regulation of the district resistance). The characteristic curve of the vicinity determines the ability to regulate air quantity and velocity in the district.

Stemming plugs are one of the widely used accessory in surface mining operations. Stemming plugs assist conventional stemming material in gas retention and help in better fragmentation and explosive utilization. Effective use of the stemming plugs results in economic benefits and enhance the efficacy of the project. Economic and productive viability of stemming plugs have been conducted in depth by different researchers. Addition of stemming plugs to a new system requires ergonomic challenges for operators conducting drilling and blasting operation. Induction of a newer product in already established system is subject to overall positive feedback. This work investigates ergonomics of three different stemming plugs introduced to a limestone quarry in Pakistan. The stemming plugs were evaluated based on extra time needed, workers feedback, failures during operation, recovery time after failure and number of extra equipment required to carry out the operation. Points based matrix was established with likeliness of each plug and based on overall scores stemming plug 1 was most acceptable followed by stemming plug 3. Stemming plug 2 was disliked by operation and did not reach the level of acceptability of operators. This work will help stemming plug making industry in adapting to best practices by incorporating ergonomics of plugs in designing. Literature shows no previous work on ergonomics of stemming plugs.

The longwall mining system with fall of the roof is still the most common hard coal extraction system in Polish mining. Its utilization for selective coal seams’ mining results in the development of post-extraction gobs at different depths. Methane desorption phenomena from the coal seams in the stress release zones and migration of gas towards the area of operations, result in methane accumulating also after completion of coal exploitation. Methane which is not exploited from the gobs can migrate directly to the atmosphere e.g. through overlying layers, faults, workings or directly via an operated ventilation grid of an adjacent coal mine – contributing to the Greenhouse Gas effect. One of the methods to capture methane (Abandoned Maine Methane) from abandoned coal mines is to drill vertical wells through several post-extraction gobs from the surface.

This paper presents the results of drilling operations at the AGH-Wieczorek-1 well, where first time in Poland, down-the-hole-hammer (DTH) with casing-while-drilling (CwD) technology were used to drill through several post-extraction gobs. The AGH-Wieczorek-1 well with 440.0 m MD was successfully drilled without any complications. Finally, three post-extraction gobs and two coal seams were drilled. Additionally, results from drillability tests, which were performed during drilling operations, are presented.

Geographical Information Systems have become essential tools for land analysis and the subsequent decision making in many fields of human activity. In the field of mining, GIS applications have appeared in ore deposit modelling, environmental pollution, or planning of mining spaces. In this research, the powerful multicriteria tools of GIS platforms have been applied for the determination of an index that has been called “Exploitability Index”. This index allows analyzing a series of outcrops of industrial aggregates, to help in the selection of the most adequate one to be enhanced from a mining approach. The multicriteria analysis has been applied for its determination, and as a result of this research, a model is proposed. The main criteria that condition the decision have been established in this model, along with their subsequent hierarchization and their weighting. The proposed model is applied to a specific case: the analysis of a series of outcrops of industrial aggregates (ophites) in Cantabria, Spain. After defining the Exploitability Index for those ophitic outcrops, it has been observed that the only deposit that has been classified as very suitable for its exploitation is the only one that has been really exploited, supporting the proposed methodology.

The article attempts to transfer information from the Point Nuisance Method (PNM) used in Poland in the issue of protection of buildings in mining areas, to the system of inference based on Bayesian formalism. For this purpose, all possible combinations occurring in PNM were selected. The number of numerically generated patterns was 6,718,464 cases. Then, based on Python package Scikit-Learn, a classification model was created in the form of the Naïve Bayes Classifier (NBC). The effectiveness of three methods used to build this type of decision-support system was analysed, from which the Categorical Multinomial Naive Bayes (CMNB) approach was finally selected. With the created classifier, its properties were verified in terms of quality of classify and generalization. For this purpose a general approach was used, analysing the level of accuracy of the model in relation to training and teaching data, and detailed, based on the analysis of the confusion matrix. Additionally, the operation of the created classifier was simulated to determine the optimal Laplace smoothing parameter α. The article ends with conclusions from the carried out calculations, in which an attempt was made to answer the question concerning potential reasons for incorrect classification of the created CMNB model. The discussion ends with a reference to the planned research, in which, among other things, the use of more complex Bayesian belief networks (BBN) is planned.

In this study, the compressive deformation of crushed sandstone was tested using a crushed rock deformation-seepage test system, and the effects of various factors, including crushed rock grade, grade combination, water saturation status, and stress loading method (i.e., continuous loading or cyclic loading and unloading), on the compressive deformation of crushed sandstone was analyzed from four perspectives including stress-strain, bulking coefficient, deformation mechanism and energy dissipation. The results indicate that the stress-strain relations of crushed sandstone are closely associated with all factors considered, and are well represented by exponential functions. The strain observed for a given applied stress increased with increasing crushed rock grade throughout the loading period. Crushed sandstone grades were combined according to a grading index (n), where the proportion of large-grade rocks in the sample increased with increasing n. The bearing capacity of a water-saturated crushed sandstone sample with n = 0.2 was less than that of an equivalent dry sample for a given applied stress. The stress-strain curve of a water-saturated crushed sandstone sample with n = 0.2 under cyclic loading and unloading was similar to that obtained under continuous loading. Observation and discovery, the deformation mechanism of crushed sandstone was mainly divided into four stages, including crushing, rupture, corner detachment and corner wear. And 20% of the work done by testing machine is used for friction between the crushed sandstone with the inner wall of the test chamber, and 80% is used for the closing of the void between the crushed sandstone, friction sliding, crushing damage.

Monitoring the stress change of bolt and knowing the anchoring condition in a reasonable and effective way, accurately, can effectively prevent tunnel accident from breaking out. The stress of rock mass around the roadway is usually transferred to the anchor rod in the form of axial load, so it is of great significance to study the axial load of the bolt. In this paper, a full size anchoring and drawing experiment system was designed and established, innovatively, which realized the pull-out test of 2.5 m prestressed end Anchorage and the full-length Anchorage by using the new resin anchorage agent under vertical and horizontal loads. Through the application of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing technology to the test of full-scale anchor rod, the axial force distribution characteristics of the end Anchorage and the full-length Anchorage anchor rod were obtained under the action of pre-tightening torque and confining rock pressure. The comparison indicates that the proportion of high stress range accounts for only 17.5% and the main bearing range is near the thread end of anchor rod, the proportion of main bearing range of end Anchorage is 83.3%, and the feasibility of FBG force-measuring anchor rod is verified in the field. The research results have certain reference value.

The mine seals in coal mines with a good impact resistance and air tightness are mainly used to isolate abandoned mining areas from active workings. For one thing, it can prevent the leakage of harmful gases, such as toxic gas from abandoned areas. For another, once an underground mine explosion happens, it can effectively block the spread of the explosion between the abandoned mining areas and the active workings. Hence, it is of great significance to study the explosion-proof performance and mechanical properties of the mine seals. First of all, the effect of slotting on the stability of the seals in coal mines under explosion load was explored in this study. By numerical simulations, the mechanical response characteristics of the seals with or without cutting a slot under the explosion load were compared in detail. The results show that slotting improved the stress concentration at the contact surface of surrounding rock by transferring partial impact received by mine seals to the surrounding rocks, thus, to achieve the effect of buffering explosion impact. Besides, such effect will be enhanced with increasing cutting depth into rock, and will stabilize when the depth is 20 cm. On this basis, the mechanical properties and damage of the seals constructed by different materials (standard brick and #C40 concrete) under the explosion load were compared. It was found that once a slot was set, the maximum deformation of the concrete seal was reduced, while the maximum deformation of the brick seal increased. Since the non-deformability of the concrete seal is obviously stronger than that of the brick seal, with the impact resistance stronger than that of the brick seal, the concrete seal is more suitable for slotting. Moreover, the damage of the seals in underground coal mines under the strata ground pressure was studied; the results of which show that the damage state under the ground pressure can be divided into 3 levels, i.e. no damage, minor damage and rapid development of damage. Meanwhile, it was found that the prestressed structure formed by the ground pressure at the level of no damage can enhance the protective effect of the seals in coal mines. However, when the ground pressure was further developed, the seal itself was destroyed and the protective effect was lost. In addition, the influence of roof to floor moving convergence, a deformation parameter of the roadway, on the seals was also investigated. The results show that the ground pressure and roof-to-floor convergence act on the seals in coal mines in the same way, thus roof to floor moving convergence can replace the ground pressure to analyze other related mechanical properties of the seals in coal mines in the future researches.

This study is aimed at evaluating the applicability of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model technique for river discharge forecasting. Feed-forward multilayer perceptron neural network trained with back-propagation algorithm was employed for model development. Hydro-meteorological data for the Imo River watershed, that was collected from the Anambra-Imo River Basin Development Authority, Owerri – Imo State, South-East, Nigeria, was used to train, validate and test the model. Coefficients of determination results are 0.91, 0.91 and 0.93 for training, validation and testing periodsrespectively. River discharge forecasts were fitted against actual discharge data for one to five lead days. Model results gave R2 values of 0.95, 0.95, 0.92, 0.96 and 0.94 for first, second, third, fourth, and fifth lead days of forecasts, respectively. It was generally observed that the R2 values decreased with increase in lead days for the model. Generally, this tech-nique proved to be effective in river discharge modelling for flood forecasting for shorter lead-day times, especially in areas with limited data sets.