The goal of this paper is to present the author’s thoughts on the possible contribution of
quality engineering to sustainable development. It is indicated that in the product life cycle
designers have the greatest potential to support this challenge. Arguments have been presented to abandon the commonly accepted paradigm, according to which the overriding goal
of the designer is to achieve the highest market value possible measured by the prospected
level of demand for the products designed. It is postulated to include the minimization of
the risks brought to the natural environment and social relations as a criterion of product
design quality. To this goal, it is necessary for designers to pursue both environmentally
friendly materials and technologies and design concepts reducing consumers’ pressure on
continuously increasing demand. Such an approach will allow for more effective control of
consumption, the main cause of the negative effects of economic growth.
The enzymatic synthesis of a highly hydrophobic product (dipeptide precursor) in which the reaction is accompanied by the mass transfer of the reaction product to the organic phase and the substrates to the water phase is considered. Equations describing both continuous and batch processes are formulated. The range of variability in the operating parameters of such a bioreactor is specified, and the correlations reported in the literature to describe mass transfer in the membrane contactor are validated. The proposed process was verified experimentally, and good agreement between the determined and calculated concentrations was obtained in both phases.
The aim of the present theme issue was to study the influence of ultrasound enhancement on the kinetics of osmotic dehydration and the effect of convective drying from the point of view of drying time and quality of dried products. Apple fruit was used as the experimental material. The kinetics of osmotic dehydration with (UAOD) and without (OD) ultrasound enhancement were examined for 40% fructose and sorbitol solutions. The effective dehydration time of osmotic process was determined. Preliminary dehydrated samples with OD and UAOD were next dried convectively with (CVUS) and without (CV) ultrasound assistance. The influence of OD and UAOD on the kinetics of CV and CVUS drying was analysed. The parameters of water activity and colour change were measured for the assessment of product quality after drying process.
The article contains basic information associated with the impact of the FSW process parameters on the forming of a weld while friction
welding of aluminium casting alloys. Research was conducted using specially made samples containing a rod of casting alloy mounted in
the wrought alloy in the selected area of FSW tool acting. Research has thrown light on the process of joining materials of significantly
dissimilar physical properties, such as casting alloys and wrought alloys. Metallographic testing of a weld area has revealed the big impact
of welding conditions, especially tool rotational speed, on the degree of metal stirring, grain refinement and shape factor of a weld. As the
result of research it has been stated that at the high tool rotational speed, the metals stirring in a weld is significantly greater than in case of
welding at low rotational speeds, however this fails to influence the strength of a weld. Plastic strain occurring while welding causes very
high refinement of particles in the tested area and changing of their shape towards particles being more equiaxial. In the properly selected
welding conditions it is possible to obtain joints of correct and repeatable structure, however in the case of the accumulation of cavities in
the casting alloy the FSW process not always eliminates them.
The paper is focused on the main problems of modern metrology in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution “Industry 4.0”, particularly in the field of qualimetry. The dominant issues of the methodology of qualimetrical measurement, as the interrelation between metrology and qualimetry, are considered. The following questions are raised and analysed: determination of the measurand in the qualimetrical measurement, creation of the virtual product quality pattern, determination of the product quality level by using the theory of multidimensional scaling, assurance of the metrological traceability of the qualimetrical measurement results. A procedure of performing the qualimetrical measurement is described.
The aim of the study was to identify and present the set of activities undertaken to develop an innovative offer of medical treatments by the health resorts facilities Mineral Hotel Malinowy Raj with Baseny Mineralne (mineral pools) situated in a health resort Solec-Zdrój in the świętokrzyskie voivodeship. The research covered the years 2012-2017 and was based on an analysis of the current offers of the selected facilities and of the revitalisation programme for the gmina as well as on the observations and field inspection. It has shown that the resort is becoming multi-functional, offering various options for health improvement, leisure and relax, and developing innovative medical and tourist functions, the latter including sports and well-being. Inevitably, all these changes have their impact on the economic situation of Solec-Zdrój.
The aim of the paper is to identify trends in the development of health and active tourism. In order to meet the above mentioned objective, a method of critical analysis of desk research was implemented, mainly a synthetic analysis of relevant scientific publications and reports. Against the background of globalization, the development of tourism is determined by, among others, demographic, economic and technological factors. The microtrends referring to contemporary consumers are of the utmost importance. The lifestyle significantly reflects the need for pro-health services. Health and active tourism are an antidote against the worries of everyday life. That is why the tourism market needs a profiled product consisting of wellness, with particular emphasis on motor recreation, healthy food and the possibility of establishing/maintaining social and/or family relationships. Creating, refreshing or diversifying such a tourist product is not a simple task. It requires the use of expertise and experience of representatives of science and practitioners, taking into account the tourism potential of a given region/country.
This article presents experimental studies on drying kinetics and quality effects of red beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) after convective drying with a preliminary osmotic pretreatment. The effects of the osmotic agent (NaCl) concentration and the osmotic bath time on the product colour and nutrient content preservation, the water activity, and rehydration ability after drying were analysed. Osmotic dehydration curves and Solid Gain (SG), Water Loss (WL), Weight Reduction (WR) were determined. It was proved that drying of beetroot with osmotic pretreatment contributes to shorter drying time, smaller water activity, higher retention of betanin, better colour preservation, and a greater degree of water resorption.
This paper concerns convective drying of carrot preliminary dehydrated in aqueous solutions of three types of osmotic agents (sucrose, fructose, glucose). Three solution concentrations (20, 40 and 60%) were examined to work out efficient conditions of osmotic dewatering. The parameters such as water loss (WL), solid gain (SG) and osmotic drying rate (ODR) indicating the real efficiency of osmotic dehydrations (OD) were determined. The samples dehydrated with osmotic solutions underwent further convective drying to analyze influence of dehydration process on drying kinetics and final products quality. The quality of products was assessed on the basis of visual appearance of the samples and colorimetric measurements. It was found that osmotic pretreatment improves significantly the final product quality as the samples were less deformed and their colour was better preserved compared to samples, which had not been preliminarily dehydrated. Preliminary dehydration, however, did not influence significantly the overall drying time of the samples.
Production processes at KGHM are complex and require from customers products of constantly higher quality at relatively lowest prices. Such situation results in an increase of the importance of optimisation of processes. As products and technologies change rapidly, technologists at the plant in Głogów have less time to achieve optimisation basing on own experiences. Analysing a particular process, we can e.g. detect occurring disturbances, find factors having an influence on quality problems, select optimal settings or compare various production procedures. Analysis of the course of production process is the basis of process optimisation. One optimisation in case of the process of decopperisation of flash slag can be a change of a technological additive to a less energy-consuming one, and its final result can be an improvement of the productivity index, a change of the relation between final effects and born expenditures, as well as optimisation of production costs.
The last decade has seen growing interest in professional public about applications of porous metallic materials. Porous metals represent a new type of materials with low densities, large specific surface, and novel physical and mechanical properties, characterized by low density and large specific surface. They are very suitable for specific applications due to good combination of physical and mechanical properties such as high specific strength and high energy absorption capability. Since the discovery of metal foams have been developed many methods and techniques of production in liquid, solid and gas phases. Condition for the use of metal foams - advanced materials with unique usability features, are inexpensive ways to manage their production. Mastering of production of metallic foams with defined structure and properties using gravity casting into sand or metallic foundry moulds will contribute to an expansion of the assortment produced in foundries by completely new type of material, which has unique service properties thanks to its structure, and which fulfils the current demanding ecological requirements. The aim of research conducted at the department of metallurgy and foundry of VSB-Technical University Ostrava is to verify the possibilities of production of metallic foams by conventional foundry processes, to study the process conditions and physical and mechanical properties of metal foam produced. Two procedures are used to create porous metal structures: Infiltration of liquid metal into the mold cavity filled with precursors or preforms and two stage investment casting.
Relatively cold die material comes into contact with the substantially higher temperature melt during the casting cycle, causing high thermal fluctuations resulting into the cyclic change of thermal field. The presented contribution is devoted to the assessment of the impact of temperature distribution on individual zones in the die volume. The evaluated parameter is the die temperature. It was monitored at two selected locations with the 1 mm, 2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm and 20 mm spacing from the die cavity surface to the volume of cover die and ejector die. As a comparative parameter, the melt temperature in the middle of the runner above the measuring point and the melt temperature close to the die face were monitored. Overall, the temperature was monitored in 26 evaluation points. The measurement was performed using the Magmasoft simulation software. The input settings of the casting cycle in the simulation were identical to those in real operation. It was found, that the most heavily stressed die zones by temperature were within the 20 mm from the die face. Above this distance, the heat supplied by the melt passes gradually into the entire die mass without significant temperature fluctuations. To verify the impact of the die cooling on the thermal field, a tempering system was designed to ensure different heat dissipation conditions in individual locations. At the end of the contribution, the measures proposals to reduce the high change of thermal field of dies resulting from the design of the tempering channel are presented. These proposals will be experimentally verified in the following research work.
In the present investigation, the morphology of Ti inclusions in high strength tire cord steel was investigated and their precipitation behavior was discussed using a precipitation and growth model. The results show that Ti inclusions mainly exist in the form of TiN. The two-dimensional characterization of Ti inclusions is square-like with sharp edges and corners, while its three-dimensional shape exhibits a cubic or rectangular-prism morphology. The Ti inclusions do not precipitate when the solid fraction of tire cord during solidification is less than 0.987, and their final radius is closely related to the cooling rate and initial concentration product. The higher the cooling speed, the smaller the final radius, when the cooling speed is constant, the final radius of Ti inclusions is mainly determined by the initial concentration product, w[N]0×w[Ti]0. In order to retard the precipitation and growth of Ti inclusions in tire cord steel, the cooling rate and initial concentration product can be taken into consideration.
Finite fossil fuel resources, as well as the instability of renewable energy production, make the sustainable management of energy production and consumption some of the key challenges of the 21st century. It also involves threats to the state of the natural environment, among others due to the negative impact of energy on the climate. In such a situation, one of the methods of improving the efficiency of energy management – both on the micro (dispersed energy) and macro (power system) scale, may be innovative technological solutions that enable energy storage. Their effective implementation will allow it to be collected during periods of overproduction and to be used in situations of scarcity. These challenges cannot be overestimated - modern science has a challenge to solve various types of problems related to storage, including the technology used or the control/ /management of energy storage. Heat storage technologies, on which research works are carried out regarding both storage based on a medium such as water, as well as storage using thermochemical transformations or phase-change materials. They give a wide range of applications and improve the efficiency of energy systems on both the macro and micro scale. Of course, the technological properties and economic parameters have an impact on the application of the chosen technology. The article presents a comparison of storage parameters or heat storage methods based on different materials with specification of their work parameters or operating costs.