Lin Ma, Chenghong Hu, Zhenlin Lv, Xi He, Rui Dong and Mingjin Fan
This study aims to develop synthetic ester lubricating oil using renewable sinapic acid as raw material, to explore the structural design and selection of raw materials for green…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop synthetic ester lubricating oil using renewable sinapic acid as raw material, to explore the structural design and selection of raw materials for green, high-performance synthetic ester oils.
Design/methodology/approach
A series of the sinapate ester oils were synthesized through esterification and alkoxylation reactions using renewable source sinapic acid as the raw material. The molecular structures of the oils were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The oils were evaluated for safety, viscosity-temperature properties, thermal and oxidative stability, as well as friction reducing and anti-wear characteristics.
Findings
Compared to commercial base oil tris (2-ethylhexyl) trimellitate (Phe-3Ci8), the bio-lubricant exhibits superior antifriction and anti-wear properties. Notably, the JCi8-C12 sample performed exceptionally well, reducing the friction coefficient by 11.42% and wear volume (WV) by 54.44% in steel/steel tribo-pairs. In steel/aluminum tribo-pairs, the friction coefficient decreased by 27.48%, while WV was reduced by 85.81%. Mechanistic studies reveal that the introduction of short-chain methoxy groups and stable conjugated systems (aromatic rings and double bonds) inhibit oxidation and decomposition at elevated temperatures. The p-p stacking effect enables lubricant molecules to arrange stably on friction surfaces, forming a durable lubricating film.
Originality/value
The utilization of biomass resources to develop green synthetic lubricating oil with excellent performance not only enhances the added value of waste from agricultural processing but also offers significant benefits in terms of both economic and environmental sustainability.
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Linear projects often involve lengthy construction periods, necessitating dynamic adjustments to the plan. Completely rescheduling remaining activities every time can lead to…
Abstract
Purpose
Linear projects often involve lengthy construction periods, necessitating dynamic adjustments to the plan. Completely rescheduling remaining activities every time can lead to unnecessary time and cost wastage and significant deviations in resource supply. To address these issues, this paper proposes a dynamic scheduling method designed to effectively manage both time and cost during construction projects.
Design/methodology/approach
Determining the rescheduling frequency through a hybrid driving strategy and buffer mechanism, introducing rolling window technology to determine the scope of local rescheduling and constructing a local rescheduling model under the constraints of time and cost deviation with the objective of minimizing the cost. Combined decision-making for construction and rushing modes constrained by multiple construction scenarios. Opposite learning is introduced to optimize the hybrid algorithm solution.
Findings
Arithmetic examples and cases confirm the model’s feasibility and applicability. The results indicate that (1) continuous rescheduling throughout project construction is essential and effective and (2) a well-structured buffer mechanism can prevent redundant rescheduling and enhance overall control of cost and schedule deviations.
Originality/value
This study introduces an innovative dynamic scheduling framework for linear engineering, offering a method for effectively controlling schedule deviations during construction. The developed model enhances rescheduling efficiency and introduces a combined quantization strategy to increase the model’s applicability to linear engineering. This model emerges as a promising decision support tool, facilitating the implementation of sustainable construction scheduling practices.
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Rui Zhang, Zehua Dong, Yanjun Zhang, Liuhu Fu and Qiaofeng Bai
This paper aims to propose a new ultrasonic detection method for stainless steel weld defects based on complex synergetic convolutional calculation to solve two problems in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a new ultrasonic detection method for stainless steel weld defects based on complex synergetic convolutional calculation to solve two problems in the ultrasonic detection of austenitic stainless steel weld defects. These include ignoring the nonlinear information of the imaginary part in the complex domain of the signal and the correlation information between the amplitude of the real part and phase of the imaginary part and subjective dependence of diagnosis model parameters.
Design/methodology/approach
An ultrasonic detection method for weld defects based on complex synergetic convolution calculation is proposed in this paper to address the above issues. By mapping low-density, 1D detection samples to a complex domain space with high representation richness, a multi-scale and multilevel complex synergetic convolution calculation model (CSCC) is designed to match and transform samples to mine amplitude changes, phase shifts, weak phase angle changes and amplitude-phase correlation features deeply from the detection signal. This study proposed an Elite Sine-Cosine Sobol Sampling Dung Beetle Optimization Algorithm, and the detection model CSCC achieves global adaptive matching of key hyperparameters in 19 dimensions. Finally, a regulative complex synergetic convolutional calculation model is constructed to achieve high-performance detection of weld defects.
Findings
Through experiments on a self-developed Taiyuan intelligent detection and information processing weld defect dataset, the results show that the method achieves a detection accuracy of 92% for five types of weld defects: cracks, porosity, slag inclusion and unfused and unwelded components, which represent an average improvement of 11% relative to comparable models. This method is also validated with the PhysioNet electrocardiogram public dataset, which achieves better detection performance relative to the other models.
Originality/value
This method provides a theoretical basis and technical reference for developing and applying intelligent, efficient and accurate ultrasonic defects detection technology.
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Xiangbin Liu, Fandi Meng, Ruiping Liu, Junlin Kou, Zeyang Zhang, Jianrong Feng, Li Liu and Fuhui Wang
The marine environment presents a great challenge to the anticorrosion properties of organic coatings applied on equipment. Since the compactness of coatings is critical in marine…
Abstract
Purpose
The marine environment presents a great challenge to the anticorrosion properties of organic coatings applied on equipment. Since the compactness of coatings is critical in marine environments, a novel nepheline-epoxy resin (N-EP) composite was introduced into organic coatings to improve the interfacial compatibility between the pigments and the binder. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the N-EP composite in enhancing the corrosion resistance of the coatings in marine conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
These composite particles were prepared via the mechanical ball milling method at thermofield-assisted, leading to chemical bonding between inorganic nepheline and epoxy resin, the agglomeration of particles was avoided by this method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope, particle size distribution, sedimentation and thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis were used to verify the feasibility of thermal field-assisted mechanochemistry for achieving a direct reaction between epoxy resin and nepheline powder, as well as to determine the optimal reaction conditions. Additionally, water absorption tests, Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope were conducted to assess the anticorrosive properties of the modified nepheline coatings.
Findings
The results further indicated that N-EP improved the barrier performance and mechanical properties of the coating. For example, after modified, the tensile strength of coating had increased from 41.96 ± 0.05–63.14 ± 0.05 MPa. This can be attributed to the less defective N-EP/binder interface and the uniform dispersion of N-EP in the coating. The optimal preparation conditions (500 r/min of ball grinding speed and 6 h of ball grinding time) for the composites were also studied for a superior corrosion resistance of the coating.
Originality/value
Thermofield-assisted mechanochemistry enables direct reactions between epoxy resin and nepheline powder, enhancing the dispersion stability and interfacial compatibility of N-EP. This modification improves coating compactness, reduces porosity and enhances corrosion resistance by strengthening the labyrinth effect on water diffusion.
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Abstract
Purpose
Current multi-source image fusion methods frequently overlook the issue of detailed features when employing deep learning technology, resulting in inadequate target feature information. In real-world mission scenarios, such as military information acquisition or medical image enhancement, the prominence of target feature information is of paramount importance. To address these challenges, this paper introduces a novel infrared-visible light fusion model.
Design/methodology/approach
Leveraging the foundational architecture of the traditional DenseFuse model, this paper optimizes the backbone network structure and incorporates a Unique Feature Encoder (UFE) to meticulously extract the distinctive features inherent in the two images. Furthermore, it integrates the Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM) and the Squeeze and Excitation Network (SE) to enhance and replace the original spatial and channel attention mechanisms.
Findings
Compared to other methods such as IFCNN, NestFuse, DenseFuse, etc., the values of entropy, standard deviation, and mutual information index of the method presented in this paper can reach 6.9985, 82.6652, and 13.6022, respectively, which are significantly improved compared with other methods.
Originality/value
This paper presents a UFEFusion framework that synergizes with the CBAM attention mechanism to markedly augment the extraction of detailed features relative to other methods. Moreover, the framework adeptly extracts and amplifies unique features from disparate images, thereby elevating the overall feature representation capability.
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Ai Su, Xiaotong Cai, Xue-Song Liu, Xiang-Nan Tao, Lei Chen and Rui Wang
The development of an effective corporate vision is a necessary issue for corporate performance, and it is a key issue for corporate sustainable development as well. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The development of an effective corporate vision is a necessary issue for corporate performance, and it is a key issue for corporate sustainable development as well. The recognition of questions like “what is the role of corporate vision in corporate performance” is directly related to the attitude and practice of entrepreneurs and managers toward the development of corporate vision as well as the effectiveness of the corporate vision itself. To better answer the questions concerning the role of corporate vision development and effectively guide the practice of corporations, the authors study the pathways and mechanisms by which corporate visions operate to assist businesses in achieving high performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The article completes the construction of indicators to measure each dimension of the corporate vision in line with social cognitive theory and analyzes the relationship between corporate vision and corporate performance by combining qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) research methods. The article provides insights into the logic of constructing and adjusting corporate visions from a process perspective.
Findings
The mechanisms by which corporate visions can be articulated, accepted and transformed within the organization are also the means by which corporate visions can improve corporate performance. In a dynamic environment, the corporate vision setting and acceptance process integrates the requirements of various stakeholders, leading to the adjustment and acceptance of the corporate vision. As a result, the vision has continuous validity in a changing environment. Both start-ups and non-start-ups can benefit from the guidance provided by a strong corporate vision in overcoming a variety of issues and obstacles to produce strong business performance.
Originality/value
This is the first study that shows the relationship between corporate vision and corporate performance from a process perspective. The authors are interested in understanding which characteristics for building a corporate vision are more accepted by organizational members and, in turn, create high corporate performance. The authors also explore the conditions for corporate vision acceptance. This research has positive implications for shedding some light on the mechanisms by which corporate visions improve corporate performance.
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This study aims to examine how participation in international exchange programs influences both the teaching practices and intercultural competence of student teachers. Focusing…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how participation in international exchange programs influences both the teaching practices and intercultural competence of student teachers. Focusing on the experiences of Vietnamese participants in Thailand, the study explores how these educators adapted their teaching methods in response to cross-cultural challenges and developed essential intercultural skills through immersion in a new educational environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a qualitative case study approach, this research highlights the transformative experiences of 13 Vietnamese student teachers who participated in a three-week exchange program in Thailand. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews and reflective journals to capture rich insights into how the exchange shaped their teaching practices and intercultural competence.
Findings
The findings indicate that the program significantly impacted participants’ teaching practices, as they adapted their instructional strategies to better meet the needs of diverse students and manage cross-cultural classroom dynamics. In addition, participants demonstrated growth in intercultural competence, developing greater empathy, flexibility and cultural sensitivity. These skills not only improved their teaching but also enabled them to engage more effectively with students from different cultural backgrounds.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the understanding of how short-term international experiences can lead to both pedagogical transformations and the development of intercultural competence in a global educational context. It underscores the necessity of incorporating structured intercultural training within teacher education programs to better prepare educators for the complexities of teaching in culturally diverse settings.
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This study aims to examine the combinations of internal and external knowledge flows between research and development (R&D) incumbents and start-ups in the context of open…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the combinations of internal and external knowledge flows between research and development (R&D) incumbents and start-ups in the context of open innovation. While there is a growing body of knowledge that has examined how, in a knowledge economy, a firm’s knowledge and innovation activities are closely linked, there is no systematic review available of the key antecedents, perspectives, phenomenon and outcomes of knowledge spillovers.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have conducted dual-stage research. First, the authors conducted a systematic review of literature (97 research articles) by following the theories–contexts–methods framework and the antecedent-phenomenon-outcomes logic. The authors identified the key theories, contexts, methods, antecedents, phenomenon and outcomes of knowledge spillovers between R&D-driven incumbents and start-ups in the open innovation context. In the second stage, the findings of stage one were leveraged to advance a nomological network that depicts the strength of the relationship between the observable constructs that emerged from the review.
Findings
The findings demonstrate how knowledge spillovers can help incumbent organisations and start-ups to achieve improved innovation capabilities, R&D capacity, competitive advantage and the creation of knowledge ecosystems leading to improved firm performance. This study has important implications for practitioners and managers – it provides managers with important antecedents of knowledge spillover (knowledge capacities and knowledge types), which directly impact the R&D intensity and digitalisation driving open innovation. The emerging network showed that the antecedents of knowledge spillovers have a direct relationship with the creation of a knowledge ecosystem orchestrated by incumbents and that there is a very strong influence of knowledge capacities and knowledge types on the selection of external knowledge partners/sources.
Practical implications
This study has important implications for practitioners and managers. In particular, it provides managers with important antecedents of knowledge spillover (knowledge capacities and knowledge types), which directly impact the R&D intensity and digitalisation driving open innovation. This will enable managers to take important decisions about what knowledge capacities are required to achieve innovation outcomes. The findings suggest that managers of incumbent firms should be cautious when deciding to invest in knowledge sourcing from external partners. This choice may be driven by the absorptive capacity of the incumbent firm, market competition, protection of intellectual property and public policy supporting innovation and entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
Identification of the key antecedents, phenomenon and outcomes of knowledge spillovers between R&D-driven incumbents and start-ups in the open innovation context. The findings from Stage 1 helped us to advance a nomological network in Stage 2, which identifies the strength and influence of the various observable constructs (identified from the review) on each other. No prior study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, has advanced a nomological network in the context of knowledge spillovers between R&D-driven incumbents and start-ups in the open innovation context.
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Hongjie Lin, Faqun Qi, Yuxin Liu, Xiang Chen and Wenfei Zha
This paper aims to develop an optimal maintenance and spare parts policy for an urban micro wind power system, focusing on two urban micro wind farms (UMWF). The reliability and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop an optimal maintenance and spare parts policy for an urban micro wind power system, focusing on two urban micro wind farms (UMWF). The reliability and efficiency of these systems are sought to be enhanced by considering the relationship between urban wind parameters and wind turbine degradation.
Design/methodology/approach
A proportional hazards (PH) model is utilized to describe how urban wind conditions impact turbine degradation. The maintenance strategy includes preventive maintenance (PM), corrective maintenance (CM) and opportunistic maintenance (OM). A multi-objective optimization algorithm is developed to optimize the joint policy of OM plans and spare parts resource allocation.
Findings
The proposed maintenance and spare parts policy effectively balances the trade-offs between PM, CM and OM strategies. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the policy improves the reliability of UMWF, reducing downtime and maintenance costs while ensuring the availability of spare parts when needed. The results show a significant enhancement in system performance compared to traditional maintenance approaches.
Originality/value
A novel maintenance policy and spare parts management approach for urban micro wind power systems is proposed. A multi-objective optimization algorithm is developed to optimize the OM schedule and maintenance spare parts resource management strategy for wind farms in urban wind environments.
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Shinichi Yamaguchi, Hidetaka Oshima, Tomoaki Watanabe, Yukiko Osaka, Tsukasa Tanihara, Eri Inoue and Shinnosuke Tanabe
This study aims to examine the relationship between various types of literacy on one hand and identification of misinformation and dissemination of such information on the other…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationship between various types of literacy on one hand and identification of misinformation and dissemination of such information on the other, in search for better countermeasures against misinformation.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on data from a large-scale survey, models are constructed and analyzed to assess the relationships of literacy with both the identification of inaccuracies and dissemination behavior.
Findings
Regarding the identification of misinformation, individuals with high critical thinking attitudes (subjective literacy) are less likely to recognize misinformation, while other objective literacies do not have a significant relationship. Regarding dissemination behavior, individuals with high information literacy, media literacy and critical thinking scores tend not to disseminate misinformation, whereas those with high critical thinking attitudes are more likely to disseminate such information.
Originality/value
First, it quantitatively elucidates the relationships various literacies have with the accuracy judgment and dissemination behavior of misinformation. This highlights the effectiveness of objective indicators of literacies and the need for caution regarding subjective literacy – i.e. self-confidence in their own literacy. Second, it provides a cross-disciplinary analysis of the relationships, covering not only oft-studied politics and health care but also various other fields, thereby identifying comprehensive literacy strategies against misinformation. Third, it addresses differences in dissemination methods and offers insights into more practical countermeasures.