Search results

This paper aims to explore the impact of FinTech adoption on small business sustainability and to understand how financial well-being acts as a mediator in this relationship. which is essential in fostering business sustainability in today’s dynamic business landscape.

A survey was conducted with an initial sample of 500 respondents, and subsequently, a final analysis was performed using a sample size of 321 respondents. Data was collected through a self-administered survey, and the hypothesized model was assessed using the Smart PLS analysis technique.

The findings revealed significant positive associations between Fintech adoption and small business sustainability, and financial well-being acts as a significant mediator in establishing this relationship. Financial well-being has a positive and significant impact on sustainability, with substantial and positive correlations with their respective elements.

Small businesses will realize the significance of financial well-being in their operations. This realization can motivate them to invest in digital tools such as payment systems and accounting software to streamline their operations and increase their resilience.

The results of this research can serve as a foundational framework for enhancing business sustainability in the Fintech sector, thereby facilitating the financial industry’s efforts to achieve economies of scale globally. Future research can investigate specific aspects, industries or regions deeper to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the study.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and investigate the mechanical as well as bacterial characteristics of chemically treated waste natural fiber inserted three-dimensional structures (NFi3DS) produced with fused filament deposition (FFD) for biomedical applications.

In this work, a novel approach has been used for developing the customized porous structures particularly for scaffold applications. Initially, raw animal fibers were collected, and thereafter, the chemical treatment has been performed for making their wise utility in biomedical structures. For this purpose, silk fiber and sheep wool fibers were used as laminations, whereas polylactic acid was used as matrix material. A low-cost desktop time additive manufacturing setup was used for making the customized and porous parts by considering type of fiber, number of laminates, infill density and raster angle as input parameters.

The results obtained after using design of experimental technique highlighted that output characteristics (such as dimensional accuracy, hardness, three-point bending strength and bacterial test) are influenced by input parameters, as reported in the obtained signal/noise plots and analysis of variance. Optimum level of input parameters has also been found through Taguchi L9 orthogonal array, for single parametric optimization, and teaching learning-based algorithm and particle swarm optimization, for multiple parametric optimization. Overall, the results of the studies supported the use of embedded structures for scaffold-based biomedical applications.

Presently, NFi3DS were produced by using the hand-lay-based manual approach that affected the uniform insert’s distribution and thickness. It is advised to use the automatic fiber placement system, synced with a three-dimensional printer, to achieve greater geometrical precision.

As both natural fibers and polymer matrix used in this work are well established for their biological properties, hence the methodology explored in this work will help the practitioners/academicians in developing highly compatible scaffold structures.

The present work defines a new practice where the researchers can use natural fibers to reduce the cost associated with fabrication of customized scaffold prints.

The development of natural fiber embedded FFD-based structures is not yet explored for their feasibility in biomedical applications.

Gas metal arc-based directed energy deposition (GMA-DED) process experiences residual stress (RS) developed due to heat accumulation during successive layer deposition as a significant challenge. To address that, monitoring of transient temperature distribution concerning time is a critical input. Finite element analysis (FEA) is considered a decisive engineering tool in quantifying temperature and RS in all manufacturing processes. However, computational time and prediction accuracy has always been a matter of concern for FEA-based prediction of responses in the GMA-DED process. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of finite element mesh variations on the developed RS in the GMA-DED process.

The variation in the element shape functions, i.e. linear- and quadratic-interpolation elements, has been used to model a single-track 10-layered thin-walled component in Ansys parametric design language. Two cases have been proposed in this study: Case 1 has been meshed with the linear-interpolation elements and Case 2 has been meshed with the combination of linear- and quadratic-interpolation elements. Furthermore, the modelled responses are authenticated with the experimental results measured through the data acquisition system for temperature and RS.

A good agreement of temperature and RS profile has been observed between predicted and experimental values. Considering similar parameters, Case 1 produced an average error of 4.13%, whereas Case 2 produced an average error of 23.45% in temperature prediction. Besides, comparing the longitudinal stress in the transverse direction for Cases 1 and 2 produced an error of 8.282% and 12.796%, respectively.

To avoid the costly and time-taking experimental approach, the experts have suggested the utilization of numerical methods in the design optimization of engineering problems. The FEA approach, however, is a subtle tool, still, it faces high computational cost and low accuracy based on the choice of selected element technology. This research can serve as a basis for the choice of element technology which can predict better responses in the thermo-mechanical modelling of the GMA-DED process.

The main purpose of this work is to explore the erosion wear characteristics of additively manufactured aluminium alloy. Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as three-dimensional (3D) manufacturing, is the process of manufacturing a part designed in a computer environment using different types of materials such as plastic, ceramic, metal or composite. Similar to other materials, aluminum alloys are also exposed to various wear types during operation. Production efficiency needs to be aware of its reactions to wearing mechanisms.

In this study, quartz sands (SiO₂) assisted with oxide ceramics were used in the slurry erosion test setup and its abrasiveness on the AlSi10Mg aluminum alloy material produced by the 3D printer as selective laser melting (SLM) technology was investigated. Quartz was sieved with an average particle size of 302.5 µm, and a slurry environment containing 5, 10 and 15% quartz by weight was prepared. The experiments were carried out at the velocity of 1.88 (250 rpm), 3.76 (500 rpm) and 5.64 m/s (750 rpm) and the impact angles 15, 45 and 75°.

With these experimental studies, it has been determined that the abrasiveness of quartz sand prepared in certain particle sizes is directly related to the particle concentration and particle speed, and that the wear increases with the increase of the concentration and rotational speed. Also, the variation of weight loss and surface roughness of the alloy was investigated after different wear conditions. Surface roughness values at 750 rpm speed, 10% concentration and 75° impingement angle are 0.32 and 0.38 µm for 0 and 90° samples, respectively, with a difference of approximately 18%. Moreover, concerning a sample produced at 0°, the weight loss at 250 rpm at 10% concentration and 45° particle impact angle is 32.8 mg, while the weight loss at 500 rpm 44.4 mg, and weight loss at 750 rpm is 104 mg. Besides, the morphological structures of eroded surfaces were examined using the scanning electron microscope to understand the wear mechanisms.

The researchers verified that this specific coating condition increases the slurry wear resistance of the mentioned steel. There are many studies about slurry wear tests; however, there is no study in the literature about the quartz sand (SiO₂) assisted slurry-erosive wear of AlSi10Mg alloy produced with AM by using SLM technology. This study is needed to fill this gap in the literature and to examine the erosive wear capability of this current material in different environments. The novelty of the study is the use of SiO₂ quartz sands assisted by oxide ceramics in different concentrations for the slurry erosion test setup and the investigations on erosive wear resistance of AlSi10Mg alloy manufactured by AM.

This paper aims at erosion wear experimentation conducted on two piping materials, namely SS202 and SS304 to establish the effect of rotational speed, concentration and time period.

Erosion wear because of slurry flow is investigated using a slurry erosion pot tester. Fly ash is taken as erodent material having different solid concentrations lie in range 30 to 60per cent (by weight). Experiments are performed at four different speeds, i.e. 600; 900; 1,200; and 1,500 rpm for time duration of 90, 120, 150 and 180 min, respectively. To enhance erosion wear resistance of both piping materials, high-velocity-oxy-fuel coating technique is used to deposit WC-10Co4Cr coating. The parametric influence of erosion wear is optimized using Taguchi method.

The results show that significant improvement in erosion wear resistance is observed by deposition of WC-10Co4Cr coating. It is observed that rotational speed is found as highly influencing parameter followed by concentration and time duration. Parametric investigation of erosion wear is helpful to develop a procedure for minimizing the erosion wear in pipeline for the flow of solid-liquid mixture.

Slurry erosion wear of WC-10Co4Cr coated stainless steel (SS202 and SS304) is substantiated by extensive microstructural analysis and optimization technique.

The purpose of this paper is to fabricate acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)/high impact polystyrene (HIPS) based multi-material geometries using a low cost polymer printer. At the same time, efforts have been made to investigate the mechanical characteristics of the obtained prints and to perform the optimization using the Taguchi-Grey (TGRA) method.

Initially, the feedstock materials were in-house fabricated in the form of filament wires, workable with fused filament fabrication (FFF) technique, of 1.75 ± 0.1 mm diameter by using a single screw extruder. Multi-material structures were fabricated using variable parameters (such as: raster angles, layer height, fill density and solid layers) and the experimentation was conducted as per Taguchi L18 array. Mechanical responses obtained by performing tensile, impact and bending test were studied in response to input variables and ultimately optimized settings were obtained, for individual as well as multiple parameters). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was performed to analyze the fractured surfaces.

The Signal/Noise (S/N) plots for the quality characteristics highlighted that selected input parameters significantly influenced the obtained values for tensile strength, impact strength and flexural strength. Micrographs of the fractured specimens showed the occurrence of brittle fracture with higher levels of perimeter, infill density and solid layers. The extent of delamination was also increased under the bending load and further increased by increasing solid layers.

The results of the study strongly advocated the utility of fabricated multi-materials structures in automotive, aerospace and other manufacturing industries.

This work represents the fabrication, testing and analysis of polymer-based multi-material structures for engineering applications.

Computer tomography (CT) is widely used in engineering applications, allowing for precise structural analysis of materials and components, enabling the measurement of internal properties and features, which is crucial for assessing their quality and durability. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the fatigue fracture surface features of titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) under different loading configurations and structure orientations using computational micro-tomography.

In this work, the specimens were fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) and subjected to fatigue tests to analyze the effects of different printing parameters on mechanical properties and microstructural features. The comprehensive methodology included metallographic testing, fatigue life testing, fractographic analysis and CT analysis, followed by microhardness measurements, providing a detailed assessment of internal defects and their impact on fatigue performance.

The fatigue test results showed better fatigue life for samples printed with Y orientation followed by X and Z orientation. The measurement values were fitted to obtain mean variable values of A as 6.522, 10.831 and 6.747 and values of m as −0.587, −2.318 and −0.771 for samples printed with X, Y and Z orientation for the Basquin’s equation to determine fatigue life. CT analysis revealed that the mean equivalent defect diameters were 0.0506, 0.0496 and 0.0513 mm and mean defect volume of 0.000714, 0.000467 and 0.000534 mm³ for X, Y and Z orientation samples, respectively.

The novel aspect of this study is to investigate the effect of extreme SLM process parameters on the durability of the material subjected to complex multiaxial loading conditions, including nonproportional fatigue loading.

Additive manufacturing became the most popular method as it enables the production of light-weight and high-density parts in effective way. Selective laser melting (SLM) is preferred by means of producing a component with good surface quality and near-net shape even if it has complex form. Titanium alloys have been extensively used in engineering covering a variety of sectors such as aeronautical, chemical, automotive and defense industry with its unique material properties. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to study the tribological behavior and surface integrity that reflects the thermal and mechanical performances of the fabricated parts.

This paper is focused on the tribological and surface integrity aspects of SLM-produced titanium alloy components. It is aimed to outline the effect of SLM process parameters on tribology and surface integrity first. Then, thermal, thermal heat, thermomechanical and postprocessing surface treatments such as peening, surface modification and coatings are highlighted in the light of literature review.

This work studied the effects of particle characteristics (e.g. size, shape, distributions, flowability and morphology) on tribological performance according to an extensive literature survey.

This study addresses this blind spot in existing industrial-academic knowledge and goals to determine the impact of SLM process parameters, posttreatments (especially peening operations) and particle characteristics on the SLMed Ti-based alloys, which are increasingly used in biomedical applications as well as other many applications ranging from automobile, aero, aviation, maritime, etc. This review paper is created with the intention of providing deep investigation on the important material characteristics of titanium alloy-based components, which can be useful for the several engineering sectors.

The nickel-based alloys Inconel 625 and Inconel 718 stand out due to their high strength and corrosion resistance in important industries like aerospace, aviation and automotive. Even though they are widely used, current techniques of producing materials that are difficult to cut pose several problems from a financial, ecological and even health perspective. To handle these problems and acquire improved mechanical and structural qualities, laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) has been widely used as one of the most essential additive manufacturing techniques. The purpose of this article is to focus on the state of the art on LPBF parts of Inconel 625 and Inconel 718 for microstructure, mechanical behavior and postprocessing.

The mechanical behavior of LPBF-fabricated Inconel is described, including hardness, surface morphology and wear, as well as the influence of fabrication orientation on surface quality, biocompatibility and resultant mechanical properties, particularly tensile strength, fatigue performance and tribological behaviors.

The postprocessing techniques such as thermal treatments, polishing techniques for surface enhancement, mechanical and laser-induced peening and physical operations are summarized.

The highlighted topic presents the critical aspects of the advantages and challenges of the LPBF parts produced by Inconel 718 and 625, which can be a guideline for manufacturers and academia in practical applications.

Additive manufacturing (AM), a rapidly evolving paradigm, has shown significant advantages over traditional subtractive processing routines by allowing for the custom creation of structural components with enhanced performance. Numerous studies have shown that the technical qualities of AM components are profoundly affected by the discovery of novel metastable substructures in diverse alloys. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the effect of cell structure parameters on its mechanical response.

Initially, a methodology was suggested for testing porous materials, focusing on static tensile testing. For a qualitative evaluation of the cellular structures produced, computed tomography (CT) was used. Then, the CT scanner was used to analyze a sample and determine its actual relative density, as well as perform a detailed geometric analysis.

The experimental research demonstrates that the mechanical properties of a cell’s structure are significantly influenced by its shape during formation. It was also determined that using selective laser melting to produce cell structures with a minimum single-cell size of approximately 2 mm would be the most appropriate method.

Further studies of cellular structures for testing their static tensile strength are planned for the future. The study will be carried out for a larger number of samples, taking into account a wider range of cellular structure parameters. An important step will also be the verification of the results of the static tensile test using numerical analysis for the model obtained by CT scanning.

The fabrication of metallic parts with different cellular structures is very important with a selective laser melted machine. However, the determination of cell size and structure with mechanical properties is quiet novel in this current investigation.