Yongsheng Zhou, Li Han, Xin Tian and Yingjun Wang
This study aims to examine the impact of logistics and merchant certification information on consumer behaviour in hybrid retail platforms. Furthermore, it explores the moderating…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the impact of logistics and merchant certification information on consumer behaviour in hybrid retail platforms. Furthermore, it explores the moderating role of online shopping experience on the certification effect.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors utilize transaction-level data from over 2.5 million consumers involving 30,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) on JD.com in March 2018. They analyse the impact of different types of certification information on consumer behaviour using ordinary linear regression and linear probability models.
Findings
The findings reveal that, compared with information without certification, (1) single logistics certification information can enhance consumers' search depth and purchase intention; (2) dual logistics and merchant certification information also has a positive impact on consumer behaviour; and (3) single certification information is more effective for inexperienced consumers, while dual certification is more effective for experienced consumers.
Originality/value
Theoretically, this study contributes to the literature on certification information in hybrid retail platforms and broadens information communication methods for online shopping. Our discovery is meaningful for managers in locating customers and allocating resources. In addition, we encourage online retailers to utilize certification information to engage consumer.
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Jingrong Li, Zhijia Xu, Qinghui Wang, Guanghua Hu and Yingjun Wang
The three-dimensional porous scaffold is an important concept in tissue engineering and helps to restore or regenerate a damaged tissue. Additive manufacturing (AM) technology…
Abstract
Purpose
The three-dimensional porous scaffold is an important concept in tissue engineering and helps to restore or regenerate a damaged tissue. Additive manufacturing (AM) technology makes the production of custom-designed scaffolds possible. However, modeling scaffolds with intricate architecture and customized pore size and spatial distribution presents a challenge. This paper aims to achieve coupling control of pore size and spatial distribution in bone scaffolds for AM.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the proposed method assumes that pore size and spatial distribution have already been transformed from the requirements of scaffolds as inputs. Second, the structural characteristics of scaffolds are explicitly correlated with an all-hexahedron meshing method for scaffold design so that the average pore size could be controlled. Third, the highly coupled internal mesh vertices are adjusted based on a random strategy so that the pore size and spatial distribution conform to their respective desired values. Fourth, after the adjustment, the unit pore cell based on a triply periodic minimal surface was mapped into the hexahedrons through a shape function, thereby ensuring the interconnectivity of the porous scaffold.
Findings
The case studies of three bone scaffolds demonstrate that the proposed approach is feasible and effective to simultaneously control pore size and spatial distribution in porous scaffolds.
Practical implications
The proposed method may make it more flexible to design scaffolds with controllable internal pore architecture for AM.
Originality/value
In the control approach, the highly coupled mesh vertices are adjusted through a random strategy, which can determine the moving direction and range of a vertex dynamically and biasedly, thus ensuring the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method.
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Yixiong Wei, Qifu Wang, Yunbao Huang, Yingjun Wang and Zhaohui Xia
The purpose of this paper is to present a novel strategy used for acceleration of free-vibration analysis, in which the hierarchical matrices structure and Compute Unified Device…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a novel strategy used for acceleration of free-vibration analysis, in which the hierarchical matrices structure and Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) platform is applied to improve the performance of the traditional dual reciprocity boundary element method (DRBEM).
Design/methodology/approach
The DRBEM is applied in forming integral equation to reduce complexity. In the procedure of optimization computation, ℋ-Matrices are introduced by applying adaptive cross-approximation method. At the same time, this paper proposes a high-efficiency parallel algorithm using CUDA and the counterpart of the serial effective algorithm in ℋ-Matrices for inverse arithmetic operation.
Findings
The analysis for free-vibration could achieve impressive time and space efficiency by introducing hierarchical matrices technique. Although the serial algorithm based on ℋ-Matrices could obtain fair performance for complex inversion operation, the CUDA parallel algorithm would further double the efficiency. Without much loss in accuracy according to the examination of the numerical example, the relative error appeared in approximation process can be fixed by increasing degrees of freedoms or introducing certain amount of internal points.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a novel effective strategy to improve computational efficiency and decrease memory consumption of free-vibration problems. ℋ-Matrices structure and parallel operation based on CUDA are introduced in traditional DRBEM.
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Yingjun Zhang, Xue-Jun Cui, Yawei Shao, Yanqiu Wang, Guozhe Meng, Xiu-Zhou Lin, Dongquan Zhong and Dajian Wang
This paper aims to prepare a residual rust epoxy coating by adding different quantities of phytic acid (PA) on the surface of the rusty steel and investigate the corrosion…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to prepare a residual rust epoxy coating by adding different quantities of phytic acid (PA) on the surface of the rusty steel and investigate the corrosion protection of PA and its action mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
A residual rust epoxy coating by adding different quantities of PA was prepared on the surface of the rusty steel. The influence of PA on the corrosion resistance of epoxy-coated rusty steel was investigated by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and adhesion testing.
Findings
Results indicated that PA can substantially improve the corrosion resistance of epoxy-coated rusty steel. This improvement is due to the reaction of PA with residual rust and generation of new compounds with protection properties and increased adhesive strength effects on the coating/metal interface. The coating showed better protection performance when 2 per cent PA was added.
Originality/value
Considering the structure of the active groups, PA has strong chelating capability with many metal ions and can form stable complex compounds on the surface of a metal substrate, thereby improving corrosion resistance. In recent years, PA has been reported to be useful in the conversion of coatings or as green corrosion inhibitor. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, few studies have reported the use of PA as a rust converter or residual rust coating. The present work aims to improve the corrosion resistance of residual rust epoxy coating by adding PA.
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Shijiu Yin, Ying Li, Yingjun Xu, Mo Chen and Yiqin Wang
The purpose of this paper is to provide a basis for government decision makers regarding the gradual popularisation of traceable infant milk formula (IMF) and the construction of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a basis for government decision makers regarding the gradual popularisation of traceable infant milk formula (IMF) and the construction of a safe food market system.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from 1,225 randomly selected consumers in Shandong Province, China using a choice experiment. The authors used the mixed logit model to determine consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for IMF profiles with different levels of five attributes: traceability information, brand, country of origin, place of sale and price.
Findings
Results indicated that traceability information was more important than brand or country of origin for Chinese consumers. In terms of WTP for different levels of traceability information, grazing information was the most preferred by the respondents. The order of preference with regards to country of origin and brand attributes suggests that consumers prefer “foreign milk powder” to domestic products. The difference in consumer WTP between IMF sold in drugstores and in supermarkets is minimal. The higher the food safety risk perception, the higher the WTP for traceability information and the higher the WTP for “foreign milk powder (brand or country of origin)” compared with domestic products. In addition, the differences in the WTP of various risk perception groups between IMF sold in drugstores and in supermarkets are minimal.
Originality/value
This study subdivides traceability information into three levels (i.e. cow grazing, IMF producing and IMF selling) based on supply chain processes. It then compares consumer preference for the traceability information attribute with those of other attributes, such as brand, country of origin and place of sale. This research is valuable to members of the academe, policy makers and food suppliers.
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Yingjun Zhang, Baojie Dou, Yawei Shao, Xue-Jun Cui, Yanqiu Wang, Guozhe Meng and Xiu-Zhou Lin
This paper aim to investigate the influence of PA on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel with blast cleaned or pre-rusted treatments, and interpret the inhibition mechanism of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aim to investigate the influence of PA on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel with blast cleaned or pre-rusted treatments, and interpret the inhibition mechanism of PA on the steel with different surface treatments.
Design/methodology/approach
The influence of PA on the corrosion behavior of blast cleaned or rusty steel was investigated by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The EIS data were analyzed using the @ZsimpWin commercial software. The morphology and component of steel after immersion were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD).
Findings
EIS analysis results indicated that PA had good corrosion inhibition for blast cleaned or rusty steel. SEM, EDS, FTIR and XRD further indicated that PA had two main corrosion inhibition processes for the corrosion inhibition of blast cleaned or rusty steel: corrosion dissolution and formation of protective barrier layers.
Originality/value
Most published works focus the attention only toward the effect of corrosion inhibitor for the clean metal surfaces. However, the surface condition of metal sometimes is unsatisfactory in the practical application of corrosion inhibitor, such as existing residual rust. Some studies also have shown that several corrosion inhibitors could be applied on partially rusted substrates. These inhibitors mainly include tannins and phosphoric acid, but not PA. Therefore, the authors investigated the influence of PA on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel with blast cleaned or pre-rusted treatments in this paper.
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Ming Zhang, Hantao Zhang, WeiYe Tao, Yan Yang and Yingjun Sang
This study aims to solve the problem that both the speed and the required driving power of electric vehicles (EVs) will change during the dynamic wireless charging (DWC) process…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to solve the problem that both the speed and the required driving power of electric vehicles (EVs) will change during the dynamic wireless charging (DWC) process, making it difficult to charge EVs with a constant power considering the overall efficiency of DWC system, the numbers of EVs and the power supply capacity. Therefore, this paper proposes the power control and efficiency optimization strategies for multiple EVs.
Design/methodology/approach
The wireless power charging system for multiple loads with a structure of double-sided LCC compensation topology is established. The expressions of optimal transmission efficiency and optimal equivalent impedance are derived. Taking the Tesla Model 3 as an example, a method to determine the number of EVs allowed by one transmitter coil and the overall charging power is proposed considering EV speed, power supply capacity, safe braking distance and overall efficiency. Then, the power control strategy, which can adapt to the changes of EV speed and the efficiency optimization strategy under different numbers of EVs are proposed.
Findings
In this paper, a method to determine the numbers of EVs allowed by one transmitter coil and the overall charging power is proposed considering EVs speed, power supply capacity, safe braking distance and overall efficiency. The accuracy of the charging power is good enough and the overall efficiency reaches a maximum of 91.79% when the load resistance changes from 5Ω to 20Ω.
Originality/value
In this paper, the power control and efficiency optimization strategy of DWC system for multiple EVs are proposed. Specifically, a method of designing the number of EVs and charging power allowed by one transmitter coil considering the factors of EV speed, power supply capacity, safe braking distance and overall efficiency is designed. The overall efficiency of the experiment reaches a maximum of 91.79% after adopting the optimization strategy.
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Yingjun Zhang, Yawei Shao, Qiumei Shi, Yanqiu Wang, Guozhe Meng and Ping Li
The purpose of this paper was to research the influence of polyaniline/montmorillonite (PANI/OMMT) composite powder content on the corrosion protection of epoxy (EP) coating.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to research the influence of polyaniline/montmorillonite (PANI/OMMT) composite powder content on the corrosion protection of epoxy (EP) coating.
Design/methodology/approach
The polyaniline/montmorillonite/epoxy (PANI/OMMT/EP) coatings containing different contents of PANI/OMMT composite powder were prepared on steel. The corrosion protection performances of PANI/OMMT/EP coatings in 3.5 per cent NaCl solutions were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The barrier property of coatings was examined using water absorption analysis. The structure and crosslink density of coatings were examined using scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry, respectively.
Findings
The PANI/OMMT composite powder could enhance the barrier properties of the EP coating and reduce the corrosion rate of the steel beneath the coating. The coating showed the best corrosion protection performance when 3 per cent PANI/OMMT powder was added to the coating.
Originality/value
The research clarified the influence of PANI/OMMT content on the corrosion protection of coating from two aspects: one is the barrier performance of the coating; the other is the corrosion inhibitors for metal substrate.
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Yinxia Dong, Mingtian Li, Yingjun Zhang, Chun Xie and Zhongwen Pan
The purpose of this study is to modify cerium dioxide with fumaric acid (CeO2-f) to improve its compatibility and dispersibility in epoxy resin and to investigate the effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to modify cerium dioxide with fumaric acid (CeO2-f) to improve its compatibility and dispersibility in epoxy resin and to investigate the effect of the content on the coating performance.
Design/methodology/approach
To investigate whether CeO2-f reacts with epoxy resin by ring opening, CeO2-f and epoxy resin-treated CeO2-f (Ce CeO2-f/EP) were analyzed by infrared radiation (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis). To reveal the effect of different content on coatings properties, neutral salt spray test (NSST) and electrochemical test were performed.
Findings
The results of IR, XRD, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-Vis indicated that fumaric acid attached to the CeO2 surface by chemical bonding and underwent a ring-opening reaction with epoxy resin, thus, improving the compatibility of CeO2 in epoxy resin. NSST and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results showed that the coatings containing 5% CeO2-f exhibited the optimal corrosion resistance. The reason is that a dense conversion film was established on the substrate surface.
Originality/value
The epoxy coatings using CeO2-f as fillers with synergistic inhibition ability are promising for the protection of carbon steel.
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Emir Malikov, Shunan Zhao and Jingfang Zhang
There is growing empirical evidence that firm heterogeneity is technologically non-neutral. This chapter extends the Gandhi, Navarro, and Rivers (2020) proxy variable framework…
Abstract
There is growing empirical evidence that firm heterogeneity is technologically non-neutral. This chapter extends the Gandhi, Navarro, and Rivers (2020) proxy variable framework for structurally identifying production functions to a more general case when latent firm productivity is multi-dimensional, with both factor-neutral and (biased) factor-augmenting components. Unlike alternative methodologies, the proposed model can be identified under weaker data requirements, notably, without relying on the typically unavailable cross-sectional variation in input prices for instrumentation. When markets are perfectly competitive, point identification is achieved by leveraging the information contained in static optimality conditions, effectively adopting a system-of-equations approach. It is also shown how one can partially identify the non-neutral production technology in the traditional proxy variable framework when firms have market power.