An evaluation of the performance of advanced melded composite joints

Melding is an efficient three step composite joining process that involves the selective cure of composite adherends before the final adhesive joint is created using the adherends own resin system. Melding does not require many of the processes and compromises associated with conventional techniques like adhesive bonding and mechanical fastening.

The Taguchi design of experiments technique was used to optimise three melded joint factors for a unidirectional epoxy prepreg material. The performance of the joint was evaluated using tensile and flexural strength as well as flexural modulus. It was found that not having a step for every ply in the joint was the most influential factor affecting joint performance. This was due to the differing failure modes induced by this factors various levels, which varied the amount of fibre breakage at failure.

Modeling of advanced high strength steels with the realistic microstructure–strength relationships

The objective of the work is to consider the first-order effects of the realistic microstructure morphology in the macroscale modeling of the multiphase Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS). Instead of using constitutive equations at macroscale, the strength–microstructure relationship is studied in the forms of micromechanical and multiscale models that do not make considerable simplifications with regard to the microscale geometry and topology. The trade-off between the higher computational time and the higher accuracy has been offset with a stochastic approach in the construction of the microscale models. The multiphase composite effects of AHSS microstructure is considered in realistic microstructural models that are stochastically built from AHSS micrographs. Computational homogenization routines are used to couple micro and macroscale and resultant stress–strain relations are compared for models built with the simplified and idealized geometries of the microstructure. The results from this study show that using a realistic representation of the microstructure, either for DP or TRIP steel, could improve the accuracy of the predicted stress and strain distribution. The resultant globally averaged effective stress and strain fields from realistic microstructure model were able to accurately capture the onset of the plastic instability in the DP steel. It is shown that the macroscale mechanical behavior is directly affected by the level of complexities in the microscale models. Therefore, greater accuracy could be achieved if these stochastic realistic microstructures are used at the microscale models.

Experimental evaluation of curl and tensile properties of advanced high strength sheet steels

The response of HSLA steel, 590R, and dual-phase steel, DP-600, to non-uniform deformation imposed in a laboratory Bending-Under-Tension (BUT) test apparatus was evaluated. Samples were deformed with both low and high back tension forces at bend angles of 45 and 90 degrees, and evaluated to determine the ""side-wall curl,"" i.e., the curvature in the sheet section in contact with the die. The results indicate that there are no consistent differences between the two steels, 590R and DP-600. It was found that back tension, tensile strength and sheet thickness were the primary factors affecting curl. The bend angle has an influence on curl, with the curl radius at a 90ø bend angle being greater than the curl radius at a 45\mD bend angle.

Advanced virtual engineering educational program for engineering research and teaching excellence

In this paper, an advanced virtual engineering educational program developed at University of South Australia for both on-campus and off-shore students will be studied. This extensive training program is based on a comprehensive online tutorial and comprises both face-to-face and online learning. The program provides a tailored evaluation format to ensure that all postgraduate students, including course work and research students, will have appropriate exposure to updated learning skills and research resources. Although the internet (WWW) is the primary resource being used in this educational program, other resources such as video conference, video taping, and face-to-face lecturing have also played a role in promoting engineering teaching and research excellence. The feedback from students in recent years has been very encouraging, showing increased information literacy skills and improved researching abilities. As off campus class numbers have increased, further development of the program to meet their requirement has been a priority.

An advanced virtual engineering educational program for engineering research and teaching excellence.

In this paper, an advanced virtual program in engineering education developed at the University of South Australia for both on-campus and offshore students is described. This extensive training program is based on a comprehensive online tutorial and comprises both face-to-face and online learning. The program provides a tailored evaluation format to ensure that all postgraduate students, including those doing coursework and research, will have appropriate exposure to updated learning skills and research resources. Although the internet is the primary resource used in this educational program, other resources, such as videoconferencing, video-taping and face-to-face lecturing, have also played a role in promoting engineering teaching and research excellence. The feedback from students in recent years has been very encouraging, and students have shown increased information literacy skills and improved researching abilities. As off-campus class numbers have increased, further development of the program to meet their requirements has been a priority.

Advanced technology and economies of scale in the cement industry

The thesis examines sources of economies of scale for the manufacture and distribution of Portland cement. Using cost models, it is shown that recent advances in technology have increased the economies of scale for efficient clinker production significantly, and to a lesser degree for finish grinding operations and bulk distribution.

Advanced modelling of forming high strength steels

The thesis presents a novel approach in the multiscale modelling of Advanced High Strength Steels for prediction of the microstructural effects in forming processes. The results are compared with that of experiments and finite element method. The method is proved to be suitable for complexities in the multiphase AHSS.

Examination of the relationship between advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) and workforce development activities : implications for organisational performance

This study examines the relationship among organisational performance, advanced manufacturing technologies and workforce development activities. A model of this relationship is proposed with the workplace needs acting as a mediator between technology and workforce development activities. This survey examined the technology and developmental practices of manufacturing companies in Hong Kong.

Does multidisciplinary care enhance the management of advanced breast cancer? : evaluation of advanced breast cancer multidisciplinary team meetings

Purpose: To assess the contribution of the advanced breast cancer (ABC) multidisciplinary team meetings (MDMs) to patient care and clinical outcomes.

Methods: Members of ABC MDMs at two health services completed questionnaires in November 2007. The questionnaire asked about the performance of the MDMs and their contribution to improvement in patient care in five domains: medical management, psychosocial care, palliative care, care in the community, and benefits for team members. A final section covered the perceived value and importance of the MDM in patient management. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, mean, and standard deviation) were used to summarize the performance, improvement, and importance scores.

Results: A total of 27 multidisciplinary team members (73%) completed the questionnaire. The MDM performed best in medical management (mean performance score out of 5 [M] = 3.78) and palliative care (M = 3.77). These were also the areas that were most improved through the MDM. Benefits to team members and care in the community (both M = 3.05) ranked lowest by both measures. The MDM provided the most benefit for patient management in the areas of "awareness of services available" (M = 4.32), "efficiency of referrals" (M = 4.27) and "supportive care for patients" (M=4.27). "Awareness of services available," "psychological care for patients," and "continuity of care" were considered the most important (M = 4.64).

Conclusion: The study provides evidence that MDMs make an important contribution to the logistical and medical management of patients with advanced breast cancer.

Formability and forming of advanced steels

The thesis identified how advanced high strength steels perform compared to conventional steels in terms of weight reduction and crash performance for automotive bodies. The novel production method of low pressure tube hydroforming was applied to form these advanced steels to reduce the press tonnage and fluid pressure compared to the conventional high pressure process. In addition analytical models were developed to predict the force and pressure in the low pressure process.

Characterization of the bake-hardening behavior of transformation induced plasticity and dual-phase steels using advanced analytical techniques

The bake-hardening (BH) behavior of TRansformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) and Dual-Phase (DP) steels after intercritical annealing (IA) has been studied using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and three dimensional atom probe tomography. It was found for the DP steel that carbon can segregate to dislocations in the ferrite plastic deformation zones where there is a high dislocation density around the "asquenched" martensite. The carbon pinning of these dislocations, in turn, increases the yield strength after aging. It was shown that bake-hardening also leads to rearrangement of carbon in the martensite leading to the formation of rod-like low temperature carbides in the DP steel. Segregation of carbon to microtwins in retained austenite of the TRIP steel was also evident. These factors, in combination with the dislocation rearrangement in ferrite through the formation of cells and microbands in the TRIP steel after pre-straining, lead to the different bake-hardening responses of the two steels.

Effect of manufacturing process on the final properties of advanced high strength steels for automotive applications

The performance of multiphase steels with high strength and improved toughness or ductility, such as intercritically annealed dual-phase (DP) and transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steels, is of key importance to the automotive industry. In this work we have considered the entire manufacturing process and the effects of this on the final product performance. These steels are formed to produce the required final shape and then the car is paint baked. In this work we also consider the effect of cold working and bake hardening on the fatigue life of the components.