Intelligent products in the supply chain - 10 years on

Ten years ago the intelligent product model was introduced as a means of motivating a supply chain in which product or orders were central as opposed to the organizations that stored or delivered them. This notion of a physical product influencing its own movement through the supply chain was enabled by the evolution of low cost RFID systems which promised low cost connection between physical goods and networked information environments. In 2002 the notion of product intelligence was regarded as a useful but rather esoteric construct. However, in the intervening ten years there have been a number of technological advances coupled with an increasingly challenged business environment which make the prospects for intelligent product deployment seem more likely. This paper reviews a number of these developments and assesses their impact on the intelligent product approach. © 2012 IFAC.

Design and testing of a 250 kW medium-speed Brushless DFIG

This paper presents the design and testing of a 250 kW medium-speed Brushless Doubly-Fed Induction Generator (Brushless DFIG), and its associated power electronics and control systems. The experimental tests confirm the design, and show the system's steady-state and dynamic performance. The medium-speed Brushless DFIG in combination with a simplified two-stage gearbox promises a low-cost low-maintenance and reliable drive train for wind turbine applications.

Performance assessment of XACML authorizations for supply chain traceability web services

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Web Services (WS) offer advanced flexibility and interoperability capabilities. However they imply significant performance overheads that need to be carefully considered. Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Traceability systems are an interesting domain for the use of WS technologies that are usually deemed to be too complex and unnecessary in practical applications, especially regarding security. This paper presents an externalized security architecture that uses the eXtensible Access Control Markup Language (XACML) authorization standard to enforce visibility restrictions on trace-ability data in a supply chain where multiple companies collaborate; the performance overheads are assessed by comparing 'raw' authorization implementations - Access Control Lists, Tokens, and RDF Assertions - with their XACML-equivalents. © 2012 IEEE.

The incentives for supply chain collaboration to improve material efficiency in the use of steel: An analysis using input output techniques

In the face of increasing demand and limited emission reduction opportunities, the steel industry will have to look beyond its process emissions to bear its share of emission reduction targets. One option is to improve material efficiency - reducing the amount of metal required to meet services. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to explore why opportunities to improve material efficiency through upstream measures such as yield improvement and lightweighting might remain underexploited by industry. Established input-output techniques are applied to the GTAP 7 multi-regional input-output model to quantify the incentives for companies in key steel-using sectors (such as property developers and automotive companies) to seek opportunities to improve material efficiency in their upstream supply chains under different short-run carbon price scenarios. Because of the underlying assumptions, the incentives are interpreted as overestimates. The principal result of the paper is that these generous estimates of the incentives for material efficiency caused by a carbon price are offset by the disincentives to material efficiency caused by labour taxes. Reliance on a carbon price alone to deliver material efficiency would therefore be misguided and additional policy interventions to support material efficiency should be considered. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Study of steady state and transient EGR behaviour of a medium duty diesel engine

It is well known that accurate EGR control is paramount to controlling engine out emissions during steady state and transient operation of a diesel engine. The direct measurement of EGR is however non-trivial and especially difficult in engines with no external EGR control where the intake manifold CO2 levels can be measured more readily. This work studies the EGR behaviour in a medium duty diesel engine with a passive EGR rebreathing strategy for steady state and transient operation. High speed (response time ∼1ms) in-cylinder sampling using modified GDI valves is coupled with high frequency response analysers to measure the cyclic in-cylinder CO2, from which the EGR rate is deduced. It was found that controlling the EGR using the passive rebreathing strategy during certain combined speed and load transients is challenging, causing high smoke and NO emissions. The in-cylinder sampling method coupled with fast CO2 measurement (time constant ∼8ms) in the exhaust port gave insights about the EGR rate during these transients. The complex interaction of the manifold pressures, turbo-charger operation and trapped charge composition from the previous cycle simply can cause high dilution and therefore high smoke levels. The steady state variation of NO emissions with respect to EGR is also studied using a fast NO analyzer (time constant ∼2ms) in the exhaust port. Cyclic variation was found to be up to ±5% at some load conditions. © 2008 SAE International.

Expressive RFID data access policies for the Pharmaceuticals supply chain

The Pharma(ceuticals) industry is at a cross-roads. There are growing concerns that illegitimate products are penetrating the supply chain. There are proposals in many countries to apply RFID and other traceability technologies to solve this problem. However there are several trade-offs and one of the most crucial is between data visibility and confidentiality. In this paper, we use the TrakChain assessment framework tools to study the US Pharma supply chain and to compare candidate solutions to achieve traceability data security: Point-of-Dispense Authentication, Network-based electronic Pedigree, and Document-based electronic Pedigree. We also propose extensions to a supply chain authorization language that is able to capture expressive data sharing conditions considered necessary by the industry's trading partners. © 2013 IEEE.

Role of a high gain of the medium in superradiance generation and in observation of coherent effects in semiconductor lasers

A theoretical model of superradiant pulse generation in semiconductor laser structures is developed. It is shown that a high optical gain of the medium can overcome phase relaxation and results in a built-up superradiant state (macroscopic dipole) in an assembly of electron - hole pairs on a time scale much longer than the characteristic polarisation relaxation time T2. A criterion of the superradiance generation is the condition acmT2 > 1, where α is the gain coefficient and cm is the speed of light in the medium. The theoretical model describes both qualitatively and quantitatively the author's own experimental results.

Design and testing of a medium-speed 250 kW Brushless DFIG

This paper presents the design and testing of a 250 kW medium-speed Brushless Doubly-Fed Generator (Brushless DFIG), and its associated power electronics and control systems. The experimental tests confirm the design, and show the system's steady-state and dynamic performance. The medium-speed Brushless DFIG in combination with a simplified twostage gearbox promises a low-cost low-maintenance and reliable drive train for wind turbine applications.

Performance analysis and testing of a 250 kW medium-speed brushless doubly-fed induction generator

This study presents the performance analysis and testing of a 250 kW medium-speed brushless doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG), and its associated power electronics and control systems. The experimental tests confirm the design, and showthe system's steady-state and dynamic performance and grid low-voltage ride- through capability. The medium-speed brushless DFIG in combination with a simplified two-stage gearbox promises a low-cost low-maintenance and reliable drivetrain for wind turbine applications. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2013.

Making the deployment of pico-PV more sustainable along the value chain

Pico-PV is an excellent technology for bringing electric light to rural areas in the developing world and replacing kerosene lanterns and candles. However, as pico-PV is a comparatively new technology, relatively little is known about appropriate methods for sustainable product development and deployment. For this reason current dissemination methods are often ineffective and unsustainable. This research aims to help project developers deploy pico-PV technologies successfully and in a sustainable manner. To achieve this, a conceptual framework of key sustainability criteria along the value chain was developed and tested. The analysis revealed that the most important criteria for the sustainable deployment of pico-PV systems are: (a) easy and safe operation of the product; (b) that a system for product return is established; (c) the retailer understands the target market and (d) the end-user is aware of the product's existence and its benefits. This research reveals that criteria (b) and (c) are of greatest concern. In light of these findings, the authors propose to focus on the following five factors; namely: (a) raising awareness for certification and creating market reassurance; (b) introducing support mechanisms to facilitate local repair; (c) using existing supply channels and establishing in-country (dis)assembly; (d) introducing financial support mechanisms at product supply stages and; (e) undertaking marketing campaigns. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.