Theses and Dissertations

The processing of the tungsten heavy alloys powders, 93%W – 5.6%Ni – 1.4%Fe (wt%), provided by Global Tungsten and Powder Corp. (GTP) was investigated by using selective laser melting (SLM) additive manufacturing method. Due to the refractory character of

The stamping process, of which the punching process is a major division, is one of the most important metal parts production methods in industry. Punching dies are the heart of the punching process. Die performance, as measured by the number of strokes between sharpenings and/or repairs, determines the important per part costs of die depletion and maintenance. Existing quantitative studies are principally on tool wear and punchability.

A systemic analysis of the influence of experimental conditions on growth of anodic nanostructures on copper was performed. An aqueous electrolyte composed of 0.01 M sodium bicarbonate was used in order to form oxide nanostructures on the surface of coppe

In previous decades, most frequently studies in the field of metals anodizing were focused on two subjects: anodic aluminum oxides (AAO), or anodic titanium oxides (ATO). Other anodic metallic oxides do attract much less attention in academia and industry

This hypothesis: a direct correlation exists between methods changes and related productivity changes in non machine-controlled work situations, appeared to be at the root of many problems in applied work measurement. Therefore, the author decided to conduct an objective, quantitative analysis of its validity.

The fundamental relationships among the design parameters of an information system and the utility of the information that a system produces are analyzed in an effort to develop a methodology for measuring the utility of information. The utility of the information is defined as a measure of the effectiveness with which the information can be employed to attain the objectives of the using organization.

The purpose of this research was to further the investigation into GERT output distributions. From the family of GERT networks containing only Exclusive-Or nodes, a generally applicable network form was chosen for simulation. A generalized computer program was written to simulate any specific network of this form.

The purpose of this work was to conduct a reverse engineering evaluation to attain state variables such as flow stress, strain, and strain rate for a finite element (FE) simulation of the rolling process. The alloy investigated included as cast and wrought Nickel Aluminum Bronze (NAB) of the similar chemistry. Chemical analyses of the materials were in conformance with the ASTM B150 and ASTM B 171 C6200 specifications. Tensile testing results of the wrought material did not show a significant difference between the transverse and longitudinal directions.

The solutions to the problems of production forecasting, scheduling, and in-process inventory control for high volume multi-product manufacturing lines are not readily available in current industrial literature. This study proposes simulation as a general approach to solving these problems and proceeds to develop a simulator which is applied to just such a high volume line.

The building industry is perhaps the most fragmented large industrial complex in the country today. Consumers are expressing needs for faster delivery for more functional and sophisticated space at more reasonalble prices. At the same time, the industry in itself is faced with growing internal problems which are making it increasingly more difficult to perform even as well as in the past. This study investigates the area of utility sub-systems in the building industry.

Utilizing CRAFT an optimum plant layout with regard to all products manufactured can be realized. In addition, two manufacturing policies; related to production and inventory control, will be investigated with respect to the effect of said policies on plant layout.

Hot forgoing processes are used for plastic deformation of metals at temperatures above the material recrystallization temperature. In this process metal ingots are converted into complex shapes by applying stresses above the yield stress of the deformed material on pre-heated metals in a short period of time. Hot forging process provides products with high strength due to grains refinement and absence of porosity. In the recent years, the demand of aluminum forged products has increased comparing with the cast products, largely in the automotive industry.

Computational efficiencies of the primal-dual algorithm and the uv-method in solving transportation problems are compared in this thesis. A computer program was written in Fortran IV and run on the CDC 6400 system; it generated random problems with integer constants ranging in the size from 5X10 to 30 X 50, and solved them by both methods.

This is a result of an initial investigation to simplify feedback controllers for stochastic processes. The investigation concerns itself with incrimental control as opposed to proportional control.

This paper concerns itself with quantification of the intangible factors in Product Design Decisions where there is one very big supplier with one very big customer and a unique product. The product design is represented as a state diagram, or curve, with Time as one axis and Product or Material State as the other. Industry affects the product design curve with various levels of decisions. This paper describes four of these levels and investigates a case in which three levels are involved.

An issue with hot rolling of low carbon steel is that it has relatively low corrosion resistance and will commonly sit in coils in inventory, where rust can form easily before it is put to use. The end user will have to surface treat the product to remove the rust or scale formed after rolling before it is used. A new product has been developed by our industrial partner, Quaker Chemical Corporation, that could potentially avoid this unwanted oxidation after production. At the end of the hot rolling process a chemical spray is applied while the steel is still at elevated temperature.

A simulation program is presented that develops a risk profile of the intended investment. The risk profile is essentially a return on investment probability analysis developed from the estimated distributions of costs, service life and savings of the intended investment in a computer based, on-line system.

Styrenic block copolymers are one of the most used constituents in pressure sensitive adhesives due to their rubbery, yet viscous nature that allows them to flow out and adhere to substrates and yet have resiliency to resist creep. This study focused on high temperature performance benefits certain styrene-miscible or styrene-associating resins, referred to as styrenic block reinforcing additives (SBRAs), imparted to styrenic-block-copolymer-based pressure sensitive adhesives.

An investigation of the feasibility of applying linear programming to assembly line balancing problems is presented. Salveson and Bowman developed the mathematical models.