Man and Machine: February 2010

Product reliability!

0 comments Posted by Sharath Neelakanta at 1:27 PM

Toyota may no longer be the company it was! May be the company is at the end of too much media scrutiny and rightly so taking into account the numerous lives that have been lost due to the faulty design of the cars.

First,Toyota should have acknowledged the problem long ago. Worries of brand image loss and economics forced them not to do so. Eventually they had to recall a record 7 million autos and fix mainly two problems - 1.) A sticky gas pedal and 2.) an inappropriately designed floor mat. The gas pedal remains in half throttle and is resisted from coming back to its idle position even when not depressed. The floor mat interferes or entraps the gas pedal. Toyota like any other auto manufacturing company is responsible for the production and sale of safe automobiles. The plaintiffs charge that Toyota failed to incorporate safety measures should also be upheld as the company did not install a "brake override system" as an additional measure.The brake override system cuts off the engine power in the event of a simultaneous depression of the gas pedal and brake.

If one notices Toyota has been one company which has shelled out new car designs every year which brings us to the impact of design on the reliability of the automobile. New sleek designs may certainly be effective in giving a short commercial boost but in the long run one cannot compromise on reliability.

Creating reliable products is never easy. People keep sidelining American engineering and prefer its glamorous Asian counterparts. It may not be that long when americans prefer their own car make. The Consumer Report evaluations cement this trend further. Ford motor's Focus and Fusion outperformed products from Toyota and Honda. Over the years companies like Ford, GM and Chrysler dedicated themselves to boost quality and prioritized them over reliability. Yet,they play catch up with the Japanese but not for long. Ford has set certain guidelines as far as their design and manufacturing is concerned. It sticks with a model that is already competitive and concentrates on its processes. Communication between designers and manufacturers is critical. Never assume the obvious,the workers on the shop floor are not mind readers and so what is designed and what actually transpires on the shop floor needs to be worked upon. High reliability cannot be achieved by tight part tolerances or perfect components. Compatibility of two good components, knowing the appropriate standards, tracking the performance of the vendors and suppliers can go a long way in improving reliability.

Toyota should take a leaf out of American car companies and incorporate these guidelines. Somehow in the race for glory, this amazing company wandered off from its path.

Consumers today are game for sleeker and "cooler" designs but they would place the performance, reliability, safety, and overall efficiency of the automobile at a higher level. Auto designers should anticipate failure modes, improve the already existing system and slowly but surely they would win the race.

Toyota, are you listening?

The wireless heart!

0 comments Posted by Sharath Neelakanta at 12:49 PM

Many of us have heard of a pacemaker, right? One has heard numerous cases when the pacemaker failed and the patient was not aware of it and then suffered a stroke. For all those who are ignorant about it, pacemaker is a medical device wherein electrodes are in contact with the heart muscles. On detecting abnormal heart beats the pacemaker delivers electrical impulses through the electrodes thus bringing the heart to normal. A defibrillator also works on the same lines of the pacemaker but isn't pacemaker still an electronic device which obviously has a limited operational time and failure of any one of the small electrical components could cost a life?

One effective technology which could alert the person or his/her physician of the status of his/her pacemaker or defibrillator could be of immense use to persons vulnerable to sudden cardiac arrest.

Medtronic Inc. were one of the first to develop a smart implantable device which uses wireless telemetry, micro controllers, modems and internet technology to analyse heart rhythms, deliver shocks and send information to physicians -all without the aid of the patient.

One of the bigger challenges Medtronic engineers faced were transmission of signals without interference. RF signals were originally considered but replaced by a less known frequency band called MICS(medical implant communications service)-bandwidth of 402-405 mhz. Previously used for weather balloons and other meteorological aids, the MICS band offers the advantage of virtually no interference. Low interference translates to more effective use of power, because data need not be re send. A table top box which can receive these signals through an antenna was set up.

But still the data needs to be analysed and so Medtronic in collaboration with software giants like Microsoft developed a system known as CareLink Network which enables physicians to receive and analyze the data through the internet. If patients can keep in touch with their physicians from any part of the world this would be nothing short of a miracle. If the patient is sleeping or if he or she is not aware of atrial arrhythmia(irregular hear beats) the doctor is made of aware of it and he could treat them with the right drugs and possibly prevent a stroke which is the main purpose.

Although the initial tests and results are favorable,this device is not tried and tested. As the technology is in its infant stage and taking into account the economical viability of this machine, one can forsee the continuos use only in the distant future.The optimists are backing it as a medical technological breakthrough. How effective is it,only time would tell.

For the millions of people who might find this product of great use, it is a reassuring fact for them to know that their heart is in safe hands.

As they say , " A stitch in time saves nine".

Ocean Power!

0 comments Posted by Sharath Neelakanta at 12:58 PM

The world is in the midst of an energy crisis.The craving for alternate sources of power has forced many governments across the world to provide funding for the same. In this era of depleting natural resources, wind power seems to garner a lot of interest.

Focussing on wind energy, one needs to impress upon this source's vast potentials. It is estimated that this energy source would provide 10 to 15 percent of the world's energy requirements in future.

U.S.A has vast amounts of land to install wind turbines or mills but what about smaller countries. How can they make optimum use of this energy for their needs? Smaller countries with large coastlines have a distinct advantage in that they can harness wind energy through the ocean. Off shore wind turbines installed in oceans is a relatively new field as compared to farm wind turbine. Wind farms on land can hinder the nearby residents and sensitive wild life as a result of their noise. Winds over the ocean are generally stronger.Why not move all the turbines to offshore areas?

Such is the demand for energy that the world would require both offshore and on shore wind farms.Also,wind farms provide significant economic development in the form of tax revenue to hard pressed rural communities and rent payments to farmers. Hence the on shore wind farms are also here to stay.

Off shore wind farms are not without its challenges.Much research needs to be done on the effects of wind farms on the ecological balance in the sea. One cannot compromise one part of nature for another. Recent articles state the efforts of NASA's QuikSCAT satellite which help in pointing out the different ocean areas where winds are most likely to produce energy. The different maps aid the scientists in developing new wind farms. A wind farm also demands a large coastline and shallow water. So countries which have these advantages need to be proactive and start researching more. Many countries in Europe have proposed many off shore wind farms as a result of their limited land space.

Wind farm installation cost increases with water depth and wave height and also cost increases as the wind farms are farther out to the sea. What about interference with shipping, fishing, and marine life? Well,wind farms would not find a place in busy shipping routes. In case of rough weather when ships are forced to change route, every wind turbine is equipped with a radar which gives out a warning signal to the ship. Not much evidence is there to support the fact that wind farms have an adverse effect on fishing. On the contrary, wind farms help in protecting the fishing industry. Many environmental groups believe that wind farms will provide welcome sanctuary for fish spawning as well as refuge from intense fishing activity.Wind turbines are also built in order to sustain the extreme wind conditions in case of storms at sea. If the wind speed crosses 50mph,the turbine automatically shuts down in order to avoid failure. Although construction of wind farms may cause disturbance to the marine life,it would last for a limited time of six months. During the operational period research shows the frequency of the sound of the wind turbine is too low to be heard by the marine life and hence would not cause any hindrance.

Overall,wind energy especially off shore wind farms promise much to the world in way of an efficient source of energy to support our planet.

The more we learn to save the better we can live.

As was quoted in Times once -"Don't blow it-good planets are hard to find".

Pasta Italiano!

0 comments Posted by Sharath Neelakanta at 5:14 PM

Been having a lot of pasta lately! I love food which I dont have to chew.

One reads about the immense technological advances food manufacturing companies have made as far as processing time, product quality and packaging is concerned.I was eating pasta this morning and decided to blog about it,though I generally write blogs that are mainly dedicated to science and engineering. Did some reading here and there and found some quiet amazing facts about the pasta eating population. Of 7 billion people in the world less than a billion have pasta but the consumption is expected to skyrocket especially because of the whole wheat pasta which has known health benefits.

Of course one knows pasta originated from Italy. It is the leading supplier of pasta and, like pizza it promises to gift the world its next food obsession. Over the last ten years world wide production has doubled which simply reinforces the facts mentioned. There are two companies ,FAVA S.p.A and Pavan group , that own 70% of the global market. Like many successful manufacturing companies their success too attributes to their novel application of basic engineering principles, their ability to evolve and to change in order to meet the demands when an industry is in transition.

Pasta making process has evolved over the years. Pasta normally is made from flour and takes a long time to dry and cure. Although both these companies produce the same product their production lines are considerably different from each other,a very healthy competition indeed which can nuture more ideas and encourage continuos improvement. The challenge for both the companies was to reduce the drying cycles and also considering the optimum amount of moisture content(about 12%).Four basic parameters determine pasta quality:Processing temperature, humidity and time, and the residual moisture gradient in the final product.The pre drying and drying sections account for most of the production cost. Pasta was dried at temperatures less than 50C for long periods of time.Now they are dried at much higher temperatures as drying cycles get complex.

Pavan group applies high temperature at the initial phase of the drying process to block enzymatic activity(maintains nutrition!) and also gives it the required color. Higher temperatures with less humidity not only decrease moisture content, it also reduces processing time to under six hours and also prevents swelling. This goes through a series of alternating stages of fast drying and stabilizing. The processed pasta is also annealed to eliminate residual stresses that could crack the final product.

FAVA's is different in the sense that it involves an engineered sequence of operations,which ensures maximum drying and flexibility. They consider the gradual cooling and stabilization to be one of the main criteria which influences its product. Followed by an intense drying phase, it is followed by a quick drying phase and cooling in order to reduce internal stresses.

Of course,both the products are high quality - whether it is spaghetti,macaroni or lasagna... Something about the taste of pasta appeals to me and so looking forward to better tasting pasta from better technologies.

"The belly rules the mind"-Time for dinner!

FAILURE DETECTIVE:GEARS

0 comments Posted by Sharath Neelakanta at 8:37 PM

I came across an article by Kenneth Russel(MIT professor) popularly called as "Sherlock Ohms". And why is that so?

"The case of the burning solenoid","The adventures of the haunted panel box"- cute little detective stories one might think but its all about different case studies of failure analysis put forth in an interesting manner. It is hard to pick the best "case" article but this blog is dedicated to "The case of the Gummy Gears".

I have always been fascinated by fracture and failure analysis since the course that i had taken during my masters program. Like these articles, I had to work on actual case studies and write technical reports on the why's and how's of the failure. Getting back to the article in discussion here, a gear pump pumped a solution of ethylene glycol and water to cool a laser in a space application.The gear pump failed before its intended duration.

Mr. Russell explains the basics of the gear pump and makes an important point that designing two parts to rub against each other without galling which is excessive wear is a daunting task and also the fact that one should never rub two soft materials against each other. The author of the article does not elaborate on this to substantiate the case. The said gears were made of medium hardness stainless steel. The surface of the gears were implanted with nitrogen which when combined with chromium additive in the steel forms a very hard nitride layer which reduces galling. But the same design modification creates another issue. This cross linked design obstacle reminds one of the"axiomatic design principles" wherein the functional requirement has to match up with the design criteria and form a matrix wherein one design does not affect the functioning of the other. Lets talk about the axiomatic design aspect in another blog and get back to this case.

One might think that if one gets rid of the chromium and carry out another effective method of galling.Unfortunately, stainless steel is stainless mainly because of the chromium. It adds the sufficient strength to the steel which is required for this kind of application. Another solution could be to isolate the coolant from the pumps as corrosion does not take place as long as pumps are in motion and therefore are only subject to limited exposure increasing functioning time. Mr. Russell completely rules out this option although it is not clear why. Maybe the application produced so much heat that it was necessary for the gears to be exposed to coolant when not in motion too. Mr. Russell opines that the stainless steel should be replaced with a steel of a higher carbon content. I agree with this view as pitting of stainless steel can be avoided by addition of a small percentage of molybdenum.

However, unlike normal gears that roll with each other, these gears are rubbing against each other. Even if the steel is replaced with a higher carbon content steel, the continued mettalic contact will prove detrimental to the continued performance. If the application requires the gears to work only for a limited amount of time then the pump would be more economical if the gears were replaced periodically than invest in new and much more expensive steel material.

The final call though has to be taken by the original designers considering the effects their change in design has on important criteria like size, power consumption, maximum pressure difference, and output.

Sherlock Ohms saves the day. Case solved!

FUTURE FLIGHT!

0 comments Posted by Sharath Neelakanta at 11:55 AM

One of the biggest players in the aeroplane manufacturing sector is Boeing and rightly so. It is one company that is way ahead in research and almost has created a monopoly in its respective market. Boeing 787 orginally called 7E7 is another feather in Boeing's cap. It is a huge leap in aircraft design.

Boeing dreamliner boasts of better fuel efficiency and is the only plane in the world which has used composite materials for most of its construction. As far as the exterior aerodynamic shape is concerned there is not much difference to its contemporaries although an attempt to do that was made. Early designs of the dreamliner featured thinner and more streamlined cockpit windows and a shark fin like vertical stabilizer.The early designs were revoked and a more conventional look was preferred.

The dreamliner uses the rolls royce engine to power its flight. Although advanced engine technology can contribute to better fuel efficiency, one technology that could be future of aeroplanes is the use of fuel cell. Hydrogen powered vehicles are not new to mankind. Depending on a simple chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and whose only by-product is water, it would be one of the biggest next generation energy source. Engineers have stated that hydrogen, if produced via nuclear or solar power could be a long term factor as an aviation fuel. Hydrogen has a high energy density per unit mass, but a low energy density per unit volume compared to currently used jet fuels.Therefore hydrogen would require a high pressure container and so would have to be stored in the fuselage or the main body section. Wings cannot hold the heavy containers as it would affect the overall balance. However, this technology like other technologies will also overcome the challenges.

Antares DLR-H2 is the worlds first piloted aircraft capable of taking off using only power from fuel cells. Some call it a motorized glider with zero emissions and lesser noise than a comparable aircraft. The Antares uses a new membrane technology in which a polymer called polybenzimidazole (used ion firefighters suits) is sandwiched between the cathode and the anode.The catalyst used here is platinum which splits the hydrogen into electrons and protons.The membrane is impermeable to the electrons and forces it to pass through the external circuit thus generating an electric current.

But what makes this membrane so special and how does it contribute to the design issue(weight of the fuel system).The membrane used is extremely heat resistant and can withstand operating temperatures of upto 180C and therefore it does not require humidifiers,water pumps, tanks, valves or cleaning systems. The other advantage is that the high operating systems prevents impurities in hydrogen to accumulate on platinum electrode. Also lesser components equal lesser cost and make the technology more commercially viable. If manufacturers do not want to use it as a fuel system to power the plane, it can also be used for onboard electricity supply and the by-product water can be used as "antifreeze".

Technology presumes there's just one right way to do things and there never is. ~Robert M. Pirsig

Rocket man!

0 comments Posted by Sharath Neelakanta at 1:41 PM

I never think of the future - it comes soon enough-Albert Einstein.

But "how soon?" is the inevitable question. Could we go to work like George Jetson in his little spaceship. Ah!The indefatigable thirst for knowledge of mankind can bring this day very close. Reading about different inventions and research in recent times,I came across an article about Mr. Nino Amarena, an engineer from Argentina who specializes in making rockets.Well, they are miniature sized jet packs which can be worn like a backpack and with a push of a button you take off. If it was that easy, nobody would have bought a Toyota Prius!OOPS! No offence!

Mr. Amarena has been working on the rocket pack for over a decade and has seen reasonable success, I would say. One needs to consider the enormous challenges in this nascent area. In the 1960's Wendell Moore who invented the rocketbelt for Bell Aerosystems stopped flying after shattering his knee in a crash. Understandably few individuals have taken upon them to venture into this. Nino Amarena's logic is simple "create more thrust than the weight". He calls his jetpacks thunderpacks that are capable for a maximum 45 second flight.The thunderpack's gas generator decomposes hydrogen peroxide and then uses an inert gas like nitrogen to push the exhaust out at high pressure.Catalyzing hyydrogen peroxide results in an exhaust gas mixture of superheated steam and oxygen.The inert gas stored above the fuel blows down the exhaust creating the required thrust of around 380-400lb.One uses the controls in the handle to orient the exhaust nozzle by which one can manuever around while off the ground.

Many interesting features about the rocketbelt,one of them being the use of "jetavators". These are small rings mounted on the exit areas of the nozzles which work similar to that of ailerons in aeroplanes. When the jetavator on the left nozzle moves downward while on the right moves upward,i creates a push in one direction and allows the pilot to yaw.

The rocketbelt efficiency can be increased by two ways-1.) reduce the weight of the pack and 2.) increase fuel capacity.Obviously the single most drawback of the rocketbelt is its short flight time. At a price of over 100K a minute flight does not seem that attractive. Thunderbolt systems -Nino's company has been pursuing a different chemical composition to sustain the chemical reaction. Either the fuel capacity of the pack should be increased at the same time not compromising on the weight or the fuel should produce the required exhaust for an extended period of flight. In one of the videos they have demonstrated how the pack works.It does give the required thrust to lift off the ground but not good enough. In the long run, the company could be focussing on achieving more elevation and to sustain that elevation. As of now it might sound to some as a crazy science experiment, but Nino believes it can change the world of human travel in the years to come.The military could find some use in this technology and considering the advantage it could have added for Haiti relief and rescue efforts the rocket man is here to stay.

It is that man's incessant fixation of 'mankind to fly like a bird' that has and will propel him to heights which even some of his fellowmen dismissed as impossible.Encouragement fuels desire!

Some marriages are made on Earth!

0 comments Posted by Sharath Neelakanta at 4:43 PM

The marriage between the two giants (in their respective fields) took place last year. The world of mechatronics got a tad bit easier with the coming together of LabVIEW and SolidWorks. Many engineers would feel a tickle of excitement reading about this marriage and the future possibilities seem endless. The relationship looks very promising.

I had attended a workshop conducted by National Instruments about introduction to the LabVIEW software. User friendly-yes,and i liked the data acquisition part,pretty cool! Furthermore, I would also highly recommend SolidWorks compared to Autocad. SolidWorks allows you to specify where you want a specific parameter and it does not change with the addition of another dimension. Convenient, ain't it?

The integration of the two (LabVIEW and SolidWorks) gives the concept of virtual prototyping a real boost.Traditionally, companies built expensive prototypes and tested these under desired conditions before manufacturing the final product. However, the integration allows engineers visualize the real world behaviour of machines and motion control systems without building prototypes. Optimizing,visualizing and validating real world performance of machines and motion systems without having to build costly prototypes sounds like a manufacturer's dream. Well,it just turned out to be true!

A recent article in Design News magazine elaborates on this cross collaboration.The LabVIEW teams create the motion control code in their software,build their prototype in Solidworks and then put them together in the lab. Now ideas seem viable, but is the virtual prototype really that accurate? Not so sure, but no two ways on agreeing that it does save a lot of time, effort, and money.

Companies should be proactive and take advantage of this technological advancement as it allows one to make changes in the product with no additional cost. Someone once said, "I know not what the future holds, but I know who holds the future". So, let the research begin!

Fad or Reality?

0 comments Posted by Sharath Neelakanta at 3:04 PM

One of the more important issues that have to be addressed by off highway vehicle manufacturers is how to deal with ever tightening emissions standards and rising fuel costs.Governments around the world including the developing nations have embarked to reduce the dependency of human life on fuel obviously concerned firstly about extinguishing this important by product of coal and secondly the massive ramifications caused by its polluting nature.The last decade has seen spurts of sorts as far as green manufacturing is concerned.GM has an eco car competition wherein colleges across North America develop fuel efficient cars using technologies like electric,hybrid and plug in hybrid.In spite of the economy downturn the competition receives full funds mainly because companies and governments consider it to be the future of the suffering automobile industry and reasonably so.The competition to create the best viable automotive which satisfies the green lobby should be encouraged and pursued by every government across the globe and different innovations should be nurtured. Most of the research is based on cars but the next obvious target is heavy duty vehicles.For the electric vehicles to be ubiquitous new battery chemistries coupled with improved engine systems should be developed. Also, the market demand will drive prices down while the rising cost of fuel and the price placed on carbon emissions will make electrification a better proposition. Couple of questions to be pondered upon.

Will the technology reach to the desired level and if it does so,would it be able to attract a huge market?

Would the perseverance of our leaders extend beyond an elected term or would it be overlapped by dirty politics?

One never knows.The vehicle of tomorrow should not simply be a mode of transport or a workhorse.It should also be a mobile power station that may be able to share its excess energy with an intelligent grid using vehicle-to-grid technologies(V2G).Imagine your car running your refrigerator!

As it is said, "optimists are nostalgic about the future" and so am I !

step up!

0 comments Posted by Sharath Neelakanta at 5:16 PM

Ok...i did my undergrad in Mech engineering(M=respect)...in SIR MVIT...bangalore...india...I did my first paper presentation on snake arm robots while i was doing my undergrad...easy topic one would think...well..actually it is...good enough for your first presenation...snake arm robots are nothing but connector arms controlled by actuators...which have this "cool" ability to manuever around objects and perform the desired tasks....during this research i realized the enormous potential of combining mechanical and electrical engineering ideas..simply called mechatronics....one of my few motivations to do my masters in mechanical engineering was my deep curiosity in mechatronics....however that did not materialize as there was neither a good project that i thought i could work on....and most importantly no funding for the research...which is extremely importanttt!!!...read an article the otherday...on designnews magazine.article called "mechatronic magnetic magic"by Dr Kevin Craig...talking about stepper motor..hmmm...as the name suggests...moves by a small amount"step"...and rotates as the motor is excited by different magnets around it...activated one after the other...this is the electrical part..most of the applications the rotor is used as a normal gear..different gears aligned to this...one gets the desired speed for applications...

Man and Machine

One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man. ~Elbert Hubbard