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OPTIMIZATION AND AUTOMATION OF PRODUCTION
PROCESS AT ROOP POLYMERS LTD THROUGH PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
Thesis submitted in the partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
Award of the Degree of
MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
(PRODUCTION ENGINEERING)
Under the supervision of: Submitted by:
Dr. A.K.Vij Amit Gulia
Professor of Management studies 11-PEP-004s
Ms. Amrita Jhawar
Department of mechanical engineering
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MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
ITMU GURGAON
2011-2013
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CERTIFICATE
i
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ABSTRACT
The following study is conducted on basis of practical study of a construction project of an
company which is required to build a new facility which is required for masters degree in
context to learn and implement the various techniques of the project management. Projectmanagement is about making decisions under uncertainty, throughout the various phases of a
project. According to this study we implement management tools and processes to form a
effective and efficient system. This study examines the relationships among project performance,
customer satisfaction, and project success by assessing the efficacy of management techniques,
tools, and skills for implementing infrastructure and building construction. In this report I have
discussed the various tools and techniques of optimization. They provide step by step study of
every process in rubber manufacturing process. the process steps can be optimized and organized
in such a way that it provides maximum efficiency of the process.
ii
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CONTENT
Description: Page No.
Certificate i
Abstract ii
Contents iii
Gantt Chart v
List of figures vi
Nomenclatures vii
Chapter 1-Introduction
1.1. Objectives of the project
1.2. Success parameters of the project
1.3. Brief Introduction of the project
1.4 Process Optimization Tool1.5. Value Proposition
1.6. Steps of process optimization
1.7 Roop Polymers Pvt Ltd (Company Profile)
Chapter 2- General process of making a rubber component
2.1. Products and Raw materials used
2.2. General Process of manufacturing of rubber component
Chapter 3 -Literature review
3.1. Research papers
3.2. Advanced Manufacturing
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Chapter 4- Production and Manufacturing Process and Support
4.1 Production System Facilities
4.2 Low Quantity Production
4.3 Medium Quantity Production
4.4 High Production
4.5 Manufacturing Support System
Chapter 5- Automation in Production System
5.1 Automation in Production System
5.2 Automated Manufacturing Systems
5.3 Reasons for Automating
5.4 Automation Migration Strategy
5.5 Equipments used for Automation
5.6 Introduction to test automation
5.6.1 Forecasting test automation benefits
5.6.2 Costs of Automation
5.7 Cost of Automation
5.8. Advantages of Automation
Chapter 6- Recommendations and implementation of the corrective measures
6.1. Line or Product layout
6.2. Comparison of both the Manual and Automated Manufacturing Process
6.3 What is ROI?
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6.3.1 Need of test automation using ROI
6.4 Productivity
6.5 Product/ Production Relationship
6.6 Product and Part Complexity
Chapter 7- Business Process Modelling Technique
7.1 Calculate Cost Accruals Event-Driven Process Chain
7.1.1 Function Allocation Diagram
7.2 Documenting Processes
Chapter 8- Conclusion
References
iii
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GANTT CHART
iv
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Figure List:
Figure 1: Process Improvement
Figure 2: Steps of Process Optimization
Figure 3: Bonded flexible chains
Figure 4: Compression Modelling
Figure 5: Injection Modelling
Figure 6: Transfer Modelling
Figure 7: General Process
Figure 8: Major Process of Rubber
Figure 9: Manufacturing Process Behaviour
Figure 10: The production system consists of facilities and manufacturing support systems.
Figure 11: Various types of plant layout
Figure 12: Types of facilities and layouts used for different levels of production quantity and
product variety.
Figure 13: The information processing cycle in a typical manufacturing firm.
Figure 14: Opportunities of automation and computerization in a production system.
Figure 15: Three types of automation relative to production quantity and product variety.
Figure 16: Model of manufacturing showing factory operations and the information processing
activities for manufacturing support.
Figure 17: A typical automation migration strategy
Figure 18: PLC system and Change over System for Intimex
Figure 19: Test Automation
Figure 20: Distributed Test Automation Infrastructure
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Figure 21 (a): Line layout
Figure21 (b): Line Layout
Figure 22: 3-Tier Industrial Network Diagram
Figure 23: Network diagram for automating the current process
Figure 24: Time taken by the manual process
Figure 25: Time taken by individual process
Figure 26: Problem Occurrence in Automated Manufacturing Process
Figure 27: Value Added Chain
Figure 28: Calculate Cost Accruals Event-Driven Process Chain
Figure 29: Plan Scope Function Allocation Diagram
Figure 30: Plan Scope Function Allocation Diagram
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v
Nomenclatures
1.NR Natural Rubber
2.RPL Roop polymers limited
3.TPE Thermoplastic rubber
4. PP Polypropylene
5.PVC Polyvinylchloride
6.PLC Programmable logic controller
7.TIP Technology innovation
programme
8.ICS Industrial control system
9. DCS Distributed control systems
10.NC Numerical control
11.ROI Return on investment
vi
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
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1.1.Objectives of the projectThe purpose of project management is to foresee or predict as many dangers and problems as
possible. And to plan, organise and control activities so that the project is completed as
successfully as possible in spite of all the risks.
1. Commissioning of the whole factory
2. Optimization and Automation of the production process
By Managing resources:
a. Maintain Time and progress
b. Quality and performance
c. Cost and cash flow
The main objectives of optimization of manufacturing process and remodelling old machines and
production lines are:
Increase in productivity Increase in product reproducibility and product quality Decrease in the influence of human factors on product quality Facilitating operators and maintenance personnel work Increase in safety at the workplace
1.2.Success parameters of the project Performance and Quality:
The end result of a project must fit the purpose for which it was intended. In more recent years
the concept of total quality management has come to the fore, with the responsibility for quality
shared by all staff from top management downwards.
Budget:The project must be completed without exceeding the authorised expenditure. Financial sources
are not always inexhaustible and a project might be abandoned altogether if funds run out before
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completion. If that was to happen, the money and effort invested in the project would be forfeited
and written off.
Time to Completion:Actual progress has to match or beat planned progress. All significant stages of the project must
take place no later than their specified dates, to result in total completion on or before the
planned finish date.
Manpower: Efficient use of human resources.Production: To achieve high production in a given time and to extract maximum from the
production process.
Cost analysis:-To determine if it is a sound investment/decision (justification/feasibility),
-To provide a basis for comparing projects. It involves comparing the total expected cost of each
option against the total expected benefits, to see whether the benefits outweigh the costs, and by
how much.
Inventory: To reduce the inventory cost by providing just in time based production by
automation and optimization of the on-going process. It is required at different locations within a
facility or within many locations of a supply network to precede the regular and planned course
of production and stock of materials.
1.3.Brief Introduction of the projectProcess optimization is the discipline of adjusting a process so as to optimize some specified set
of parameters without violating some constraint. The most common goals are minimizing cost,
maximizing throughput, and/or efficiency. This is one of the majorquantitativetools in industrial
decision making.
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When optimizing a process, the goal is to maximize one or more of the process specifications,
while keeping all others within their constraints.
The idea behind process optimization is to modify a process as to deliver higher yield, more
product or higher return from existing assets or people.
Businesses and process managers need to work on process optimization at various stages during
manufacturing (but not limited to manufacturing). The best companies continue to strive for
continuous process optimization exercises throughout their existence.
Act of process optimization describes use of various methods to maximize return, cycle time,
yield, or efficiency given multiple constraints. There are three parameters that can be adjusted to
affect optimal performance. They are:
Equipment optimization
The first step is to verify that the existing equipment is being used to its fullest advantage by
examining operating data to identify equipment bottlenecks.
Operating procedures
Operating procedures may vary widely from person-to-person or from shift-to-shift. Automation
of the plant can help significantly. But automation will be of no help if the operators take control
and run the plant in manual.
Control optimization
If the control loop is not properly designed and tuned, the process runs below its optimum. The
process will be more expensive to operate, and equipment will wear out prematurely. For each
control loop to run optimally, identification of sensor, valve, and tuning problems is important.
The process of continuously monitoring and optimizing the entire plant is sometimes called
performance supervision.
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Figure 1: Process Improvement
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1.4.Process Optimization ToolMany relate process optimization directly to use of statistical techniques to identify the optimum
solution. Statistical techniques are definitely needed. However, a thorough understanding of the
process is required prior to committing time to optimize it. Once the process inputs, outputs and
intermediate responses are recognized for each step, one needs to confirm the relationships.
1.5.Value PropositionUnderstanding business process steps with the goal of identifying areas of improvement and
eliminating inefficiency in order to simplify, integrate and automate. Processes are the key
enabler to both effectiveness and efficiency of a operation. Both tool selection and organizational
alignment should be based on optimized and clearly communicated processes.
1.6.Steps of process optimization1. Understand what the process is trying to accomplishThe processes should be clearly defined in order to adopt the process management concept in an
organization. The processes are generally categorized under these three headings:
Operational processes
Managerial processes Quality processes
2. Map ProcessesThe design of process maps includes identification of:
Process owners Parent processes Sub-processes Process flow and steps Roles, conditions, and rights related to steps The essential information and other relevant input for a seamless process flow Process outputs
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3. Categorize Steps as Value Added or Non-Value Added For Value Added Activity
THE DEVELOPMENT OF POOR QUALITY COSTS
For many years quality costs were divided into prevention costs, appraisal costs, internal failure
costs and external failure costs, first identified by Feigenbaum (1956). Prevention costs and
appraisal costs are those that management has direct control over to ensure that only customer-
acceptable products and services are delivered to the customer. All the company-incurred costs
that result from errors include internal and external error costs.
These costs are directly related to management decisions made in the prevention and appraisalcost categories. Feigenbaum considered external failure costs as more serious than internal
failure costs, because it may result in more disappointed customers. This traditional
categorization has been widely used, for example in the ISO 9000 standard. Sometimes the term
poor quality costs (PQC) is used because it is poor quality, not quality, that causes extra costs.
A number of researchers have tried to further develop Feigenbaums model by adding new
categories. But no one has so far been widely accepted. Modarres and Ansari (1985), who added
cost of quality design and cost of inefficient utilization of resources, and Sugiura (1997, referred
in Giakatis et al., 2001), who added adjustment cost and quality design cost, are just two such
examples.
The concept of poor quality costs began to change its focus to more consider the customers
needs during the 1980s. Harrington (1987) differentiated between direct PQC and indirect PQC.
He used the term direct PQC for the four traditional categories. When using the term indirect
poor-quality costs Harrington considered the customers different and individual requirements.
He defined indirect PQC as those costs not directly measurable in the company ledger, but part
of the product life cycle PQC and divided it into three major categories. Customer-incurred
PQC appears when an output fails to meet the customers expectations. Customer-dissatisfaction
PQC is lost income because customers are not satisfied with the companys product and
therefore choose a competitors product next time.
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POOR QUALITY COSTS IN CONSTRUCTION
It is evident that we lack knowledge of poor quality costs in construction. We have knowledge of
the visible costs, but lack knowledge of most of the hidden costs, lost income, customers costs
and socio-economic costs. We probably lack necessary knowledge to be able to see and
understand the hidden costs (Josephson, 2000). We probably also lack knowledge of the size of
other non-value-adding activities. We must broaden our views and question the existing and
accepted activities and behaviour in projects.
Non Value Added ActivityNO GENERALLY ACCEPTED CATEGORIZATION
Many different categorizations have been used in the studies of poor quality costs in
construction. But there is so far no generally accepted system. Typical questions dealt with
include (e.g. Davis, 1987; Josephson, 1994; Love and Irani, 2002)
When did it happen? (Date or phase of project)
When was it detected? (Date or phase of project)
Who detected it? (Actor)
Who caused it? (Actor)
What type of immediate cause? (On individual level, e.g. knowledge, information, engagement,
etc.)
What type of root-cause? (E.g. organisation)
What type of problem?
What type of incident? (E.g. error, change, omission)
In what element of the building? (Structure, interior design, etc.)
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In which activity?
Who corrected it? (Actor)
When was it corrected? (Date)
Which effect on the project? (Delay, extra cost, etc.)
Who paid it? (Actor)
The categorizations used are dependent on the approach taken by the researcher. Most common
is a company approach or a project approach (e.g. Josephson and Hammarlund, 1999). An
industry approach or a national approach (e.g. Halevy and Naveh, 2000) is uncommon. Burati et
al. (1992) classified deviations in errors, omissions and changes.
4. Identify Improvements5. Define Cost Savings Opportunities6. Conduct External Benchmarking Research7. Define Recommendations & Action Plan
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Figure 2: Steps of Process Optimization
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1.7 Roop Polymers Pvt Ltd (Company Profile)
Established in 1973 in the automotive industrial hub of Gurgaon, Roop Polymers Ltd. (RPL) is
the flagship company of the Roop Group. With over 35 years of rich experience in the
automotive industry, RPL today is a world class manufacturer of Moulded and Extruded Rubber
& Plastic parts for Automotive OEM around the globe. It operates through 6 state of the art
manufacturing facilities which are strategically located near the OEM customer base in Gurgaon,
Sohna & IMT Manesar in Haryana and Pantnagar in Uttranchal. All the RPL plants are TS-
16949 & ISO 14001 certified and meet the most stringent quality norms set by its diverse range
of customers. Apart from supplying to automotive majors in India like Maruti Suzuki, Honda,Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto etc., RPL is also a major supplier to TRW, USA for their critical rubber
parts requirement.
RPL has a unique capability to process rubber parts in all grades like NR, NBR, SBR, EPDM,
Silicon, Viton, Neoprene, Chloroprene, HNBR, Fluoro, Isoprene, Hyplone, etc., and plastic parts
in grades like PP (Polypropylen), PVC (Polyvinylchlorid), TPE (Thermoplastic rubber), PA 66,
PA66 + Glass Fibre, POM (Polyoxymethylen), Santoprene, Desmopan, etc. It therefore offers a
'one stop shop' engineering solutions to all the customers through its expertise in designing,
development, tooling, moulding, extrusion, assembly, painting, testing and delivery capabilities
across the globe. Backed by its technical capabilities and highly enthusiastic workforce, RPL
today has become a supplier of choice for the Indian Automotive industry.
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CHAPTER 2
GENERAL PROCESS OF MAKING A RUBBER COMPONENT
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While the first rubber product manufacturers were the indigenous people of the Amazon basin,
Europeans started to experiment with rubber product manufacturing during the nineteenth
century as a method to make waterproof footwear and other types of waterproof clothing and
equipment. This early rubber product manufacturing was relatively small scale until Charles
Goodyear invented vulcanization in 1839. Vulcanization is a technique utilized by rubber
product manufacturers which modifies the chemical structure of rubber so that it is strong
enough to withstand extreme heat and cold, making it highly effective in all kinds of industrial
applications. Rubber soon became vital to all kinds of industrial design, exponentially increasing
the scale of rubber product manufacturing.
2.1. Products and Raw materials used
Products made from rubber have a flexible and stable 3dimensional chemical structure and are
able to withstand under force large deformations. For example the material can be stretched
repeatedly to at least twice its original length and, upon immediate release of the stress, will
return with force to approximately its original length.
Under load the product should not show creep or relaxation. Besides these properties the
modulus of rubber is from hundred to ten thousand times lower compared to other solid materials
like steel, plastics and ceramics. This combination of unique properties gives rubber its specific
applications like seals, shock absorbers and tyres.
Rubber is used as a name for 3 categories:
Raw or base polymers: These determine the main characteristics of the final product.
Semi-manufactured: product
The addition to raw rubber of various chemicals, to impart desirable properties, is termed
compounding. This semi-finished material is getting its rubber properties after vulcanization.
Final product: After moulding the rubber compounds gets its elastic properties after a
vulcanisation process.
Modern rubber materials consist of approximately 60 percent of synthetic polymers. The otherpart consists of vulcanisation agents, softeners, accelerators, anti-aging agents and other
chemicals. These additions are necessary to achieve the desired properties of the final product.
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Non vulcanised phase vulcanised phase
Figure 3: Bonded flexible chains
Polymers have a backbone of hydrocarbons. The hydrogen atom is often replaced by other atoms
or molecules (like CH3, Cl or F) and thus creates another type of elastomer. These chains are
chemically bonded together by sulphur, peroxides or biphenyl. An exception is silicone. Silicone
contains very flexible siloxane backbones (Si-O) and can be cured with peroxide or platinum-
catalyst curing.
The most common elastomers are:
Ethylene Propylene Rubber (EPDM/EPM)
EPM is a copolymer of ethylene and propylene. This type can only be cross-linked with
peroxides. If during the copolymerization of ethylene and propylene, a third monomer, a diene, is
added the resulting rubber will have unsaturation and it can then be vulcanized with sulphur.
These rubbers are the so-called EPDMs.
The main properties of EPDM are its outstanding heat, ozone and weather resistance. The
resistance to polar substances and steam are also good. It has excellent electrical insulating
properties. The EPDM copolymer can be filled with more than 200 per cent of its own weight
with non-re-in forcing fillers, resulting in reduction of cost price but also in physical properties.
For these reasons this rubber is widely applied in many applications.
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Nitrile rubber (NBR)
NBR is a family of unsaturated copolymers of acrylonnitrile (CAN) and butadiene monomers.
Although its physical and chemical properties vary depending on the polymers composition of
nitrile (the more nitrile within the polymer, the higher the resistance to oils but the lower the
flexibility of the material), this form of synthetic rubber is generally resistant to oil, fuel, and
other chemicals. It is used in the automotive industry to make fuel and oil handling hoses, seals,
and grommets.
NBRs ability to withstand a range of temperatures from -40 C to +108 C makes it an ideal
material for automotive applications. Nitrile rubber is more resistant than natural rubber to oils
and acids, but has less strength and flexibility. Nitrile rubber is generally resistant to aliphatic
hydrocarbons. Nitrile, like natural rubber, can be attacked by ozone, aromatic hydrocarbons,
ketones, esters and aldehydes.
Natural Rubber (NR)
Natural rubber has a very high elasticity, high tensile strength and a very good abrasion
resistance. The material is obtained by coagulation of latex derived from the rubber tree. The
rubber is not resistant to aging and oil. For these reasons NR is rarely used as a seal for technical
applications, but is mixed with other elastomere compounds like EPDM to improve rubber
properties.
Styrene - Butadien Rubber (SBR)SBR is a synthetic rubber copolymer consisting of styrene and butadiene. It has good abrasion
resistance and good aging stability when protected by additives, and is widely used in car tyres,
where it is blended with natural rubber.
Chloroprene rubber (CR)
Commonly known under the trade name Neoprene of Dupont. CR is not characterised by one
outstanding property, but its balance of properties is unique among the synthetic elastomers. It
has good mechanical strength, high ozone and weather resistance, good aging resistance, low
flammability, good resistance toward chemicals and moderate oil and fuel resistance.
Silicone (VMQ/MVQ/HTV)
Silicones differ from other polymers in that their backbones consist of Si-O-Si units unlike many
other polymers that contain carbon backbones.
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Silicone rubber offers good resistance to extreme temperatures, being able to operate normally
from -55 C to +230 C. At the extreme temperatures, the tensile strength, elongation, tear
strength and compression set can be far superior to conventional rubbers although still low
relative to other materials. Organic rubber has a carbon to carbon backbone which can leave
them susceptible to ozone, UV, heat and other ageing factors that silicone rubber can withstand
well. This makes it one of the elastomers of choice in many extreme environments.
Compared to organic rubbers, however, the tensile strength of standard silicone rubber is lower.
For this reason, care is needed in designing products to withstand low imposed loads. Nowadays
also silicone compounds with improved tensile strength are available.
Acrylic rubber (ACM)
Acrylic rubber, known by the chemical name alkyl acrylate copolymer (ACM), is a type of
rubber that has outstanding resistance to hot oil and oxidation. It has a continuous working
temperature of 150 C and an intermittent limit of 180 C. Disadvantages are its low resistance to
moisture, acids, and bases.
It should not be used in temperatures below -10 C. It is commonly used in automotive
transmissions and hoses.
Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (HNBR)
The properties of hydrogenated nitrile rubber depend on the acrylonitrile (ACN) content, and on
the degree of hydrogenation. They can be tailored to particular applications, but have the
general advantage over standard nitrile rubber of having higher temperature resistance and higher
strength.
HNBRs also have good high temperature oil and chemical resistance and are resistant to amines.
They are suitable for use in methanol and methanol/hydrocarbon mixtures if the correct ACN
level is selected. They have good resistance to hot water and steam. They can have excellent
mechanical properties including strength, elongation, tear resistance, abrasion resistance and
compression set.
For the best properties peroxide curing is used, unless low hysteresis is required. They are
reported to be satisfactory up to temperatures around 180 C in oil. Fully saturated grades have
excellent ozone resistance. They have poor resistance to some oxygenated solvents and aromatic
hydrocarbons.
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Fluoro rubber (FKM)
Fluoroelastomers are a class of synthetic rubber which provide extraordinary levels of resistance
to chemicals, oil and heat, while providing useful service life above 204C. The outstanding heat
stability and excellent oil resistance of these materials are due to the high ratio of fluorine to
hydrogen, the strength of the carbon-fluorine bond, and the absence of unsaturation.
The original fluoroelastomer was a copolymer of hexafluoropropylene (HFP) and vinylidene
fluoride (VF2). It was developed by the DuPont Company in 1957 in response to high
performance sealing needs in the aerospace industry. To provide even greater thermal stability
and solvent resistance, tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) containing fluoroelastomer terpolymers were
introduced in 1959 and in the mid to late 1960s lower viscosity versions of FKMs were
introduced A breakthrough in cross linking occurred with the introduction of the bisphenol cure
system in the 1970s. This bisphenol cure system offered much improved heat and compression
set resistance with better scorch safety and faster cures speed. In the late 70s and early 80s
fluoroelastomers with improved low temperature flexibility were Introduced by using
perfluoromethylvinyl ether (PMVE) in place of HFP, Fluoroelastomers are a family of
fluoropolymer rubbers, not a single entity. Fluoroelastomers can be classified by their fluorine
content, 66%, 68% and 70% respectively. Fluoroelastomers having higher fluorine content have
increasing fluids resistance derived from increasing fluorine levels. Peroxide cured
fluoroelastomers have inherently better water, steam, and acid resistance.
Fluoroelastomers are used in a wide variety of high-performance applications. FKM provides
premium, long-term reliability even in harsh environments. A partial listing of current end use
applications (industries like aerospace and automotive) include: O-ring seals in fuels, lubricants
and hydraulic systems, shaft seals, valve stem seals, fuel injector O-rings, diaphragms, lathe cut
gaskets and cut gaskets.
A rubber compound is obtained by mixing a base polymer or crude mixture with a series of
additives.
The choice of the base polymer and the additives is closely linked to the type of properties to be
Achieved. The resulting product is a non-vulcanized compound. The quantity of additives used
varies for 20 to 130 percent as a percentage on the weight. The most common additives are:
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Fillers
There are two types of fillers, reinforcing and non-reinforcing fillers. Carbon black is commonly
used as reinforcing filler. This is also the reason why most rubbers are black. Calcium carbonate
is an example of a non-reinforcing filler.
Plasticizers
Besides fillers, plasticizers play the biggest quantitative role in building a rubber compound. The
reasons for the use of plasticizers are: improvement of flow of the rubber during processing,
improved filler dispersion, influence on the physical properties of the vulcanizate at low
temperatures. Mineral oils and paraffins are widely used as a plasticizer.
Vulcanization chemicals
Vulcanization is the conversion of rubber molecules into a network by formation of crosslinks.
Vulcanizing agents are necessary for the crosslink formation. These vulcanizing agents are
mostly sulphur or peroxide and sometimes other special vulcanizing agents or high energy
radiation. Since vulcanization is the process of converting the gum-elastic raw material into the
rubber-elastic end product, the ultimate properties like hardness and elasticity depend on the
course of the vulcanization.
Accelerators
Accelerating agents increase the rate of the cross linking reaction and lower the sulphur content
necessary to achieve optimum vulcanizate properties.
Activators
Like zinc-oxide and stearic acid. They activate the vulcanisation process and help the
accelerators to achieve their full potential.
Anti-degrading agents
These agents increase the resistance to attacks of ozone, UV light and oxygen.
Process aids
Chemicals that improve the process ability
Pigments
Organic and inorganic pigments are used to colour rubber compounds. The colour pigments are
also considered inactive fillers. Only silicas have a reinforcing effect. Silicone can be coloured
easily without loss of properties.
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2.2. General Process of manufacturing of rubber component
Moulded rubber parts can be produced by different manufacturing methods. Major techniques
are:
Compression moulding
Compression moulding is a process in which a compound is squeezed into a preheated mould
taking a shape of the mould cavity and performing curing due to heat and pressure applied to the
material. The method uses a split mould mounted in a hydraulic press
Compression moulding process involves the following steps:
1. A pre-weighed amount of the compound is placed into the lower half of the mould. The
compound may be in form of putty-like masses or pre-formed blanks.
2. The upper half of the mould moves downwards, pressing on the compound and forcing it to
fill the mould cavity. The mould, equipped with a heating system, provides curing (cross-linking)
of the compound
3. The mould is opened and the part is removed for necessary secondary operations.
Figure 4: Compression Modelling
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Injection moulding
Injection moulding is a process in which the compound is forced under high pressure into a
mould cavity through an opening (sprue).
The rubber material in form of strips is fed into an injection moulding machine. The material is
then conveyed forward by a feeding screw and forced into a split mould, filling its cavity through
a feeding system with sprue gate and runners.
An injection moulding machine is similar to an extruder. The main difference between the two
machines is in screw operation. In the extruder type the screw rotates continuously providing
output of continuous long product (pipe, rod, sheet).The screw of the injection moulding
machine is called a reciprocating screw since it not only rotates but also moves forward and
backward according to the steps of the moulding cycle.
It acts as a ram in the filling step when the compound is injected into the mould and then it
retracts backward in the moulding step. The mould is equipped with a heating system providing
controlled heating and vulcanization of the material.
The compound is held in the mould until the vulcanization has completed and then the mould
opens and the part is removed from the mould.
Injection moulding is a highly productive method providing high accuracy and control of shape
of the manufactured parts. The method is profitable in mass production of large number of
identical parts. A principal scheme of an injection moulding machine is shown here.
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Figure 5: Injection Modelling
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Transfer moulding
Transfer moulding is a process in which a pre-weighed amount of a compound is preheated in a
separate chamber (transfer pot) and then forced into a preheated mould through a sprue, taking a
shape of the mould cavity and performing curing due to heat and pressure applied to the material.
The picture below illustrates the transfer moulding process.
The method uses a split mould and a third plate equipped with a plunger mounted in a hydraulic
press. The method combines features of both compression moulding (hydraulic pressing) and
injection moulding (ram-plunger and filling the mould through a sprue).
The transfer moulding process involves the following steps:
1. A pre-weighed amount of a compound is placed into the transfer pot. The compound form
putty-like masses or pre-formed blanks. The compound is heated in the pot where the material
softens.
2. The plunger, mounted on the top plate, moves downwards, pressing on the material and
forcing it to fill the mould cavity through the sprue. The mould, equipped with a heating system,
provides curing (cross-linking) of the compound.
3. The mould is opened and the parts are removed for necessary secondary operations the scrap
left on the pot bottom (cull), in the sprue and in the channels is removed. Scrap of vulcanized
rubber is not recyclable.
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Figure 6: Transfer Modelling
The transfer moulding cycle time is shorter than compression moulding cycle but longer than the
injection moulding cycle. The method is capable to produce more complicated shapes than
compression moulding but not as complicated as injection moulding.
Transfer moulding is suitable for moulding with ceramic or metallic inserts which are placed in
the mould cavity. When the heated compound fills the mould it forms bonding with the insert
surface.
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More In detail, available production techniques are summarized in the next table.
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Secondary finishing
Depending on the requirements and production process, some secondary finishing steps might be
necessary or required:
After vulcanisation
Some rubber types require a process of after vulcanisation (heating) for some hours. HNBR and
FKM rubber is after vulcanised to give the rubber its optimal mechanical properties after
moulding.
Post curing
Silicones parts applied in food or medical applications are mostly post cured after moulding.
Post- curing is one of the principal tools to mitigate outgassing. Post-cure is a process that
removes the volatiles from the cross-linked silicone rubber by diffusion and evaporation and is
carried out at a temperature greater than the service temperature for the part. Post-curing also
helps to improve the compression set.
Cryogene finishing
Cryogene deflashing and deburring is a step that is meant to remove excess imperfections on
moulded parts such as fleece or flash lines. The process uses liquid nitrogen, high speed rotation
and media (shot blast) in varying combinations to remove the flash in a highly precise and
expedient manner.
In the extrusion process of rubber, the compound including polymers, various types of additives
and fills like curing agents, antioxidants, pigments are fed into the extruder. The extruder
typically consists of a rotating screw inside a closely fitted heated barrel. The primary purpose of
the extruder is to do three things, a) soften, b) mix, c) pressurize the rubber as it is fed
continuously to the die at the extruder exit.
The die is a sort of metal disk that has a machined opening in the desired shape of the part that
needs to be extruded. The rubber already softened by heating is then forced by the rotating screw
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through the die opening into the shape of the profile cut in the die. A typical phenomenon called
die swell takes place as the rubber shape leaves the die. Because of this the part cross-section
becomes larger than the die cross-section. The part cross-section depending on the material may
rise up to several folds over the die.
Subsequently the processes of vulcanization or curing takes place as the last step in the extrusion
process. This aids the rubber extruded profiles to maintain its shape and acquire necessary
physical properties. Typical examples of extruded rubber parts are profiles, hoses, strips and
cords.
Incoming Material
Compund
Mixing 1 Master
Batching
Mixing 2 & Milling
Shaping
Cure
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Figure 7: General Process
Figure 8: Major Process of Rubber
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CHAPTER 3
LITRATURE REVIEW
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Moving particulate materials in liquid slurry form can seriously erode their containers. Turbo
machines are increasingly being applied to extensive industrial fields and tend to be operated at
higher rotational speed. Therefore, to maintain high performance over a long time, it is desirable
to pay attention to the wear. Erosive wear in centrifugal slurry pumps has motivated many
researchers, due to its application in areas such as dredging, hydraulic transport etc.
Experimental results concerning the wear of slurry pump impellers are not abundant. A variety
of bench scale test rigs have been used by the investigators to predict the erosion wear. Most of
them have used Slurry Pot Tester which comprises of a cylindrical tank in which wear specimens
are tested against wear. These test rigs require the solid-liquid suspension to be uniform and
vortex free. Therefore, detailed study of solid-liquid suspension system in an erosion wear test
rig is required. This has initiated researchers to conduct research on wear as well as on the solid-
liquid suspension system of wear test rigs. A review of literature available in this area has been
presented in the following paragraphs to discuss the present state of knowledge.
Shawky M. et al1 [1989] presents some experimental results of erosive wear in a centrifugal
slurry pump. The objective of their investigation was to study the relation between erosive wear
in a centrifugal pump impeller and solid particle concentration. The erosion rate of a centrifugal
pump impeller is measured by the weighing method. They have used two different concentration
of coarse sand and have investigated the effect of speed of rotation.
The experimental results obtained by them show the correlation between the erosive wear
development and solid particle concentration.
Desai P.V2 [1990] has studied the erosion wear of centrifugal slurry pumps which is primarily
governed by the particulate motion and concentration as well as their physical properties. The
analysis and the finite element computations yield the solid velocity and concentration fields in
an arbitrary radial cross-section of a centrifugal slurry pump casing.
The solutions were examined in light of their applicability to the pump wear problem. Axis
symmetric finite elements have to be used to analyse the flow in the volume of revolution. The
shape factor of the particles is introduced into the drag and pressure force calculations to account
for the angularity of the particles.
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Hector McI. Clark3 [1991] has pointed out the importance of knowledge of flow field
surrounding impinging particles and target is emphasized for an understanding of slurry erosion.
He has reviewed the work on the effect of liquid viscosity and density, particle size and size
range, density and concentration, target shape and suspension free stream velocity in slurry
erosion. His studies show that the experimental data on the material erosion rates can only be
understood if particle impact velocities and trajectories and the number of particles impacting the
target surface are known. He has pointed out that the actual impact velocities of the particles on
an eroding target may differ widely from the free stream velocity of the suspension and that
under some circumstances most, or even all, particles directed at a target may fail to collide with
it.
Steward N.R. et al4 [1992] have emphasized on the pipeline wear which continues to be an area
of specific concern, since it constitutes a major cost during the life of a pipeline installation.
Wear data from an accelerated wear test and actual pipeline tests have been presented by them.
Trends in the performance of the pipeline materials tested are discussed, and possible solutions
to the problem of pipeline wear are presented.
Neseic.S. et al5 [1993] have evaluated erosion rates along the length of a tubular flow cell of
type 304 (UNS S30400) stainless steel (SS) carrying dilute slurries of silica sand (0.43 mm diam)
and smooth glass beads of a similar size. The segmented test cell contained a sudden
constriction, a sudden expansion, and a groove to produce disturbed flow conditions. Erosion
rates were reduced by changes in the cell wall geometry that resulted from erosion at positions of
high local metal loss and from erosion further downstream because of the reduction in turbulence
and particle dispersion.
Gupta Rajat et al6 [1994] have conducted a systematic study on a pot tester to establish the
effect of velocity, concentration and particle size on erosion wear. Two correlations have been
proposed, based on the data generated for equisized particulate slurries in the pot tester, to
predict the expected erosion wear for two pipe materials, namely brass and mild steel. The
1eighted mean diameter has been established as the best representative diameter for the
multisided particulate slurries. The proposed correlations have been used to predict the extent of
uneven erosion wear in a slurry pipeline using local concentration, local effective particle size
and average velocity. The comparison between predicted and experimental results shows
agreement within 13.5% for brass and + 14% for mild steel.
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Zhong Yuan et al7 [1995] have followed Lagrangian approach to predict the erosion wear on a
pump casing wall due to impingement of solid particles and calculated the impinging velocities
on the casing wall under the assumption that the water flow field remains unchanged due to the
presence of the particles. They have also investigated the effect of mutual collision among the
particles. Their result showed that the impinging velocities of the particles in the tongue area
have remarkably a large normal component with no tangential one. Distribution of the
volumetric particle concentration is hardly affected by the spinning and mutual collisions of the
particles.
Zhong Yuan et al8 [1996] have measured erosion damage of wear resistant materials due to
sand particle impingement and correlated based on Bitters erosion model to clarify the effects of
particle impinging velocity and angle, particle size and concentration on the wear.
Using the empirical formula for the correlation and calculating impinging velocities of sand
particles on a casing wall of a pump, successive erosion of the wall is numerically calculated o
demonstrate the viability of the prediction method. The erosion data of cast iron and stainless
steel eroded by sand particles confirm Bitters erosion model.
Stokes et al9 [1999] have used axis-symmetric model to simulate two-phase flows in stirred
mixing tank. The impeller used is Rushton turbine. They have studied the gas-water two phase
flow and have used RNG based k- turbulent model in their computational study. The numerical
solution of the radial, tangential and axial velocities of the air was compared with the
experimental results.
Brown Gary et al10 [1999] have studied tee junctions in a slurry pipeline system. The
commercial code ANSYS-CFX has been used to predict the motion of caustic liquor and bauxite
particle through a tee-junction using an Eulerian-Eulerian continuum approach in conjunction
with k- turbulence model. The predicted wear location was found to be insensitive to the
assumed level of inlet swirl and the numerical scheme employed.
Lee S. Y. et al11 [2001] have discussed the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
methods to simulate the flow of slurry and predict the erosion rates so that an effective
maintenance schedule can be developed for the filtration system of the waste treatment process.
The location of the maximum erosion for the selected components is also identified.
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Solids content of the working fluid, the regions of high wall shear, and particle impingement
with the walls were considered as major mechanisms associated with the erosion. All these tests
were performed using sand water slurry.
Hawthorne H.M. et al12 [2001] has conducted Coriolis tests for the evaluation of slurry erosion
on different materials. Slurries consisting of glass beads of size 90- 200 micron size with 10%
slurry concentration were taken and tests were performed on 1020 steel and copper at different
impingement angles of 90-20 degrees. It was also observed that in slurry jet testing, most
particles impact the specimen above its critical velocity resulting severe plastic deformation. In
contrast, in the Coriolis test most particle impacts result in only elastic deformation or mild
plastic deformation. Hence, elastic as well as plastic properties of specimen materials affect their
performance in a Coriolis slurry erosion evaluation, thus the results obtained from Coriolis tests
were more accurate.
Gandhi B. K. et al13 [2001] have studied that the performance of pumps decreases for increase
in solid concentration, particle size and specific gravity. The head and efficiency of the pump
decrease with increase in solid concentration, particle size, and slurry viscosity, the decrease in
the head being 210 per cent higher than that of the efficiency. The presence of finer particles
(less than 18micron) in coarser slurries substantially attenuates the loss of performance of the
pump in terms of head and efficiency. At low solid concentrations less than 30 per cent by
weight, the increase in the pump input power is directly proportional to the specific gravity of
slurry whereas the same relationship is not applicable at higher concentrations. The study on the
pumps has confirmed that the additional head loss for slurries decrease with increase in the pump
size.
L.M. oshinowo et al14 [2002] have studied the effect of computational fluid dynamics approach
to evaluate solid suspension in stirred tanks. The distribution of solids in stirred tanks under a
range of solids loadings (0.5 to 50 vol%) was predicted using CFD and validated against
experimental data obtained from the literature. The multiphase flow is modelled using the
Eulerian Granular Multiphase model. They have studied the performance of hydrofoil impellers
and a 45 pitched-blade turbine at suspending solids under different agitation speeds. The
standard deviation of solids volume fraction was shown to be useful measure of the quality of
suspension.
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D. Chapple et al15 [2002] have studied the effect of impeller and tank geometry on power
number for a pitched blade turbine. The changes done in the position of the impeller in the tank
can have a significant impact on the power number (15%) due to changes in the flow patterns.
They have shown that there is no effect of the blade thickness on the power number for a four
blade PBT 45 degrees impeller.
Litian et al16 [2003] have conducted Computational Fluid Dynamics study of Rushton turbine
in stirred tanks. The commercial code used by them was ANSYS-CFX. To account for the
relative movement between impeller and baffles sliding mesh method has been used by them.
Fluid flow is calculated with a turbulent k- and RNG k- model using finite volume method.
Their result show that mixing time highly relies on the flow field, the feeding and detection
position.
Feng Wang et al17 [2003] studied CFD simulation of solid-liquid two phase flow in baffled
stirred vessel with Rushton Impellers. They have simulated three dimensional flow field and
solid concentration distribution in solid liquid baffled stirred vessels using inner-outer iterative
procedure. The procedure used by them can be applied to the system with high solid
concentration upto 20%.
J. J. Derksen et al18 [2003] have numerically simulated the solid suspension in the strirred tank.
Large-eddy simulations of the turbulent flow driven by a Rushton turbine have been coupled to a
Lagrangian description of spherical, solid particles immersed in the flow. The working fluid was
water, whereas the solid particles had the properties of glass beads. It has been investigated to
what level of detail the particle motion needs to be modeled in order to meet Zwieterings just
suspended criterion.Their result show that it is essential to take article-particle collisions into
account, mainly because of their exclusion effect that prevents unrealistic buildup of particle
concentrations closely above the bottom.
Gandhi B. K. et al19 [2004] have developed a methodology to determine the nominal particle
size of multi-sized particulate slurry for estimation of mass loss due to the erosion wear. The
effect of presence of finer particles (less than 75 micron) in relatively coarse particulate slurry
has also been studied. They have observed that addition of particles finer than 75 micron in
narrow-size or multi-sized slurries reduce the erosion wear. In addition, the effective particle size
for narrow-size particulate slurries can be taken as the mean size whereas the weighted mass
particle size seems to be a better choice for multi-sized particulate slurries. The reductions in
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erosion wear due to addition of fine particles decreases with increase in the concentration of
coarse size particles.
Wood R.J.K. et al20 [2004] has covered research that has been aimed at determining the
distribution of erosion rates and the erosion mechanisms that occur over wetted surfaces within
pilot scale pipe systems handling water-sand mixtures at 10% by volume concentrations and at a
mean fluid velocity of approximately 3 m/s. The wall wear rates, obtained by gravimetric
measurements, as a function of time are discussed. The erosion rates, expressed as volume loss
per impact (determined gravimetrically and via computer models) in bends are found to agree
well with simple laboratory scale water-sand jet impingement tests on planar stainless steel
samples.
G. Montante et al21 [2005] have studied the solid liquid multiphase flow in tall stirred vessels
with multiple impeller systems. Good results were obtained using eddy viscosity turbulence
models for fully baffled vessels. Their results recommend the use of Magelli drag correction for
prediction of solid concentration in stirred vessels.
R. Thorpe et al22 [2005] have conducted studies on the suspension of particles from the bottom
of pipes and stirred tanks by gassed and ungassed flows. They have concluded that pick-up in
pipes involves viscous sublayers where turbulent forces are not dominat force.
They have compared the correlations and theoretical predictions for hydraulic conveying of
solids in pipelines with the literature on the suspension of particles in stirred tanks.
Dolman K.F. et al23 [2005] have studied the ameliorative influence on scouring erosion
behaviour of high carbon content, hardness and carbide volume fraction and particularly of fine
carbide size. They have drawn a correlation between test data and service performance.
Low impact angle erosion resistance is a critical requirement of materials used in pumps, piping,
valves, nozzles, cyclones and other components which transport and process most mineral
slurries. The specific method used in their study involves high velocity erosion with aqueous
slurry containing 10 wt. % of AFS 50-70 silica test sand. The test is considered to be a suitable
method for evaluating the scouring erosion resistance of metallic, ceramic and cermet materials
for various slurry transport components.
Sellgren A. et al24 [2005] have modeled a selection of pump designs producing general
relationships for the different pump casing, impeller and liner components for different duties.
They then take these and show which offer the lowest cost of ownership for different services.
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Correlations against pump design specific speed show higher specific speed pump casings wear
better, while lower specific speed, slower running, larger diameter impeller pumps have better
impeller and liner wear. The calculated values show total cost of ownership is affected
significantly by changes in operating conditions (due to wear) and is a minimum, in most cases,
at around a design specific speed of NS=38 (2000 USNS).
T. Kumaresan et al25 [2005] have studied the effect of internals on the flow pattern and mixing
in the stirred tanks. Measurements of power consumption, mixing time, and flow pattern have
been carried out in a stirred vessel of 0.5 m diameter for a standard 45 pitched blade turbine and
for a hydrofoil impeller with a variety of baffle and draft tube configurations. The comparison of
the flow pattern (average velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, maximum energy dissipation rate,
average shear rate, and turbulent normal stress) has been presented on the basis of equal power
consumption to illustrate the extent of interaction between the rotating impeller and the internals.
Comparisons of laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) measurements and computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) predictions have been presented.
Tian Harry H. et al26 [2005] have observed the erosive wear of some metallic materials such as
high chromium white iron and aluminium alloy using Coriolis wear testing approach. In the
present study, the correlation between wear rate and particle size on the tested materials is
discussed. Factors, which should be considered in wear modeling and prediction, have also been
addressed. They have studied that larger solids particles resulted in higher mass loss in all test
materials. Although the wear rates at smaller particle sizes were relatively close within each
material group, the wear rate difference was significantly widened with larger particle sizes.
G. Desale et al27 [2005] have studied the improvement in the design of pot tester to simulate
erosion wear due to solid-liquid mixute. The have minimized the effect of relative velocity
between the wear specimens and solid particles by rotating a PBT propeller in down pumping
mode. They also have made provisions in the test fixtures to evaluate the effect of impact angles,
concentration, velocity etc. on the wear rate.
Feng Jianjun et al28 [2007] have conducted numerical simulations on impeller diffuser
interactions in radial diffuser pumps to investigate the unsteady flow, and more attention is paid
to pressure fluctuations on the blade and vane surfaces Computational results show that a jet-
wake flow structure is observed at the impeller outlet. The biggest pressure fluctuation on the
blade is found to occur at the impeller trailing edge, on the pressure side near the impeller
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trailing edge, and at the diffuser vane leading edge, independent of the flow rate, radial gap, and
blade number configuration. All of the flow rate, blade number configuration, and radial gap
influence significantly the pressure fluctuation and associated unsteady effects in the diffuser
pump.
Gandhi B.K. et al29 [2007] observed that the wear at normal impact condition is a strong
function of hardness hardness ratio of erodent and target materials. He carried out experiment for
different solid concentrations, particle sizes and velocities. Based on experimental data, he has
proposed a correlation to predict the erosion wear at normal impact conditions.
Experiments have been carried out using a slurry pot tester by orienting the wear specimen
normal to their rotational direction. Erosion wear due to normal impact has strong dependence on
velocity and particle size but relatively weak dependence on solid concentration. SEM
micrographs and surface roughness measurement of worn out surface reveals that the penetration
by solid particles at the target material surface is a function of hardness ratio.
Williams A. John et al30 [2007]proposed that when material is lost from loaded surface either
entirely or principally through some form of mechanical interaction the concentration, size and
shape of the debris particles carry important information about the state of the surfaces from
which they were generated and thus, by implication, the potential life of the contact and of the
equipment of which this forms part. To use debris examination as a diagnostic aid in assessing
health of the operating plant, which may contain many tri biological contacts, requires not only
careful and standardized procedures for debris extraction and observation but also an
appreciation of the mechanism by which wear occurs and the regimes in which each of the
contacts of interests operates when displayed on an appropriate operational map.
Ridgway N.et al31 [2009] emphasizes that non uniform packing compression is not the sole
contributor to gland seal life cycle cost and reliability, an improved scientific understanding of
tribological wear process is required for existing designs. In slurry service particle size
distribution, shape and relative hardness with the shaft sleeve are expected to influence the useful
life of shaft sleeve and packing. They identified the key variables in the development of wear
equation within the framework of contact mechanism and inorganic structural chemistry. Particle
properties including size, relative hardness and fracture toughness were found to be of vital
importance. The specific wear rate was found to be dependent on particle size.
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Wang Yao et al32 [2009] has proposed design of an experimental system for assessing wear
conditions of slurry pumps. This experimental system is intended to provide data for both simple
and advanced data analysis of the correlation between the wear status of wetted components and
a number of parameters. This experimental system is a test loop which contains a slurry pump
and data acquisition system among other components. Test runs at different rotating speeds with
controlled particle proportion and slurry temperatures. It is designed primarily to provide good
scalability with regards to field conditions and satisfactory accuracy for subsequent analysis.
Wu Yulin et al33 [2009] have measured the internal flow field in a centrifugal pump working at
the several flow conditions using the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique with the laser
induced fluorescence (LIF) particles and the refractive index matched (RIM) facilities.
The impeller of the centrifugal pump has an outlet diameter in 100mm, and consists of six two-
dimensional curvature backward swept blades of constant thickness. Measured results give
reliable flow patterns in the pump. It is obvious that application of LIF particle and RIM are the
key methods to obtain the right PIV measured results in pump internal flow.
Suzuki Masaya et al34 [2009] Erosion phenomenon, including the temporal change of the flow
field and the wall shape. They have simulated sand erosion of a 90 degrees bend with a square
cross-section. The numerical results are compared with experimental data and it is confirmed that
the developed code can capture the sand erosion phenomenon reasonably.
L. Pullum et al35 [2009] have studied the effect of varying impeller geometrical parameters on
the turbulent velocity fields in mixing tanks. They have used pitched blade turbines and disc
turbines and measurements have been taken through laser doppler velocimetry (LDV) technique.
They have evaluated the flow number correlations based on power number in their investigation.
Achebo I. Joseph36 [2009] have used drift flux models based on Eulerian continuum equations
in predicting erosion wear rate in a transmission pipeline. In this case, a pipeline with a diameter
of 0.5m was investigated. It was found that there was a large sand particle concentration on the
welded parts of the pipe which has affected the internal geometry of the pipe. From physical
examination, the reduction in the nominal thickness of the pipe was related to erosion wear.
Sanna Haavisto et al37 [2009] have studied the particle velocity and concentration profiles of
sand-water slurry in a stir tank. Three dimensional velocity profiles were measured utilizing
ultrasound Doppler velocimetry along lines located circumferentially between two baffles of the
tank. The volume fraction of the solid phase investigated by them was 5% and 10%.
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They have conducted CFD studies of slurry flow with algebraic slip mixture model and full
Eulerian multiphase model. Standard k- model was applied in turbulence modelling. The
agreement between the simulated and the measured particle velocities was found to be relatively
good in the central region of the vessel. Near the wall, deviation of the results was observed with
increasing solid concentration. Eulerian multiphase model was tested with parameters
corresponding closely to those used with algebraic slip mixture model. Results obtained with it
deviated from measurements more than mixture model predictions.
K. Mohanarangam et al38 [2009] have studied CFD modelling of floating and settling phases
in settling tanks. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model for modelling a floating phase
has been developed and tested on a settling tank. The model used by them for settling tanks was
able to predict the settling of solids and the formation of a higher density layer of solids at the
bottom of the vessel.The simulations were performed by customizing the software ANSYS-CFX
.O. Khazam et al39 [2009] have conducted study on the drawndown of the floating solids in
stirred tanks. In this study they have reported the effect of the type of impeller, impeller
submergence, and baffle configuration on the minimum draw down speed (Njs) are reported.
They have compared the drawdown of floating solids for a range of baffle geometries in order to
determine the most efficient design strategy.
Figure 9: Manufacturing Process Behaviour
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CHAPTER 4
PRODUCTION AND MANUFECTURING PROCESS AND
SUPPORT
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The production system is the collection of people, equipment, and procedures, organized to
accomplish the manufacturing operations of a company (or other organization).Production
systems can be divided into two categories or levels as indicated in Figure 10:
Production System
Figure 10: The production system consists of facilities and manufacturing support systems.
1. Facilities. The facilities of the production system consist of the factory, the equipment in the
factory, and the way the equipment is organized.
2. Manufacturing support systems. This is the set of procedures used by the company to manage
production and to solve the technical and logistics problems encountered in ordering materials,
moving work through the factory, and ensuring that products meet quality standards. Product
design and certain business functions are included among the manufacturing support systems.
In modern manufacturing operations, portions of the production system are automated and/or
computerized. However, production systems include people. People make these systems work. In
general, direct labour people (blue collar workers)are responsible for operating the facilities, and
professional staff people (white collar workers) are response able for the manufacturing support
systems.
Manufacturing
Facilities:
Factory
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4.1 Production System Facilities
The facilities in the production system are the factory, production machines and tooling, material
handling equipment, inspection equipment, and the computer systems that control the
manufacturing operations. Facilities also include the plant layout, which is the way the
equipment is physically arranged in the factory. The equipment is usually arranged into logical
groupings, and we refer to these equipment arrangements and the workers who operate them as
the manufacturing systems in the factory. Manufacturing systems can be individual work cells,
consisting of a single production machine and worker assigned to that machine. We more
commonly think of manufacturing systems as groups of machines and workers, for example, a
production line. The manufacturing systems come in direct physical contact with the parts and/or
assemblies being made. They touch the product.
A manufacturing company attempts to organize its facilities in the most efficient way to serve
the particular mission of that plant. Over the years, certain types of production facilities have
come to be recognized as the most appropriate way to organize for a given type of
manufacturing.
4.2 Low Quantity Production
The type of production facility usually associated with the quantity range of 1 to 100 units/year is
the job shop, which makes low quantities of specialized and customized products. The products
are typically complex, such as space capsules, aircraft, and special machinery. Job shop
production can also include fabricating the component parts for the products. Customer orders
for these kinds of items are often special, and repeat orders may never occur. Equipment in a job
shop is general purpose and the labour force is highly skilled.
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Figure 11: Various types of plant layout: (a) fixed-position layout, (b) process layout,(c)
cellular layout, and (d) product layout.
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Are routed through the departments in the particular order needed for their processing, usually in
batches. The process layout is noted for its flexibility; it can accommodate a great variety of
alternative operation sequences for different part configurations. Its disadvantage is that the
machinery and methods to produce a part are not designed for high efficiency. Much material
handling is required to move parts between departments, so in-process inventory can be high.
4.3 Medium Quantity Production
In the medium quantity range (10010,000 units annually), we distinguish between two different
types of facility, depending on product variety. When product variety is hard, the traditional
approach is batch production, in which a batch of one product is made, after which the facility is
changed over to produce a batch of the next product, and so on. Orders for each product are
frequently repeated. The production rate of the equipment is greater than the demand rate for any
single product type, and so the same equipment can be shared among multiple products. The
changeover between production runs takes time.
Called the setup time or changeover time, it is the time to change tooling and to set up and
reprogram the machinery. This is lost production time, which is a disadvantage of batch
manufacturing. Batch production is commonly used in make-to-stock situations, in which items
are manufactured to replenish inventory that has been gradually depleted by demand. The
equipment is usually arranged in a process layout.
An alternative approach to medium range production is possible if product variety is soft. In this
case, extensive changeovers between one product style and the next may not be required. It is
often possible to configure the equipment so that groups of similar parts or products can be made
on the same equipment without significant lost time for change overs. The processing or
assembly of different parts or products is accomplished in cells consisting of several
workstations or machines.
4.4 High Production
The high quantity range (10,000 to millions of units per year) is often referred to as mass
production. The situation is characterized by a high demand rate for the product, and the
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production facility is dedicated to the manufacture of that product. Two categories of mass
production can be distinguished: (1) quantity production and (2) flow line production.
Quantity production involves the mass production of single parts on single pieces of equipment.
The method of production typically involves standard machines (such as stamping presses)
equipped with special tooling (e.g., dies and material handling devices), in effect dedicating the
equipment to the production of one part type. The typical layout used in quantity production is
the process layout.
Flow line production involves multiple workstations arranged in sequence, and the parts or
assemblies are physically moved through the sequence to complete the product.
The workstations consist of production machines and/or workers equipped with specialized tools.
The collection of stations is designed specifically for the product to maximize efficiency. The
layout is called a product layout, and the workstations are arranged into one long line, or into a
series of connected line segments. The work is usually moved between stations by powered
conveyor. At each station, a small amount of the total work is completed on each unit of product.
Figure 12: Types of facilities and layouts used for different levels of production quantity
and product variety.
4.5 Manufacturing Support System
To operate the production facilities efficiently, a company must organize itself to design the
processes and equipment, plan and control the production orders, and satisfy product quality
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requirements. These functions are accomplished by manufacturing support systems people and
procedures by which a company manages its production operations. Most of these support
systems do not directly contact the product, but they plan and control its progress through the
factory.
Manufacturing support involves a cycle of information-processing activities, as illustrated in
Figure
The information-processing cycle, represented by the outer ring, can be described as consisting
of four functions :(1) business functions,(2) product design, (3) manufacturing planning, and (4)
manufacturing control.
Business Functions: The business functions are the principal means of communicating with the
customer. They are therefore, the beginning and the end of the information-processing cycle.
Included in this category are sales and marketing, sales forecasting, order entry, cost accounting,
and customer billing.
The order to produce a product typically originates from the customer and proceeds into the
company through the sales and marketing department of the firm. The production order will be in
one of the following forms:(1) an order to manufacture an item to the customers
specifications,(2) a customer order to buy one or more of the manufacturers proprietary
products, or (3) an internal company order based on a forecast of future demand for a proprietary
product.
Product Design: If the product is to be manufactured to customer design, the design will have
been provided by the customer. The manufacturers product design department will not be
involved. If the product is to be produced to customer specifications, the manufacturers product
design department may be contracted to do the design work for the product as well as to
manufacture it.
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Figure 13: The information processing cycle in a typical manufacturing firm.
Manufacturing Planning: The information and documentation that constitute the product
design flows into the manufacturing planning function. The information-processing activities in
manufacturing planning include process planning, master scheduling, requirements planning, and
capacity planning. Process planning consists of determining the sequence of individualprocessing and assembly operations needed to produce the part. The manufacturing engineering
and industrial engineering departments are responsible for planning the processes and related
technical details.
Manufacturing Control: Manufacturing control is concerned with managing and controlling the
physical operations in the factory to implement the manufacturing plans.
The flow of information is from planning to control as indicated in Figure 1.5.Information also
flows back and forth between manufacturing control and the factory operations. Included in the
manufacturing control function are shop floor control, inventory control, and quality control.
Shop floor control deals with the problem of monitoring the progress of the product as it is being
processed, assembled, moved, and inspected in the factory. Shop floor control is concerned with
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inventory in the sense that the materials being processed in the factory are work-in-process
inventory. Thus, shop floor control and inventory control overlap to some extent. Inventory
control attempts to strike a proper balance between the danger of too little inventory (with
possible stock-outs of materials) and the carrying cost of too much inventory. It deals with such
issues as deciding the right quantities of materials to order and when to reorder a given item
when stock is low.
The mission of quality control is to ensure that the quality of the product and its components
meet the standards specified by the product designer. To accomplish its mission, quality control
depends on inspection activities performed in the factory at various times during the manufacture
of the product. Also,raw materials and component parts from outside sources are sometimes
inspected when they are received, and final inspection and testing of the finished product is
performed to ensure functional quality and appearance.
4.6 Advance Manufacturing
Historically, manufacturing organizations made improvements in their productions processes
primarily through investments in physical capital. Advices in mechanization, for example,
enabled manufacturing firms to enhance efficiency in production while actually lowering the
required skills and capabilities of employees. As a result, many firms actually took the tactic of
deskilling their workforces to reduce labor expenses, thereby diminishing the necessary level of
investments in human capital with the hope of increasing profits.
In contrast to this perspective, advocates of the cotemporary manufacturing paradigm argue for a
dramatically different orientation toward employees. These post-industrial theorists propose that
compared to the deskilling tactics of traditional manufacturing, more advanced systems require a
set of complementary practices for upskilling the workforce. Indeed, some studies have
suggested that modern manufacturing systems demand more enhanced technical, conceptual,
analytic and problem solving skills than typically were required in traditional manufacturing
environments.
In the manufacturing sector, the new technological advances have revolved around machine tools
and equipment. Advances in automation of machine tools began about 30 years ago with the first
generation of programmable machine tools-the numerical controlled machine tools (NC). The
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NC did not become widely used until the 1970s. The second generation, computerized numerical
control machine (CNC), was introduced in the late 1970s. These new machine tools have the
capacity to produce the high volume standardized parts and products necessary for competitive
success in undifferentiated markets.
The first AMT technologies were introduced in the 1950s, but it was not until the 1970s that the
adoption of AMTs took off and the 1980s that their use became widespread. Today, nearly all
currently produced manufacturing equipment incorporates some electronics element and thus fits
the definitions for AMTs.
There are three types of manufacturing systems: crafts shops; dedicated manufacturing systems
(DMS); and advanced manufacturing technologybased systems (AMT). Their research is based
on Teece conceptualization of long-linked versus intensive technologies. Using their
classification scheme, DMS are considered long-linked industrial systems employing hard
automation whereas AMT are post-industrial enterprises employing flexible resources.
There are many distinctions between craft shops and DMS. While craft shops employ skilled
artisans who use various hand tools, DMS deploy special-purpose machinery operated by
unskilled manual laborers. In a craft shop, workers are orga