Abstract: Conceptual design is the most critical stage of any product design and development process. It is the stage where major design decisions are made with vague and imprecise information. Unfortunately, computer support tools at this stage are lagging behind compared to available CAD tools for later stage of design. Developing computer tool that can assist designers at the conceptual design stage can fill this gap and improve the design process. Towards this goal a conceptual design support tool for subsea processing equipment design (CDSTsped) is developed integrating a systematic design approach with knowledge based system. Conceptual design knowledge for subsea process equipment have been collected and stored in the computer system. CDSTsped supports the key features of conceptual design process such as functional modeling, concept generation and concept evaluation.

Abstract: Conventional grading of oil palm Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) is still currently manually carried out in palm oil producing industries. The most critical part of the grading process is the categorization of the oil palm fruit bunches according to their ripeness. This paper presents a computer assisted photogrammetric methodology which correlates the color of the palm oil fruits to their ripeness and eventually sorts them out physically. The methodology consists of five main phases, i.e. image acquisition, image pre-processing, image segmentation, calculation of color Digital Numbers (DN) and finally the classification of the fresh fruit bunches according to their ripeness. The software and hardware essentials for the implementation of the methodology have been developed and tested. The design of system is geared towards four main characteristics: (i) affordable in comparison to the labor cost in palm oil mills, (ii) reliable grading process equivalent to the task carried out by a skilled grader, (iii) sufficiently robust to withstand the oil palm mill environment without human intervention and (iv) synergistic integration of hardware and software systems. The system and the methodology formulated in this work have developed a complete automation grading system of oil palm FFB and thus drastically increased the grading productivity.

Abstract: Nesting in the leather industry is the problem of placing a set of irregularly shaped pieces known as templates on a plane irregularly shaped surface, such that no templates overlap and that the trim loss produced when cutting out the templates is minimised. Manual nesting process has many shortcomings that results in low productivity. In the mass manufacture of leather furniture, saving of materials is very important as material cost is the major portion of the overall production cost. By making use of automation, efficient nesting and cutting productivity is achieved. This paper discusses the manual as well as the automated processes of nesting and cutting for leather furniture production. It was found that a very high material utilization can be achieved through the automation of nesting and cutting processes.

Abstract: Small diesel engines are widely used all over Bangladesh. Apart from conventional use in irrigation, power generation and river transportation, they are having many alternative applications. Running such engines in dual fuel mode with indigenous natural gas could have a significant impact on the imported diesel consumption, while retaining the engine warranty and capability of running with diesel-only at any time. In some parts of the country people have already started dual fuel operation of small engines using natural gas line supply. The objective of this work was to quantitatively evaluate dual fuel operation of small diesel engines with the simplest possible change of hardware, which could be suitable for applications where loads are changing less frequently or an engine attendant is already employed. For using natural gas a cross-flow gas mixing chamber was added to the air intake. All the diesel settings including fuel injection timing were kept at the factory defaults to retain instant interchangeability to diesel-only operation, in case natural gas is unavailable. Natural gas could be fed from line supply for urban users or a low pressure CNG package (LPCNG) developed by the author for rural or remote users. The maximum achievable diesel replacement by natural gas was found to vary with engine loads. The engine showed very similar performance compared to diesel-only operation near up to 90% of rated load with up to 88% replacement of diesel by natural gas being possible. The cost analysis showed promising socio-economic feasibility of running such engines in dual fuel mode in remote locations. The arrangement is currently engaged in field trials.

Abstract: An experimental study was performed to provide information about the effect of pressure reduction on heat loss from cylindrical fins of three different geometries. A literature review shows that much of work on radiating fins has been carried out analytically and numerically. In this research, a solid cylindrical fin and two other cylindrical fins with circular grooves and threads on their outside surface are investigated experimentally. A test facility with a pressure reduction chamber and instrumentation is fabricated. The heat input to the fin is varied such that the base temperature is maintained constant under steady state. Based on a study of effect of pressure reduction, using available resources, the chamber is designed for a vacuum of 680 mm Hg. The experimental result shows that for cylindrical fin with circular grooves (depth 3.5mm) heat loss is a maximum. The grooved cylindrical fin loses approximately1.23 times greater heat per unit area, compared to the threaded cylindrical fin, and 2.17 times greater heat per unit area, respectively compared to the solid pin fin at a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure. As pressure decreases heat loss reduces and contribution of radiation heat transfer on total heat loss increases.

Abstract: In this paper, an implementation of lean manufacturing through learning curve modelling for labour forecast is discussed. First, various learning curve models are presented. Then the models are analyzed in terms of their advantages and limitations. As a case study, the learning curve modelling is presented with the data derived from a production company. With the application of the learning curve, labour need can be more accurately predicted and scheduled on time.