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Optimising the design and manufacture of a customised, prescription fit, Maxillo-facial prosthesis
Get PDFThis thesis is a continuation of the Enterprise-Ireland Research Innovation Fund (RIF) Project entitled’ "Design and Manufacturing of Customised Maxillo-Facial\ud
Prostheses" The primary objective of this Internal Research Development Program (IRDP) project was to investigate two fundamental design changes\ud
1 To incorporate the over-denture abutments directly into the implant.\ud
2 To remove the restraining wings by the addition of screws, which affix the.\ud
implant to the dense material of the jawbone.\ud
The prosthetic was redesigned using the ANSYS Finite Element Analysis\ud
software program and analysed to*\ud
• Reduce the internal von Mises stress distribution The new prosthetic\ud
had a -63.63 % lower von Mises stress distribution when compared with\ud
the original prosthetic.\ud
• Examine the screw preload effects. A maximum relative displacement of\ud
22 6 * lO^mm between the bone and screw was determined, which is\ud
well below the critical threshold of micromotion which prevents\ud
osseointegration\ud
• Investigate the prosthetic-bone contact interface. Three models of the\ud
screw, prosthesis, and bone, were studied. (Axisymmetnc, quarter\ud
volume, and full volume), a recommended preload torque of 0 32 Nm\ud
was applied to the prosthetic and a maximum von Mises stress of 1.988\ud
MPa was predicted\ud
• Study the overdenture removal forces. This analysis could not be\ud
completed because the correct plastic multilinear properties of the\ud
denture material could not be established\ud
The redesigned prosthetic was successfully manufactured on a 3-axis milling\ud
machine with an indexing system The prosthetic was examined for dimensional quality\ud
and strength The research established the feasibility of the new design and associated\ud
manufacturing method
Sustaining competitive advantage in the medical technology sector in the west of Ireland through workplace innovation
Get PDFThis research examines the impact of workplace innovation on competitiveness in the medical\ud
technology sector in Ireland. Workplace innovation is the adoption of new work systems in\ud
organisations, including process or administrative changes, which lead to positive outcomes.\ud
The research methodology consists of a broad pilot study of five companies, and an in-depth\ud
case study of a large multinational company, resulting in the development of a number of key findings.\ud
Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma are currently the means by which the studied companies\ud
are innovating in their workplace. A Workplace Innovation Life Cycle has been developed, which provides a means for companies to benchmark their Lean and Six Sigma efforts based on the Product Life Cycle model.\ud
An approach to workplace innovation is described. The case company utilises a work system encompassing a bundle of Lean and Six Sigma practices. An innovation ‘gear train’ model is developed, which describes the drivers of workplace innovation. A Champion is required to drive improvement teams, management and operators towards workplace improvement. Outcomes from workplace innovation implementation include increased throughput and reduced inventories, increased productivity, while yield levels remain relatively unchanged. Workplace innovation has allowed these companies to become more flexible and thus in a\ud
position to respond to market changes. However, innovation in the medical technology sector\ud
can be characterised primarily as ‘low road’, resulting in marginal but continuous improvements, through cost reduction and sales increases. High road approaches aim to develop and expand the business through innovation and higher value premium products.\ud
There is a need to develop high road innovation, to ensure continuing competitiveness, prosperity and growth for the sector
The impact of regulation on credit unions in Ireland
Get PDFThis research paper presents results on the impact of regulation on credit unions in\ud
Ireland. The researcher seeks to answer following research question. How are credit\ud
unions in Ireland regulated and what is the impact of this regulation. To help answer\ud
this question it was necessary to simplify the research question further into research\ud
objectives.\ud
A critical review of the literature identified the answer to the first part of the question.\ud
The Financial regulator now regulates credit unions and the main piece of legislation\ud
is the Credit Union Act 1997. Following a review of the possible methods of primary\ud
research, it was decided that a questionnaire would be circulated to credit unions in\ud
order to determine the answer to the second part of the research question. Based on\ud
an analysis of 42 questionnaire replies, the findings of this research indicate that credit\ud
unions believe that a change in the credit union movement is required and that\ud
regulation is both necessary and important. Credit unions also believe that regulation\ud
needs to be independent of the credit union movement. The findings of the research\ud
also indicate that credit unions feel particular areas within the movement are too\ud
restrictive. In particular the areas of investments and lending were evident.\ud
When size is the focus for analysis, the evidence provides that large credit unions are\ud
more aware of change and that they are more willing to change. This is evident from\ud
the fact that so many large credit unions have implemented new policies, procedures\ud
and controls. This suggests that large credit unions are more pro-active than small\ud
credit unions
An investigation of the use of vision systems for the robotic control of automated vehicles
Get PDFHumans’ usage of the motor vehicle for transport and freight is ever increasing. It seems that the risks and\ud
level of accident rates associated with these traffic systems can only be lessened by increasingly complex\ud
systems, which aid the human driver with the task or take some of the task out of the human driver’s\ud
control. However, any semi or fully autonomous vehicle must conform to the type of roads currently in\ud
existence. Those roads are designed to suit a human sensory system, mainly the vision sense. Therefore, it\ud
would seem that computer vision type systems would be the largest contributor to autonomous vehicles in\ud
the short to medium term future. This work investigates how vision systems have already been used in one\ud
type of autonomous vehicle task, namely “lane detection and following”. It also implements algorithms\ud
that will accomplish this task from road image capture, through detection of lane markings to trajectory\ud
planning and steering controls required to traverse the planned trajectory. Each part of this overall\ud
algorithm is based on existing algorithms that are discussed in the literature review section. These\ud
algorithms are however, implemented or used in novel ways in this project. Then based on the results from\ud
running each section of this algorithm recommendations are made regarding the current usefulness of these\ud
methods and how each could be expanded upon and improved to be used as a viable solution in the future.\ud
Also given the dangers of testing new algorithms on the open highway, this work investigates the design of\ud
a model test system that could be used to test algorithms in a safe and compact controlled environment.\ud
Some small parts of this model test system are implemented in this work
Development of a strategy tool for environmental compliance management
Get PDFThe EU environmental legislation restricts the use of certain substances in products and, in addition, sets targets for recovery of products reaching end-of-life(EOL). Little support is provided to producers on how to obtain the best design alternative for their products (meaning the best compro-mise between cost and environmental compliance). The authors propose a strategy tool based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a solution to this problem. It will generate information needed to make the decision, will present it in a structured way and will permit the direct involvement of the users
Development and preliminary testing of sustainable development indicators for biosolids management at regional/local level in Ireland
Get PDFManagement of biosolids (treated sewage sludge) is becoming a significant\ud
issue for Local Authorities throughout Ireland, especially with the progressive\ud
implementation of the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive 91/271/EEC\ud
of 1991. The future of biosolids management will depend on what direction\ud
Local Authorities take in the immediate future. This direction will be\ud
determined by quantity and quality of treated sewage sludge, types of sludge\ud
treatment available/selected and recycling/disposal outlets that will be\ud
acceptable to most stakeholders and most importantly, pose no danger to\ud
human health.\ud
The aim of this thesis is to develop and conduct a preliminary test of\ud
sustainable development indicators (SDIs) for managing biosolids at the\ud
regional/local level. Accordingly, a set of 22 SDIs (comprising five headline,\ud
seven core and ten complementary indicators) has been developed using a\ud
stakeholder-based approach. These indicators are arranged according to the\ud
Driving force-Pressure-State-lmpact-Response framework and address all\ud
domains of biosolids management namely, production, quality, cost,\ud
legislation/regulation, training/research and recycling/disposal. A preliminary\ud
test of the indicators was carried out in County Sligo to verify their suitability\ud
and usefulness. A key finding of the study is that the SDIs are relatively\ud
effective and can make significant contributions to the sustainable\ud
management of biosolids.\ud
The stakeholder participatory approach adopted in the study meant that the\ud
indicator development process involved participants from varied background,\ud
knowledge, experience and perspective. Such a ‘mix’ is necessary in order to\ud
capture the multi-faceted criteria of sustainable biosolids management. The\ud
methodology and analysis of the survey results were designed to ensure an\ud
unbiased, critical, and fair input by the participating stakeholders.\ud
The thesis concludes by synthesising the findings and making a number of\ud
recommendations and suggestions for further research. These propositions,\ud
if implemented, could lead to the refinement of the SDIs and generation of\ud
new ones
The market potential for fish roe products in the Irish seafood industry
Get PDFThis research aimed to identify the market potential for Roe products in the Irish seafood industry. The Seafood Sector Development Strategy 2007 -2013\ud
was established with a view to secure a sustainable and profitable Irish seafood sector and new product innovation was identified as one of the key factors for\ud
increasing revenue in the future. The area considered in this report was the development of new products based\ud
on fish roe. The Irish roe industry is underdeveloped at present. The global demand for roe products is high with a market value of $256 million of exported caviar and fish egg substitutes in 2006 (Parker and Lilly, 2006). The\ud
variety of roe products is vast and varies for each market ranging from high quality caviar to caviar substitute products derived from egg white (personal observation).\ud
A survey of current seafood producers was conducted to determine Ireland’s past and current activity in this area and also to determine future interest in developing new products. A market analysis of the Japanese, the American and the European Community market was conducted to determine the preferred product and to identify what gaps existed
Investigation and optimisation of demand defrost strategies for transport refrigeration systems
Get PDFToday, transport refrigeration systems form a crucial part of the “ Cold Chain” transporting fresh and frozen produce from refrigerated warehouses to wholesalers.\ud
When these systems operate with compartment set-point temperatures of 0°C or below frost forms on the surface of the evaporator coil due to the presence of\ud
moisture in the air. This moisture may result from air infiltration due to door openings or produce transpiration. As frost forms on the evaporator coil the free airflow space between the evaporator fins decreases, ultimately reducing the refrigerating capacity o f the system. Defrost cycles are periodically required to remove this frost to maintain system performance. This is typically accomplished by supplying high-pressure hot gas refrigerant directly from the compressor discharge\ud
to the evaporator coil on transport refrigeration systems and is referred to as “hot gas defrost”. The motivation for this study came from within the transport refrigeration industry and sought to satisfy the following four main objectives; i) design and build an experimental test facility, ii) investigate the impact of evaporator frosting on system dynamic performance, iii) characterise system behaviour during hot has defrost cycles and iv) assess the performance of defrost strategies and develop enhanced defrost strategies to optimise defrost performance. This study has allowed the dynamic performance of a transport refrigeration system\ud
under frosting and during hot gas defrost to be characterised for the first time. The study also describes the development and implementation of enhanced demand defrost strategies which led to continually thorough defrost cycles, which were not being achieved by the current strategies. This led to increases of 45% and 129% for the average times between successive defrosts at set-point temperatures of 0°C and\ud
-20°C, while the minimum defrost cycle efficiencies improved by 14% and 320% respectively. A new\ud
Tim ed-D em and defrost strategy was developed and tested which led to the elimination of unnecessary timed defrost cycles. The comprehensive test facility used is the first of its kind dedicated to the investigation and optimisation of demand defrost strategies in transport refrigeration systems and will be available for\ud
the testing of other systems
Recent archaeological discoveries in Dunmore Cave, County Kilkenny : further questions regarding Viking activity at the site
Get PDFRecent archaeological monitoring in Dunmore Cave resulted in the recovery of a quantity of human bones, animal bones and artefacts. The first radiocarbon dates for human remains from the site were obtained and, overall, the evidence is consistent with earlier discoveries that link the cave to Viking activity of circa 10th century date
Establishment of the health related behaviours of asylum seekers in the Health Service Executive West area
No full textIn 1999, the Irish government initiated accommodating asylum seekers m direct\ud
provision centres with the objective to process applications within a six-month\ud
period. However, the majority o f asylum applications are not processed within this\ud
timeframe The consequences of which are that asylum seekers reside m direct\ud
provision centres, some of which are overcrowded and unsuitable, for an undefined\ud
penod\ud
Generally in the first few years of this new century, there was an accelerated growth\ud
in the number of applications for asylum m Ireland; however, recent years have\ud
shown a down turn m the number of asylum seekers arriving in Ireland, this down v.\ud
turn has instigated a trend repeated across the European Union\ud
These new arrivals can often present diverse challenges for the host society m terms\ud
of their unique needs, however m order for these needs to be met, a comprehensive\ud
analysis must first be undertaken to highlight them\ud
This study explores the health behaviours of asylum seekers in the north west of\ud
Ireland, and is the result of extensive consultation with asylum seekers. The study\ud
population consisted of asylum seekers who are resident in the Health Service\ud
Executive west and north west. 242 asylum seekers participated m the study,\ud
comprising of both male and female participants ranging in age from 18-59 years\ud
A number of health related factors were measured through the use of a\ud
questionnaire, which was made available in both English and French. The\ud
questionnaire was used to investigate the participant’s health and health behaviours in relation to use of tobacco, alcohol consumption, physical activity Usage of Irish\ud
health services was also examined\ud
The results highlight a number of concerns with regard to the health of the research\ud
participants, generally physical activity levels are quite low and diets high in fat are\ud
common. On a positive note, breastfeeding rates among the asylum seeking\ud
population were high m comparison to the Irish populatio