112 research outputs found
Combining Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Managing Collective Knowledge in Unpredictable Environment—Insights from the Chinese Case in Facing COVID-19
No full textThe increasing fluidity of social and business configurations made possible by the opportunities provided by the World Wide Web and the new technologies is questioning the validity of consolidated business models and managerial approaches. New rules are emerging and multiple changes are required to both individuals and organizations engaged in dynamic and unpredictable paths.
In such a scenario, the paper aims at describing the potential role of big data and artificial intelligence in the path toward a collective approach to knowledge management. Thanks to the interpretative lens provided by systems thinking, a framework able to explain human-machine interaction is depicted and its contribution to the definition of a collective approach to knowledge management in unpredictable environment is traced.
Reflections herein are briefly discussed with reference to the Chinese governmental approach for managing COVID-19 spread to emphasise the support that a technology-based collective approach to knowledge management can provide to decision-making processes in unpredictable environments
Supporting the implementation of AI in business communication: the role of knowledge management
No full textPurposeAlthough the use of artificial intelligence (AI) has been estimated to be up to 56% in the last decade, the adoption rate of AI for communication activities is still low. The lack of in-depth literature on the subject, and the limited sharing of the experience gained by companies, limits the creation, dissemination and consolidation of understanding in this area. The purpose of this study is to solve the problem of the absence of knowledge, identification, skills development and introduction of an innovation (such as the AI in the business communication) in the company, with the principles of knowledge management (KM).Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts the perspective of KM to provide guidelines for the definition of standards and facilitate the introduction of AI in business communication.FindingsTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to relate the perspectives of business communication, AI and KM, activating a virtuous circle between KM and AI. At the centre of the proposed model are people, processes and technologies, based on which KM represents the ideal perspective to define the implementation of AI. This is primarily from the perspective of augmented intelligence, owing to the inability of AI to completely replace humans in the business communication processes, as it lacks, among others, emotional intelligence.Research limitations/implicationsThis study finds in KM a possible strategy to solve the problems faced so far in applying AI in business communication processes, providing a model capable of transforming and adapting itself to the context, thanks to the open approach.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by linking the introduction of emerging technology (AI) in a specific process, such as business communication, from the KM perspective
Study of pseudoelastic systems for the design of complex passive dampers: Static analysis and modeling
No full textThis work presents an experimental and numerical analysis of several parallel systems of NiTi pseudoelastic wires. Standard tensile tests were accomplished to evaluate the global damping capacity, the energy dissipated per cycle and the maximum attenuated force in a static condition. Besides, a numerical model was implemented to predict the damping response of more complex pseudoelastic arrangements. It was found a damping capacity upper limit of 0.09 regardless the number and the length of the NiTi components. In addition, it was found that the energy dissipated per cycle is related to the strain and to the number of the NiTi components; furthermore, the system composed of NiTi wires with different length allows for an elastic region that is related to the numbers of wires and that presents a modulation of the stiffness. Finally, the proposed numerical model allows a precise design of complex pseudoelastic combinations as it is able to represent the rhombohedral characteristic
A Study of a Cryogenic CuAlMn Shape Memory Alloy
No full textIn extreme temperature environments, a newly emerging engineering application involves both the active and passive control of structures using cryogenic shape memory alloys, which are smart materials able to recover high deformation below the freezing point. With the objective of carrying out new advances in this area, the present work aims to investigate the Cu-7.5Al-13.5Mn (wt.%) shape memory alloy. Thermal, microstructural, and thermomechanical analyses of as-cast and hot-rolled specimens were performed, taking into account the effects of annealing and solubilization. It was observed that the phase transition occurs at temperatures below 120 K and changes according to the thermo-mechanical path. Specifically, hot-rolling lowers the phase transition temperature range with respect to the as-cast condition–from 34 K to 23 K for Mf, and from 89 K to 80 K for Af. Additionally, when the annealing temperature rises, the phase transformation temperature increases as well, and the alloy loses its cryogenic features when heat treated above 473 K. Finally, loss factors of 0.06 and 0.088, which were respectively found in dynamic and static settings, validate the material’s good damping response
A Study on Damping Property of NiTi Elements Produced by Selective Laser‐Beam Melting
No full textThe damping properties of NiTi elements produced through selective laser melting are investigated by tuning the process parameters. To this end, twelve parameters’ sets are selected to fabricate fully-dense NiTi specimens. Damping is evaluated through loss factor index, mechanical loading cycles (up to 104 cycles), solicitation frequency and strain amplitude. Results confirm that NiTi fabricated through selective laser-beam melting is an excellent candidate to substitute conventional materials when used in the martensite phase. Furthermore, the selected process parameters enable specific damping performances that can be collected in damping maps which turn out to be practical tools for the fabrication of NiTi parts with tunable damping response
Additive manufacturing for orthopedic implants: morphological and material characterization of SLM thin Ti6Al4V samples
No full textAge-related variation in growth-promoting activity human plasma measured in human lymphocytes
No full textProcessing and surface treatments for pseudoelastic wires and strands
No full textThe aim of this work is a preliminary investigation of the manufacturing process of Ni-Ti and Ni-Ti-Cr wires and strands to be applied in mechanical applications. The diamond wires for stone cutting were used as a case study. A prototype of multiwire Ni-Ti strand has been prepared, characterized and thermally treated in this research. The pseudoelastic strands have not been widely investigated in the literature to date, and they are not available in the market with this size (final diameter in the 1-2 mm range). A mechanical characterization (tensile and three-point bending tests), as well as surface analysis (scanning electron microscopy [SEM], X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy [XPS], Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry [EDS], dynamic wettability), of a single wire and multiwire strand was performed. Moreover, different surface treatments to be used during the manufacturing process have been tested for improving the adhesion of a polymeric coating (polyurethane) as protection against abrasion and as the binding element of the diamond beads assembled on the strand. The surfaces were treated by mechanical roughening and different chemical modifications (acid and peroxide etching) and characterize
Towards an understanding of the functional properties of NiTi produced by powder bed fusion
No full textIn this work, near fully dense NiTi components have been fabricated using a 55.2Ni-Ti (wt.%) powder through selective laser beam melting. The effect of the manufacturing process on mechanical and functional properties of the selected NiTi alloy has been systematically investigated by tuning the hatching distance, h, and the scanning speed, v, in order to define a set of 12 NiTi families. The as-built NiTi parts present phase transformation temperatures higher than those of the feedstock, ascribed to the depletion of Ni during the process. Pseudoelasticity and shape memory responses have been evaluated through uniaxial compression and bending measurements, respectively. Both quasi-static and dynamic analyses have been considered. It is shown that the resulting material may exhibit distinct damping and strain recovery responses depending on the used process parameters
Non-Conventional Techniques for the Study of Phase Transitions in NiTi-Based Alloys
No full textDifferential scanning calorimetry and electrical resistance measurements are the two most common techniques
for the study of the phase transition path and temperatures of shape memory alloys (SMA) in stressfree
condition. Besides, it is well known that internal friction measurements are also useful for this purpose.
There are indeed some further techniques which are seldom used for the basic characterization of SMA
transition: dilatometric analysis, magnetic measurements, and Seebeck coefficient study. In this work, we
discuss the attitude of these techniques for the study of NiTi-based phase transition. Measurements were
conducted on several fully annealed Ni502xTi50Cux samples ranging from 3 to 10 at.% in Cu content, fully
annealed at 850 C for 1 h in vacuum and quenched in water at room temperature. Results show that all
these techniques are sensitive to phase transition, and they provide significant information about the
existence of intermediate phases
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