International Journal of Environmentally Conscious Design & Manufacturing 

Volume 11, Number 1, 2003

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Contents
Contents 

Electrical and Thermal Analysis of an Environmentally Safe Microprocessor-Based NI-CD Fast Battery Charger, by M. MASOUM AND M. GHASSEMI

    Ultra fast charging capability of Ni-Cd batteries is used to present a safe and fast charging algorithm which prevents battery damages and maximizes its lifetime. The algorithm uses a combination of battery voltage (amplitude and slop), operating temperature and charging time slope to achieve a safe charging process. Before any charging action, battery state is determined, battery is intentionally discharged (to avoid memory effects), slowly charged to a safe voltage level (to maximize it’s life time), and then charged very rapidly. For terminating the charging action, accurate end-charge techniques are used (to avoid over charging) and finally, the battery enters the trickle mode. Based on the proposed algorithm, a fast microprocessor Ni-Cd battery charger is constructed and tested. Measured results are demonstrated and compared for two fast charging techniques (pulsed-current and ReFlex) along with two end charge detection methods ( and ). Also, measured temperatures are compared with results obtained by a mathematical model (lumped parameter method) generated for the battery. 

A Integration of Green Quality Function Deployment and Fuzzy Multi-Attribute Utility Theory-Based Cost Estimation for Environmentally Conscious Product Development, by C. DONG, C. ZHANG, AND B.WANG

    There are increasing global demands for environmental friendly products. Green Quality Function Deployment – III (GQFD – III) is an innovative tool aiding in the development of environmentally conscious products and processes. An improved version of GQFD – III, Green Quality Function Deployment – IV (GQFD – IV) has been developed in this study. Its improvement over GQFD – III is that the life cycle cost is estimated using the Fuzzy Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (FMAUT) method. FMAUT costing is an excellent cost estimation method at the early design stage in product development. It is more effective than other traditional methods because it does not require detailed data on manufacturing processes of the product and it can handle attributes with uncertainty and incompleteness in nature. In a case study, life cycle costs of coffeemakers were estimated with errors of less than 7% using this new cost estimation model. In GQFD – IV, with the considerations of quality, environment and cost, analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is used for product concept selection and is found to be effective. 

A Study on Calcium Fluoride as a Solid Lubricant in Grinding, by S. SHAJI AND V. RADHAKRISHNAN

    Cutting fluids are a source of environmental hazard and internationally, increasingly strict legislations are coming up with regard to its use and disposal. It also incurs a significant share of total manufacturing cost. Minimization and possibly elimination of cutting fluids, by substituting their functions by some other means, is of current research interest. Cutting fluids play a decisive role in grinding, because of the intense heat generation and the consequent thermal damage associated with the process. Conventionally, liquid coolants in flood form are employed in grinding. Solid lubricants can be used in grinding, as a means to reduce the heat generated due to friction at the grinding zone, towards the attempt for eliminating cutting fluid. This paper deals with an investigation on using calcium fluoride as a lubricating medium in surface grinding. A detailed performance analysis has been done in terms of forces, specific energy, temperature, surface finish and wheel wear. A comparative study with dry and coolant grinding has shown some interesting trends.