Finite Element Simulation of Radial Tire Building and Shaping Processes Using an Elasto-Viscoplastic Model

The comprehensive tire building and shaping processes are investigated through the finite element method(FEM)in this article.The mechanical properties of the uncured rubber from different tire components are investigated through cyclic loading-unloading experiments under different strain rates.Based on the experiments,an elastoviscoplastic constitutive model is adopted to describe themechanical behaviors of the uncured rubber.The distinct mechanical properties,including the stress level,hysteresis and residual strain,of the uncured rubber can all be well characterized.The whole tire building process(including component winding,rubber bladder inflation,component stitching and carcass band folding-back)and the shaping process are simulated using this constitutive model.The simulated green tire profile is in good agreement with the actual profile obtained through 3D scanning.The deformation and stress of the rubber components and the cord reinforcements during production can be obtained fromthe FE simulation,which is helpful for judging the rationality of the tire construction design.Finally,the influence of the parameter“drum width”is investigated,and the simulated result is found to be consistent with the experimental observations,which verifies the effectiveness of the simulation.The established simulation strategy provides some guiding significance for the improvement of tire design parameters and the elimination of tire production defects.

IoT in Building Process:A Literature Review

The pervasive diffusion of digital technologies opened up to new concepts in managing and monitoring the processes occurring in our society.Information and Communication Technologies(ICTs)become enabling tools to rethink our way of living,consuming and producing goods and services.Among these,the Internet of Things(IoT)represents the disruptive technology that may redefine the stages of the building process to meet renewed environmental challenges.This new technological paradigm imports in the Architecture,Engineering and Construction(AEC)sector new and not-tectonic instances.In this context,the paper maps the experiences related to the use of IoT for managing the building process.Through a systematic literature review,the article highlights the potential benefits generable by a widespread integration of IoT in the AEC sector.In particular,the article has three purposes:defining the IoT infrastructure for its proper application in the AEC sector;identifying IoT main application domains;investigating the integration modalities.

COMPLEXITY OF VALUE CREATION IN SUSTAINABLE BUILDING DESIGN(SBD)

Value creation is a significant part of the sustainable building process.To understand the process of value creation,this paper identifies a number of important issues.First,the paper addresses the existence of and identifies reasons for com-plexity in the process of value creation over a whole lifecycle(WLC).Then,a conceptual framework model is developed and adapted to the WLC in order to monitor building process stages and intervals.Next,the concepts and strategies lead-ing to WLC value maximization are addressed.Finally,a conceptual WLC value creation model is proposed that is based on sustainable building process stages and building asset stakeholders’benefits.The paper indicates how value cre-ated is an accumulation of values acquired through various operations over the building WLC.

Understanding trust-related factors affecting citizen adoption of e-government services

Purpose:Today,the use of e-government services is still at a low level in China.Based on the understanding that citizen trust is an important factor influencing e-government adoption,this research tries to develop a model of citizen trust in e-government in an effort to study the impacts of trust-related factors on citizen intentions to adopt e-government services.Design/methodology/approach:The data was collected from an online survey of 182Chinese users who had more than 3 years' online experiences of using government websites.Structural equation modeling analysis was used to validate the proposed model.Findings:Our survey shows that trust in e-government,perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are critical factors that influence citizen intentions to use e-government services.The study findings also indicate that citizen trust in e-government is positively associated with trust in government,institution-based trust and perceived usefulness of e-government services.Research limitations:The survey sampled adults aged from 25 to 35 years old.Such a limited sample group cannot represent all of the population.So a larger sample involving more experienced online users will yield more useful results.Practical implications:The study results will help government agencies,especially the Chinese government agencies,find ways to improve the Chinese citizens' trust in e-government and promote their adoptions of e-government services.Originality/value:Previous researches have investigated separately the impacts of user evaluation of government websites and user trust in e-government on user intentions to engage in e-government.This study makes a theoretical contribution by integrating these two perspectives and building a model of citizen trust in e-government in understanding the impacts of trust-related factors on citizens' adoptions of e-government initiatives.

PLATFORM SELECTION FOR COMPLEX SYSTEMS:BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

Automation systems for buildings interconnect components and technologies from the information technology industry and the telecommunications industry.In these industries,existing platforms and new platforms（that are designed to make building automation systems work） compete for market acceptance and consequently several platform battles among suppliers for building automation networking are being waged.It is unclear what the outcome of these battles will be and also which factors are important in achieving platform dominance.Taking the fuzziness of decision makers＇ judgments into account,a fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making methodology called the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process is applied to investigate the importance of such factors in platform battles for building automation networking.We present the relative importance of the factors for three types of platforms（subsystem platforms,system platforms,and evolved subsystem platforms）.The results provide a first indication that the set of important factors differs per type of platform.For example,when focusing on other stakeholders,for subsystem platforms,the previous installed base is of importance;for system platforms,the diversity of the network of stakeholders is essential;and for evolved subsystem platforms,the judiciary is an important factor.