Trends In Merchandizing Essay Example for Free

Trends In Merchandizing Essay Over several years ago, manufacturers and retailers have been putting more emphasis and placing increased importance on the in-stock merchandizing and marketing. Since mid 1990s, the effectiveness of traditional marketing has really declined. Also the competition between retailers and channels has been increasing which have been treated as the factors in driving the trend. According to Bishop Willard in October 2002, he noted that more consumers make around 70% of all purchasing decisions while in store shopping. This has been the main reason as to why stores are the new platforms for brand marketing while the difficulties in delivering effective in store solutions for merchandizing increases, and also the need to implement state-of-the art merchandizing software capable of strategizing, planning, visualizing and communicating such solutions arises (Varien 2001, pg 45).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interactive edge in merchandizing has built many interactive sales applications for the top consumer package goods manufacturers for about ten years ago. Since the year 2002, there has been an increase in demand for interactive requests which focused entirely on planning and communicating merchandizing solutions. The ability to create account specific market plans is very crucial because each customer has specialized schedules, strategies, programs, objectives and store and market conditions. Marketing plans are ideally supported by customer and category insights, analysis of promotion that speak in the situation of the customer, sales goals and brand information. The marketing plans that are informed by customer insights and account specific category have greatest impact in setting the stage for activities in merchandizing. In any marketing planning, it is important to implement the existing opportunities and conditions for each customer by first assessing the customer’s current merchandizing solution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Smart bargains have managed thousands of dollars of continual changing inventory on daily basis. The firm’s experienced buyers should act on a moment’s notice to buy a wide range of high quality products at unexpected discounts. At the midst of controlled disorders at the core of this changing business, smart bargains required a solution to enable buyers, senior executives and planners to report and manage future and historical merchandize plans in a responsive, efficient and highly flexible manner. Smart bargains has turned to Envisa to implement and architect a business intelligence suite through use of Microsoft server 200 analysis and Microsoft table in excel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The solution which leveraged merchandizing data mart had been developed during earlier incentive which provided smart bargain with a powerful reporting architecture that untied business users from the need to make complex questions in custom report writing. Merchandizing strategy creation does not imply a complete decorator make over. In order to enhance customers’ image of store, one should perceive his own store the way the customers see it and provide the customers with their requirements. According to research by Russel M who is a retail hardware operator, the consequences of a customer satisfaction survey came up with seven aspects customers want their hard ware stores to play for them. The customers require hardware stores to offer services which are special, make enjoyable shopping, have provision of one stop shopping destination, help them to save time, help them to save money, assist them better to understand d-i-y projects, and also make shopping easy (Phelps 1963, pg 78). At global shop, retail design experts, annual retail design exposition co-produced by design ideas and display conducted studies on why and how today’s consumer shop and also how a store can merchandize its goods so as to best meet the customers requirements. Those designers came up with emerging merchandizing trends to assist the retailers in all firms and industries to provide their customers with the kind of shopping experience they need. It is very important to keep up to date with these trends because as the number of shopping choice in the market grows, clients will find the most enjoyable and satisfying experience for shopping. This is also a better way of reaching ones store’s changing customer base. This includes more shoppers of females and also the next shopper’s generation who would expect more interactive and entertaining shopping experience.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to maintain home improvement shoppers from shifting to other shopping alternatives like big boxes, the internet and mass merchandisers, the retailers require incorporating an updated merchandizing strategy so as to cultivate customer loyalty and sales based on preferences of consumers. Some of the emerging trends, with details on how the home improvement industry is incorporating these trends are outlined below. Accommodation for shopper’s need for entertainment competing with the increasing popularity of increasing sales during an uncertain economy and internet shopping one the only two major factors that drive the today’s trend towards entertainment in retailing according to Schaffner K who is the publisher of design ideas and displays searching for ways to get customers to interact with the produced products is the core of the retail tainment concept, according to Schaffner. He added that this strategy does not hurt while conducting it. Such thinking was behind sears’ new tool territory format which so far has implemented in 131 stores of mall nation wide with around 200 additional stores slated for format incorporation this year (Brand 1963, pg 85).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The tool territory concept was created from consumer’s point of view and its caters to how the stores target clients –male-d-i-years-prefers to stores. The purpose of designing the tool territory was to be an interactive playground for men according to Costello Larry who is a senior manager in communications for sears. He further explains that, sears created a tusk force to research for customer’s requirements and expectations especially when shopping for tools. The study concluded that, individuals want to interact with tools and also experience their features in the stores. In incorporating these hands on approach to buying tools, sears have positioned a strategy of â€Å"try me† stations in several locations within the hardware department. For instance, if a client is deciding which item to purchase, like hammer, he or she can first try it our by hitting it on a free standing metal spike that has been placed in front of hammer display. Prospective buyers of power drills can pick up on the drills displayed outside the boxes on light displays with signed, and use it to make a hole in a well placed block of wood (Shilburg 2003, pg 231).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With all consumer packed goods or items available and the notice able changes in effective displays of merchandizing and the market place promotions, it becomes very hard for a consumer to come up with proper decisions. Manufacturers and retailers should start to cut through this clutter by having simplified shopping experiences the latest research conducted from the information researchers has not covered the early indicators that point to consumer centric approach to emerging merchandizing consequently, merchandizing as it is defined today is likely to undergo major of transformations. By considering the emerging trend, trends report and the latest times and also the growing demand for a consumer centric approach, the world’s largest provider of enterprise market information services and solutions for the customer package goods, health care industries and retail, explores trends in practicing merchandizing, including displays, new practices of innovations like manufacturers embark up on this transformation, customer packaged goods and temporary price reductions. As the retailers reduce the grocery display space, manufacturers require innovative merchandizing devices that should have a stress to the importance of consumer centric merchandizing to provide more profitable rewards in order to feature and complete space during the next several years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marketers should step up merchandizing innovation in have the shopping experience simplified, to have a break through the clatter and have better alignment with consumer segments and their patterns of shopping. The Information Resources Inc report aimed at helping the consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers to see new risks and opportunities that will arise with the new trends of merchandizing so that they can be able to act on the insights with confidence and speed and win at the shelf (Beck man 1967,pg 421).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For the past several years, merchandizing activity has been declining in more than half of all the customer packaged goods categories as the CPG marketers start to realize that, more of anything is not better with respect to merchandizing. Through development of new store formats and pronounced focus on perimeter upscale and departments, uncluttered layouts, a competition for shrinking grocery display space has intensified for various categories. Merchandizing is perceived as an effective sales driver as the majority of consumer categories gain an average volume lift of around fifty percent or more with around 25 percent reacting 100 percent when the tactics of merchandising are applied. References Beckman T, (1967). Marketing. New York. Brand E, (1963). Modern Supermarket Operation. New York. Phelps D, (1936).Migration of Industry to South America. New York. Shilbury D, (2003). Strategic Sport Marketing. Crows Nest. Varley R, (2001), Retail Product Management in Buying and Merchandising. London.

Using Alternative Materials In A Racing Car Engineering Essay

Using Alternative Materials In A Racing Car Engineering Essay Materials play a very important role in functioning of any Machine. The idea of using alternative materials in a racing car is often an option used by the designers to improve the overall performance of the car. But the growing research on new materials creates confusion for the Racing car designers. The failure of material plays the most significant role in any kind of loss in a racing car. Engineers design the car and select the material in such a way that, the materials is able to cope with all the forces acting on the car and also weigh as less as possible. The overall weight of the car is dependent on the properties of the materials. In this report an effort is made to identify these materials used in the current Formula 1 cars and suggest alternatives, which shall provide us a solution for the material selection criteria considering the cost, availability, environmental effect in manufacturing parts from this materials and also end of life issues of these materials. In this rep ort we are going to review the work done till the end of May on this project. An overview of the current materials used and the reasons for the selection materials for the various components of the formula 1 car is briefly described in this report. Introduction: Formula 1 is one of the most rapidly developing sport, as far as research and development is concerned. New technologies are discovered and used on the car every year in order to win the races. Materials are also an option for the designers to get the weight distribution of the car as desired. The weight of the car is dependent on the materials used for construction. FIA has its regulations on the minimum weight of the car that is 605 kg for the 2010 season. But using exotic materials designers can design the car for about 450 500 kgs. And the rest is used by ballast for improving the weight distribution of the car. Materials selection for a formula 1 car is one of the most significant decisions for the designer. It also reflects the sustainability of the materials with respect to environmental concerns. The four main factors upon which the designers relies when considering materials choice are the relationship between materials specifications and technical performance of the product, the economic performance of the product, the environmental performance of the product the practice of industrial design embedded in the product and its Functionality as told by Clark and Ashby. In formula 1 because of the high budgets the economic issue is not really big atleast with the major teams. Thus the designer has the liberty to use as exotic material as he wants for achieving the minimum weight of the car. Critical components such as engine, suspension, brakes, and wheels play a major part in the performance of the car. The materials to be selected for these components need a deep research on the forces and temperatures achieved in these parts. Reducing the overall weight of the car is not difficult. Designers achieve the overall weight of the car well below the minimum specified FIA limit. The main achievement for the designers is to get the overall weight distribution. But apart from these performance issues there are many other issues which need directive. FIA has banned certain materials such as non ferrous alloys and Berillium alloys for Health and Safety requirements. But because F1 is a glamorous sport with high budgets and speed, environmental concern due to materials used is least analysed. It is very important, that the materials to be used in the sport should be environmental friendly considering the LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS, RECYCLING and THE AVAILABLITY OF THE MATERIALS IN FUTURE, etc. In this project an effort is made to analyse the current materials used with respect to these environmental issues and suggest alternatives. This project particularly aims at the F1 industry for the selection of alternative materials for specific components which can benefit them further. Use of CES software will be done, which is industry Standard software to select materials depending on their particular application of components. Although this project is more of a research project the outcomes from the project can be used for future F1 industry and also to the high end Motor industry as well as other motorsport sectors. The project aims at providing industry relevant solutions via research on the current materials being used and also on the future materials that can be used. With the help of the CES software we will be trying to find materials which can meet the requirements of the components and then with literature obtained from the books and journals we shall try to figure out the best possible materials for the use. Objectives: The Objectives of the project are shown below. Identification of some of the most critical parts in an F1 car. The functions of each critical component analysed in the car. Find the materials currently used for each component in the F1 industry. Use CES package based on function of component to determine alternative material for the same purpose. Evaluate materials against existing materials in terms of performance, cost and manufacturing feasibility, end of life issues and recycling. To produce a report that can act as a reference for selection of materials for F1 applications. Background: Formula 1 is the only automotive sport which brings revolutionary changes to the field of automotive racing. Over a period of years Formula1 has provided numerous technologies and advances in the field. The use of light weight aluminium back in 1970s to use of Carbon fibre in mid 1980s in the field of automotive racing, all was introduced by Formula 1. Thus it can be said that Formula 1 has a big influence over the automotive industry in terms of technologies. But sometimes, certain advantages can be gained similarly at a fairly less cost or by using materials which causes less damage to the environment. Also there is further a scope for the designers to further improve their car based on the performance provided by the materials used to make the car. Structure of report: In this report we will be covering the topics finished by now and a brief discussion of the work to be done in near future. Every topic of the report shall cover the objectives in parts. The critical parts of the car, their function and the materials currently used have been finished till now. These topics will be further explained in details. 2.0. Literature Review: 2.1. Introduction: F1 is developing rapidly, with increasing competition for higher performance and energy efficiency, new materials and processing techniques are required to underpin these developments. [5]. and also because of the industrial recession the competition has further intensified and the importance of selection of materials has grown even further more. The need for recognition of function of a component in order to provide the most technically advanced as well as economic means of meeting this functional requirements is becoming more vital, so that there can be a better communication between the design engineer and materials engineer. [4]. in todays world we have more materials then even before and thus the scope of innovation is immense. But in order to make this innovation a standard procedure is required which we are going to follow in this project. [2]. The references which exist on such a specific study tend to focus on individual material for a particular job. [1]. in this project I would like to count all the eligible materials for the various tasks and then compare them without limiting the factual data on each subject. Particularly in F1 there are mandatory rules and regulations which every racing team has to follow. Hence there is very little to choose from. [1]. But it is also very important to know how much of environmental effect this materials cause whilst in production. There are many materials which provide the optimum properties, but at a very high price. And there are many materials which provide less properties but at a very low price as compared. But as we know that in formula 1 cost is not the priority, performance is the main priority. [6]. Thus the materials selected should not sacrifice the performance in fact increase the performance at the same time trying to reduce the cost. In the initial days the chassis were made of steel, later it was made of aluminium. But now they are made out of carbon fibre and honeycomb material. [6]. and thus, as the time progresses the overall weight of car is decreasing, and at the same time performance is increasing. Thus the need is to decrease the weight and increase the performance. And as the technology progresses this need for lighter and more efficient materials further increases. [3]. 2.2. A brief overview of materials: 2.2.1. Aluminium and its alloys: Aluminium is one of the most common materials to be used in the Automotive Industry, as some of aluminium alloys provide tensile strength superior to those of low carbon steels at same time weigh 1/3 the weight of steel. 2024 is the primary structural aluminium alloy and has exceptional strength and stability at high temperature. It was exclusively used for Disc brake top hats and for aluminium flywheels. At high operating temperatures in the disc and the flywheels, 2024 is the most suitable aluminium alloy. 6061-T6 extrusions are used for joining pieces and for corners, most of the brackets are fabricated from this aluminium alloy. 7075 is the strongest and the stiffest of the commonly available aluminium alloys. It is the most suitable aluminium alloy for machining and is very commonly used for bushings, spacers, and machined suspension components as steering arms, antiroll bar and any straight suspension links. 2.2.2. Magnesium: For a low budget team Magnesium can be considered as the most common and strongest material. It has very good mechanical properties and stiffness. Magnesium alloys are considered to be the best suitable material for machining as compared to other metal materials. It possesses exceptional welding, forging and casting characteristic. It is also a very low density material. But Magnesium has a very high risk of fire. In the form of dust or powder, magnesium is a very dangerous material. Because of this the FIA has banned the use of Magnesium for particular uses. Magnesium also has a tendency to corrode form inside when exposed to salty air. Thus racing at the race tracks like monoco where the track is near the sea. Chances of corrosion are very high. With such high budgets, precision and accuracy, such a chance of using magnesium is avoided. 2.2.3. Titanium: From the past couple of decades, titanium has been the ace of material for race car designers. It delivers the strength of high alloy steels and the weight of aluminium. Even though the price of titanium is very high, as discussed before in Formula1cost is not issue and hence titanium is highly suitable. Oxides of titanium comprise about 0.5% of the earths crust thus making Titanium an exotic material. Titanium is exclusively used for making Forged hubs, brake disc top hats, tubular and sheet suspension linkage fabrications, threaded fasteners and Exhaust systems. Titanium is very resistant to Fatigue from vibration. Commercially pure titanium is probably the best bet for manufacturing F1 components. The exhaust made out of titanium are considerably lighter than 321 stainless steel and infinitely lighter than mild steel at the same time very much stronger at elevated temperatures and virtually fatigue proof. 2.2.4. Honeycomb material: Honey comb material is a fairly old material to be used in Motorsport industry. It was first used in 1950s. Honeycomb sandwich materials are generally composed of aluminium face skins bonded to a core of Hexagonal shaped formed from aluminium foil. It forms continuous shear webs between the face skins, resulting in light panels of exceptional stiffness which are capable of carrying extreme loads with very little deflection. The importance of honey comb was realised after 1966 when Ford used it in historic victory at the Le Mans in its MARK IV which was later called as Ford GT. Aluminium honeycomb installed with the cells longitudinally oriented makes the most efficient energy absorbing structure. But as time has progressed, aluminium honeycomb is replaced by fibreglass honeycomb. The advantages of this new hybrid honeycomb over aluminium honey comb are as follows. Composite face skins of honeycomb structure tend to localize the impact damage and also are very easy to repair. Hybrid honey comb has good characteristics for machining. Hybrid honeycomb material is corrosion proof, non flammable and nontoxic. Hence even by health and safety standards along with high strength and stiffness, they have replaced the traditional aluminium honeycomb material. 2.2.5. Composite materials: The use of high strength lightweight composite materials has brought a revolution in use of materials in industry. The era of composite materials in F1 was started by the McLarens team. They had formed the first formula 1 tub from a composite sandwich composed of face skins of aluminium sheet bonded to the core of edge grained BALSA wood called MALLITE. This resulted in a tub structure with high torsional stiffness. Composite materials are not new to the field of engineering. They were discovered way before the time. It is nothing but a combination of two or materials to form a third material with desired characteristics. Composite materials consist of fibres or filaments of an element whose fibres exhibit high tensile strength and lack rigidity. For instance, even wood is a composite material. The most common used composite material in todays world of Formula 1 is Carbon fibre. More than 95% of the McLarens F1 car is constructed in high performance advanced carbon epoxy composite ma terial. A formula 1 car consists of many components whose duty ranges. The bodywork required a very low mass and moderate stiffness material to the survival cell which requires an extremely high stiffness structure. This requirement is best fulfilled by the composite material. The composites used in F1 are supplied in prepreg form and they need to be vacuum bagged and then cured in an autoclave. This product then needs manual trimming and machining, and boding in order to form the final product. Thus we can say that the process is rather a labour intensive, time consuming and very expensive process. F1 is an industry where low volume and extremely high quality product is desired with huge budgets. Composite materials just fit right in the situation for a F1 car designer. Fibreglass is an example of a composite material which is not exactly expensive as compared to other composite materials. But it has a disadvantage of brittleness and is comparatively heavy. 2.3. Factors governing the Selection of materials in future: In a high end motorsport such as formula 1 there are numerous factors which need to be addressed while selecting a material. The sport as always is at the pinnacle of performance, but not environmentally. There are certain environmental factors which needs special attention and are briefly discussed in this topic. 2.3.1. Life cycle analysis. (LCA). Life cycle analysis is basically evaluation of a material throughout its life span. Life cycle analysis evaluates the material right from its manufacture to the recycling of the material. Evaluation is made on the basis of CO2 emissions, energy and cost of materials. Life cycle analysis will be a main consideration for all the materials to be selected in the future [1]. Because we are aiming at the F1 industry, where mass production is not the main concern, life cycle analysis will help us in comparing the materials which cost the minimum and would be low on energy and emissions throughout its life. The figure below shows the whole life cycle analysis process. Figure 1: life cycle analysis process. Figure 2: total life cycle assessment. Composite materials are very effective in terms of weight reduction [9]. But in terms of life cycle analysis more research is to be carried out about the effect of manufacturing and recycling composite materials [6]. We have some data regarding it. Some research papers conclude that materials like Balsa core and PVC foam sandwich has far better life cycle results as compared to super steel. 2.3.2. Recycling: When we consider composites in terms of recycling, the composite waste is a very interesting and in some ways very difficult. Composite waste consists of polymer with high performance, but it contains only 50-80% of recoverable energy of the polymer. Hence we can say that composite materials are better as recovered material rather than recovered energy. Also as per the research, long fibre waste has more useful characteristics when compared to short fibre composite waste. The most important factor for recycling of composite materials is the orientation of the fibre after it has been used. There are several techniques already invented for recycling of materials such as, Mechanical processing, thermal processing, fluidised bed process, pyrolysis processes etc [4]. It is therefore estimated that in the future there will be many more processes that shall be invented in order to reduce the landfill and the material wasted. These are the two main environmental issues which needs attention when selecting materials. Even thought they are not an essential part while selecting the material, as performance is the most important need in F1, it needs some attention to make the sport environmental friendly. 2.3.3. Safety Factors: It is very important that the material which is selected for the use in F1 cars is 100% a safe material and should not possess any danger even in the event of a high speed accident. The materials should not be poisonous in any form and also should not react with other materials. Because F1 is a high speed sport, it is very necessary that the material selected should be complied with high strength requirements of F1. 2.4. The critical components of Formula 1 car to be assessed in this project. 2.4.1. Engine: The FIA has many rules and regulations specifying the use of materials in the construction of an engine. The following the regulations. 1]. Minimum weight of 95 kg should be there for each 2.4 litre v8 engine. 2]. Engine blocks should be constructed from Forged aluminium alloys for weight reduction in comparison to steel. 3]. to limit the costs, FIA has banned the use of non ferrous materials in Engine block. 4]. Magnesium based alloys, Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) and Intermetallic materials may not be used anywhere in an engine. 5]. Coatings are free provided the total coating thickness does not exceed 25% of the section thickness of the underlying base material in all axes. 6]. in all cases the relevant coating must not exceed 0.8mm. 7]. Pistons must be manufactured from an aluminium alloy which is either Al-Si; Al-Cu; Al-Mg or Al-Zn based. 8]. Piston pins, crankshafts and camshafts must be manufactured from an iron based alloy and must be machined from a single piece of material. Thus selecting a material for the engine has relatively less choices. In 1998 Mercedes Benz tried to use Berillium alloys in their engines. This gave them an additional advantage of weight loss and drastic performance gain. This also led Mikka Hakkinen to win the world title 2 times consecutively. But later FIA decided that Berillium alloys were too poisonous in large quantities and thus banned the use of it. Thus using the right materials at the very right place is what makes F1 engines so interesting for the designers. As Senior General Manager Engine Luca Marmorini of the Toyota Panasonic team said, In the engine we use almost every kind of material you can on a Formula 1 car, for example you can see aluminium made with complex casting techniques but you also see carbon material. It is very important to keep the centre of gravity of the engine very low so we tend to put the very light parts on the upper part and the heavy parts on the bottom. The exact materials used by the formula1 teams for year 2010 are given in the results and discussion section. http://a5.vox.com/6a00c22521b9fc549d00d4144481ad6a47-500pi Figure 3: F1 Engine block. 2.4.2. Bodywork: This is a very important part of an F1 car. The materials used for bodywork basically define the weight of the car. Over the years numerous materials have been tried on the bodywork of the F1 car. All the light and ultra strong materials are basically revolutionized after they have been used on an F1 car. The materials to be used here should possess the property of being very strong, light in weight and ability to transform in to the required shape which shall give the aerodynamic edge. In the 1960 light weight aluminium was the solution to bodywork. But then Aluminium honeycomb material was developed which was effectively used for another decade along ultra light aluminium sheets. But then in the mid 1980s carbon fibre was discovered. Initially it was only used by the high budget teams as the cost was too high at that time. But then as the time progressed, the price of carbon fibre has decreased considerably and thus used for about 80% of the construction of the car by almost every team. Honey comb structures are still used to meet the safety requirements. http://lotusenthusiast.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/F1R2.jpg Figure 4: F1 2010 Bodywork. 2.4.3. Fuel tanks: Fuel tank is a component of the car which needs exclusive safety features. They should weigh as less as possible, just like any other F1 component, but at the same time should be very strong and 100% leak proof. FIA has strong regulations on the manufacture of fuel tanks. They need to leak proof even in the case of accidents and designer need it to strategically placed, as it carries the weight of the fuel which can disturb the weight distribution of the car. Nowadays the fuel tanks are manufactured from a composite of Kevlar and rubber in F1, unlike aluminium welded fuel tanks in other low end motor racing. The combination of Kevlar and rubber provides an ultra light weight fuel tank which is very strong as well as puncture proof. The detail of manufacturer and composition is given in the results and discussion section. http://wheelnutsjournal.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a5145462970b0120a8cb6ecf970b-800wi Figure 5: ATL Fuel tank of 2010 F1 car. 2.4.4. Brakes: As we know this is one component of the formula 1 car where absolutely no compromise are allowed. A good braking car can result in 10% lap time savings. Thus the materials needed for brakes also need to be light, strong, withstand high temperatures and provide as much as friction possibly allowable for maximum braking. Cooling is a very important factor to be considered when selecting the brakes. There are certain materials which can withstand high temperatures but then struggle to cool down. This can prove to be very costly at end laps of the race. To avoid the problem of cooling, brake ducts are introduced on the cars. This allows simultaneous cooling of the brakes. Carbon fibre shield is used all round the brakes to avoid the heat transfer from brakes to wheel rims. Team like Red bull use the advanced technique of rapid prototyping materials. The big advantage of rapid prototyping is to eliminate the labour of making mould and thus saving time. From the olden days where steel brakes where used, to recent times where Carbon ceramic brake pads are used as the main force for braking. These are very high friction materials and provide the desired braking. Toro Rosso STR3 brake system Figure 6: Ferrari 2009 F1 Brakes of front right. 2.4.5. Wheel rims: Wheel rims rotate at a very high speed. Also high temperatures are achieved within the wheel rim. Thus the material to be selected needs to fulfil both the requirements as well as weigh minimum. The material selected which comes in contact with the tyre also influences the contact patch area between the tyre and the road surface. The FIA regulations state that the wheel rims should be made from single metal flow. This is very necessary and critical from strength point of view. Also there are no regulations on specific materials to be used. Wheel rims are basically manufactured by a company and then supplied to the individual F1 teams. In the recent times, Magnesium alloy is the best suitable material for the construction wheel rims. click to zoom Figure 7: Ferrari 2010 F1 Front right Wheel Rim. 2.4.6. Gear box: The gear box in a F1 car is similar to that of the road car in terms of functions and basic operations. But in an F1 car the gear box has to transfer nearly about 900 BHP to the rear wheels. These needs very strong clutch and Gearbox. Also the weight of the gearbox is very critical. The clutch of an F1 gear box just weighs close to 1.5 kgs, which is like 2-3 times lighter of that of a road car. Also the cover of the gear box casing is made from carbon fibre. Since the gear box is such a critical component of the car, special and exotic materials needs to be used which can satisfy the high demand of speed and temperatures achieved in the gear box. Gear box is a complex component in terms of construction and hence the materials to be used for it needs special ability of machining to the fine tolerance and shapes required. The figure below illustrated the complexity of shape and tolerance to be achieved in a gear box. http://v4admin.sportnetwork.net/upload/491/491_0_1210265553.jpg Figure 8: BMW SAUBER 2005 F1 Gearbox. 2.4.7. Suspension: Formula 1 suspension requires incredibly high stiffness at the same time high strength to withstand the bumps overcome by the car at speed of 200 mph. It is a very important component of the car as it directs the car understeer and oversteer characteristics. Also some high end formula team consider the aerodynamic forces due to the suspension linkage. Thus the materials to be selected for a Formula 1 cars suspension also need to fulfil the characteristics of machinability to the required aerodynamic shape along with very high stiffness and strength. Carbon fibre is proven to be a material with extremely high stiffness with very little weight and thus is used in the suspension of a F1 car. In the past times light weight aluminium was used for the suspension but did not prove to be as effective. Some designers have also tried using titanium for the suspension. But use titanium mainly depends on the budget of the team as it is a very exotic material as discovered before. The materials u sed by the F1 teams for 2010 season for suspension are further discussed in the results and discussion topic. The figure below demonstrates the suspension on a F1 car. http://www.virtualr.net/wp-content/gallery/1349/suspension21.jpg Figure 9: F1 suspension model. 2.5. Summary: Thus we have discussed the possible materials with their characteristics and past relevance to F1. The materials discussed are Aluminium, Magnesium, Titanium, Honeycomb material and Composite materials. We have also discussed the environmental factors such as Life cycle analysis and recycling to the safety factors required for the materials in order to be used in a high speed sport such as F1. Then finally we have discussed the components of the car which shall be taken into consideration for this project. They are Engine, bodywork, Fuel tank, Brakes, Wheel rims, Gearbox and suspension. The function and the criteria for the materials to be selected in this topic have been discussed briefly. 3.0. exPERIMENTAL / NUMERICAL METHODOLOGY A brief description of all the materials that can be considered for using in a Formula 1 car along with their structural properties is explained in the table exhibited below. The values of these structural properties of the materials are used to determine the materials to be used for the specified part. Also the cost of the materials is provided to check if the material is within the budget. Youngs Shear Breaking Fracture Thermal Cost Density Modulus Modulus Poissons Yield Stress UTS strain Toughness Expansion 3 -3/2 -6 MATERIAL Type ($/kg) ( Ã‚ ² ,Mg/m ) (E , GPa) (G , GPa) Ratio ( Ã‚ ® ) ( Ã‚ ³ Y , Mpa) ( Ã‚ ³ f ,Mpa) ( Ã‚ ¥ f , %) (K c ,MN m ) ( Ã‚ ¡ ,10 /C) Alumina (Al2O3) c 1.90 3.9 390 125 0.26 4800 35 0.0 4.4 8.1 Aluminium alloy (7075-T6) m 1.80 2.7 70 28 0.34 500 570 12 28 33 Beryllium alloy m 315.00 2.9 245 110 0.12 360 500 6.0 5.0 14 Bone (compact) n 1.90 2.0 14 3.5 0.43 100 100 9.0 5.0 20 Brass (70Cu30Zn, annealed) m 2.20 8.4 130 39 0.33 75 325 70.0 80 20 Cermets (Co/WC) ct 78.60 11.5 470 200 0.30 650 1200 2.5 13 5.8 CFRP Laminate (graphite) ct 110.00 1.5 1.5 53 0.28 200 550 2.0 38 12 Copper alloys m 2.25 8.3 135 50 0.35 510 720 0.3 94 18 Cork n 9.95 0.18 0.032 0.005 0.25 1.4 1.5 80 0.074 180 Epoxy thermoset p 5.50 1.2 3.5 1.4 0.25 45 45 4.0 0.50 60 GFRP Laminate (glass) ct 3.90 1.8 26 10 0.28 125 530 2.0 40 19 Glass (soda) c 1.35 2.5 65 26 0.23 3500 35 0.0 0.71 8.8 Granite c 3.15 2.6 66 26 0.25 2500 60 0.1 1.5 6.5 Ice (H2O) c 0.23 0.92 9.1 3.6 0.28 85 6.5 0.0 0.11 55 Lead alloys m 1.20 11.

The Department of Homeland Security: Technology

The Department of Homeland Security: Technology The statement: The Department of Homeland Security has complete responsibility for all U.S. homeland security related critical infrastructure (CI) matters is not entirely accurate; originally, matters of national security were the sole responsibility of the federal government (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 7). Today, national critical infrastructure protection is a joint effort among the federal government, public and private sectors. The Department of Homeland Security was established to protect and secure the homeland from both domestic and foreign threats. According to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the development of a plan which will ensure the security of critical infrastructure is the responsibility of the DHS (Homeland Security, 2009). Likewise, the DHS is also responsible for recommending the measures necessary to protect the key resources and critical infrastructure of the United States (Homeland Security, 2009, p. 2). The mission of DHS is one that involves the protection of infrastructure and critical facilities and networks (Homeland Security, 2010, p. 33). The DHS is responsible for the identification and assessment of all components which make up critical infrastructure. In addition to mitigating potential vulnerabilities; improving the resilience of critical infrastructure, is also a top priority of the DHS. This includes but is not limited to: stand-alone facilities and interdependent systems and networks within and across critical infrastructure sectors (Homeland Security, 2010, p. 34). The DHS serves as the leader and facilitator for those agencies who share responsibility for protecting the nations critical infrastructures (Homeland Security, 2010, p. 31). Those agencies include territorial, tribal, local and state governments, as well as the private sector and other agencies not associated with the government (Homeland Security, 2003). Conversely, when a disaster occurs these agencies are the first line of defense for national critical infrastructures. Even though the DHS is responsible for leading critical infrastructure efforts, coordination of security measures within local and state governments and critical sector industry leaders are the responsibility of federal lead departments and agencies (Homeland Security, 2003). Similarly, it is the responsibility of state and local governments to provide protection to critical infrastructures that are located within their jurisdictions (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 10). If and when a catastrophic event should occur which exhaust the capabilities of local and state governments, it is up to the federal government to coordinate a response (Homeland Security, 2003). A majority of our nations critical infrastructures are privately owned or operated, which means that the private sector are initially responsible for providing protection against threats to their facilities (Homeland Security, 2003). When the threat becomes more than the private sector can handle then the government will step in to assist and ensure that our nations critical infrastructures and assets are protected (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 11). Likewise, the federal government will be there to provide support for an environment in which the private sector can better carry out its specific responsibilities (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 11). The chemical sector is one of the most vulnerable critical infrastructures to natural disaster and terrorist attacks, that being said the DHS is working with the EPA to enhance security at chemical facilities (Homeland Security, 2003). In addition, special attention is being paid to those facilities which house large quantities of hazardous chemicals (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 78). Studies conducted by the DHS and private sector are currently underway to identify and understand physical vulnerabilities within the telecommunications infrastructure and their associated risks (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 61). Even though the private sector must occasionally seek assistance from the DHS, there are times when the federal government must rely on the private sector to lend a hand in emergency response and recovery. An example of the federal government calling on the private sector for assistance was the anthrax scare of 2001. A large Washington D.C. construction corporation was contracted to oversee the abatement and restoration of the Brentwood Post office in Washington D.C. and the Trenton Post office facility in New Jersey. One must also understand that quite a few of our nations critical infrastructures cross international borders (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 35). Therefore the federal government has partnered with the neighboring countries to provide security for our interconnected infrastructures (Homeland Security, 2003, p. 35). The United States partnership with Canada is is a vital asset to national critical infrastructure, efforts are being made to provide protection for international interconnected infrastructures. An example of this partnership is the Alaskan Canadian hightway. In order to transport goods and supplies to Alaska we must travel cross Canadian territory. It is evident that matters of critical infrastrucutre involves not only the DHS but the public and private sectors as well. The DHS would not be able to carry out their responsibilites without the assistance of local and state agencies, the private sector and vice versa. The U.S. government has made great strides in developing techniques and strategies to harden U.S. critical infrastructures which will make them more resistant to terrorist attack and natural disasters. One of the U.S. governments goals is to establish a strong partnership that spans across all levels of government, in addition to the private sector and the American people (Homeland Security, 2009). The Protected Critical Infrastructure Information Program is just one of many steps taken by the U.S. government to harden critical infrastructure. This program provides protection to security-related critical infrastructure information (Homeland Security, 2009, p. 5). By breaking down each critical infrastructure sector it is easier to understand how the U.S. government has been successful in hardening each critical infrastructure. The agriculture and food sector is one of the most vulnerable critical infrastructures, that being said, efforts to harden this sector are an ongoing challenge (Mark Sauter James Carafano, 2005). The U.S. government has revised its measures by providing more protection through the hiring of more health inspectors, and adding more reporting requirements (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 291). Contamination of our nations water supply is often a topic of concern; efforts are being made by the Environmental Protection Agency as well as the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a vulnerability and threat assessment (Sauter Carafano, 2005). These assessments will improve not only site security at high threat locations it will also enhance monitoring and sharing of information (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 292). With regards to the critical infrastructure of public health the U.S. government has implemented measures to harden biomedical surveillance (Sauter Carafano, 2005). This is extremely important because of the risks of a biological attack. There have also been improvements in hardening security of emergency stockpiles of medical supplies (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 294). In order to improve the physical security of medical structures the U.S. government has provided incentives to the private sector (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 294). In response to hardening the critical infrastructure of emergency services the U.S. government has established measures to harden interoperable and redundant communication networks (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 295). The U.S. government has instituted a tougher national emergency preparedness exercise program which teaches better security and promotes consistent protection planning and response protocols (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 295). Since the defense industrial base critical infrastructure sector is owned by a majority of the private sector the U.S. government has implemented new measures to include critical infrastructure protection requirements in contract processes (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 296). Likewise, security is being strengthened in the defense related commercial production and distribution processes (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 296). The telecommunications critical infrastructure has been assessed by the U.S. government, and in return a program has been designed to identify where the most vulnerable areas are in the communication architecture and then address the security issue (Sauter Carafano, 2005). Conversely, there have also been efforts made in the energy critical infrastructure sector to enhance resilience of the energy facilities (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 298). Facility equipment is being repaired and replaced and there have also been improvements in restoration and recovery of services (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 298). Significant improvements have been made to harden the transportation critical infrastructure sector; for example, security initiatives have been established to provide commercial airliners with protection from shoulder fired missiles (Sauter Carafano, 2005, p. 299). There have also been new developments in screening technology which help identify potential threats to transportation as well as aiding the postal service sector in identifying suspicious mail (Sauter Carafano, 2005, pp. 301-302). Despite the many efforts being made to harden critical infrastructure, there are still several weaknesses in the U.S. governments strategy. Lets face it, the only other thing that is more costly than hardening critical infrastructure is the disruption or potential loss of operations in those critical infrastructures. It is clear that trying to harden all critical infrastructures is too daunting of a task and is not cost effective. The U.S. government needs to focus on those areas of the United States where our critical infrastructures are most vulnerable (e.g. New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. etc.). The federal government also needs to look at the protection of our nations water ways. Information security systems need to be deployed to guard the locks on the Mississippi and St. Lawrence seaways (Bruce Don David Mussington). By employing an information security system it will enable the monitoring of vessels and ships while in locks or approaching locks (Don Mussington). To provide another level of security, river marshals could be deployed to accompany dangerous shipments through the locks (Don Mussington). Many people dont realize that a large majority of our nations goods are transported through inland waterways, which is why it is important that more attention be paid to the transportation sector.

James Baldwins Life in Notes of a Native Son Essay -- James Baldwin

Cycles of Hatred James Baldwin lived during an extremely tumultuous time where hatred ruled the country. Race riots, beatings, and injustice flooded the cities that he, as well as most African Americans, was forced to live with every day. Many people, out of fright, suppressed their opposition to the blatant inequalities of the nation. However, some people refused to let themselves be put down solely because of their skin color and so they publicly announced their opposition. One such person was James Baldwin, who voiced his opinion through writing short stories about his experiences growing up as a black man. In order to convey to the reader the unbearable nature of this troubled era, he traces his feelings of hatred for his father and his hatred towards society, which transform as he evaluates his experiences. James Baldwin wrote â€Å"Notes of a Native Son† in the mid-1950s, right in the heart of the Civil Rights Movement while he resided in Harlem. At this time, Harlem housed many African Americans and therefore had amplified amounts of racially charged crimes compared to the rest of the country. Baldwin’s life was filled with countless encounters with hatred, which he begins to analyze in this text. The death of his father and the hatred and bitterness Baldwin feels for him serves as the focus of this essay. While Baldwin describes and analyzes his relationship with his father, he weaves in public racial episodes occurring simultaneously. He begins the story by relating the hatred he has for his father to the hatred that sparked the Harlem riots. He then internalizes various public events in order to demonstrate how hatred dominates the whole world and not only his own life. Baldwin freq... ... came as a big shock. After having analyzed his feelings towards race relations in his life, his father’s interpretation of this passage now resembled that of his own. At the start of the essay Baldwin hated his father because his bitterness bothered him but he concludes with the desire to be with his father again. As he evaluates his experiences with racism alongside his feelings from the death of his father, he realizes that his father held correct opinions on white people and his whole life he hated the wrong person. James Baldwin perpetuated hate during his life by directing it at his father and didn’t even notice until he was hated himself; unfortunately, he lost that precious time with his father. Works Cited Baldwin, James. â€Å"Notes of a Native Son.† 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1988. 63-84.

Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide Essay -- Argumentative Essay

Physician-assisted suicide should be a legal option, if requested, for terminally ill patients. For decades the question has been asked and a clear answer has yet to surface. It was formed out of a profound commitment to the idea that personal end-of-life decisions should be made solely between a patient and a physician. Can someone's life be put into an answer? Shouldn't someone's decision in life be just that; their decision? When someone has suffered from a car accident, or battled long enough from cancer, shouldn't the option be available? Assisted suicide shouldn't be seen as cheating death, but as a way to pay homage to the life once lived. As far as including the mentally challenged in this equation, I am against it. The mentally challenged, although less likely to grasp information, still has the physical awareness to grow. It can be subdued with medicine and psychotherapy. From personal experience I am a witness of being around mentally challenged adults who love life regar dless of their conditions. Most don't have the ability to express a request such as life or death. Living life is a daily task just like it is for healthy citizens. Most if not all mentally challenged people aren't in any pain throughout their entire life. For this they shouldn't be targeted for assisted suicide. Death is an occurrence in life, whether it's unexpected or expected, it can't be cheated nor can it be avoided. The terminally ill should have the option to end their suffering with dignity. Assisted- physician suicide also goes by many names such as euthanasia. 'Euthanasia' rings an enormous bell as the same structure used during the holocaust in the 1940s. The difference between now and then is the innocent lives lost because of their inc... ...end ones terminally ill life should be up to the patient and no one else. Religion plays a major part on why the law hasn't been pasted yet. Just like the hippocratic oath, religion doesn't prohibit suicide in any way. One of the most basic commandments is â€Å"Thou shall not kill.† But no one knows where humans go once they past so it seems hypocritical to judge such situations on a myth. I do not encourage anyone to end their life nor would I request such a thing. However, I do support ones choice to die with dignity if facing medical reasoning such as terminal illness. The government should grant such request to honor their citizens. Works Cited http://www.balancedpolitics.org/assisted_suicide.htm http://euthanasia.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000134 http://www.religioustolerance.org/euthanas.htm http://www.assistedsuicide.org/future_of_right-to-

Science Today and Human Cloning Essays -- Biology Research Essays

Science Today and Human Cloning Nowadays, we are being constantly fed with the prophecy that molecular biology is the next revolutionary "wave" replacing information technology which has changed the way we live in the past 50 years. The past decade has seen scientists making significant breakthroughs in this field to start the current biotechnology hype. One defining achievement was the cloning of a sheep named Dolly by Dr. Ian Wilmut of Roslin Institute in 1996. This historic success debunked previous biology myth that adult cells have lost their totipotent abilities exhibited during early-stage embryonic stage. Now, it is possible for us to use the cells from an adult organism to create another genetically identical organism. This success has also attracted much attention from scientists and laypeople alike as Dolly is the first mammal to be cloned. Suddenly it seems like science fiction story of cloning people has become not-so-distant possibility. Although other animals such as frogs have been cloned successful ly years before the birth of Dolly, but among all the successes in cloning, the ewe is the most closely related to humans in the biological hierarchy. Now it seems like human cloning is just a step away from us, technologically speaking. The possibility of cloning humans has sparked much debate among scientists, ethicists and even politicians, who are worried about the possible impacts of human cloning in future. At the moment, there is wide consensus that we are not ready to clone humans yet due to problems such as religious violation or lack of knowledge to conduct a successful human cloning experiment. However, recent developments implied that we are powerless to stop individuals from continuing their private ... ...s whether this knowledge opened a new path to our utopian dreams or nudged us a step closer to our own hell. References Cloning The First Human http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/cloningfirst.shtml Horizon. 25 October 2001. Criminal investigation into Korean human cloning http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/cloning/cloning.jsp?id=ns99992599 New Scientist. 26 July 2002. Clonaid http://www.clonaid.com 2002. Is Human Cloning an Inevitability? http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,648024,00.html Time.com. August 4 2002. A Clone in Sheep's Clothing http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0009B07D-BD40-1C59-B882809EC588ED9F Scientific American.Com. 03 March 1997. Information on Cloning and Nuclear transfer http://www.ri.bbsrc.ac.uk/library/research/cloning/cloning.html Roslin Institute Online. 03 April 2000.

The Technology’s Influence in Todays World

Every single day a new type of technology is being introduced to the world. Technology has improved a lot over years, and it is a great thing these days, because it can be very helpful, especially for people with disabilities. However people are taking advantage of it. I think life is impossible without cell phones and laptops! This phrase sounds shocking but reality is reality. Some people can’t live without modern technology like cell phones. Everybody knows what modern technology is. Modern technology is a technology created or invented to help us do works and make our life easier. i think we should perfectly understand that modern technology can make our life more convenient and safes a great deal of our time. We become lazy because of modern technologies like cell phones, washing machine, televisions, and others. People used to wash their dirty clothes using hands, but now they just have to put their dirty clothes into the washing machine and press some buttons. as we know. Modern technologies create financial problems, too. Because most of the modern technologies are too expensive to buy. People need to be active in order to be healthy. Walking to the store, riding a bike instead of a car, visiting a post office instead of sending an e-mail, all these things may or may not be more convenient, but they are a better alternative because it involves doing things physically. Being active means just a little more then the click of the mouse. Everyone loves the Internet. Suddenly everything just becomes so fast and easy. But easy does not necessarily mean better. Although being active enough is a major concern when it comes to modern technology, there are more things to worry about. Today’s technology can be as simple as the push of a button. Because everything is so easy, human’s brain is functioning as much as it should, and that is not a good thing. People need to develop their brain by reading, thinking in order to be smart, however its nearly impossible with the kind of technology we have these days.