Search Results (26)

Increasing mechanical design complexity and volume, particularly in component-based manufacturing, require scalable, traceable, and efficient design processes. In this research, a modular in-house automation platform using Autodesk Inventor’s Application Programming Interface (API) and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is developed to automate recurrent tasks such as CAD file generation, drawing production, structured archiving, and cost estimation. The proposed framework was implemented and tested on three real-world case studies in a turbocharger reconditioning unit with varying degrees of automation. Findings indicate remarkable time savings of up to 90% in certain documentation tasks with improved consistency, traceability, and reduced manual intervention. Moreover, the system also facilitated automatic generation of metadata-rich Excel and Word documents, allowing centralized documentation and access to data. In comparison with commercial automation software, the solution is flexible, cost-effective, and responsive to project changes and thus suitable for small and medium enterprises. Though automation reduced workload and rendered the system more reliable, some limitations remain, especially in fully removing engineering judgment, especially in complex design scenarios. Overall, this study investigates how API-based automation can significantly increase productivity and data integrity in CAD-intensive environments and explores future integration opportunities using AI and other CAD software. Full article

Construction project durations specified on contracts are influenced by adverse weather conditions such as rainfall and low temperatures. This study aimed to develop an efficient method for determining monthly Average Available Workdays (AAWDs) for roadway construction projects using historical long-term (ten years or more) local weather data. A survey was conducted to understand the status of current practices using weather information for contract time determination by transportation agencies. Excel spreadsheet tools with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programs were developed to process the downloaded long-term weather data with two different formats. Instead of manually processing the short-term (e.g., one–three years) weather data, VBA programs efficiently count for weekends, legal holidays, and adverse weather days as non-workdays each month over the years with weather data (>10 years) and then determine the monthly available workdays (AWDs) and AAWDs. This method was verified using daily records from five completed roadway construction projects. Many contractor-claimed non-workdays due to other factors, not weather-related, that contributed to substantially longer project duration affect the comparison of AWDs determined from nearby weather stations using the developed VBA tools. The method and VBA tools developed were applied to 88 weather stations (10–122 years, average 42 years of data) to determine AAWDs in Alabama, USA, as a case study. Monthly AAWDs in Alabama were grouped into three climate zones: North Region, Central Regions, and South Regions with 185, 193, and 200 AAWDs per year, respectively, with more workdays (17–19 days) in warmer months and fewer (9–11 days) in colder months. The determined AAWDs help both DOTs and construction contractors determine/propose reasonable construction project durations and resolve the construction delay issues. The method and VBA tools can be revised/updated by other DOTs and construction companies for different definitions and thresholds on non-workdays and then efficiently determine AWDs and AAWDs using long-term local weather data. Full article

Background/Objectives: This article presents analytical techniques and a decision support tool to aid in hospital capacity assessment and case mix planning (CMP). To date, no similar techniques have been provided in the literature. Methods: Initially, an optimization model is proposed to analyze the impact of making a specific change to an existing case mix, identifying how patient types should be adjusted proportionately to varying levels of hospital resource availability. Subsequently, multi-objective decision-making techniques are introduced to compare and critique competing case mix solutions. Results: The proposed techniques are embedded seamlessly within an Excel Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) personal decision support tool (PDST), for performing informative quantitative assessments of hospital capacity. The PDST reports informative metrics of difference and reports the impact of case mix modifications on the other types of patients present. Conclusions: The techniques developed in this article provide a bridge between theory and practice that is currently missing and provides further situational awareness around hospital capacity. Full article

Decarbonizing fossil-fuel usage is crucial in mitigating the impacts of climate change. The burning of fossil fuels in boilers during industrial process heating is one of the major sources of CO₂ in the industry. Electrification is a promising solution for decarbonizing these boilers, as it enables renewable energy sources to generate electricity, which can then be used to power the electric boilers. This research develops a user-driven simulation model with realistic data and potential temperature data for a location to estimate boilers’ current energy and fuel usage and determine the equivalent electrical boiler capacity and energy usage. A simulation model is developed using the Visual Basic Application (VBA)^® and takes factors such as current boiler capacity, steam temperature and pressure, condensate, makeup water, blowdown, surface area, and flue gas information as input. Random numbers generate the hourly temperature variation for a year for discrete-event Monte Carlo Simulation. The simulation generates the hourly firing factor, energy usage, fuel usage, and CO₂ emissions of boilers for a whole year, and the result compares fossil-fuel and electrical boilers. The simulated data are validated using real system data, and sensitivity analysis of the model is performed by varying the input data. Full article

Vacuum degassing of seeds is a basic preliminary stage of the treatment process to improve the viability of seeds of various crops. In this work, the degassing process of corn seeds was experimentally and numerically analyzed by removing air or other gases from around the seeds, specifically from the seed coating, in a rough vacuum chamber. Two complementary variants were employed to understand and optimize this process to improve the quality and germination rate of the seeds. The average germination percentage on the first day was about 98%, and the germination speed of 5.0 days. Several experiments were conducted with well-established durations of 10 min and masses of 5 kg and masses of corn seeds at different temperatures to observe and record the behavior of the system, facilitating the modeling of the degasification process in the vacuum compartment. Modeling the degasification operation in the vacuum chamber allowed for determining the pressure profiles on the vacuum chamber and its lid. Numerical simulations were either conducted using a simulation program developed in the Visual Basic Applications (VBA) language for Microsoft Excel to model the degassing process in the vacuum chamber or with the assistance of specialized software (transient structural analysis and simulation program in the ANSYS Workbench environment). Statistical analysis of the correlation between experimental and estimated pressure values revealed that both the proposed mathematical model and the solution method are well-chosen, with differences expressed through the absolute error (EA) being very small, only 1.425 mbar. Structural dynamic analysis carried through the Finite Element Method (FEM) highlights that the chosen materials for manufacturing the vacuum chamber vessel (316 stainless steel—yield strength 225 MPa and tangent modulus 2091 MPa) or the chamber lid (transparent acrylic plastic—yield strength 62.35 MPa and shear modulus 1445.3 MPa) are durable and capable of withstanding the desired pressure and temperature demands in the seed treatment process. Additionally, through structural dynamic analysis, it was possible to study the deformation of system components, providing a detailed perspective on their structural distribution. Thus, the paper aims to improve the quality and survival/germination rate of corn seeds as an important step to improve corn yield through simulations and analyses (numerical and experimental) of the vacuum corn seed degassing system. The degassing process of the vacuum chamber was simulated with a simulation program developed for Microsoft Excel for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2401 Build 16.0.17231.20236) 64-bit in the VBA language and software (transient structural dynamic analysis in the ANSYS environment through FEM). Vacuum degassing of corn seeds involves the removal of air or other gases around the seeds or products, which is crucial in various fields such as the food, pharmaceutical, or space technology industries. Full article

Classification systems are crucial to the description and classification of soils, helping to facilitate soil identification, as well as the understanding, and interpretation of soil materials worldwide. In this study, EN ISO 14688-2:2018 and ASTM D2487-17e1 were employed to develop a practical soil identification approach called Practical Group Symbol and Group Name Approach (PSNA). The method presented herein is not a classification system or a standard but is rather an approach that makes EN ISO 14688-2:2018 usable in practice and enables soil particle identification in detail. The use of this practical method can eliminate any ambiguity in communicating soil characteristics. Practical flow charts were prepared for defining group names and symbols of soil particles. The method enables the classification of gravel, sand, silt, clay, and organic material. A user-friendly macro was also developed in Microsoft Excel, utilizing the integrated programming language Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to facilitate the implementation of this approach. In the present study, an Excel-based triangular diagram was developed. In addition to the triangular diagram, two charts were considered. From these contributions, the group symbol and group name of soil mixtures can be easily and practically defined. Full article

This paper introduces a software component created in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) that can be applied for creating an optimal portfolio using two different methods. The first method is the seminal approach of Markowitz and is based on finding budget shares via the minimization of the variance of the underlying portfolio. The second method, developed by Hatemi-J and El-Khatib, combines risk and return directly in the optimization problem and yields budget shares that lead to maximizing the risk-adjusted return of the portfolio. This approach is consistent with the expectation of rational investors since these investors consider both risk and return as the fundamental basis for the selection of the investment assets. Our package offers another advantage that is usually neglected in the literature, which is the number of assets that should be included in the portfolio. The common practice is to assume that the number of assets is given exogenously when the portfolio is constructed. However, the current software component constructs all possible combinations and thus the investor can figure out empirically which portfolio is the best one among all portfolios considered. The software is consumer-friendly via a graphical user interface. An application is also provided to demonstrate how the software can be used using real-time series data for several assets. Full article

In this article, an application in the field of engineering graphics is presented for the design of a geometric calculator generated as a macro in CATIA V5. The code of this macro is written in the CATVBA language and utilizes the CATIA internal editor while taking advantage of the capabilities offered by Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). The principal purpose of this application lies in the possibility of creating the three main geometric elements (point, line, and plane) and in solving five types of general geometric problems, and then comparing the results obtained with their equivalent problems from analytical geometry. In particular, within these types of general geometric problems, 34 possible cases are solved: definition of lines (nine cases), definition of planes (12 cases), intersection points (three cases), angles (three cases), and distances (seven cases). These new entities defined with the geometric calculator can serve as support for the generation of new three-dimensional volumes, the creation of auxiliary symmetries, and the dimensioning of various elements. It was verified that the results of the designed macro and the solutions of the analytical equations coincided; therefore, the procedure was validated. Likewise, the module employed herein in the CATIA V5 environment is “Wireframe and Surface Design”, since it enables handling the three basic geometric elements (point, line, and plane), which form the basis of the geometric calculator. Lastly, it is verified how the geometric calculator allows their integration with three-dimensional solids, which represents a notable advance as an aid in its geometric definition. Full article

Ventilation and heating can be necessary for pig production during winter in China. However, it is challenging to balance the ventilation rate and heat loss due to the ventilation. Therefore, it is essential to design the minimum ventilation and heating load properly in order to reduce energy loss. In this paper, a VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) model based on energy balance is established. Meteorological data, pig body masses, outdoor temperatures, feeding densities, and building envelope thermal insulance factors were involved in the model. A model pig house with a length and width of 110 m × 15 m was used to investigate the ventilation, heating time, load, and power consumption in different climate zones, i.e., Changchun, Beijing, Nanning, Wuhan, and Guiyang, representing five major climate regions in China. Based on the simulation results, the models of minimum ventilation and heating load were fitted. The results showed that there is a logarithmic relationship between the minimum ventilation volume and body mass, R² = 0.9673. The R² of heating load models for nursery pigs and fattening pigs were 0.966 and 0.963, respectively, considering the feeding area, the outside temperature, the body masses of the nursery and fattening pigs, and the thermal insulance factor of the enclosure. The heating requirements of commercial pig houses within the same building envelope followed the trend in Changchun > Beijing > Guiyang > Wuhan > Nanning. Increasing the building envelope’s thermal insulance factor or using precision heating could reduce the pig house’s power consumption. The analysis of the heating load and energy consumption of winter pig houses in various climate regions provided a reference for precise environmental control and the selection of building thermal insulance factors in China. Full article

This article presents an application for educational purposes in the field of engineering graphics, which corrects the dihedral projections of the sections of a plane for a part by comparing the solution provided by the student with that obtained through 3D CAD modelling software. Said application is generated as a macro in CATIA (Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application), which is included as a tool in the ‘Part Design’ module. The code of this macro is written in the CATVBA language, utilizes the CATIA internal editor, and takes advantage of the capabilities offered by Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) in the design of Graphical User Interfaces (GUI). The operation of the macro consists of obtaining the section in the 3D CAD model, projecting it onto three dihedral projections of the part (elevation, plan, and profile), and calculating the visible and hidden lines by means of a numerical process based on dividing the lines into discrete sections. Likewise, to obtain numerical results, the section obtained in CATIA (reference section) is compared with the section provided by the student (section that needed to be corrected) by means of a spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel). The data of the coordinates of the points of the reference section are exported to said spreadsheet as is the data of the coordinates of the section that needed to be corrected, which is contained in a file with a dxf format (Drawing eXchange Format). From these data, by programming the appropriate formulae in the cells of the spreadsheet, the numerical values of the errors are obtained, thereby locating said errors in the dihedral projections of the section which needed to be corrected. Likewise, the application can be programmed to compare the central symmetry of both of the sections. Full article

In past years, Sweden has been facing a rapid growth of photovoltaic cells, and the total PV installation capacity increased from 300 kW to 1090 MW (2006–2020). The increased number of PV users was a result of active support from the Swedish government with an aim of achieving multiple sustainable goals regarding renewable energy. This project evaluates the profitability of shared PV systems in communities of different sizes in Sweden. This study aimed to contribute to the literature by filling the research gap of presenting the financial benefits at different community scales. The electricity use profiles consisted of hourly measured electricity use that was derived from 1067 individual Swedish apartments. The profiles were then used to create multi-scaled communities with shared PV systems. The mid-market price model was implemented to simulate electricity trading among prosumers in the community using Visual Basic Applications (VBA) in MS Excel. Further, the electricity costs were used for Life Cycle Cost (LCC) assessment. To demonstrate the increase in profitability, the LCC results of households with shared PV systems were compared to households that own PV individually and households that do not own a PV system. The evaluation showed the financial benefits of shared PV systems in comparison with individually owned PV systems. This study also demonstrated the increase in profitability and the reduction in payback time for the average household if sharing a PV system as part of a larger community. Full article

This study presents a simple indoor air quality diagnosis program for school office spaces, which are occupied for long durations by teachers, and indoor sports facilities, whose utilization has been on the rise in response to high concentrations of pollutants in outdoor air. The proposed program was made with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and Microsoft Excel. This program requires inputs which can be easily determined or measured even by nonexperts and can check the current status of indoor air quality such as CO₂ and PM_2.5 concentrations and predict the effect if changes are made. In addition, it is possible to diagnose indoor air quality before and after class and compare it with the initial plan so that if it exceeds the indoor air quality maintenance standard range, it can be improved by using a ventilation system and an air purifier. The development of the program was divided into four stages. First, prior research on the influencing factors was investigated. Second, influencing factors affecting the changes in PM_2.5 and CO₂ concentrations were selected by category to accommodate the various factors, and those selected as input were presented. Third, mass and concentration conservation equations were utilized to derive PM_2.5 and CO₂ concentration prediction equations according to activity and passage of time, and a VBA code was used for constructing the program. For verification of the developed program, the calculation results were compared with the measured data. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) was 19.47% for PM_2.5 concentration. In order to improve accuracy, Simulation 2, in which the wind speed and indoor/outdoor air pressure difference are corrected, is presented. The MAPE of PM_2.5 concentration by the corrected Simulation 2 was lowered 5.15%. Full article

In the context of climate change, irrigation has become a must for ensuring crop production because in some regions, the drought episodes became more frequent. The decision to efficiently allocate water resources should be made quickly, based on tools that provide correct information with a low computational effort. Therefore, we propose a new user-friendly tool—IrrigTool—for assessing the irrigation rate considering the precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration, soil type, and crop. IrrigTool implements the Thornthwaite equations and can be used to identify weakness due to drought stress and as an educational tool. Apart from the computation, it provides a graphical representation of the results and possible comparisons of the output for two locations. The application is built in Microsoft Excel for graphics and Visual Basic VBA. The user does not have programming knowledge to use it. Data on monthly precipitation and temperature data must be introduced in the specified fields, and after pressing the run button, the results are automatically displayed. The article exemplifies the functioning on data series from Romania’s Dobrogea region. Full article

In this paper, the classical least-squares (CLS) method with molecular absorption spectrophotometric measurement was used to determine simultaneously paracetamol (PAR), ibuprofen (IBU), and caffeine (CAF) in tablets. The absorbance spectra of the standard solutions and samples were measured over a wavelength from 220 to 300 nm with a 0.5 nm step. The concentration of PAR, IBU, and CAF in the sample solutions was calculated by using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and a program called CLS-Excel written in Microsoft Excel 2016. The method and the CLS-Excel program were tested on mixed standard laboratory samples with different PAR, IBU, and CAF concentration ratios, and they showed only small errors and a satisfying repeatability. An analytical procedure for tablets containing PAR, IBU, and CAF was developed. The reliability of the procedure was proved via the recovery and repeatability of the analysis results with an actual tablet sample and by comparing the mean contents of active substances in the tablets obtained from the analytical procedure with the HPLC method. The procedure is simple with a reduced cost compared with the HPLC standard method. Full article

Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) is a technique to establish the interrelationships between elements of interest in a specific domain through experts’ knowledge of the context of the elements. This technique has been applied in numerous domains and the list continues to grow due to its simplistic concept, while sustainability has taken the lead. The partially automated or manual application of this technique has been prone to errors as witnessed in the literature due to a series of mathematical steps of higher-order computing complexity. Therefore, this work proposes to develop an end-to-end graphical software, SmartISM, to implement ISM technique and MICMAC (Matrice d’Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée á un Classement (cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification)), generally applied along with ISM to classify variables. Further, a scoping review has been conducted to study the applications of ISM in the previous studies using Denyer and Tranfield’s (2009) framework and newly developed SmartISM. For the development of SmartISM, Microsoft Excel software has been used, and relevant algorithms and VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) functions have been illustrated. For the transitivity calculation the Warshall algorithm has been used and a new algorithm reduced conical matrix has been introduced to remove edges while retaining the reachability of variables and structure of digraph in the final model. The scoping review results demonstrate 21 different domains such as sustainability, supply chain and logistics, information technology, energy, human resource, marketing, and operations among others; numerous types of constructs such as enablers, barriers, critical success factors, strategies, practices, among others, and their numbers varied from 5 to 32; number of decision makers ranged between 2 to 120 with a median value of 11, and belong to academia, industry, and/or government; and usage of multiple techniques of discourse and survey for decision making and data collection. Furthermore, the SmartISM reproduced results show that only 29 out of 77 studies selected have a correct application of ISM after discounting the generalized transitivity incorporation. The outcome of this work will help in more informed applications of this technique in newer domains and utilization of SmartISM to efficiently model the interrelationships among variables. Full article