A. Dobrzańska-Danikiewicz

Foresight of Material Surface Engineering as a Tool Building a Knowledge-Based Economy

Throughout history, a substantial or often leap technological progress, was determined by the availability of new engineering materials, which usually stimulated the improvement in the quality of life. The development of engineering materials constitutes one of the most significant elements in the field of science and technology, and innovative policy in Poland and Europe as regards the knowledge-based economy (KBE). The enhancement of the product functional properties, required by the new strategies of engineering materials development, as well as materials processing technologies is frequently connected with appropriate formation of the engineering materials surface layer structure and properties. Functional properties of many products depend not only on the possibility of transferring the mechanical load across the whole element section or its physicochemical properties, but, most often, they depend mainly on the surface layer structure and properties. The application of foresight methodology in the assessment of the state and prospects regarding the development of technology related to the formation of the materials surface structure and properties provides the possibility to manage knowledge in this field. It can be achieved through a formalization of the explicit and tacit knowledge gathering and use in order to increase production competitiveness, effectiveness, and innovation, improve the quality of life and achieve sustainable development. The objectives accomplished in such a way contribute to the increase in intellectual capital by enhancing the effectiveness of using the existing knowledge, creating new knowledge, as well as increasing the level of understanding and disseminating knowledge. The implemented foresight project will result in identifying the priority innovative technologies and strategic research trends in the scope of surface structure and properties formation of engineering materials and biomaterials whose development in the country will be of key importance within next 20 years.

Structures, properties and development trends of laser-surface-treated hot-work steels, light metal alloys and polycrystalline silicon

Several examples have been chosen for presentation from a broad array of laser surface treatment technologies currently researched into and used in industry and the examples are distinguished by their extensive possibilities of future and current applications, especially in the tooling, automotive, and power industry. A newly developed methodology has been employed in order to make an objectivized assessment of the relevant laser surface treatment technologies. Contextual matrices and roadmaps and technology information sheets allowing for the mainly qualitative comparisons of the individual technologies according to harmonized criteria were created as a result of employing the methodology.

The distributed agent-based approach in the e-manufacturing environment

The deficiency of a coherent flow of information from a production department causes unplanned downtime and failures of machines and their equipment, which in turn results in production planning process based on incorrect and out-of-date information. All of these factors entail, as the consequence, the additional difficulties associated with the process of decision-making. They concern, among other, the coordination of components of a distributed system and providing the access to the required information, thereby generating unnecessary costs. The use of agent technology significantly speeds up the flow of information within the virtual enterprise. This paper includes the proposal of a multi-agent approach for the integration of processes within the virtual enterprise concept. The presented concept was elaborated to investigate the possible solutions of the ways of transmission of information in the production system taking into account the self-organization of constituent components. Thus it implicated the linking of the concept of multi-agent system with the system of managing the production information, based on the idea of e-manufacturing. The paper presents resulting scheme that should be the base for elaborating an informatics model of the target virtual system. The computer system itself is intended to be developed next.

Use of Neural Networks and Artificial Intelligence Tools for Modeling, Characterization, and Forecasting in Material Engineering

This chapter presents the theoretical basis concerning the broad possibilities offered by the contemporary applications of artificial intelligence tools, especially artificial neural networks in the field of material engineering. The examples of own research pursued at the Institute of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials of the Silesian University of Technology, including the modeling and simulation of different properties of engineering materials, are presented. Discussed separately is a pioneering project of implementing artificial neural networks in order to predict the development trends of materials surface engineering.

Fabrication Technologies of the Sintered Materials Including Materials for Medical and Dental Application

This chapter of the book presents the basis of classical powder metallurgy technolo‐ gies and discusses powder fabrication, preparation, preliminary moulding, sintering and finish treatment operations. A general description of the materials and products manufactured with the classical powder metallurgy methods is presented. New variants are characterised along with special and hybrid technologies finding their applications in powder metallurgy. Special attention was drawn to microporous titanium and to TiAl6V4 alloy fabricated using hybrid rapid manufacturing technologies with selective laser sintering/selective laser melting (SLS/SLM) used for innovative implant scaffolds in medicine and regenerative dentistry. Laser deposition, thermal spraying and detonation spraying of powders are also discussed as special methods in which powders of metals and other materials are used as raw materials.

A Structure and Morphology of Nanocomposites Composed of Carbon Nanotubes with a Varying Fraction of Platinum Nanoparticles

A structure of nanocomposite materials consisting of carbon nanotubes with a varying fraction of platinum nanoparticles (5, 10 and 20 wt %) is compared in the paper. High-quality CNTs obtained in the CVD process, 100-200 mm long with a standard deviation of below 20% and with a diameter of 10-20 nm, with a standard deviation of below 30%, were used in the research. Raw CNTs did not contain metallic impurities or amorphous carbon deposits. An indirect method of bonding the earlier produced platinum nanoparticles to the surface of functionalised carbon nanotubes was employed to deposit platinum nanoparticles onto the surface of carbon nanotubes. A full array of changes in the loading of carbon nanotubes’ surface with platinum nanoparticles was achieved as a result of the experiments performed, starting with homogenous deposition to the clearly developed large agglomerations of platinum nanoparticles. The studies carried out using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy and X-ray structural analysis have confirmed differences in the morphology, homogeneity and density of coating the carbon nanotubes’ surface with variedly concentrated platinum nanoparticles. Differences were also revealed in the structure of the newly formed nanocomposites. A nanocomposite with a 5% fraction of platinum nanoparticles demonstrates the best structure-related properties for the materials obtained.

Structure and Properties of the Skeleton Microporous Materials with Coatings Inside the Pores for Medical and Dental Applications

The investigations discussed in the article concern the creation of a new generation of original hybrid microporous high-strength engineering materials ensuring the development of original hybrid constructions of a new generation of personalised implant-scaffolds and tissue scaffolds. The most important is to develop an original hybrid technology of fabrication of a new generation of custom implant-scaffolds and tissue scaffolds using skeleton titanium or Ti6AlV4 alloy microporous materials manufactured by selective laser sintering (SLS). They exhibit porosity and the related mechanical properties dependent on the manufacturing conditions, including mainly laser power, laser beam diameter and distance between laser beams and distance between laser remelting paths. In order to ensure conditions for the nesting and proliferation of living tissues in the micropores of the created porous microskeletons, tests were performed of the deposition of the internal surface of micropores with TiO2 and Al2O3 layers by ALD technology supporting the growth of living tissues in a microporous bonding zone with scaffolds or implant-scaffolds created from engineering materials.

Possibilities of Application of Agent-Based Systems to Support Functioning of e-Manufacturing Environment

This article presents the analysis of a possibility of application of agent-based technology in the e-manufacturing environment. The philosophy of e-manufacturing is a response to the demand of gaining the competitive advantage as a result of a simultaneous reduction of goods/materials in stock and the increase of the quality level of customer service. It consists in the complete integration of the company’s environment, i.e. the areas connected with production and the areas related to company’s administration and management. It may be done on the basis of communication applying cutting-edge IT technology with the use of intelligent IT techniques. Agent-based systems constitute a relatively new approach to analysing, designing as well as implementing scattered applications meant to be used in the dynamic environment of e-manufacturing.

Model of the e-Manufacturing Environment as the Multi-Agent System

This article presents the model of the e-manufacturing environment as the multi-agent system. The e-manufacturing system is a joint, multi-dimensional base gathering all required information and providing fast access to data and various analyses needed for a manufacturing control system in a real time. All operations executed at the level of a manufacturing system are related to the appropriate level of a management system, thus it allows synchronizing actions at these areas. Fluent combination of operations realized at various levels of a company system allows to manufacture products of highest quality/reliability with maximum utilization of production resources and maximum adaptation of products basing on actions and decisions made pursuant to actual information from production plant. Applying the multi-agent systems for enterprise manufacturing control system enables automation of many processes which previously required human intervention, such as the inspection and control processes. Creating the environment which enables direct access to all the data coming from the production system and utilization them in a real time leads to a more correct analysis of processes taking place on all levels of the enterprise manufacturing system. Applying the multi-agent technologies significantly accelerates the information flow inside the virtual enterprise.

Technology Foresight Results Concerning Laser Surface Treatment of Casting Magnesium Alloys

In accordance with the concept presented, innovations, understood as valuable, innovative ideas, should be the way to achieve economic growth and to solve the contemporary prob‐ lems of the climate change, increased consumption and depletion of conventional energy sources, food security, healthcare, and the advancing ageing of societies. To tackle this chal‐ lenge, the European Commission has formulated the Europe 2020 strategy [1] andhas set up the Innovation Union [2]. It is estimated that the level of R&D and innovation investments until 2020 is to reach aggregately 3% of the EU’s GDP from public and private funds. In or‐ der to achieve satisfactory economic and social effects, the stream of investments should be channelled into those fields of science and industries bringing the highest added value, with special consideration given to the role of small and medium sized enterprises. The aim of foresight research conducted broadly in Europe and Poland, also in the field of material en‐ gineering, is a quest for innovative areas deserving financial support [3-7]. Technology fore‐ sight serving to identify the priority, innovative technologies and the directions of their strategic development was pursued for materials surface engineering, as well [8]. One of 14 thematic areas analysed under such foresight research are laser technologies in surface engi‐ neering. Laser remelting and alloying / cladding is one of the critical technologies having the best development prospects and/or being of key significance for the industry selected for the detailed research carried out with the Delphi method.