Anna Costanza Russo

A design methodology to predict the product energy efficiency through a configuration tool

During recent years the European Ecodesign Directive has introduced big changes in the design methodology of several energy-using products including consumer goods such as ovens, washing machines and kitchen hoods. Additionally, the introduction of the Energy Labelling Directive pushes manufacturers to implement new energy-saving features in many energy-related products sold in Europe. As a consequence, several companies have been encouraging the improvement of their energy using products paying attention to the related selling cost. Eco-driven products require eco-design tools to support the eco-innovation and the related sustainability improvement. The main scope of the proposed research is the reduction of the time-to-market for the energy-using products such as kitchen hoods. In this context, the paper aims to provide an approach to support a pre-evaluation of the energy labeling related to kitchen hoods. A prototypical software tool has been developed in order to simulate the energy performance of new kitchen hood configurations in term of energy efficiency. The approach also considers the introduction of virtual experiments in order to calculate the performance of virtual modules. This tool makes the product-engineer more aware in the decision-making about the energy-saving. As a test case, different product configurations have been compared analyzing the energy labelling and the overall energy performance.

Cyber-physical system integration for industry 4.0: Modelling and simulation of an induction heating process for aluminium-steel molds in footwear soles manufacturing

In recent years, the Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs), have become a new trend to increase and to enrich the interactions between physical and virtual systems with the goal to create a truly connected world in which smart objects interact and exchange data with each other. The CPS is the core of the new industrial revolution called “Industry 4.0”, which promotes the computerization of manufacturing to make decentralized decisions. Within the modular structured smart factories, Cyber-Physical Systems monitor physical processes, create a virtual copy of the physical world, simulate parts of process and implement sophisticated control policies in order to take optimized decisions. This research proposes the modelling and simulation of an induction heating process for aluminium-steel mold, which is used in the production of footwear soles. The modelling supports the simulation of a CPS model related to the use of a multi-use LGV (Laser Guided Vehicle) which transports aluminum-steel molds from a mechanized warehouse to the final rotary production line, used for the soles foaming. In detail, a thermal model and an induction heating electronic circuit model have been studied to describe the whole mold heating system and they have been simulated using Simulink/MATLAB. In addition, two types of controllers, an induction preheating control technique based on a Model Predictive Controller (MPC), and another one based on PID, have been developed in order to analyse the different behaviour of the system.

Temperature control of an innovative aluminium-steel molds induction preheat process placed on automated laser guided vehicles

In the production of plastic components based on injection molding, like shoe sole manufacturing, the temperature control and the on-line process optimization are important issues in order to preserve the quality of the plastic components and improve the time performance, while maintaining high product quality. This research proposes an induction preheating control technique based on Model Predictive Controller (MPC) for a steel-aluminium mold for production of soles, performed on an automated Laser Guided Vehicle (LGV) with an innovative induction heating functionality. A thermal model has been studied using a finite-difference approach to describe the mold heating system. The resulting system has been simulated using Simulink/MATLAB. Then, three types of controllers have been modelled in the proposed simulation workflow, in order to compare the different behavior of the system. Due to the high mold thermal inertia, which increases the mold temperature even if the control system turns off the thermal power, innovative controllers are needed in order to track the desired temperature setpoint. The comparison with standard industrial controllers, based on PI and PID controllers, shows the effectiveness of proposed solution.