Engineering Alternatives - 2019 Collection

Carbon brakes in place of steel brakes in aircraft

https://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/qtr_03_09/article_05_1.html

Fly ash in concrete

Fly ash is a pozzolan, a substance containing aluminous and siliceous material that forms cement in the presence of water. When mixed with lime and water, fly ash forms a compound similar to Portland cement.
One of the most common uses of fly ash is in Portland cement concrete pavement or PCC pavement. Road construction projects using PCC can use a great deal of concrete, and substituting fly ash provides significant economic benefits.
The rate of substitution—of fly ash for Portland cement—typically specified is 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of fly ash for 1 pound of cement.
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/fly-ash-applications-844761


Centerless Grinding 
Advantages compared with conventional cylindrical grinding

High productivity
There is no need to clamp the workpiece. This results in very short auxilary times related to loading and removing the workpieces, and even those are typically much shorter than the process for clamping between centres. For centerless throughfeed grinding, one workpiece is immediately followed by the next. Auxilary time for infeed are thus very short.
https://www.mikrosa.com/en/centerless-grinding-machines/grinding-knowledge-centerless-grinding/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-centerless-grinding/



Alloy 1580, a new, high strength Al-Mg alloy developed for UC Rusal by scientists at Siberian Federal University (SFU). It contains a record low percentage of scandium (0.10%) and zirconium, which has slashed production costs by more than US$ 3000 per tonne.
https://aluminiuminsider.com/aluminium-alloys-automotive-industry-handy-guide/

New, More Economical Scandium-Aluminium Alloy for Shipbuilding Industry

MAR. 14, 2018
https://aluminiuminsider.com/rusal-developing-new-economical-scandium-aluminium-alloy-shipbuilding-industry/



New low-cost, lightweight magnesium sheet alloy with good formability for automotive applications; 1.5x stronger than aluminum

24 July 2017
A research team at Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and Nagaoka University of Technology has developed a new high-strength magnesium sheet alloy (Mg–1.1Al–0.3Ca–0.2Mn–0.3Zn) that has excellent room-temperature formability comparable to that of the aluminum sheet metal currently used in body panels of some automobiles.

Named AXMZ1000, the newly developed alloy has room temperature formability comparable to that of medium strength aluminum alloys that are used in some automobile bodies. In addition, the new alloy is 1.5 to 2.0 times stronger than the aluminum alloy.

The addition of very small amounts of zinc (Zn) and manganese (Mn) led to the formation of fine grain structures; the high strength was accomplished by adding aluminum (Al) and calcium (Ca), which induced the strengthening of the alloy by the formation of atomic clusters.

The newly developed alloy is composed of only common metals, so the material cost is not expensive. It can be rolled into sheets using simple processes and heat treatments commonly used for aluminum alloys.
https://www.greencarcongress.com/2017/07/20170724-nims.html


Low-Cost Recycled Composites for Automotive
Dr Jody Muelaner posted on February 01, 2019
https://www.engineering.com/AdvancedManufacturing/ArticleID/18311/Low-Cost-Recycled-Composites-for-Automotive.aspx

Zero Tillage Farming

http://www.fao.org/3/Y2638E/y2638e04.htm
http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/agriculture/agri_tillage_modernconcepts.html

For farmers across the country, it comes as no surprise to hear that conservation tillage practices – particularly continuous no-till – can save time and money compared to conventional tillage. The potential benefits of no-till are well-documented, from improving soil health to reducing annual fuel and labor investments.
https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2017/11/30/saving-money-time-and-soil-economics-no-till-farming

Aluminium conductor steel-reinforced cable (ACSR)

Aluminium conductor steel-reinforced cable (ACSR) is a type of high-capacity, high-strength stranded conductor typically used in overhead power lines. The outer strands are high-purity aluminium, chosen for its good conductivity, low weight and low cost.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium-conductor_steel-reinforced_cable

https://www.midalcable.com/overhead-line-conductors/acsr-aluminium-conductor-steel-reinforced

Noryl (plastic)

Study on Cost Economics of both Polymer and Metal Centrifugal Pumps
A. Rama Rao1*, G. Ravi Babu2, D. Bhaskara Rao3
and V. Srinivasa Rao4
1 Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kondempudi, Visakhapatnam, India
2 Department of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering,
Bapatla, India
3 Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur, India
4 Department of Statistics and Mathematics, Agricultural College, Bapatla, India
https://www.ijcmas.com/7-10-2018/A.%20Rama%20Rao,%20et%20al.pdf



Duct Wrap
Duct wrap is a perfectly viable alternative that will offer the same or similar thermal performance and typically at a lower cost than duct liner.
https://www.jm.com/en/blog/2017/july/duct-liner-vs-duct-wrap-which-one-is-best-for-your-application/




Ideas - Main Contribution is from Students Section G - PGP NITIE of Year 2019 - 21
in Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management Paper