Material flow

About: Material flow is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3050 publications have been published within this topic receiving 36844 citations. The topic is also known as: material stream.

The impacts of data deviations between MRIO models on material footprints: A comparison of EXIOBASE, Eora, and ICIO

Abstract: In various international policy processes such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, an urgent demand for robust consumption-based indicators of material flows, or material footprints (MFs), has emerged over the past years. Yet, MFs for national economies diverge when calculated with different Global Multiregional Input-Output (GMRIO) databases, constituting a significant barrier to a broad policy uptake of these indicators. The objective of this paper is to quantify the impact of data deviations between GMRIO databases on the resulting MF. We use two methods, structural decomposition analysis and structural production layer decomposition, and apply them for a pairwise assessment of three GMRIO databases, EXIOBASE, Eora, and the OECD Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) database, using an identical set of material extensions. Although all three GMRIO databases accord for the directionality of footprint results, that is, whether a countries' final demand depends on net imports of raw materials from abroad or is a net exporter, they sometimes show significant differences in level and composition of material flows. Decomposing the effects from the Leontief matrices (economic structures), we observe that a few sectors at the very first stages of the supply chain, that is, raw material extraction and basic processing, explain 60% of the total deviations stemming from the technology matrices. We conclude that further development of methods to align results from GMRIOs, in particular for material-intensive sectors and supply chains, should be an important research priority. This will be vital to strengthen the uptake of demand-based material flow indicators in the resource policy context.

Integrating High-Resolution Material Flow Data into the Environmental Assessment of Waste Management System Scenarios: The Case of Plastic Packaging in Austria

Abstract: The environmental performance of the waste management system of plastic packaging in Austria was assessed using a combination of high-resolution material flows and input-dependent life cycle invent...

Supply Chain: Crisp and Fuzzy Aspects

Abstract: This survey presents crisp and fuzzy models developed for the Supply Chain (SC). To this end, fuzzy concepts are first briefly reviewed. Then the structure of a supply chain system is explained. Recent challenges and ideas on these systems are also surveyed. Then, with reference to different aspects of an SC system, we classify the recent fuzzy models developed for different SC systems and compare them with related crisp models. Applications of the SC in manufacturing and service industries are investigated in each case.

Numerical simulation and metal flow analysis of hot extrusion process for a complex hollow aluminum profile

Abstract: The most important way to improve the quality of aluminum profiles is to assure the material flow through die land exit with the same velocity. In this paper, a numerical model was developed to investigate metal flow behavior during aluminum profile extrusion. Firstly, the numerical model for a complex hollow aluminum profile was built based on the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian program HyperXtrude. Then, with the numerical model, metal flow behavior at each stage during the whole extrusion process was analyzed and dead zones in the die cavity were also investigated by means of the particle tracking method. Finally, the numerical results were validated by comparing with the nose ends of two extrudates in practice, and the comparison showed that the numerical model developed in this work could provide the effective guidance for practical production.