This paper provides a case study of the effect of labor relations on product quality. We consider whether a long, contentious strike and the hiring of replacement workers at Bridgestone/Firestone’s Decatur plant in the mid-1990s contributed to the production of defective tires. Using several independent data sources, and looking before and after the strike and across plants, we find that labor ...

This study analyzes the design criteria for obtaining high slip-resistant shoe sole tread pattern the by adept control of various design parameters such as the height, orientation, and hardness of rubber strips. In the typical process, specimens of natural rubber (NR) strip with a width of 3 mm, length of 25 mm, and height of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 mm were affixed onto the base rubber sheet (25 mm × ...

Tires manufactured from polyurethane (PU) have been espoused recently for reduced hysteretic loss, but the material provides poor traction or poor wear resistance in the application, requiring inclusion of a traditional vulcanized rubber tread at the contact surface. The tread can be attached by adhesive methods after the PU body is cured, or the PU can be directly cured to reception sites on t...

Lubrication on sharp curves has been commonly adopted as a method of reducing friction between the wheel flange and rail gauge face to minimize wear and energy consumption. Additionally, lubrication between the running surface of the low-rail and the wheel tread has recently been recognized as a significant factor in reducing the likelihood of low-rail corrugation, squealing noise and rail gaug...

Forensic tools are emerging to help digital investigators preserve evidence on live, remote systems. These tools are applying the precepts of digital forensics to incident response, enterprise policy enforcement, and electronic data discovery. This paper discusses the strengths and shortcomings of ProDiscover IR and EnCase Enterprise Edition in the context of the overall digital investigation p...

Driving wheel operation is characterized by force interactions with the ground, manifested in form of vibrations. Signals generated driving wheels can be analyzed frequency spectrum tractor drawbar pull. The paper presents analysis a pull signal equipped two types special and standard tires. Beside evaluation wheels’ properties according to power, spectra measured signals were using fast Fourie...

This paper describes a repeatability test, comparing conventional X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses with the technique of quantitative X-ray diffraction (QXRD) as a determinant of mineral abundance. The conjunctive use of both methods allows specific mineral abundances to be matched between scene of crime (SOC) and suspects where soil or substrate mineralogy is similar. In our test, samples from...