Increasing the performance of a Salt Washing Machine through Axiomatic Design

Abstract

Systems with fewer design parameters (DPs) than functional requirements (FRs) are coupled or cannot achieve all their FRs simultaneously, as per Axiomatic Design's theorem 1. In that case, production processes have lower productivity and production rate than uncoupled or decoupled designs. This paper reports the upgrading of a salt washing machine concerning its performance, not only on separation of salt from saltwater but also on washed salt production. The machine analysis showed it is a coupled design, with one more functional requirement than the design parameters. A viable enhancement was the addition of one design parameter, which made it possible to control separation and washing independently. This redesign enforced functional independence and allowed increasing the production rate between 20% and 30%. Furthermore, one could perceive increased productivity, quality of the final product, and reduced water and energy consumption.

An Application of Axiomatic Design to Improve Productivity in the Circular Economy Context—The Salt Production Example

“…Activity 6 was expressed in a previous paper [1] and in the current paper, with the agreement of the owner of the industrial system.…”

“…On the other hand, any manufacturing system aims to maximize productivity [6], as defined by Equation (1).…”

“…Total added value − Prodution costs Total investment (1) Productivity increases by increasing the total added value or decreasing the production costs or investment. Regarding the business operations, the added value of a product (or process or service) is created by its functions, performance, suitability, quality, and price [1].…”

“…Total added value − Prodution costs Total investment (1) Productivity increases by increasing the total added value or decreasing the production costs or investment. Regarding the business operations, the added value of a product (or process or service) is created by its functions, performance, suitability, quality, and price [1]. The added value from Equation (1) results from the activities developed in several areas, which relate to the marketing and sales, product development, manufacturing, assembly, quality, and logistics.…”

“…The application herewith presented is the overall upgrading of an already existing salt washing process to make it consistent with the circular economy (CE). The washing process works with salt-saturated brine, obtained by the evaporation of seawater, and includes a salt washing machine, whose specific improvement consists of conforming it with the AD's independence axiom, as described in a previous paper [1]. Nonetheless, this paper describes the matching of the upgraded washing machine with the brine recycling subsystem, which also conforms to the AD's independence axiom, and makes the whole washing process much more sustainable because it becomes closer to the circular economy concept.…”